The Stage

Barrowman appeals for greater aftercare of reality show contestants

Published Wednesday 9 September 2009 at 11:35 by Alistair Smith

Musical theatre star and TV talent show judge John Barrowman has called on the theatre producers who work with series such as How do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Grease is the Word to put a greater focus on the after-show care of contestants.

Speaking to The Stage, he said that while he would encourage aspiring or established performers to apply for TV talent shows in a bid to boost their careers, he believed a greater emphasis needed to be laid on offering guidance after the programmes, when the contestants go on to appear in live productions.

“When they come out of our show, it’s then the responsibility of the producers who are doing that show to look after them,” explained the Torchwood actor, who is soon to appear in La Cage aux Folles in the West End.

“If you don’t look after them, they’re going to get sick. They need some help and more guidance, which, to be honest with you, Cameron [Mackintosh] did brilliantly with Jodie [Prenger - winner of I’d Do Anything]. She went and did a course at RADA. Some people might agree that was right or wrong, but it was experience, you take the opportunity.

“They’re looking after her. I have to be careful, but there are certain people who have gone into those shows who haven’t been looked after. They haven’t had the guidance.”

The comments follow similar criticisms of the TV shows by West End musical supervisor Gareth Valentine and choreographer Stacey Haynes - both of whom worked on Channel 4 show Musicality. They complained that subsequent BBC and ITV series had failed to offer the level of training to contestants which Musicality - the original musical theatre talent show - had included.

Connie Fisher, the winner of the first BBC musical theatre talent show, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, was forced to pull out of two weeks of performance of The Sound of Music in 2007, due to strained vocal cords.