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Cat Deeley at the FOX TCA Party
In this world, there are fewer than a half-dozen things capable of distracting this writer from the promise of deep-fried Oreos. On Monday (July 14) night at the Santa Monica Pier, one of those things just happened to be Cat Deeley.
The eternally chipper host of FOX's So You Think You Can Dance seems less towering in person, particularly when she's standing next to me, rather than one of the occasionally diminutive hoofers on her summer hit. Her greatest appeal, though, remains in her mix of coltish beauty and disarming humility. Take, for example, her explanation for her particular and peculiar trademark pronunciation of her show's title.
"I also say it quite quickly, too, because I think it's the longest title of a TV show on the planet and I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. Already we're 30 seconds over. Am I ever going to get this show off air if I continue to say the title?'" she notes. "To be honest, I know I can't dance... so there is a definite moment where you go 'So you *think* you can dance?' And I know I can't. I literally do that thing, remember when you were in school and you had gym class and you'd stick your arms out and you spin around so you can't touch anybody else? That's me on that dance floor, because they need to be at least that far away from me in a radius of a circle, because I can actually take people out with my flailing limbs."
Surely after three seasons of being surrounded by the finest dancers and choreographers in all the land, Deeley has picked up on something.
"Nope. Not a thing."
She adds, "You know what? When you know you haven't got it, you haven't got it. And I'm also the clumsiest person going. If there's a hole or a step or anything like that, I will definitely, definitely find it. Just for me to get from the back of the stage to the front in those ridiculous heels, I kind of thank the Jesus every time I make it to the front. I'm like 'Yeah. I made it one piece. Thank you.' Add dancing to that? I think I'd be pushing my luck."
And yet she continues to wear the heals.
"Of course! You can't wear not those kinds of frocks and not do the shoes as well."
Well there you go.
Things are about to get serious on So You Think You Can Dance, where the competition is down to the Top 10 and the weekly decisions will be entirely in the hands of the viewers, rather than the panel of judges. Deeley admits that as great as this season's competitors have been, the results haven't been overwhelmingly shocking.
"Not really," she says. "You can kind of see it coming. A couple people have been always in the Bottom Three a couple weeks running and it's kind of like actually it doesn't do them any good to stay in the competition because if they continue to be in the bottom three, they just become so disheartened by the whole thing and lose their confidence and stuff, to it's actually better for them to go at that stage."
Deeley continues, "The really important thing is that there can only be one winner, so therefore you've got 19 other people who come to this stage in Hollywood and what you try and do is make the experience quite positive for them and make it a real life experience. Sometimes it's going to be hard, sometimes it's going to be challenging, sometimes it's just going to be downright bad, but then other times it's going to be really great and really fulfilling and it's their chance to do something new. And it's going to be something that, you hope, that they will think about for all their life and they'll tell their kids and their grandkids about it and they'll make their grandkids watch it over and over again and they'll be like 'That was when I was young and thin and fabulous.' And that's what you hope people can take way. If you can give people a great experience, then you don't have 19 losers and one winner. You have 20 people who have had a great time."
In the process of giving everybody a great experience, Deeley takes her job very seriously. She MCs one of TV's most tightly edited reality shows, but she's also open to entirely unplanned moments, like when she slipped dancer Chelsie's foot back into her shoe earlier this season.
"I'm a complete square," Deeley explains. "I prep everything to within an inch of its life. I help write the scripts and then I look on the prompter and I do all that kind of stuff, so that by that stage, by the time it comes to the show, you kind of let it go and you just do your thing. And then it can look easy, which is exactly what you want people to think. By that point, you're so comfortable with it that you can do anything, you can react to anybody. You actually listen to what people are saying. You know what I mean? So you can make the funnies or can help her with her shoe or you can do whatever you have to do, because you know you've got the other stuff covered. You know you've got the technicalities. You know where you've got to go and what you've got to say, what you're going into and what you're coming out of. So if you've got all that, then you can enjoy it."
Viewers can enjoy Deeley and So You Think You Can Dance on Wednesday and Thursday nights on FOX.
Cat is without question the best reality show host/hostess ever. I can't imagine her not being the best for the foreseeable future. Unlike most other people on tv I don't think it's possible for me to get tired or bored of seeing her on my screen. She always adds something positive to the show and I don't mean in just a cheerleaderish way. She's got great timing also. eg. The week when Nigel mentioned that Chelsie's costume seemed inappropriate for wearing in the kitchen, and Cat quickly responded (paraphrasing here): "It is for cooking."
If there is a category for best tv reality show host in the Emmys, Cat's got that one in the bag. They shouldn't even bother nominating anyone else b/c that would be doing the category a disservice.
Rishi | Jul 17, 2008 12:59:31 AM | #I like how Cat always keeps it positive. Like when the judges say something particularily harsh, she can break up the tension and awkwardness with ease!
Mandy | Jul 17, 2008 9:41:07 AM | #Cat Deeley was robbed at the Emmy nominations. She is universally acknowledged/spoken about as the best host in the reality format.
Sean | Jul 17, 2008 11:04:07 AM | #I definately have a girl-crush on Cat!
Sue | Jul 17, 2008 11:44:13 AM | #I knew there was someone missing from those Emmy nominations! I'm a little tired today. I really do enjoy Cat Deeley as the host(ess) of "So, you Think you Can Dance?" She is a big part of why the show works, IMO. Maybe they'll get it right next year.
Terry | Jul 17, 2008 1:40:53 PM | #I knew there was someone missing from those Emmy nominations! I'm a little tired today. I really do enjoy Cat Deeley as the host(ess) of "So, you Think you Can Dance?" She is a big part of why the show works, IMO. Maybe they'll get it right next year.
Terry | Jul 17, 2008 1:41:09 PM | #Dang, she talks a mile a minute, doesn't she? She give the air of having aced her GCSEs and possibly some A-levels. That is, she doesn't come off as utterly ditzy, tho' she could pass for one of those mute girls with a numbered briefcase, looks-wise -- even if she has a hard time taking a still photo that does her any justice. Try pausing her with TiVo. She almost always looks wonky.
What are the other five things? :)
| Jul 17, 2008 2:43:56 PM | #
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