Two stars in my show? That’s one hot date Radio host Cat’s joy as singers sign up
Radio star Cat Harvey is making the transition to the stage with the help of not one but two reality TV singers.
The Sunday Mail Seven Days magazine columnist always had Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus in mind for her new play Love Me Tinder.
But she’s also landed Glasgowbased singer Joanna Kaczynska, who was in the Polish version of the same show.
Cat, 46, who is pals with Michelle and Joanna, was thrilled when they both agreed to star in her comedy about the trials and tribulations of online dating.
She said: “When they both said yes to the show, I couldn’t not play on the whole Pop Idol coincidence so I wrote a wee gag into the script.
“Joanna plays Polish yoga teacher K l aud i a , who decides she is going to sing Michelle’s Pop Idol hit All This Time at the karaoke, which sends Michelle’s character Nicola into a frenzy as that is her karaoke song.
“I introduced the pair of them a couple of years ago and they had a good natter about their Pop Idol experiences. It’s great to have them both involved in the play.”
Singer-turned-actress Joanna, who has just finished filming The Informer with Clive Owen and Rosamund Pike, made it to the semi-final of the Polish show in 2002 thanks to her rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You.
Joanna said: “It’s funny to think that 17 years later I’m starring in a play a longside Michelle, attempting to sing her song. It’s a hilarious play and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”
Michel le, who took All This Time to No1 in the UK charts, said: “You forget how international the Pop Idol franchise was.
“I think the karaoke gag is bound to get a few laughs.
“C at ha s done a great job with the script. script I did online dating for a while anda she’s got it spot on.” Cat, whose play opens at The Town House in Hamilton on February Febru 19 before moving to Rutherglen Ruthe Town Hall and East Kilbride Kilbr Village Theatre, said becoming becom a playwright was all down to a drunken misunderstanding. misu The Th radio host, who has an MA in theatre studies from Gla Glasgow University, said: “I told singer sing May Miller I had an idea for a play one night when we we were out on the town. “The next week, I got an em a emil from Raymond Anderson, who works with arts venues for South Lanarkshire Council and produces plays, asking if I could send him over my play.
“I explained it was just an idea and I hadn’t written a word. He asked for an eight-paragraph synopsis and a character rundown of my idea, which I wrote on my phone and sent him while sitting in a Morrisons car park in Bishopbriggs.
“He replied straight away and said, ‘ Write the play and get it over to me for December 1.’ I looked at the calendar and realised I had 11 days but thought, ‘ What the heck – let’s do this.’”
Love Me Tinder, which also stars panto favourites Johnny Mac and Liam Dolan, Balamory’s PC Plum Andrew Agnew, May Miller and Cat herself, is based on real-life anecdotes.
Cat, who hosts Bauer’s Sunday Morning show with Ewen Cameron, said: “I’ve never done internet dating but most of my friends have and they’ve had some hilarious successes and disasters.”
Cat, who is single, said she is anxious about how her first attempt at a play will be received.
She added: “I’m so nervous as every word in the play came out of my head. head “It’s a massive step out of my comfort zone but it is another achievement I can tick off my bucket list.”
I had to write a wee gag into the script about Pop Idol