Dermot is well-suited (From Borehamwood Times)

Dermot is well-suited

10:24am Friday 13th November 2009

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PAUL WELSH speculates about X Factor creators pulling strings and reveals how it’s not the first time things have gone Si’s Way.

This week is a potpourri of tantalising tidbits of information that spring into my fevered mind as I am slumped over my keyboard in my attic, admiring that portrait of myself that guarantees eternal youthful looks.

I am still amazed when asked for proof of age when buying a drink or am I getting confused with when I am trying to pass as a pensioner in the cinema?

I guess most readers are among the 15 million glued to the box each weekend for X Factor. I must admit I am, even though I know what happens behind the scenes and how carefully the public are “steered” towards voting for one wannabe or another.

I think the emphasis has shifted away from the acts and they are now the filling between the judges moments. We all know by now the winner is guaranteed the Christmas number one and Simon Cowell will make a lot of money.

I think Dermot O’Leary made the right decision to jump ship from the sinking Big Brother at Elstree Studios and become the X Factor host. I suspect the reported six-figure salary helped the decision a bit.

Mind you, he has been required to deal with some odd star guests, who I suspect may not have survived the judges’ comments had they been contestants, but it all adds to the fun.

I once helped Dermot on a TV documentary he hosted about Star Wars and was with him for the day while it was shot at Elstree Studios and the nearby Maxwell Park Centre, which acts as a holding point for the Dancing On Ice TV show audiences.

I found him to be a likeable character, although I never found out why, when he dressed up as Luke Skywalker on camera, it was without his trousers. I guess he is a muscular guy, which is why his suits on X Factor seem to look one size too small.

On the subject of music, did you know the most popular song played at funerals is My Way by Frank Sinatra? I went to see the legendary singer at his last London concert in the early Nineties at The Royal Albert Hall and it was an unforgettable evening. To hear the master sing some of his great hits was magical and the audience gave him a standing ovation for ten minutes after he had left the stage.

When we did the plaque unveiling for Simon Cowell at Elstree Studios three years ago, we altered the words of My Way, and the Borehamwood Com.unity Choir sang Si’s Way, which he thoroughly enjoyed. For my funeral, the imp in me might request Burn Baby Burn, or Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, but as I am being buried it might be Bernard Cribbins’ comedy hit song of the Sixties called Hole in the Ground. I guess I better start saving up to get someone to attend.

Did you know that in the Fifties, there were just over two million cars in the UK and now there are 27 million? I still drive my old Mini, although they are becoming scarce.

I remember a few years back going to meet Take That at rehearsals for Top Of The Pops at the BBC Elstree Centre. On the way out of the Clarendon Road exit, I noticed a couple of hundred excited girls awaiting their idols.

I thought I would wind down the car window in the hope that some would think I was a star. Instead, all I heard was: “Look, there’s Mr Bean.” I have hated pop fans ever since.

I have been asked by one reader whatever happened to the RT red double decker bus used in the Elstree film Summer Holiday, starring Cliff Richard. If anyone can remember, please let me know and I will pass on the information.

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