tammyy2j
15-02-2010, 14:49
Reality TV was made for characters like David Van Day. The Dollar pop singer who faded into obscurity in the '90s has reignited his career with appearances on Reborn In The USA, Pop Goes The Band and most famously I'm A Celebrity... in recent years. The controversial light entertainment star is now going front of house and will be hosting Wedding TV series Brides On A Bus. We caught up with Van Day to find out what we can expect from the show and asked for his views on reality TV queen Mrs Katie Price.
What is Brides On A Bus all about?
"Brides On A Bus puts ten brides on a London double decker bus and we then take them from Land's End to Gretna Green. Along the way we give them challenges, such as making cheddar when we visit Cheddar Gorge and playing rugby with some of the Welsh national team. We went to a safari park, where they had to feed lions and shovel elephant s**t. That was quite fun and humiliating, as these shows are. At the end of it all, whoever is left standing gets all of their wedding paid for. That's it in a nutshell, that's the gameshow part of it."
And the reality side of the show?
"Well the reality part of it is obviously where the real fun begins. One of the girls on her way up on the trip decides that she is having such a good time that she doesn't want to get married. These girls are visiting these wonderful honeymoon hotels away from their partners and she decides that she's not ready for it. That then gets the other girls backs up, because they really want to win it - lots of drama there! Another drama comes when one of the boyfriends turns up and says, 'I don't want to get married on TV. Come home and help me with the kid'. There is all the shouting, screaming and tears of a proper good reality series."
What's your role in the show?
"I'm dressed up like Benny Hill as the host and bus conductor. I kick things off and get in the middle of all the dramas. I also have to enforce the rules of the game and bring the bad news and the end of the day when a bride gets kicked off the bus. Sometimes we twist it and boot two of them or off, or none of them off, to keep them guessing. There is all the jungle-style stuff going on in the show. It was great for me, because this time I was making the rules up and had the power, unlike the jungle where I was on the receiving end."
Was it tough being stuck on a bus full of women for a couple of weeks?
"No, I loved it! [laughs] Of course I didn't have a problem with it! The girls were all good sports. They were highly competitive and were unique individuals, but we had a good mix of people on the bus. They got a bit hysterical occasionally, but I think that's about as far as I'm going to go. I'm not going to take your bait, because otherwise there will be a Digital Spy headline, 'David Van Day slams hysterical women'."
Do you think the show will get a second series?
"Would I like to do more of it? Wedding TV and the PR company love it. I like it. But we'll have to see. It's not really about the critics for us, but more about the ratings. It's all about the ratings. If we can get an audience and become Wedding TV's most rated-show then I suspect they will do a second series. Will they ask me to do it and will I want it? At the moment, I guess I probably would do it and I think they would probably want me. But you never know in this showbiz world."
Did you catch your nemesis Nicola McLean's reality show?
"No I didn't! I would have liked to have seen it. I hear she's got a full series coming out based on that."
I was surprised to hear that she would be getting a full series...
"Stranger things have happened. I was surprised that she got in the jungle! Word be truthful."
What did you think to this year's I'm A Celebrity?
"I thought Gino was very entertaining, but I think overall it wasn't as entertaining as my year in 2008. It wasn't as exciting and it didn't have people saying, 'I need to get home to watch it'. There was nothing to race home for. It has a great slot that show, late November, the weather's appalling outside and everyone's saving up their money. They have that three-week slot with amazing audience figures, they need to be entertained. They sort of did it."
What did you think to the return of Katie Price?
"It was the Katie Price show for a week wasn't it. They grabbed the headlines, which they obviously wanted and if they got higher ratings for a few days then it worked. As for helping the long-term prospects of the show, I don't think it did any good. That took it down an avenue, which was pretty dull actually. Has it done any harm to the show? We'll have to wait until next year. I think it's better to see new people being humiliated. It was disappointing on that front. But I'm sure they are all sat back at ITV thinking what a wonderful job they've done and you won't be able to tell them anything different."
How would you have dealt with Katie in the jungle?
"I don't know with Katie. She is always controversial off camera in nightclubs and places like that. However, on camera she came across rather sweet in the jungle. Much nicer than her public persona. She doesn't come across very well when she did those shows with Peter Andre. He'd say things like, 'I've written this song', and then she'd reply, 'You'd better get a record deal first'. She cuts right to the quick with him and embarrassed him. It was good for TV, but unnecessary. I don't think in the long-term that does her any good behaving like that. But who would have thought a month ago, Katie Price would have been saying 'Thank God for Alex Reid'. Who would have thought it! That's another 12 months on the tabloid, Hello magazine circuit for her."
Brides on a Bus starts tonight at 10pm on Wedding TV
What is Brides On A Bus all about?
"Brides On A Bus puts ten brides on a London double decker bus and we then take them from Land's End to Gretna Green. Along the way we give them challenges, such as making cheddar when we visit Cheddar Gorge and playing rugby with some of the Welsh national team. We went to a safari park, where they had to feed lions and shovel elephant s**t. That was quite fun and humiliating, as these shows are. At the end of it all, whoever is left standing gets all of their wedding paid for. That's it in a nutshell, that's the gameshow part of it."
And the reality side of the show?
"Well the reality part of it is obviously where the real fun begins. One of the girls on her way up on the trip decides that she is having such a good time that she doesn't want to get married. These girls are visiting these wonderful honeymoon hotels away from their partners and she decides that she's not ready for it. That then gets the other girls backs up, because they really want to win it - lots of drama there! Another drama comes when one of the boyfriends turns up and says, 'I don't want to get married on TV. Come home and help me with the kid'. There is all the shouting, screaming and tears of a proper good reality series."
What's your role in the show?
"I'm dressed up like Benny Hill as the host and bus conductor. I kick things off and get in the middle of all the dramas. I also have to enforce the rules of the game and bring the bad news and the end of the day when a bride gets kicked off the bus. Sometimes we twist it and boot two of them or off, or none of them off, to keep them guessing. There is all the jungle-style stuff going on in the show. It was great for me, because this time I was making the rules up and had the power, unlike the jungle where I was on the receiving end."
Was it tough being stuck on a bus full of women for a couple of weeks?
"No, I loved it! [laughs] Of course I didn't have a problem with it! The girls were all good sports. They were highly competitive and were unique individuals, but we had a good mix of people on the bus. They got a bit hysterical occasionally, but I think that's about as far as I'm going to go. I'm not going to take your bait, because otherwise there will be a Digital Spy headline, 'David Van Day slams hysterical women'."
Do you think the show will get a second series?
"Would I like to do more of it? Wedding TV and the PR company love it. I like it. But we'll have to see. It's not really about the critics for us, but more about the ratings. It's all about the ratings. If we can get an audience and become Wedding TV's most rated-show then I suspect they will do a second series. Will they ask me to do it and will I want it? At the moment, I guess I probably would do it and I think they would probably want me. But you never know in this showbiz world."
Did you catch your nemesis Nicola McLean's reality show?
"No I didn't! I would have liked to have seen it. I hear she's got a full series coming out based on that."
I was surprised to hear that she would be getting a full series...
"Stranger things have happened. I was surprised that she got in the jungle! Word be truthful."
What did you think to this year's I'm A Celebrity?
"I thought Gino was very entertaining, but I think overall it wasn't as entertaining as my year in 2008. It wasn't as exciting and it didn't have people saying, 'I need to get home to watch it'. There was nothing to race home for. It has a great slot that show, late November, the weather's appalling outside and everyone's saving up their money. They have that three-week slot with amazing audience figures, they need to be entertained. They sort of did it."
What did you think to the return of Katie Price?
"It was the Katie Price show for a week wasn't it. They grabbed the headlines, which they obviously wanted and if they got higher ratings for a few days then it worked. As for helping the long-term prospects of the show, I don't think it did any good. That took it down an avenue, which was pretty dull actually. Has it done any harm to the show? We'll have to wait until next year. I think it's better to see new people being humiliated. It was disappointing on that front. But I'm sure they are all sat back at ITV thinking what a wonderful job they've done and you won't be able to tell them anything different."
How would you have dealt with Katie in the jungle?
"I don't know with Katie. She is always controversial off camera in nightclubs and places like that. However, on camera she came across rather sweet in the jungle. Much nicer than her public persona. She doesn't come across very well when she did those shows with Peter Andre. He'd say things like, 'I've written this song', and then she'd reply, 'You'd better get a record deal first'. She cuts right to the quick with him and embarrassed him. It was good for TV, but unnecessary. I don't think in the long-term that does her any good behaving like that. But who would have thought a month ago, Katie Price would have been saying 'Thank God for Alex Reid'. Who would have thought it! That's another 12 months on the tabloid, Hello magazine circuit for her."
Brides on a Bus starts tonight at 10pm on Wedding TV