What Politicians Can Learn From Kate Garraway

Image from Strictly Come Dancing website




I am a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing. The costumes and camp make me very happy - and the judges... Well, I just adore my ickle Bruno and Craig is very tough and manly in a camp sort of way. I gives me fuzzy feelings to watch it, and I'm loving the fact it is now on twice at weekends. It's just a nice way to spend the weekend.

Imagine though the horror at last night's results show. Penny and Gabby in the bottom two. Penny and Gabby? Possibly two of the best dancers in the show. Not the rubbish dancers like Kate Garraway or Kenny Logan or even John Barnes. Frantic text messages went flying about saying little more than "No" "God" and "Are you watching this?" Then after poor Gabby flipped her last flip the vitriol started - Kate Garraway was evil personified. How dare she still be in the show? All thanks to muppet GMTV viewers who blindly voted for her despite the fact that she dances like a rhino on heat. But without the grace and elegance.

Then I started thinking about it and actually Kate is playing a blinder and the exact campaign that politicians should.

Have a simple message - Kate's message for her GMTV viewers is really simple - "I really want to stay in and achieve my potential. There's so much more I can do."

Repeat your message ad nauseum - I watch at most 15 minutes of GMTV in the morning while flicking between SKY, BBC and Everybody Loves Raymond and I've heard Strictly Come Dancing mentioned every day

Third Party Endorsements - not only does she get the message across on a regular basis, but her co-presenters do too. Ben Shepherd is a little star at this.

Know your audience - I could be wrong but Kate hasn't trawled round other shows to sell her message. She has her audience and she is targeting them ruthlessly.

Ability isn't everything - We've all watched election results and thought "But they're useless, how did they win?" Voters don't always care about ability, especially if you minimise how important it is in comparison with trying hard and being likable.

Be nice - There's no point being the best at something if you come across as arrogant, and that was Gabby's downfall. In the end Kate is just more likable.

Be aspirational - Kate focuses on how much can still be achieved. So much better than - oh I did this wrong.

So it might not be fair that Kate is still in and Gabby isn't but that's what happens when democracy is allowed to run riot. An inferior candidate with a good campaign will beat a good candidate with a rubbish campaign. Look and learn politicians - just don't wear the sequinned tops...

(Techni) Colour me unimpressed

Has Andrew Lloyd Webber lost his mind?

How could he kick out Daniel -granted I want Lee to win and have since the audition stages but to choose Lewis over Daniel was just stupid, particularly as in the sing-off Daniel totally sold "Bring HIm Home" - one of the hardest songs in the musicals - while Lewis really struggled.

It's like that useless bird from Maria all over again. Andrew gets his favourites and dumps the good ones to keep them in. Unfair.

Still - I would say that Lee's only serious competition has now gone so that's a good thing.

Campaign Launch - Scooch for Number One.

My countdown to Eurovision was rudely interrupted by the 40 minute broadband update turning into a 48 hour down-time. So didn't get to finish with a couple more classic clips and my own prediction. Which is just as well because it was a Ukrainian win with Scooch coming a respectable mid table. How wrong I was.

"KD Langovich" (my friend Davy's description not mine) winning with a bland nothingness of a song and poor Scooch being humiliated. And let's be honest not deserving to at all. For the first time in over a decade I am going to buy a single - Scooch have to become number one in the charts. We need to show our support for them. Genuinely this was one of the best British entries in years - it was camp, it had great outfits, a dance even drunken people could do (and trust me by the time Scooch came on we were all drunk!) and the best carry-on-a-like lyrics ever.

So come on, buy Scooch's single and take them to number one.

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Seven

How could anyone miss the king of Eurovision?

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Six

The woefully misunderstood Daz Sampson from last year. As with Scooch, it's a delight to see people well into their 30s do Eurovision while claiming to be much younger....

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Five

The final scorecard is now available.

Ta Radio 2 - we love you, Sir Terry and Ken Bruce.
xxx

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Four

Come on the Scooch

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Three

Oh dear oh dear - semi-final results are very disappointing.

No Belgium, no Switzerland and their live vampires and no big Draq Queen from Denmark. Instead rubbish singers from Eastern Europe who actually think it's a song contest....

It's time for the countries of Western Europe to rise up and start to block vote against this bloc voting, let's reclaim Eurovision in the name of over the top campness and get away from wailing wummin and pretty boys (Both in and out of bands).

Come on Scooch - we look to you to lead the way. Fly the Flag for a camp-fest.

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part Two

Some personal favourites on their way

Countdown to Eurovision ... Part One

Quite apt celebratory 200th post. Eurovision is coming closer and the party is being prepared.

I haven't listened to anyone except the mighty Scooch yet, I enjoy the surprise that the night (or semi-final night) brings.

So - scorecards for semi-final printed off, countries allocated to a couple of people, first thoughts on the Terry Wogan shrine and decorations started - and all ideas welcome on these. Next steps - actually do the shrine, make the food, buy the Ouzo and (I suppose) actually clean the house.

It's getting affy exciting.

Any Dream Will Do

I'm already loving Any Dream Will Do the follow-up to last year's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. And narked that poor Johndeep got booted out on Saturday - I'd liked him.

My favourite is the fabulously twinkly-eyed Lee. I really do want him to win. No-one else is really standing out for me so far, although Lewis was great on Saturday.

But has anyone else noticed that the boys are much cry-ier than the girls were last year? Fabulous. And musical theatre has never seen quite so many "girlfriends" in the one room. Mmm-hmm.....

Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway

Over Christmas and New Year we recorded a hell of a lot of films and TV programmes (God Bless Sky+). We're now getting down to the serious business of watching them all - well, it's January who can afford a social life?

So last night we watched one of the DVDs we had recorded from last week's TV. And found the campest, funniest, trashiest TV programme ever. Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway where plebs beg five rich people for money. It was brilliant. Perhaps the best telly programme ever, but in a really bad way.

The first bloke on was an ex-fatty who needs £5,000 for a tummy tuck, and we got to see the tummy that needs the tucking. Blurgh. Then the heartstrings got a good tugging by the 11 year old former cancer sufferer who wanted money to buy a caravan for sick children and their families to have a holiday. I cried. I was laughed at....

It's just a nightmare, like Dragon's Den but 300 rungs down the ladder of taste and decency.

I'm hooked.