All those shows and performances for this?

On one level, Let It Shine was a crowd-pleasing Saturday night talent show that helped showcase some of the most exciting young performers in the UK. On another, it was millions of pounds' worth of free advertising for Gary Barlow's new theatrical production. Now, that may seem an especially cynical point of view and maybe it is a tad unfair. After all, what's the real harm if the viewers have been enthralled and entertained by the weekly storylines of excited hopefuls, and the contestants themselves are given a golden chance to shine in the limelight? Well, it does start to feel like we've all been shortchanged when you delve into the reality of the situation. Hands up who thought that winning act Five to Five were going to play the members of Take That - or least a pop group of some sort - in the touring theatre show? No? Well at the very least they'd be starring cast members in some way, shape or form? Not really? Okay, well... they get a show-stopping number to themselves and few lines each, surely? Nope. The truth is that the young hopefuls who make up Five to Five won't have any spoken lines in the production at all. Not one. Instead, according to The Stage, they'll essentially be the chorus line. The main story is about five 16-year-old girls who are fans of Take That. Which makes you wonder why the show was hyped up as being such a life-changing opportunity for a group of talented kids who very likely won't even be able to branch out alone because they'll be under contract and likely exclusivity clauses. So much for letting them shine... https://twitter.com/HylandIan/status/838471189848866817 https://twitter.com/julesywoolsey/status/838474706609127424 https://twitter.com/1966MJG/status/838474471317127179 https://twitter.com/katsitter/status/838472352824455172 https://twitter.com/LauLauWeston/status/838504354948730881 https://twitter.com/JonCrossland1/status/838477124973494272 https://twitter.com/John_Mather/status/838471562001010689 https://twitter.com/ENankervis/status/838478838061490177 https://twitter.com/Pat13Langho/status/838476678686965763