This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Rich Hawkins: She is a total babe.

[0:01] Chris Hall: She is.

[0:02] Rich Hawkins: Oh thank God. She's very professional and very, very nice.

[0:05] Chris Hall: It's Susan Boyle's world, and we're all just living in it.

[0:19] Rich Hawkins: Hi everybody, welcome to I Can Sing episode two. Uh it's been a big week in gay. I think the biggest thing that's happened to gay people this week is probably that I went to see Madonna in Stockholm. Uh you know, big gay news. Uh she's the queen of pop. I do have notes, but I don't think she's wanting to hear them, and the world doesn't need to hear them either. So let's just talk about Mamma Mia instead, the second gayest thing happening right now. Um last week I did not give a little disclaimer, which was this is entirely unofficial. I'm sure that will shock everybody, given the production values of me being sat in a car while we record this. But this is not endorsed by Mamma Mia or Benny and Bjorn or ITV or anybody, um, and I don't have the money for the Benny and Bjorn lawsuit, so don't tell 'em.

Just just leave it be, leave it be. Before we talk about all things ABBA and musical theatre and the ITV TV show, I have to obviously introduce my guest this week. So, comedian, writer, actor, TikTok sensation. I would say arguably the most famous backing singer the world has ever seen. Uh everybody welcome Chris Hall.

[1:28] Chris Hall: Hi, Rich.

[1:29] Rich Hawkins: Hi, Chris.

[1:31] Chris Hall: Hi, how are you?

[1:31] Rich Hawkins: I'm good. How are you?

[1:32] Chris Hall: I'm good.

[1:33] Rich Hawkins: What an intro.

[1:34] Chris Hall: Oh my goodness. Thank you.

[1:36] Rich Hawkins: I'm sure there's a more famous backing singer than me, but who?

[1:40] Chris Hall: Who right now is making waves in backing singing like you are?

[1:44] Chris Hall: Well, historically there must be someone.

[1:48] Rich Hawkins: Okay, sure.

[1:49] Chris Hall: Like other people have maybe stepped forward.

[1:50] Rich Hawkins: But right now, in terms of pretend backing singing, you're running the game.

[1:55] Chris Hall: So I think own that. Own your life.

[1:57] Rich Hawkins: Thank you. Um you're here to talk to me about Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream. Which means we need to establish your relationship with musical theatre and your relationship with reality TV.

[2:11] Chris Hall: Musical theatre. You're you're a stage performer, right?

[2:14] Chris Hall: So yes, yeah, trained in musical theatre.

[2:17] Rich Hawkins: What is when did that all start? Where did you go? What have you been in? Talk to me about it.

[2:23] Chris Hall: Um I started dancing when I was maybe about three or four, um, and then uh stopped for a little bit, took it more seriously when I was about fourteen, um, and then I went to Lane Theatre Arts when I was uh 18. Um graduated in here, graduated in uh 2012, um, which is a very long time ago now. Uh and um have had some really fun um experiences. Uh I went to I've done uh a bunch of pantos and I'll choreograph um Panto Company that I've worked for for like uh 10 years now. Um a few couple of cruise ships, a couple of like tours of like a little little shows around the country. Um I've been in Mamma Mia on Royal Caribbean, which uh was one of the best things I've ever done.

[3:13] Chris Hall: And I've done um Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was super fun. Um and then recently a bit more choreography, so I choreograph yeah for Panto and Um for a cruise ship and a choreograph uh Jane McDonald's her backing singers. And and um Jay McDonald's like TV last TV show that she sang on Jane and Friends and not not on the holidays, they don't get taken on them. Um and then all her like tours and her Christmas arena over the last couple years.

[3:47] Rich Hawkins: Shut up. Oh my god, I've got so many questions.

[3:49] Chris Hall: Okay.

[3:51] Rich Hawkins: Where do I go? I'm gonna go Jane first.

[3:54] Chris Hall: So you're choreographing Jane's backing singers and dancers.

[3:57] Chris Hall: Yeah, she's dancers.

[3:59] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[3:59] Chris Hall: She's got three um like three singer dancers that she goes on tour with and everything, so I choreograph them.

[4:07] Chris Hall: And then I give Jane um a bit of choreo, but she has much more to think about that she knows she's got those big songs to sing, so she doesn't need much choreography.

[4:15] Rich Hawkins: She's got Shirley Bassey songs to cover, like she's busy.

[4:17] Chris Hall: Exactly. We don't need to be clouding her brain.

[4:19] Rich Hawkins: Is that where is that where your TikTok thing of doing backing singers? Is that where that comes from?

[4:23] Chris Hall: Um so yes and no. Um I literally I mean, I have so much fun with um with the girls, and then the the first background singer video came. Me and my little sister were redoing she my little sister moved in with me and we were like painting a bedroom and it was about 1am and we were listening to Moona and it had uh stay away, the song has that weird background bit in it that goes like stay away, you stay, stay.

[4:49] Chris Hall: Yeah, yeah. Um and I just thought like it just came at literally about half half one in the morning when we were like probably high on paint fumes, you know, painting the room. Um I was like, oh that'd be really funny, like if we were like the background, you know, if that was actually sung by someone, you know, live, and I was like, oh let's do it. So we literally just choreographed it and you know, recorded it at whatever time in the morning. There's like a half-painted wall.

[5:14] Rich Hawkins: Um so it just came from there, but then since then obviously now we have to be now we have to be churning them out, and I um I uh I do uh I am prepared as you might say with all my like background singer, you know, hands and stuff, because that's what I give all the girls uh for Joe McDonald, yeah.

[5:31] Rich Hawkins: Oh my god, I love that. Um is Jane McDonald a total babe? If she's not I wanna hear it.

[5:35] Chris Hall: She is a total babe, she is.

[5:39] Rich Hawkins: Oh thank God. She's very professional and very, very nice.

[5:44] Chris Hall: I believe that. I um she's someone that you will you like will to be nice, do you know what I mean?

[5:49] Rich Hawkins: Like I I couldn't I couldn't live in a world where Jane McDonald wasn't nice, you know?

[5:54] Chris Hall: No, no. That would be that that would be the end of days.

[5:57] Rich Hawkins: And then okay, let's talk about musical theatre. What are your what are your favourite shows? What what have you seen? What's good?

[6:05] Chris Hall: Oh um I'm the biggest Six super fan.

[6:09] Rich Hawkins: Oh yeah.

[6:11] Chris Hall: I absolutely adore it.

[6:14] Rich Hawkins: I've seen it, I think I've seen it five times.

[6:17] Chris Hall: It might be four, but it might be five. Um I think it's just I think it's just the best thing ever. Um I love Legally Blonde. I think that is a perfect musical.

[6:30] Chris Hall: See that. I think it's perfect. And every ev every like kind of not every jukebox, but every film that gets made into a musical and every every contemporary poppy musical, I always compare to Legally Blonde, because I think Legally Blonde is the best.

[6:46] Chris Hall: Like story, delivery, memorable songs, um you know exactly who the the goodies and the baddies are. Um and I always compare um shows to Legally Blonde. Someone's like, well, it was good, but like compared to Legally Blonde, you know, it's da da da. Or I'll be like, oh, it's good, it's as good as Legally Blonde.

[7:10] Rich Hawkins: I like the idea that like you're at like the Globe or something, being like, listen, Shakespeare's done his thing, but like it's not Legally Blonde, is it?

[7:16] Chris Hall: You know?

[7:17] Chris Hall: Yeah, see the heroine the heroine didn't have the likeability of Elle Woods. The problem I have with Legally Blonde is you know that YouTube video and it's like um Amdram performances. Have you seen this?

[7:28] Chris Hall: Like Courtney Take Your Break.

[7:30] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, you're like it's slightly ruined Legally Blonde because now whenever I hear a Legally Blonde song or whatever, I just think about like Courtney Take Your Break, and it's clouded my memory of seeing Sheridan Smith play that role, you know.

[7:43] Chris Hall: Great show though.

[7:45] Rich Hawkins: Oh yeah. Wasn't she fab.

[7:47] Chris Hall: Oh, wasn't she? I love Sheridan Smith. What a camp icon. And then I love Fame.

[7:53] Chris Hall: I think that's fame's amazing. I'm trying to think of like a serious one that I like, but I don't like any serious ones, so don't worry about it.

[8:01] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, just the fun ones.

[8:03] Chris Hall: Um but yeah, no, big musical, big musical fan. Um, did you used to watch those BBC shows with Angelo Weber trying to find a Dorothy or a Nancy or whatever?

[8:13] Chris Hall: One thousand percent.

[8:16] Rich Hawkins: Are you joking? Did I used to watch them? My favourites never won, but that's fine.

[8:22] Chris Hall: They never win. Um, but no no disrespect to the winners, but my favourites never won.

[8:28] Rich Hawkins: But no, absolutely love them. And particularly I think it was Nancy and Dorothy was when I was at college. So like we were quite like we were like in it.

[8:38] Chris Hall: Um in in in my musical moment. And um, yeah, it was definitely Dorothy and I think Nancy. I think Dorothy's the Dorothy is the the pinnacle of those shows for me.

[8:52] Chris Hall: I think that that was where it really peaked. Like just ev i it brought together all the all the great elements and then amped them up in a ridiculous way and I loved it.

[9:01] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[9:02] Chris Hall: Cause I think with like Maria, we weren't expect we didn't know what to expect. And then like that when they did so long farewell, I think we were like, what is going on? Whereas by Dorothy we were like, oh my god, how are they gonna like how they're gonna kick her off into the moon?

[9:17] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[9:18] Chris Hall: Whereas we were like ready for it, like, yeah.

[9:21] Chris Hall: Oh my god, I just loved I just loved how dramatic um the end of Nancy was. The end of Nancy, as long as he nays at the top of the stairs was incredible.

[9:38] Rich Hawkins: And Rachel Tucker.

[9:41] Chris Hall: Absolute star.

[9:42] Rich Hawkins: Was that your winner?

[9:43] Chris Hall: Absolute star. She was my winner, but she came fourth. But then, you know, obviously Broadway. She's fine.

[9:48] Rich Hawkins: She's absolutely fine.

[9:50] Chris Hall: I was actually um team Jody, to be honest.

[9:53] Rich Hawkins: She's the only winner who I was backing.

[9:56] Chris Hall: She was a fab winner. Fab winner.

[9:58] Chris Hall: Sh she's a real hun. I've I've I've always responded that to that, even at a younger age, and yeah, she was my hun.

[10:06] Chris Hall: On reflection though, like Jessie Buckley was on that show. What is what in what world am I not backing her?

[10:12] Rich Hawkins: Like, but I wasn't.

[10:13] Chris Hall: I know, but there was something so like Jet there was there was something so warm and so so so likable about Jodie.

[10:20] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, that was lovable about Jodie.

[10:33] Chris Hall: And then like with the Dorothy's, I was less I I kinda loved all of them. I didn't I wasn't as loyal to any one person in the Dorothy's, from what I can remember.

[10:40] Rich Hawkins: I had Jessica on last week, so I should say Jessica, because she's fabulous.

[10:45] Chris Hall: Yeah, she was fab. I love her. I loved her because she's from Middlesbrough, isn't she? That's where my mum's from.

[10:49] Rich Hawkins: So I um Yeah.

[10:52] Chris Hall: Yeah, so I uh I liked her.

[10:54] Rich Hawkins: But I liked Lauren Samuels.

[10:56] Chris Hall: Okay, yeah, I see that. I thought her voice was um I thought her voice was next level.

[11:02] Chris Hall: Um but then I feel like with Danielle, you're like, oh, she's gonna win. She was the most Dorothy of the Dorothy.

[11:08] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, you're just like, oh that's who they're gonna win.

[11:11] Chris Hall: Well they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna try and steer us into voting.

[11:16] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[11:16] Chris Hall: Because isn't the rumour that actually no, I won't say that's a bit mean.

[11:19] Rich Hawkins: Um so tell me and just kind of just tell me and then edit it out.

[11:25] Chris Hall: Well no, I was just all I was gonna say was isn't the rumour that um they didn't look Angela Weber didn't want Jodie to win Nancy and then was really angry when she did, but like that's the problem with giving it to the public, right?

[11:40] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[11:41] Chris Hall: Because I think they were really um they would really wanted Jesse or Sam Barr.

[11:44] Rich Hawkins: Which I mean to make sense, but uh But then but then I thought I remember watching at the time and being like, I think Jodie's the the right pick, but yeah, it was the pub I feel I f I de I think that was definitely the vibe.

[11:57] Chris Hall: And then but then I think Connie and Lee Mead and Danielle They were the ones they were all like tick, thanks for voting for that. Hello, and hand picks these people, thanks for voting for them. Bye.

[12:07] Rich Hawkins: It was very that.

[12:09] Chris Hall: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[12:10] Rich Hawkins: Um shall we talk about Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream? How are you finding it? We're on episode two.

[12:15] Chris Hall: Um I do miss the original, the old format. Like I do miss the kind of live like the more live aspect of it. Um but I do but I am enjoying the fact that it's in um you know in on location.

[12:32] Chris Hall: Um I love the judges. I think it's one of the best judging panels I've like I've seen in a long time. Sam Barks, I feel is taking it really serious.

[12:38] Chris Hall: I love that Sam Barks is taking it like she's just like and actually they all are taking it seriously because I think even Alan Carr is, but I just love that like Jessie Ware just like I think she's just having the best time and she just keeps like jamming along to everyone and she's like she's just like oh yeah she's fab and uh and then I think Samantha Barks is like, does she have the potential? Does she have the voice just to say in eight shows a week? And Jessie's like, who cares? She sang a great song.

[13:05] Rich Hawkins: Your self.

[13:07] Chris Hall: Yes, that it's so that it is so that I feel like it's divide it's divided. Like Sam and Amber are giving them like rigorous coaching and like thinking about like oh well your voice is amazing, but you're not hitting the I can't I don't know anything about vocals, so like you're not hitting some part of your voice or whatever.

[13:25] Chris Hall: And then Alan and Jessie are just on the side, like maybe having a glass of red, just like yeah, listening to what's your pleasure, having a vibe.

[13:31] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, that's it. I feel they're just like great, that's just bad.

[13:35] Chris Hall: Yeah, it's true. Um, but no, and they just yeah, but I think they're such a great I think they've got great chemistry, the judges, and I just love actually all of them. So it's just like because you sometimes I'm like, oh, with the judging panel, but no, love them.

[13:47] Rich Hawkins: I do too. I think it's really strong, strong judging panel. I do find it a bit weird that there's the judging panel and then there's like Judy and those those two men.

[13:56] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, the fact that the Mamma Mia creators are like on a side table, or like Judy Kramer, and then like okay, so they're maybe probably making the actual decision.

[14:04] Chris Hall: But um because it when they're when they're doing the deliberation tonight, and then like Judy Kramer like walked up to the judging desk and she was like, Yeah, actually, can I just Can I just quickly check that we're not gonna kick out the one we want?

[14:17] Rich Hawkins: Can I before you before you say anything, can I just give my interjection?

[14:21] Chris Hall: It's very that. She is very sort of like, no, yeah, you make choices, but like make the right ones, or we're gonna have a problem.

[14:28] Rich Hawkins: Exactly. She seems very uh a very powerful lady.

[14:32] Chris Hall: Um so this week they opened with a group performance, Dancing Queen in the middle of the cafe.

[14:37] Rich Hawkins: Mm-hmm.

[14:38] Chris Hall: My immediate takeaway was how massively annoying that must be for the patrons of that cafe.

[14:46] Rich Hawkins: That poor cafe, just to have fourteen singers, and then they have about ten dancers behind them as well.

[14:54] Chris Hall: Um yeah, honestly, you're just trying to enjoy your morning coffee.

[14:57] Rich Hawkins: Aren't you? Just a little bit of calamari, some like little picky bits from Greece, and then here they all are singing an ABBA song, jumping on your table.

[15:05] Chris Hall: And when they all crowded, they all crowded around that table.

[15:07] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, with that old man on it.

[15:09] Chris Hall: Or that one man. Like, has anyone briefed him or is this a surprise? Because I feel like this man looks like he's of a maturer age.

[15:17] Rich Hawkins: I hope we've warned him this is gonna happen.

[15:19] Chris Hall: Absolutely, yeah. I thought it was really good though. I um I was worried going into this TV show that they weren't gonna embrace the absurdity of Mamma Mia, because Mamma Mia is absurd, like the way that that show shoehorns songs in, the way the story really makes no sense, um, and the fact that it's ABBA.

[15:36] Rich Hawkins: It's absurd, which is why it's amazing.

[15:38] Chris Hall: Excuse me.

[15:39] Rich Hawkins: You wash your mouth out with soap.

[15:41] Chris Hall: No, I love it. I love Mamma Mia because of all of those things.

[15:45] Rich Hawkins: You just you just watch what you say, alright.

[15:49] Chris Hall: No, honestly, it is one of my favourite, it's my favourite film, and it's one of my favourite musicals, but like there are moments where they're like, Oh, I really wish I could afford to do up the hotel. If only I had some money, money like it's very that, it's very shoehorn.

[16:04] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[16:04] Chris Hall: And I like and so I like that these group performances are embracing that level of stupid.

[16:10] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, no, definitely, I agree. And it is it is a silly like it is like musical theatre is in itself like cheesy and nah.

[16:19] Chris Hall: Like it like that's just so like just do it. Just do the dancing routine around in a cafe, you know, scare the old man, just just kill the Greek uh elderly men and have a good time.

[16:33] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, very late.

[16:34] Chris Hall: Yeah.

[16:34] Rich Hawkins: Um and then we get told that it's Sophie week, not Sky Week.

[16:38] Chris Hall: Thank God, because honestly, I find boys so boring. I'm like, I don't want to see boys singing. I just don't enjoy seeing boys sing nearly as much as I like seeing girls perform.

[16:49] Rich Hawkins: And also with um Thank goodness it thank goodness we have Sophie Week to talk about. And also with with a mama mia as well. Like I know they're technically two leads, but like Sky's really not in Mamma Mia that much.

[17:00] Chris Hall: Sky's not a part. He's not he he's in maybe four scenes. When I w my friend who was Sky, like we'd be like on and off stage, and then like my friend who was Sophie, like it's exhausting.

[17:12] Rich Hawkins: It's she it's such a long show for for Sophie and the Donna. And like my my friend who was Sky would be on his phone in the in like backstage, and then like we'd all be doing numbers and like on and off, and then he'd come like dressed up for the finale, and we'd still have like about another 20 minutes or something, and he'd be like, Hey, how's it going? And we're like, Yeah, we're actually just doing a show, but like you just relax.

[17:33] Chris Hall: It's exactly what it is though. He's just not in it at all.

[17:35] Rich Hawkins: Does he have any songs?

[17:38] Chris Hall: He's just not a part.

[17:39] Rich Hawkins: No.

[17:40] Chris Hall: He does half of me just me.

[17:42] Rich Hawkins: He's just not a part.

[17:43] Chris Hall: Um he uh he does Mail Your Love on Me.

[17:49] Rich Hawkins: It's quite a rigorous audition process then for those boys for what is quite a small part, actually.

[17:54] Chris Hall: It would have been so fun if they'd done Find a Sophie and find And a Donna!

[18:00] Rich Hawkins: A donna.

[18:01] Chris Hall: That would have been so great. Why didn't they do that?

[18:04] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[18:05] Chris Hall: I would have loved that. Although I think I'd have been sad because the donors would have been my age and I would be stressed by that.

[18:12] Rich Hawkins: You know, like remember the X Factor overs and they were 27 or over, and now you're like, now I'm solidly mid-30s.

[18:17] Chris Hall: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look at these old decrepit contestants. I think I'd be looking at the donors like, why is she a year younger than me? What's what's happening here?

[18:25] Rich Hawkins: Um okay, so it's Sophie Week, lovely, absolutely thrilled. We get a message from Amanda Seafried, which I love that the I hadn't really thought about the fact that the film actors might pop up in this show.

[18:39] Chris Hall: I'm thrilled.

[18:40] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, it's kind it's kind of but it's I'm a little bit confused, not confused, but I mean, obviously, maybe I'm coming from it with a musical theatre head. They are leaning into the film moviness of it quite a lot, and it's not for a movie role.

[18:58] Chris Hall: So I'm I'm a bit like I've I'm obviously literally love please Amanda Say something.

[19:03] Rich Hawkins: Um, but it's not so that and like when they did the acting challenge like on screen, it was a bit like I don't we're not that's not what the end result is gonna be.

[19:15] Chris Hall: Like screen acting is different to stage acting.

[19:18] Rich Hawkins: That is true.

[19:18] Chris Hall: So that is um yeah So I find but then I know that I know that the film obviously accesses so many such a huge audience than the show, you know, can so or does, so I understand why they're you know doing that but what what was good about the old the format is that it was all theatre theatre theatre and they went they went to the theatre in London and they you know had you know Denise Van Outen come in and they had like you know they had like theatre people come in whereas like having so much um leaning on the film it's a little bit of a contradiction for me but I am a geek for me in these realms of TV shows.

[20:02] Rich Hawkins: I I do agree with you except if they bring Piers Brosnan in to do a vocal workshop I'm in.

[20:08] Chris Hall: You know what I mean? Like I'm suddenly back I'm suddenly back.

[20:12] Rich Hawkins: Oh my god bring Christina uh Baranski Christie Borenski and bring her bring Cher I'd quite like Colin first he's fun like I I would like all of these things yeah it's totally also rumour has it that well it's not really a rumour I know it's true that um the Sophie in the sky who are currently a Mamma Mia do a workshop and the donor who's gonna be their donor also goes over and does a workshop.

[20:36] Chris Hall: So I think we have got people from the show coming.

[20:37] Rich Hawkins: Oh great so yeah I think there's theatre coming but I do see what you mean but I guess it brings in a you're right a broader public audience and we have to play to the the masses.

[20:45] Chris Hall: Yeah and then and they are doing it on yeah oh that was it like um Zoe was like oh they're doing a workshop recreating you know one of the most iconic scenes in the film and I was like oh but we're not we're not making the film that we're not gonna recreate the film, but yeah, we're not making a film, but that is just me being a man.

[21:06] Rich Hawkins: I like the um I like the purity that you're bringing to Mamma Mia I Have a Dream on ITV. Like I think that's that's I this is you kick I literally was thinking the other day, I was like, I am gonna be so I don't know if Rich is prepared for like how impassioned I'm gonna be about this.

[21:25] Chris Hall: Um I feel like I'm at the only thing I had to write them down about Amanda is she doesn't really say anything. She's like, good luck. Be so fleet. She just doesn't really say anything, and she's she's definitely like, you know, just by some wall in their house, yeah, by a wall in the house.

[21:41] Rich Hawkins: Amanda, please, we need to see the 30-second video.

[21:44] Chris Hall: Um but I mean I can't really come for her on that because I'm sat in a car talking to you right now, so I feel like I can't really heck we're we're getting it done.

[21:53] Rich Hawkins: The content is getting done.

[21:54] Chris Hall: Content is being made one way or the other.

[21:56] Rich Hawkins: Um, okay, so let's talk about that immersive workshop, as they call it, where they have to act out a scene.

[22:01] Chris Hall: So yeah, they're doing the dot dot dot scene, which is in the movie, and it's also in the musical, but in a slightly different format. They're not on a ro they're not sat on a rock.

[22:08] Rich Hawkins: Yes. It's definitely in the musical.

[22:10] Chris Hall: Uh Samantha and Amber are putting in the legwork and playing the two friends again while Jesse and Alan do nothing.

[22:18] Rich Hawkins: Just yeah, sit and have a sit and have a tea.

[22:20] Chris Hall: That is so wild though, to be doing it with Sam and Amber. So intimidating to be like, these are the people two of the people who are, at least in theory, deciding who goes home, and yet I've got to act with them.

[22:32] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, and just superstars. Like, I think if I was just sat next to Amber Riley, I'd be like, hey. I'd be like, can you just sing sing dream girls to me? That's all I want. Like, I don't I don't know what to do with this.

[22:42] Chris Hall: Yeah. Yeah. It's this is a really odd segment, I think, because it's quite short, but as we find out later, it's massively impactful as to who they decide goes home.

[22:53] Rich Hawkins: So we don't see a lot of like we don't see any of the how long like the preparation, they don't get we don't see like their the process or any it's just kind of jump in we get 10 seconds of each of them and then as we as we find out it kind of seals somebody's fate so it felt like I don't know a lot um mixed mixed bag of acting uh I would say mixed bag of acting and I think a pretty high ask to just be just do to do it with Sam and Amber like I feel they could have you know done it in groups of three um with each other or something I feel that just would have gotten because I feel also Sam and Amber like and that's not it's not a a bad thing you know they just sort they they were acting but like it wasn't super high energy I don't think I don't think energy was bouncing off the three of them I think obviously Sam and Amber were like kind of observing one person act really um and I think if if they'd had yeah I think it would have been a bit um uh more enjoyable for the contestants to do it with each other maybe but yeah I see that you know okay we're just doing the unofficial recap podcast what do we listen nobody asked me no one so I'm just nobody asked me and certainly nobody asked me so the fuck do we know um yeah but yeah they were good I thought um I thought Maisie was great yes and I thought Esme was great I thought Esme was really good as me was big it was a big performance but it's musical theatre so that's okay but it was it was a lot musical theatre the people who paid £30 pounds at the back of the balcony are gonna need to see that.

[24:36] Rich Hawkins: Express as name.

[24:37] Chris Hall: Play to the backs that is true.

[24:40] Rich Hawkins: They were oh I the the only one the only one really that I thought, well no, two really struggled. Does Mondra struggled with delivery, like it was quite flat, and then Maddy just didn't know the lines.

[24:53] Chris Hall: And that was sad, but she didn't.

[24:54] Rich Hawkins: No.

[24:55] Chris Hall: And I don't yeah.

[24:57] Rich Hawkins: I don't I wonder though, in the edit, because they edit her saying line a lot, or basically for every single line. Like, did she actually and maybe a lot of them said line.

[25:06] Chris Hall: You wonder, don't you? I mean I I'm listening I'm not accusing reality TV producers of uh manufacturing storyline, just to be clear about that.

[25:15] Rich Hawkins: None of this, none of yeah, Rich, none of this is real.

[25:19] Chris Hawkins: Everything has been produced.

[25:20] Rich Hawkins: Everything is edited.

[25:22] Chris Hall: Interesting.

[25:22] Rich Hawkins: It's not live.

[25:23] Chris Hall: Huh, interesting.

[25:24] Rich Hawkins: But but then also Jessie, my my queen did say, I've never seen someone on a West End stage ask for a line.

[25:32] Chris Hall: And I was like, of course not. Like, she's literally just gotten this script. When you get when you get sides in a rehearsal in an audition, you get given sides and they say, Can you go outside, learn these and come back in in ten minutes? Like it's it's actually like it's horrible.

[25:47] Chris Hawkins: So you're like trembling, you're like trying to look down, you're trying to like learn know the lines, you're trying to like act, like it's so stressful, and like obviously by the time we have done rehearsals and I'm on the West End stage, I won't say line. So I was like, Jesse, Jesse, that was a silly comment.

[26:04] Rich Hawkins: I adore you.

[26:05] Chris Hall: Yeah.

[26:06] Rich Hawkins: But that was a really annoying comment that you made because obviously Maddie wouldn't say line when she's and also it's not really a it's not that indicative of how good she is at the acting side of being in a musical show because as you say, like you'd get longer to learn.

[26:20] Chris Hall: Totally. It's more the delivery is more important. And I won't be acting Amber Riley and Sam at the barbs on TV.

[26:26] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But uh but whatever. But like, you know, but um I suppose I need storyline, so fair yeah, and Desmond uh struggled. She did struggle, and I I don't know if I'm gonna have to be surprised by that because I don't think this is mean, but she's not like of all of all of them, she's probably the most like low-key personality. She seems great, but like she's not the loudest one in the room.

[26:46] Chris Hall: So in a in a more stressful situation where you're like, hey, do you want to go and sit next to two West End leading ladies and act with everyone staring at you in a load of cameras? Like she probably is gonna be the one that's more like a bit flat because that's really intense.

[27:01] Rich Hawkins: Totally. You know, I felt for her.

[27:04] Chris Hall: Yeah. It's just that's such an intimidating situation.

[27:07] Rich Hawkins: Yeah. Very good. Good or generally good, but interesting choice. Obviously, Leah, Leah crushes it because she's a queen and I love her.

[27:15] Chris Hall: Leah.

[27:16] Rich Hawkins: You love Leah.

[27:17] Chris Hall: Leah's great.

[27:19] Rich Hawkins: She does very well.

[27:20] Chris Hall: Yeah, she was really, really good. Then we move into the performances, and we're doing solos, which thank God, because I'm I've been gagging for a solo performance from this show.

[27:30] Rich Hawkins: And we're doing pop songs for the most part, which again, my my favourite favourite thing in the world is singing a pop song in the style of musical theatre.

[27:38] Chris Hall: Like nothing makes me happier.

[27:39] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, it's really, really, really special. I think people who've been on these shows say it's actually very triggering and quite stressful to do, and they don't like it, but I love it, so I I thank them for their service.

[27:51] Rich Hawkins: Oh, we love it, guys. Thank you so much. Um, if you were gonna do your first solo performance on Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, what song are you coming out the gate with?

[28:00] Chris Hall: Something I like to sing is "World of Our Own" by Wesley. Okay. That's one of my audition songs because it's just like, trying to hear it. Um, it's just like up the we got a little word of it. That's how you think. It's just a crowd pleaser, crowd pleaser. I also used to sing "Teenage Dream," but in the Glee format. You think you so that's like got a good beat. I'm not a serious performer as I'm sure you could probably grasp. So like I would be so uncomfortable doing like something sad or like, um, like lovely. So poppy, upbeat, smiley. I think is what you get from me. The thing about the first, well, the British public generally respond to ballads. Like if we look back at like X Factor or whatever, like they love when someone does "Purple Rain," but in a very dramatic way.

[28:59] Rich Hawkins: I love it. Yeah, but have we been fed that? Have we been told by the producers that we like "Purple Rain" and "My Heart Will Go On" and all this stuff?

[29:13] Chris Hall: I do love those songs to be fair. But that's just, well, we do. I know what you mean. And actually, I'll stop finding the curtain, but I'll stop going behind the curtain. So drag the note, absolutely not drag those producers. No, um, you're right though, because if I look back, I always rooted for the ones who did the upbeat numbers. Like no one was coming for, no one was standing me should be like I was, and she was always doing big performances. Absolute icon. And she didn't do ballads for the most part, so yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe we've been told that we want the Celine Dion covers.

[29:48] Rich Hawkins: A ballad equals winner, yeah, yeah. Um, talking of ballads, we start with Desmondda. She has a beautiful voice.

[29:54] Chris Hall: Oh my god, what a voice. Absolutely incredible. Yeah. She does "I'll Never Love Again," and also her story of she wants to be the first Indonesian woman to be a West End leading lady. Go and do it, Desmondda. Please don't do that. That's amazing. Please.

[30:12] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, that is such an amazing story, and um, it's uh, terrible that it's taken so long. Um, and um, it's yeah, super inspirational story, and her voice was next level. It was just perfect. It's the sort of voice that you can see. I can see the sort of roles that she'll probably end up doing in West End shows. Like I can see her doing like, I can see her being like a Vita or someone who does like big things.

[30:45] Chris Hall: Yeah, she's, yeah, yeah, "Les Mis" um amazing song. I love that she serenades a homosexual man during it because I know the lyrical solo was beautiful, it's spectacular dancer as well. Um, but if you're gonna sing a Gaga song on a Greek island for Mamma Mia, you probably are gonna sing it out of gay people, aren't you? So I make okay, maybe it's the right choice.

[31:06] Rich Hawkins: I think so, yeah. Um, yeah, her singing's amazing. The judges have literally no notes. Uh, they just don't say anything, they're just like, it's really good, we love it, well done.

[31:16] Chris Hall: Do you think the judges have been told because we're in a new world of reality TV and whatever? Do you think the positivity is the brief?

[31:26] Rich Hawkins: As opposed to, um, like X Factor?

[31:30] Chris Hall: Yeah, I feel like if you look back at the old, uh, the like Find Me of Dorothy, like they were brutal to them. And I don't want to go back there, but like some of them, um, were um so mean. I can definitely see, uh, that yeah, in where we are culturally and, um, uh, as society has moved on, just seeing someone get completely ripped to shreds on TV is like not really what we're here for. Um, and definitely, I guess hopefully taking into account, you know, their age and you know, their experience and who they are, the contestants.

[32:06] Rich Hawkins: Um, I also think that the judges don't, and this might be—

[32:06] Chris Hall: Oh, I sense something good's about to come out of your mouth.

[32:15] Rich Hawkins: This might be an observation. I don't think these judges have m—I don't get the sense that they have a big ego. And I think it's nice because you hear such, uh, you know, it's a tough business, and there is a version of this show where one of the judges maybe is more of a like a West End um, like legend or whatever, who had to work very hard and go through some awful things, who then carries a bit of like, well, I had to deal with it, so you do. So I think it's nice that they are like, they're a bit older, they're all in their like 30s, and they're rooting for them.

[32:47] Chris Hall: Yeah. And that old school kind of this is how it was done, isn't it, that we've moved on from that, or we're definitely transitioning out of that of the old school way of like, you know, I'll like in ballet, like I'll like have a ruler and smack your knees.

[33:08] Rich Hawkins: Yeah. Because that's how we did it in the fifties.

[33:10] Chris Hall: Like we did the bit back in the nineties and the early aughts and now we're not doing that. We don't think. I mean, not that was like a random example. Um, but yeah. Um, yeah, but they have literally got no notes for her, which is fair because it was amazing. Um, then we have Stephanie.

[33:25] Chris Hall: Uh, she sings "Flashdance." I have to start this conversation by telling you that I hate this song. I—it does something to me, and I don't know why, because I should. It's all the ingredients of things I should love, but it doesn't. Something about it, just no.

[33:44] Rich Hawkins: Um, what are your thoughts on "Flashdance"?

[33:47] Chris Hall: Um, I thought it was um good, good, like very good. I feel, um, whereas Desmondda, I think is 20, she said, but she performed above her years. Like, you know, she—the performance was, I thought, incredibly like mature. I feel you could tell that Stephanie was 20—2022, which she is, so that's fine. But I feel in contrast, you were like, oh, okay, this is just a different um energy. Um, and I actually loved Stephanie last week.

[34:17] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[34:18] Chris Hall: I thought she was amazing last week, and I liked her in the acting, and then I just thought this wasn't as knockout as she had been. I again I think the song is fine. I feel like it's tough to do "I'll Never Love Again," and then try and compare that to someone singing "Flashdance." Like if they were all—if they all did upbeat pop songs, you'd be able to read like that was the best one. But like when you get like different styles of songs and stuff, it's like it is a bit tricky. And I think that's why what I was saying earlier with like where the British public generally responds to ballads, is because we can sort of recognise the talent in a voice. Like when you hear Desmondda sing a ballad, you can hear like I don't know anything about vocal training and vocal technique, but I can hear it's amazing.

Whereas like probably what Stephanie did, well, definitely what Stephanie did, she's very talented, but like we don't know as an audience like how to recognise great dancing, how hard that is singing and choreography stuff, and we don't know.

[35:11] Rich Hawkins: Dancing and singing at the same time.

[35:12] Chris Hall: Breath control and all that stuff. Like we don't know about that. So it's easier to be like, oh, she sings like Lady Gaga, amazing. Um, so I think that was a hard song. Whereas Stephanie's, yeah, she sang and danced, and the vocal was great, brilliant. So that's—and that's really, really hard to do at the same time, but exactly, you don't—it doesn't pull on the heartstrings the way Lady Gaga does. And then again, the judges have no notes. They're like, it's great, it's great.

[35:37] Rich Hawkins: I feel like they're a bit more tentative with their it's great, but that was a—they don't say that, but I read between the lines, like they're not as enthused, maybe.

[35:43] Chris Hall: No, and I think it wasn't as—it wasn't—you didn't get a knockout, you didn't get a real sense of who um she is or or get, yeah, but then she's—but then that's fine.

[35:56] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[35:57] Chris Hall: It will go, I agree. I think she did enough to like definitely survive. Um, then we have Leah.

[36:03] Rich Hawkins: My favourite thing about Leah's VT is that she's like, oh, I've never even been to London. I'm like, you're auditioning to be a West End lead and you've never been to London. I love that.

[36:10] Chris Hall: I know, I love her so much.

[36:13] Rich Hawkins: Yeah. Um, and then she talks about something, and I wondered if she's ever was gonna talk about this because she has no obligation to, but she talks about being plus-sized in this space and in this industry and worrying that like, uh, that that will hold her back, which is interesting because they're of the seven Sophies, a lot of them, most of them don't look like the Sophie that the general public have in their head. Like we think of Amanda Seyfried and most of them look different to that. So it'll be interesting to see, uh, it would have been interesting to see it had it been a public vote, but I guess coming down to the final when it is a public vote, like can people see somebody else doing Sophie? Because there's no reason that Leah can't be Sophie. Um, but it is a conundrum when the shows are casting characters that we already have in our minds.

[37:11] Chris Hall: Absolutely, and um, I—it, yeah, there is a very, very slow grinding change happening in musical theatre where different people who look different are being cast in, um, you know, roles that they haven't been historically, which is so amazing to see.

[37:28] Rich Hawkins: I feel it's a very, very slow, slow process. Um, and it's also what's tricky with musicals, and it doesn't have to be so tricky, is that um, casting people want to slot new cast members into quite rigid jigsaw pieces. Um, you know, people walk into an audition and you go, oh, so and so's leaving, and that person looks like them. I wonder if they can sing. Brilliant, they'll fit in their costumes and they'll just slot in, and we don't have to have this whole upheaval. What would be lovely is that Mamma Mia has been going for, you know, 20 years, they say 20 years or longer. Um, and it has been very, very, very—it has looked the same in every way, but particularly a lot of the cast have all looked the same for the entirety of the show's life, and it would be such an amazing statement, and it would be so fresh and so exciting to think outside, think differently when you get cast.

[38:36] Chris Hall: Um, so fingers—

[38:39] Rich Hawkins: I think that is really, yeah, you're right, like it is a very slow, um, slow moving thing, particularly in the West End or theatre generally, like it seems maybe slower than in film and TV, where like it's not that long ago if Leah wanted to be in the West End, if Hairspray wasn't on, she's not in it. If Desmondda wants to be in the West End, if Miss Saigon is not on, she's not in it. Like that's—that is very a thing that a lot of people, um, a lot of Western actors have talked about. Like, I am—I can only play a very small thing because people won't see me elsewhere. So it's great that shows like this are trying to, I guess, push forward the notion that like no, everyone can play everything, like just think about it differently.

[39:14] Chris Hall: I like that a lot. I really, really hope that there is um a fresh, you know, opportunity at the end of this show.

[39:23] Rich Hawkins: Me too. So we're gonna lobby footnote. Um, honestly though, I love her.

[39:31] Chris Hall: But then also her voice is cracking, and her acting career is—

[39:38] Rich Hawkins: And she's a really cool, like she's a cool find for one of these shows. Like, she's uh fresh, she's brand new. Love her tattoos. She's interesting and different to—and like Sophie would have—Sophie would have tattoos, like she's, you know, this island Greek girl, you know, girl, you know, she goes off traveling at the end, she's like quite a free spirit. She would have like tattoos and she would be, you know, edgy as that. Like her mum is Donna, who's this like free spirit, like ran away, uh, had a baby with loads of men, all that stuff. Like, she was a very wild woman, so like her daughter would be too.

[40:10] Chris Hall: Um, Leah sings "Somebody to Love," big song, big, big, big song. I think it's really great. I think her voice is amazing. That final note, I was like, I'm glad she hit that final note. Because the rest of the—all the way through, I was like, oh, this is really good, but like I want it to go somewhere, and then she hit that final note, and I was like, okay, great. Leah's—Leah's done that.

[40:29] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, she was fabulous. It was brilliant. And the judges say she's the star, which she is.

[40:34] Chris Hall: And again, she had no notes.

[40:37] Rich Hawkins: They love it. No notes.

[40:39] Chris Hall: Must be nice.

[40:39] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, must be nice. And then we get Esme.

[40:41] Chris Hall: She tells us she's had—she has about a hundred different jobs currently in coffee shops and in doing all sorts of stuff.

[40:49] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[40:50] Chris Hall: Um, and is trying to be a West End star. Um, it's also the second time she's talked about being 5'11", I think it is.

[41:00] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, which is tall.

[41:02] Chris Hall: So I didn't know—I was talking to Jess about this last week. I didn't really know that being that tall would be a massive hindrance, particularly when you look like Esme, who looks—she looks like Sophie, really, but she's tall. I had no idea that that was such a difficult um, like that it was—the casting restrictions were that tight that even like being taller than 5'9" is a problem, you know.

[41:23] Rich Hawkins: Um, that's interesting.

[41:25] Chris Hall: Yeah, it's um, you know, if you don't fit into a very, very restricted uh image of what, you know, shows want or what they're used to, then it's—you know, it's—it can be very like clean cut like that, and it's a real shame because show musicals are money, they're just—they're money, they're big, it's a business.

[41:46] Rich Hawkins: Um and it's easier to just slot someone in who just is a cog that just fits in, and we don't have to you know, if you know, because if you have a tall Sophie, then they'll be like, oh well, let's get a tallest guy.

[41:59] Chris Hall: Especially for something like Mamma Mia, because it's such an established show, and like there are definitely shows in the West End right now, like Six is a good example. From the bat, they were like, this is six women who all look very different. Like they don't, most of them look like what Henry VIII's wives would look like. We don't care. That's not what this is. So any woman really, I would hope, could go into that show. Whereas Mamma Mia is a very established show, and it's also a very mainstream show. Like it's brilliant. Very mainstream, middle, you know, every household. It is a business, as you say, and because it's a very mainstream show, it's people coming to the theatre who maybe a lot of the time don't go to the theatre very often, they're maybe not like massive theatre fans.

They kind of they are expecting to get what they think they're gonna get. Um and so it is something of a gamble, I suppose, from the producers to go in a very different way. I think it's a gamble they should absolutely take, because I think I would accept any Sophie, I'd hope anyway.

[43:01] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, on Esme. She sings "Just a Girl" by No Doubt, which I think is a real left field choice. I love it. But I was like, oh. Yeah, see, again, that's quite an interesting choice, and I loved it. I thought it was a great performance and a great song choice. I love that song. But then to give, I feel like it's quite a tricky, it's like a tough song to give her when you've just given like a, you know, an amazing ballad to Desmond, and you get like, we're not all if we were all doing kind of rocky, edgy songs, then that's quite bad. It's tough. So it's tough to get, it's tough to potentially go home on something that's like a bit left field if you've been given this song choice. But she did, I thought it was great.

[43:38] Chris Hall: I did too. I liked the little like she's in the villa and then she walks out and she's sort of doing a lot of choreo and prop work lovely. Um I thought it was great. She's got really good stage presence. I wrote, she's just got a role commanding presence. Um again, judges, no notes. Just love it. They love it. They love everything. No, no. I think it's almost stressful enough that somebody's going home. They don't need to and also I think all these performances are good. Like I think they are. Apart from where, you know, a couple of people stumble, like the bulk of the, there's five of them that do great without anything to really note them on too much. I'm sure that if you're a vocal coach or a choreographer or something, you could really nitpick at it, but like this is an ITV tea time show. Like I don't know, it's things. I think they all seem amazing so far.

[44:28] Rich Hawkins: Next we have Stevie. And Stevie struggles, and I was sad. So Stevie sings "Trustful" by Pink, which is a very new song as well, relatively. Um she just misses a no, a big no. And that must be really, really, she does I think she recovers really well.

[44:45] Chris Hall: She does. But that must be really hard to come back from. It's awful when that happens. Um and I think, I mean it's just such a highly pressured situation, and she's, I think is she like fourth after or fifth, I don't know, fourth, after like three great performances. Also, I think it must be really windy and probably really cold by now with the lights when the sun goes down. Um there's a lot to think about. Again, she's given a dance routine which others haven't been, you know, dances, which is like an added thing, like you know, Esme just ha Esme didn't have doesn't have other people on stage distracting her, whereas Stevie's got, you know, she's doing lifts and she's doing all kinds of stuff. Um but I think Stevie has a very, very Sophie energy, more so than I think most, if not all the contestants, and knowing people that get cast in Mamma Mia, um I think she's got a very Mamma Mia energy about her.

[45:42] Rich Hawkins: I can yeah, I can see that. Her look, her look is very Mamma Mia. Um going on historically the casting of Mamma Mia. So I think I thought she might, I was I was a bit like, oh is she gonna go home but I think because she hasn't, yeah, I mean well we'll get there on who goes home but it feels like she's really the at this at this stage what's she for she's really the only one where like there's an obvious yeah mistake or a misstep. Um and the judges called it out. So like the first one really where she gets sh they're still really kind but there's there is more critique. There's more questions like well you're really nervous what happened like it wasn't great. Um I guess they had to because that was the performance and it's not something you could hide. Um but they're still kind to her and then she does a really heartbreaking VT when she talks about it. It's like oh I feel for you.

[46:37] Chris Hall: Yeah. And then Maddie, Maddy is so interesting. They throw back to her acting and that she struggled and I thought okay we knowing reality TV a lot, we're either gonna get redemption storyline or she's gonna really struggle with the singing as well and it'll be a goodbye storyline.

[46:55] Rich Hawkins: Yeah. Um what did you think about her performance?

[46:58] Chris Hall: Um I thought her voice was one of my favourites of the seven especially in the last like 30 seconds of the song I thought it was amazing. I do think again it's like a tough song to do really when someone else is doing like "Le Mis" and then someone else is doing like "What a Feeling" and then you're doing like a, you know, Bert Bacharach song. It's like a different gear change comparing. Um I do think I do think she sounded beautiful. I do think she came across her age, which she is. I think it showed she was like slightly less experienced, maybe than like um Esme, which she is, like you can't just magic more command like commandments, and they are right, she didn't it she did sing it like she was a pop singer as opposed to she didn't she didn't really act through through through song.

I didn't really pick up on that when I was watching it, but then when they say that I was like, oh yeah, I can I can see that like she's she's not giving musical theatre, she's giving a great, great pop performance. I really enjoyed it though. I thought she was, I know I thought she had a beautiful voice. I thought we were getting a redemption storyline and that I thought so too.

[48:08] Rich Hawkins: Um and then finally we have uh Maisie, our Amdram queen. I don't know if I believe she says she hasn't done had any training. I don't know, but she says she's had not no, only done like regional Amdram in uh Essex, I think she's Margate, yeah, yeah. Uh that that she's so I don't know about controlled.

[48:30] Chris Hall: Yeah.

[48:31] Rich Hawkins: Like how are you but then you could I feel you can tell that she I feel it again it was less emotive than Desmonda. So there's two big ballads and there were some lovely moments in Maisie's, but I think maybe actually she's proven that she maybe is oh yeah, hasn't been to training because it's a massive song, and I feel um other people were more emotive, but I thought she sang it on beautifully. I thought it was a bit of an odd choice for a Sophie audition. It's just it's it's like far away from the character of Sophie and far away from the energy of Sophie. Um but obviously it's for a TV show.

[49:12] Chris Hall: Uh obviously, Chris, it's for a TV show, like we need like moments like this, but I feel there's ballads that are of for younger characters or more, you know, that's quite a di a heavy, depressing song to have on a set a search for Sophie, but yeah, she was great.

[49:26] Rich Hawkins: Like "I Dreamed a Dream" is one of those songs, as we were saying earlier, that like the British public respond to, like when it's like it's Susan Boyle's world, they're all just living in it. Like it's it's one of those.

[49:37] Chris Hall: And which leads me to think that I think somebody might quite somebody up in the in the head office might quite want Maisie to win. It's a beautiful uh it's a lovely story that like someone who's never had a moment of training suddenly gets a West End part. It's quite uh it's kind of Cinderellay, and that fits nicely with the kind of narrative of these shows, and she's a very good singer, and I guess she's very mouldable, probably because she's very inexperienced.

[50:04] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, I s I could see why they'd want her to win. Um giving her this song certainly sets her up, at least in the public's eye, is like okay, she can sing. Because again, like we don't recognise any. I don't the maturity in the performance isn't something that the general public notice. We just think, wow, she sang that song really well. So yeah. She was very good, she was very good. Someone is going home today, and we were going to find out how they get sent home.

[50:30] Chris Hall: And when I tell you I have been waiting for this for months, months, I've been speculating, and then nothing.

[50:38] Rich Hawkins: Jess thought they would get floated away in a boat.

[50:40] Chris Hall: Nice. I wondered if they'd maybe get put in dungarees, but then have to like fall through the roof, like Meryl does in the movie or something.

[50:48] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, yeah. Nothing.

[50:50] Chris Hall: We uh nothing. They play a little moment of the judges will decide from "The Winner Takes It All."

[50:56] Rich Hawkins: Lovely little touch.

[50:57] Chris Hall: Oh, I loved those. The uh the piano covers are beautiful.

[51:01] Rich Hawkins: Yeah, really well done, really well put together.

[51:03] Chris Hall: They have a big little chat at the table. Judy comes over to probably tell them what to do, low key.

[51:08] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[51:08] Chris Hall: And then Maddie goes home.

[51:14] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[51:15] Chris Hall: I would I did not see that coming.

[51:17] Rich Hawkins: I really didn't.

[51:18] Chris Hall: No, I thought Stevie might go home.

[51:23] Rich Hawkins: Um, but then I think I don't know if she I can't remember her acting challenge.

[51:28] Chris Hall: Um Maddie's acting challenge was obviously one of the weakest.

[51:33] Rich Hawkins: Um and yeah, it's a shame because I thought her voice was really really beautiful, and she's so she's clearly like so likable and warm, and that the musical director was like, I just love her.

[51:45] Chris Hall: Uh the musical supervisor.

[51:47] Rich Hawkins: Um so yeah, it's a real shame.

[51:49] Chris Hall: And you could t I really felt uh the the look on her face was like just so um disappointing like so gutted, wasn't she?

[51:57] Rich Hawkins: Um I feel like they were surprised.

[52:00] Chris Hall: I think maybe they didn't I I mean as a viewer, I didn't think they'd put that much stock into the acting challenge.

[52:05] Rich Hawkins: I thought that was just a bit of like fun at the beginning.

[52:07] Chris Hall: And I guess because no one's really had no one's had any critiques except Stevie.

[52:14] Rich Hawkins: So you're led to believe that's what's gonna happen.

[52:17] Chris Hall: And but I am glad that they're focusing on acting as well though, because it is a ma it is a massive role, you know.

[52:25] Rich Hawkins: Like Sophie's on stage and she has scenes with every single character almost all the way through. So you you do need someone who's every but then I also think the acting challenge wasn't really fair, so like it's um But they did also critique her acting in the song, so exactly.

[52:41] Chris Hall: Yeah.

[52:42] Rich Hawkins: And then yeah, then the elimination is just they hug and it fades to black, which is I know.

[52:46] Chris Hall: They're not all dressed like different coloured Sophies, are they, which is such a shame.

[52:51] Rich Hawkins: They've just lacked the uh the drama at the end.

[52:54] Chris Hall: That campness of the end, yeah.

[52:55] Rich Hawkins: She could sing "One of Us" is Lomi.

[52:58] Chris Hall: Yes, is Lomi.

[53:02] Rich Hawkins: Waiting for c yeah, that would be that there's so yeah, I I feel like I've sat through three nearly three hours of this show now, waiting for that moment, and then it just fades to black, and I was like, guys, guys, no, sorry.

[53:15] Chris Hall: Um Jessie wears there, she could do something, bring it back, bring it back.

[53:18] Rich Hawkins: Something, yeah, yeah.

[53:20] Chris Hall: But anyway, not not to worry.

[53:22] Rich Hawkins: It was very nice. It was a very lovely show, and I was surprised by who went home, but I think everyone did very well and showed themselves well, so that's nice.

[53:30] Chris Hall: Yeah.

[53:30] Rich Hawkins: Um that's the end of the episode. Before I let you go though, if you were to choose who you think is gonna be I guess top two, because the public vote in the end, like who do you think is gonna be in the grand final?

[53:42] Chris Hall: Yeah, so the grand final is on the stage in the theatre, and then we vote.

[53:48] Rich Hawkins: Who do I think or who do I want?

[53:50] Chris Hall: Oh, both.

[53:52] Rich Hawkins: Get messy.

[53:53] Chris Hall: I think it will be Maisie and Stevie.

[53:56] Rich Hawkins: Interesting.

[53:57] Chris Hall: Who do you want?

[53:58] Rich Hawkins: I would like it to be Esmi and Leah.

[54:02] Chris Hall: I I can see what you mean.

[54:03] Rich Hawkins: I would like it to be Desmond and Leah, and then I would be literal Sophie's choice trying to pick between them.

[54:10] Chris Hall: Yeah, yeah.

[54:11] Rich Hawkins: I hope they do something with that, because that's also Meryl. Like, this is all coming together.

[54:13] Chris Hall: Yeah, oh my god.

[54:16] Rich Hawkins: Very good.

[54:17] Chris Hall: So stupid, so stupid.

[54:19] Rich Hawkins: Um Chris, thank you so much for joining me to talk through the stupidest TV show on.

[54:23] Chris Hall: You're welcome, I literally love it.

[54:25] Rich Hawkins: I don't know if I'm gonna watch the sky episode, honestly, but I will be if you need someone to talk about Sophie in a couple weeks' time, I will be back.

[54:32] Chris Hall: See you on episodes four and six.

[54:34] Rich Hawkins: Yeah.

[54:35] Chris Hawkins: Um before you go, where can people find you? What you're doing, what where where can people see you live, all that good stuff.

[54:44] Chris Hall: Um you can follow me uh at uh Chris Hall with an X instead of the I um on TikTok and Instagram. Um you're in Manchester, um we've got um my queer night that I run with uh my friend Mark Whittlestone, LGBT he and that's on the eighth of November.

[55:03] Rich Hawkins: And we've got a Christmas charity special on the thirteenth of December in Crapham.

[55:09] Chris Hall: Um and then all my like live dates and everything are up there.

[55:12] Rich Hawkins: Lovely.

[55:13] Chris Hall: I'm gonna come and see you.

[55:15] Rich Hawkins: Please do.

[55:16] Chris Hall: That'd be very fun.

[55:17] Rich Hawkins: Um Chris, thank you so much.

[55:19] Chris Hall: And to everybody listening, I will see you next week for Sky Week.

[55:25] Rich Hawkins: Can't wait.

[55:26] Chris Hall: Yet another episode.

[55:28] Rich Hawkins: Bye.

[55:29] Chris Hall: Bye bye.