Giaan Rooney

Rang: Administrateur Number of posts : 263 Registration date : 2005-08-02

http://www.ebroadcast.com.au wrote:: Break a leg, Giaan.

Yet more bad luck for the Nine Network's cast and crew of Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice.

In fact the word 'cast' is becoming the operative word. Cast member, Michael Slater, the former test cricketer, will perform with a cast on one hand and arm after his left hand was sliced open when his partner skated over it.

And former Olympic swimmer, Giaan Rooney is the wearer of a cast after badly breaking a leg yesterday and undergoing an operation.

These injuries are on top of a broken rib to another contestant in earlier rehearsals and another suffered a spinal inquiry while practising.

Over at Seven’s Dancing With The Stars, they have only had to content with sprained ankles, ligaments and various muscles, nothing as serious as broken legs or badly slashed hands.

Of course there would have been more than one contestant or wannabe contestant whose ego was ‘shattered’ by being knocked back or eliminated with some tough votes from judges.

Rumours from Seven say the list of contestants for the new series of Dancing With The Stars will be the best ever: I reckon there could be a Socceroo in there somewhere.

By comparison Australian Idol on Ten and It takes Two on Seven seem to be injury free zones (sore throats about the only problem).

The injuries of Michael Slater and Gian Rooney call to mind the bad one to Peter Everitt (who is now on Ten) who shattered an ankle on the Nine program Celebrity Ice Dancing that was broadcast last year.

Questions about these injuries arise: were the contestants required to sign release forms, or are they covered by insurance; does the insurance (if covered) extend to loss of earnings after the program is finished.
Giaan Rooney for example will be immobile for some months.

Peter Everitt had a lot of problems getting back to full fitness.

Ice Dancing's second program goes to air from 7.30 pm on nine. The network wants to see some audience build on last week's debut episode saw a respectable (but not winning) 1.610 million.

There's still chat of a build towards two million: it might on the final, but it's hard when Seven keeps Border Security at 7.30 pm and Medical Emergency at 8 pm.

Tonight is the first elimination episode and with these types of program that's always a good test of how the audience feels about the program:
if around 1.5 million or more tune in then it has hope, if it struggles to get ton this level and there's signs of a turn off, then it is in trouble.

With It Takes Two improving in the past three weeks, Seven can say it has successfully launched two light entertainment programs on Australian TV in the past couple of years after the big failure of Popstars (the Idol spoiler).

Nine has a lot riding on Dancing On Ice> it failed last year with Starstruck and the budget for Dancing on ice is big, the biggest for some time on a program. It has to make audience numbers otherwise Nine will have some more ‘make goods’ for sponsors.

But it’s to be hoped Giaan Rooney makes a complete recovery from her injury. From experience broken legs can take a while to get over; it’s to be hoped it won’t put her in a position of curtailing what she can do in later life.