I'm not sure I agree with you one hundred percent.

I'd assume that Francesca yes, had seen the shows before, but hadn't really expecting so much focus to have been on her - she had much more emphasis put on her being the professional than Sarah or Rachel, and the unfortunate situation with Denise probably did make it worse. Unlike Sarah and Rachel, Fran's voice doesn't really suit pop music - that doesn't make her a bad singer, it makes her one who's more suited to sing the style of music she's trained to sing - musical theatre. It'd be interesting to see how she'd have fared with songs from musicals, because her As Long As He Needs Me was pretty damn good!

Also, I think it's important to remember that the Denise situation was reported in the news by the second show of the audition process - it was hanging over her before she even got the chance to sing.

The video was honest - she found the time difficult, and couldn't shake off the "professional who knows one of the judges" label - and that would be very frustrating, I'd imagine. Losing one's confidence when you know you can do what you're trying to do (and receiving good reviews for it...) must be soul destroying. Having to do a video interview about it after just being booted out over someone who ALW says he doesn't like the voice of... I think she seemed relatively together, I, personally would have been very bitter and damning ALW's name!

You are right though, she's probably best off out of it - and she's had some 'phone calls, so I don't think it's the last we'll see of her!

Very well said. The exit interview simply shows us how passionate she is about what she does. I really hope there is something even better around the corner for her, she truely deserves it.

Just in case people haven't seen it: Francesca's DS interview.

I don't doubt for one minute that Francesca isn't passionate about what she does - I just think that for someone who HAS had leading roles on the WE stage - this was a very dangerous thing for her to do - especially given the fact that she knew one of the judges.

That said - the show didn't help her by making allowances for her at Nancy School where we saw her being given a "bye" into the last 18 whilst "Liverpool Nancy" and "Nancy Nancy" were booted off despite gaining a huge public following in the audition stages. Unfortunately Fran never really deliverd on the live shows and suffered in the votes as a result

I really really hope she will go on to bigger and better things after the exposure she has had on IDA!

I'm guessing you mean she's sang in the WE, rather than she's sang out of tune in the WE! I'm simple saying I've never heard a singer sing out of tune in the WE.


You won't hear me disagreeing about that - I cannot see the appeal of Niamh at all and would have sent her home in the Moon River week.

I did record it but have no clue how to upload it onto Youtube. I would if I could!

You're guessing right

I don't think ALW had any choice not to save Ashley over Francesca.What would happen if Francesca manage to win this competition?There'll be fingers pointing at DVO,because of her involvement with Francesca in another show.

If that were the only reason though, he could have gotten rid of Francesca in week one...

Personally I think he made himself look like an idiot by saving Ashley over Francesca after his earlier remarks about Ashley. I thought those remarks were uncalled for, but he did make them, and to save Ashley after that made him look like he didn't know his own mind.

I can't watch that exit interview with Francesca just now, but I'll have a look at it tomorrow. I'm really sad if she didn't enjoy her time on the show and has lost confidence in herself, because I really came to like her and wish her very well.

I notice she mentions in her DS interview that she was far less nervous singing at Wicked than on the live shows, and people at Wicked said they had found her better there than on TV. Maybe the TV show and it's ongoing competition format just didn't suit her psychologically? In that case, if some of these phone calls she's had pan out into parts, she should soon get any confidence she's lost back.

I'm still gutted she won't be Nancy though, because I really think she was the best girl for the part

In week one Francesca was obviously the best singer in the sing-off.ALW could not get a reason to send her home.But both Ashley and Francesca were more equal in the sing-off this week.He used the judges' comments instead.

i am still really gutted Francesca is out of the contest but i'm sure she has a bright future ahead of her. she deserves to get work out of this and i think the main reason she did have some tuning problems on the live shows is because of the pressure she was put under being labelled the 'Professional' and the media laying into her a bit about her connection with DVO so i would imagine a lot of her confidence was lost before the live shows even started.

oh also Hot topics said they recorded Fran on the BBC Breakfst could someone let them know how to upload to youtube coz i hav no idea also?

But Andrew has always treated the sing off as a tool to use when he wants and to disregard when he doesn't. Last year, when Daniel went up against Lewis, Daniel pretty much wiped the floor with him. Not even Lewis's mother could have argued that Lewis sang better. But Andrew chose to save Lewis, so clearly he has no problem over riding the sing off.

All he had to do in week one, in the Amy/Francesca showdown was say that he had to take into consideration their performances on the night. Amy did considerably better in her solo number than Fran did. If Andrew had wanted Fran out of the competition, he could easily have ditched her at this point.

I don't see the conspiracy here. I love Fran and all and I think she is a very talented actress and a much better singer than she showed us over the last few weeks. But the sad truth is that she didn't live up to her potential in the live shows.

Hot topics said they recorded Fran on the BBC Breakfst could someone let them know how to upload to youtube so we can watch it coz i hav no idea also?

I've wanted Francesca to do well in this from the start, but her performances on the TV programme definitely didn't show her true potential: She hit dodgy notes in 2 out of her 4 songs. I don't know what went wrong for her, maybe it was the song choices or the TV format, because I saw her live in Rent Remixed several times and she was amazing every time (which is why I was supporting her). I actually preferred her to Denise.

The way in which she went out (and, indeed, the way Ashley was saved) does leave a nasty taste in the mouth and has definitely been the low point of the TV programme for me so far. I really hope she goes on to get more West End leading roles.

Interestingly, Fran's interview seems to be no longer on the BBC site...everyone else's exit interviews are though

I'm intruiged... is this on purpose?

Wow. Well I don't think it happened by accident. How interesting. Clearly they weren't very happy with it from a PR point of view. I think it was a very honest reaction from Fran and very bad reflection on the show. Maybe Andrew should take a harder look at the whole business before adopting the self congratulatory tone we see in this article:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008...erstar-mentor/

Interesting... she may have asked for it to be removed if she regretted saying anything?

I totally agree. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if it has been removed for the reasons you've highlighted. I was actually quite surprised (but glad, sort of) that they had shown it in the first place - it really doesn't reflect well on the show.

That exit interview has generated a fair bit of discussion on here, in addition to the way in which Fran was voted off, so it may well be that it was decided to nip things in the bud by 'quietly' removing it.

Heaven forbid that Fran is generating discussion even after leaving the show. I'm just glad she had the courage to say what she did - even if it was said in the heat of the moment.

I'm not one-hundred percent sure I understand the website anyway. They started putting up weekly photos of performances, failed to do so in week two, and subsequently removed the week one photos.

Neither Tara's nor Fran's As Long As He Needs Me were ever uploaded, but Cleopatra's and Amy's are still there.

So they're a bit erratic about what goes on (and indeed stays there!) anyway... but there is something rather odd about Francesca's exit interview video going walkabout...

Well, I don't know if this explains anything but at the beginning of the show, the official website had detailed bio of all the girls, then it mysteriously vanished and now I go back and see a much abbreviated version. Curious, huh?

It's probably been removed for a mix of reasons. I agree with others that it is unlikely to be BBC incompetence, although it wouldn't be the first time they got something wrong!

Fran could have asked for it to be removed but I think this is unlikely.

The producers perhaps realised that it made the show look rather brutal and could get quoted in interviews. Look out for negative press stories quoting parts of this.

Also this could make a lot of future candidates think twice about taking part in any future shows especially anyone with experience. This would seriously restrict the talent pool and musical theatre is quite a small world.

Anyway, I'm very glad I saw it before it disappeared. I felt sorry for Fran having to deal with an interview while she was still so upset but it did give a very honest view of what it can be like to be part of a RTV show. I admire her for saying what she was feeling right then and not just spouting the usual party line about how great it is to take part.

It will also be very interesting to see if the interview is put back online and if it is I'll be checking to see if it has been re-edited. Maybe they want a "Director's Special Edition"!

Haha, I'm now expecting a video edited out of the original that makes it sound like it was the most positive thing Francesca's ever done. But still looking like she's on the verge of tears.

I did send comment yesterday via the website to ask why this had been removed, pointing out that maybe they found Fran's interview to controversial for there liking but her Fans didn't so we'll see if it comes back.

Any luck with the upload of the breakfast interview?