Musicality: The Winners' Story (C4); Playing It Straight (C4): AFTER receiving a standing ovation in their London West End stage debut, the five winners of Musicality faced a reality check.

Winning a C4 talent competition was all very well but the five had to decide whether to pursue their dream of a life as professional performers and or remain one night wonders.

The Winners' Story trotted through the story of the contest in the first hour before revealing what happened next to the five who won the chance to star for one night only in the musical Chicago.

This follow-up provided a reminder that show business is a hard profession in which to succeed. Undoubtedly the five have talent but would anyone be willing to take a chance on untried, untested and untrained amateurs?

The agents invited to see their debut all offered the same advice: go away and train. This wasn't unreasonable in the case of plumber's assistant Warren as he's only 20 and has plenty of time to make it. He decided to accept a £10,000 scholarship to study at theatre school. I'm sure we'll hear more of him after he emerges from his training in three years time.

Others faced different dilemmas. Donna has a family to look after and Matthew has a job as a teacher. Both had to consider the implications, both financial and personal, of pursuing a life on the stage.

Rebecca and Caroline had less time to worry. The former won a leading role in another London musical, Saturday Night Fever. Caroline was cast in a variety show in Glasgow. Then Donna was invited back for a month-long run in Chicago as prison chief Mama Morton.

By the third failed audition, a still-cheerful Matthew was saying he was going to give it a year and, if he failed to get that all-important first job, he'd returned to teaching.

Perhaps, it was suggested by judge Gareth Valentine, Matthew was just too nice for the cut-throat business. "He's such a gentle soul, there has to be a bit of bastard there," he said. He took rejection with a philosophical smile. "It's a bit of a knock to your ego but not in a bad way," said the too-nice teacher who, by the end of the programme, had decided to return to teaching.

"I didn't realise how much I love it. It's one of those things you don't realise what you have got until you have lost it," he said, putting on a brave face. I'd like to think he meant it and wasn't just trying to disguise his disappointment after failing to find a job in musical theatre.

I can't make up my mind whether I approve of Playing It Straight. Zoe has ten men from which to pick a mate. The gimmick is that some are actually gay but pretending otherwise. If she ends up with a straight man, they share £100,000. If she picks a gay guy, he gets all the money.

The lads are subjected to various tests to sort out the men from the boys. It really should be objectionable to use sexual preference as the basis for a game show, but the light-hearted approach and fact that nobody takes it too seriously makes it good fun and something of a guilty pleasure.

Published: 09/05/2005