Grease judge Ian 'almost quit'

Grease judge David Ian has revealed how he almost walked off the show after a string of bust-ups with fellow panellist David Gest.

ITV1's new reality show Grease Is The Word kicked off on Saturday night and saw thousands of hopefuls auditioning for the chance to become the next Danny or Sandy in an all-new stage production of Grease.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, top West End producer Ian said that, at times, he found I'm A Celebrity star Gest 'extremely irritating'.

He said: "Once, during filming, I just got up and walked out. I'd had enough. If I didn't have such an important role in the whole thing I wouldn't have returned.

"[Gest] is one of the most 'different' people I've ever met. He's nice enough, but has some very strange, mad moments."

Ian also revealed that he fell out with 80s star Sinitta - another of the four judges - for not taking the show seriously enough.

He said: "If she put as much effort into finding stars as she does with her wardrobe then we'll be OK."

Grease Is The Word goes head-to-head with BBC1's new talent search, Any Dream Will Do, looking for a new lead for Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

And Ian had some fighting talk for the opposition: "Look at the presenters," he said. "They've got Graham Norton. We've got Zoe Ball. I know who I'd rather see in skintight lycra."

But it appears that viewers preferred to watch Graham Norton on Saturday night. More than six million tuned into Any Dream Will Do while four million watched the launch of Grease Is The Word.