Review: Maestro, BBC2

11:30am Wednesday 20th August 2008

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JUST when I thought I was well and truly fed up with reality TV shows, another has come along and hooked me.

Maestro, on BBC 2, isn't what I thought would have been up my street.

It's about classical music, which I don't know much about.

And the celebrities, including Jane Asher and David Soul aren't really the type I would normally care about.

But there must be something about watching the dark-haired one-off Mel and Sue flap and flail around like deranged alley cats, because I can't seem to switch it off. It really is compelling stuff.

In last night's episode, the second of the series, the seven remaining celebrities (Peter Snow got booted off in week one) had to lead the BBC Concert Orchestra through a collection of scores for film and TV music.

If you thought that the role of conductor in an orchestra was just about waving a stick and making silly movements, then you’re in for a shock.

What this show has taught us so far is that a good conductor can make a piece of music sound magical, whilst a bad one can make it sound like it's being played through treacle.

Deadlines means I don't know who got booted off, but I'm hoping it wasn't the slightly cocky but charming Goldie, or the surprisingly emotional Alex James.