Under pressure, people reveal their true characters. No more so than in the television contest Dancing With the Stars, which has its final on Tuesday night. The various freak-shows and sideshows who always make up the starting cast in such competitions have fallen away now to leave twohighly determined women dancing for glory.
The chance of a meltdown, whether it be physical, mental or social, is the real reason that the programme has such high viewer numbers. Dancing With the Stars is the grand prix motor racing of entertainment shows, without the risk of a real tragedy.
One of the two finalists next week, the television saleswoman Suzanne Paul, has been the surprise package of the series. An "older" woman with a cloud of debt and business failure hanging over her, she has been the sunny, energetic, inventive stayer in the contest. All went well until last Tuesday night when a microphone wire became unhitched from her costume during her routine. Thrown, as all of us would have been, she was upset throughout the judges' comments, later arguing back petulantly. Worse, she let slip that she wanted to make the final, yes, for the charity she has nominated but in truth to resurrect a television career, make money and (half jokingly) pay back creditors. It was one of those revealing, unfortunate moments that live interviews can elicit. Whether her words rather than her dance moves resonate with the public or come back to trip her up, like the microphone, will be known about 10.30pm on Tuesday.
The other dancer, former singer Megan Alatini, is the natural performer who has consistently starred. She, too, has been a sparkling presence. So far, the heat of the dance and gaze of many hundreds of thousands of viewers have not got to her during the live broadcasts. Perhaps what you see is what you get. We have two more hours to find out.
