A Kamel for Christmas!!

Dear readers, working in *showbiz* as I do, one regularly bumps into other celebrities, sometimes at star-studded premieres and parties, sometimes in slightly less glamorous surroundings (see here). OK, most of the time, these encounters are either slightly weird (i.e. skulking behind supermarket shelves) or just plain embarrassing (getting tangled up in Kate Moss's daughter's pushchair). But sometimes, the magic kicks in and there's a real connection. Last night was one such occasion. It was about 1:30 a.m. and we were just leaving the bar when Noodle (whose celebrity antennae are as finely tuned as my own) turned round and hissed "Kamel Ouali!!" I realise that some of my *international* readers may not be completely familiar with Mr. Ouali's (that's pronounced "Wally") oeuvre. Those of you already in the know can skip the next bit:

For the last five years, he has been the resident choreographer/dance coach/all round good egg on "StarAcademy" - a *talent* show in which a group of more-or-less photogenic adolescents are locked up in a château (this being France and all) and subjected to regular helicopter visits by people such as Lionel Ritchie (?!) and Mariah Carey who tell them to "Hold on to your dreams!!" and "Never stop believing in yourself!!" Then after about 10 weeks or so, they whack up the reverb on the contestants' mics, so everyone says "My, haven't they improved? They must be following Lionel/Mariah's advice" and pretend that the candidate chosen by the record company has actually been voted the winner via premium-rate phone calls from viewers. Or something like that. Here's this year's winner. And every week, Kamel devises increasingly preposterous routines and removes more and more of his dancers' clothing in a bid to keep the ratings up. Recently though, he's been branching out into musicals, directing a French-language version of "Gone with The Wind" and now "Le Roi Soleil"

Anyway, overcome with vodka emotion, I screamed "You're Kamel Ouali and I claim my five pounds!!" Perhaps understandably, he seemed a little nonplussed by this, so I grabbed his hand and started pumping it up and down, saying "I really like what you do - keep it up!" before stumbling outside and spending the next five minutes squeaking "Kamel Ouali, Kamel Ouali" with Noodle, and having to explain to Mark who he was. What a great pre-Christmas present!! (What do you mean, is that it?)