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What do you think of the Grease Is The Word finalists?
“You know what, I think we’ve got a great final 16. There are some amazing singers. Some of the others have a great signature – maybe a distinctive voice – even if they haven’t been trained. I think we’ll be seeing some great growth and hopefully some great relationships forming between the contestants."
Who’s particularly caught your eye?
“I love Alison. It’s not necessarily her voice – I think her voice could actually do with some work – but I love her charisma. She just seems really polished to me. She’s very good at standing up in front of people and talking clearly. Her acting is great, her dancing is great and she’s got the right look. She's got a great body too. I also love the one who cries a lot – Joanna. I love, love, love, love Joanna! She’s just so infectious and she's a little ball of energy. She’s a great dancer – one of the best dancers who auditioned – and she’s got so much to share. She’s got so much heart and she wants it so bad. I really want to see her go through and be successful.”
“I think it’s just all too new to her and, you know, she doesn’t expect it to happen for her. When it does happen, she’s just overcome with emotion. I think that she might have got it out of her system a little bit, but as long as she doesn’t cry on stage she’ll be fine. She can cry off stage all she wants!”
What will you be expecting from the hopefuls on the live shows?
“For me, it’s perfection. They’ve got to show how they perform on stage and how they are in front of a live audience. There’s no room for failure. I don’t want to see any messing up on stage, any forgetting the words. That portion of the show is done. How is it possible to forget the words to 'You’re The One That I Want'? Grease is just such a part of the culture – of our generation – that not to know it is just blasphemy.”
You’ve worked with Usher, Beyonce and Britney Spears. How do the finalists compare to superstars like those?
“You know what, I do believe that we have some stars on the show. Definitely. Some have a great look, or great stage presence or a distinctive voice. There are definitely stars – I just think that they need some grooming, which is what they’re getting right now. They’re getting the best training possible.”
How did you get into dancing?
“You know what, my mother actually danced. It’s in my genes but I didn’t start because of my mother dancing. I copied videos – I’d always dance in front of the TV and I wanted to be like Michael Jackson. Eventually I made my mum take me to dance class and I already knew how to do pretty much everything they were doing, just from watching videos. It snapped really quick and I started working in the entertainment industry. Six months later I got my first job and I never stopped.”
“David Gest is…entertaining. He’s extremely entertaining, but you never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. He throws some whammies at you!”
Does David Ian act like the boss all the time?
“He can act like a boss. He wants his opinion to be the only one that matters sometimes – I suppose he is fronting the money for the West End show – but when it comes down to it there’s four judges and he can’t control what we say and who we like.”
And what do you think of Sinitta’s wardrobe?
“Oh, I love Sinitta’s wardrobe! It’s funny because when we would come to the auditions we wouldn’t talk about what we were going to wear at all. I’d get there and I’d be in full Vivienne Westwood and she’d be wearing the same that day. One day I’d come in a little bit more demure in a sweater and white slacks and she’d wear white that day, and we wore pink on the same day too. It’s just funny – we’re in sync when it comes to fashion. My favourite Sinitta outfit has to be the white suit she wore at boot camp – I think she looked gorgeous in white.”
Did you like her bikini and fur coat outfit?
“The bikini was hot! You know what, it looked even more amazing in person. I don’t think the camera captured how good it really was.”
Finally, how do you think Brits compare to Americans in terms of dancing ability?
“In terms of dancing the quality in the UK in general is poor. It’s just, you know, Americans can dance. We just have it. It’s in our blood. Over here it seems like there’s a rhythm chromosome that you’re missing. But, you know, that's not everyone. Some Brits do have rhythm and dance ability – they just weren’t auditioning for this show!”
Grease Is The Word continues on Saturday at 7.30pm on ITV1.
