John Barrowman to judge BBC reality show

The minute I heard about NBC's Grease: You're The One That I Want reality show, I pretty much gagged. In case you missed it, the gimmick is that there is going to be a new Broadway production of Grease and its producers decided the best way to find their Sandy and Dennis was through this televised competition. Gag, right?

Well, the BBC is borrowing the idea but swapping out Grease for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and I have to say I now find the idea absolutely brilliant! It's not because I like Dreamcoat so much better than Grease (though that is true). It's because the BBC has hired John Barrowman to be one of the judges and who wouldn't want to watch that! If John were on You're The One That I Want, rest assured I'd be tuning in every week. Plus John actually makes sense as he is a stage veteran. (I am a little worried about John. Between shooting Dr. Who, getting ready for the next Torchwood, and everything else he's doing, is he paying enough attention to his new hubby?)

The BBC version is called Any Dream Will Do and joining John will be Denise van Outen from the American version, producer Bill Kenwright, voice coach Zoe Tyler, and, ugh, the Lord of Schlock himself, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Webber is almost enough to cancel out John, but not quite.

As if John isn't enough reason to tune in, Dream will be hosted by the openly gay Graham Norton (Another Gay Movie, The Graham Norton Show). With Webber involved you just know the show has to be campy and, sure enough, after the auditions narrow the contestants down to 50 who will go to something called "Joseph" school and the final twelve will be chosen during a live performance at Webber's castle in Ireland put on for Andrew's friends, family, and assorted sycophants.

This sounds like too much fun and I hate I can't watch. All of our Brit readers our going to have keep us regularly updated on the shenanigans!