When you collect a bunch of people of all shapes and sizes, and of all persuasions and personalities, you get a bit of a motley crew. And when you get a TV company hell bent on making a programme that they feel must be entertaining and interesting, you get a second motley crew… and just as the one group didn’t always agree with each other neither did the second group. So it was a very eventful battleground or ‘performance area’ as it might be more tactfully called.
We’ve reached Martin and Karl now – the lads. Some people have expressed surprise that Martin had remained so long in the contest -
Karl Mullen - Should he have gone further?
and others have bewailed the fact that Karl was ejected. Both points of view can be justified. What we are dealing with here is the team issue; this was never X-Factor, with individuals coming out and doing their own bit. They did that at auditions in London and by the time we reached the finals, and they had been mentored a bit, they did their individual songs alone. In between, they were in teams, and the way that worked meant that some people managed to progress further than perhaps their talent should have allowed (others having to leave before we saw their real potential).
In putting together 10 people, who would make two teams, it seemed sensible (to the TV company if no one else) to have a mix of ages… a few mature souls to balance the young and eager teens and twenties. The older characters would bring their life skills to ensure that things did not get too steamy or hectic, to be a calming influence, as well as being able to sing songs intended for mature human beings…
If only life were like that. Martin, who on first acquaintance seemed very laid back and good natured, fairly quickly developed into a rather curmudgeonly (grumpy) chap. He seemed to have a very thin skin, and took any comments and remarks to heart… no real team player he. It didn’t help that on two occasions he was teamed with Claudia, who was also not much of a team player. But she did have ambition, and she knew that no one succeeds without some very hard work… and her frustrations with Martin were that he wouldn’t go the extra mile, he should have stayed up all night and all day learning the lyrics for ‘pencil full of lead’ – yes, they are very tricky, and very fast etc… etc… BUT – Ben learned them (as well as his own song) because he also was ambitious and knew it wasn’t going to happen if left to Martin.
Karl’s issue was different. Very pleasant personality, and a favourite with the camera crews. His infectious smile and jokey persona make him the perfect fit for his full time employment as cabin crew. Who wouldn’t feel relaxed and happy travelling with Karl? He is a natural. His back-story was that he had been a much heavier chap a few years ago, and had lost a lot of weight in his quest to get into the entertainment business. Naturally, therefore, he was followed every inch of the way as he trod towards the lido restaurant each day, and as he did his best with the daily warm-up. All jolly good TV .
What became obvious as we got further and further into the programme, and show followed show, was that Karl was a somewhat nervous performer. It’s a difficult persona to have on your team, someone who signals that he doesn’t know where he needs to move next… the smile becomes wider and more fixed, and the voice isn’t quite where it needs to be some of the time. With some training, Karl would improve. He has a good voice and happy nature, which could be used to advantage. We wish him well and when I saw him at the recent TV party he was looking slimmer than eve. Good luck to him!
So now the final: one boy, three girls… that’s a 75% chance of a female winner or one in four for the boy. It’s still all to play for – so, as they said at Waterloo – who lives, will see.
You can follow Mollie Daley on Twitter here. Also remember, if you are interested in being a Showboater yourself then PEEL Talent are auditioning now. Check out the details on their London and Leeds cruise ship auditions page.
