Failing Superstar’s threat to Theatreland

A FEW West End producers I’ve spoken to have been grumbling about the witless Superstar show on ITV. And not the usual sour grapes grumbling either. More a concern that the programme is so awful it could be damaging the West End.

‘It doesn’t make you want to go online and book to see a musical, does it?’ one senior theatre executive told me. ‘You look at it and think: “Jesus Christ, keep me away from this tripe.’’ ’

Another wondered how many people watching the show are being put off going to the theatre ever again.

The ratings have collapsed, and someone closely involved behind-the-scenes told me: ‘I think they all know that they are floating on a pile of s***.’

Superstar has its fans — in fact, one person in my office loves it — but I’m not one of them. There’s something about the tawdriness of these television ‘go find me a nobody’ broadcasts that I feel compelled to expose.

Audiences know Superstar’s a dud, too. They’re switching off in their droves. The opening episode won 3.2 million viewers, about two million lower than the average for its time slot. The lowest audience rating was 2.2 million — on ITV1 folks, this past Tuesday.

Andrew Lloyd Webber had another show, you may recall, on BBC 1 called Over the Rainbow (the BBC got wise) and that began with ratings of 4.27 million.

Superstar runs till next Wednesday and behind the scenes there’s concern that contestant (and The Voice reject) Nathan James might win, which would be a shame because he’s as wooden as the cross he’s carrying.

Good lord. I can imagine that if Jesus Christ were around today and he wandered into the ITV studio he might react as he did when he entered the temple courts and overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those flogging doves.

‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘ my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’

he wouldn’t call this lot robbers, though. I’m not allowed to print what he might have said.

hARVEY Weinstein will introduce Julian Ovenden and Rosalie Craig, stars of the musical Finding Neverland, who will give a preview of one of the show’s songs, In The Blink Of An Eye, at the big new Tank gallery at Tate Modern on Thursday for the Warner Music Group’s pre- Olympic party. Weinstein’s producing Finding Neverland, which will open at the Curve in Leicester in September.