When it comes to Made In Chelsea, some of the cast have been overlooked so far this series in favour of developing Spencer's villain status and crying shots of Louise. So thank goodness for a new Phoebe-Lettice-Proudlock flirtation and Andy discovering his inner cad, says Will Gore
Like Ollie's bisexuality, this current series of Made in Chelsea appears to be a little lopsided. Its focus has been trained on just a handful of characters, so while we've had plenty of Jamie Biscuit, Lucy, Louise and Spencer, many of the other cast members have become walk-on artists and periphery characters.
This week's episode hinted that for some, minimal involvement will be a series-long fate. It's looking increasingly likely, for example, that the gruesome twosome, Mark Francis and Victoria, aren't going to be getting much more than cursory screen time from here on in. The producers have obviously cottoned on to the fact that it's only possible to stomach Victoria's Halloween mask face and Mark's Loyd Grossman voice in tiny doses, and we must be grateful for their good judgement.
For other MiC-ers though perhaps Series Five won't be the complete dead end it has initially appeared to be. Hopefully, Proudlock will now be able to do the fashion world a favour and take a break from designing his hideous clothes (leopard print trainers anyone?) because it looks like a Phoebe-Lettice shaped storyline is about to drop into his lap. He of the silly earrings and she of the ludicrous nose ring engaged in a spot of outrageous flirting at the burlesque night and there is surely going to be plenty more where that came from in the coming weeks.
Another story definitely set to develop involves Andy and Louise. The lad with the big nostrils has had his eye on Louise for a while now, of course, but like any self-respecting lothario he's waited for her to be at her most vulnerable before making his move.
It's a cunning plan that might just work, although things aren't as simple as they might appear. Andy has a problem entirely of his own making in that only a week ago he was snogging the face of new girl, Fran, at a rooftop bar. Or was it her sister, Olivia? Apologies for not being clear, but it's genuinely hard to tell them apart because while Fran and Olivia might not be twins, they are identically dull.
Whichever of the dullards it was, she's still very much interested and a taste of the trouble ahead was glimpsed at when Fran/Olivia joined Andy and Louise shortly after they had arranged their first date. Did Andy realise he had picked Olivia/Fran's birthday on which to act so callously? Oh, it turns out he did.
One of the MiC star names was notable by his absence from the burlesque night. Spencer might well be interested to hear about the Andy-Louise developments, but in the meantime he was keeping himself busy by taking Lucy out for a drink.
Usually I'd feel sorry for whichever girl Spenny had his beady eyes on, but it seems to me Lucy could end up being a good match for him. She's a tough cookie and, let's face it, her and Spencer do have much in common: They're both shallower than the kids' end at your local swimming baths and more superficial than a bad wig. In other words, perfect for each other.
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