Town centre manager Richard MacKenzie
HEALTH and safety fears have prompted a media black-out on the names of the celebrities switching on this year’s Christmas lights.
Officials believe that naming the stars due to flick the switch at the launch of the Fête dé Noué in town tomorrow night could spark dangerous hysteria on the streets of St Helier.
They say that they are fearful of a repeat of the crushes in Birmingham earlier this month when pop stars JLS turned on the lights there.
Town centre manager Richard MacKenzie said that the switch-on was taking place in the Royal Square at 6.45 pm, but would not confirm who the acts were.
Article posted on 25th November, 2009 - 2.58pm
96 Article Comments
is it April 1st? Is Oscar puffin going cause mass hysteria?
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Best share that info with Jersey insight – they named the two ‘celebrities’ (aka ‘Out of work actors’) only this morning!! Hardly hysteria-inducing…..
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Well “rumours are” its Little and large
Jimmy saville or Showaddywaddy! No need for a stampede folks,the last suggestion i heard was Alan Titmarsh!
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Well folks in an appeal for calm “rumours” are that Little and large,Jimmy saville or showaddywaddy will be the honoured guests.
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What a good plug. Could it be the second coming? (no religious discrimination intended).
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“…could spark dangerous hysteria on the streets of St Helier.” They’re trying a bit TOO hard to manufacture hype…
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oh dear LOL
“Channel 103 can reveal the two celebrities who will be switching on St Helier’s Christmas lights.
Ex-Eastender Jessie Wallace, aka Kat Slater, and Brian Capron who played serial killer Richard Hillman in Coronation Street will be doing the honours tomorrow.”
Dangerous hysteria hahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahha
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or I should say Jersey Insight can! Ex-Eastender Jessie Wallace, aka Kat Slater, and Brian Capron who played serial killer Richard Hillman in Coronation Street will be doing the honours tomorrow
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But 103fm have already announced the names, it is two actors from a play now on at the Opera House!
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Dangerous Hysteria????
Oh my!! LOL
Channel 103 confirmed its Kat Slater (Eastenders) and Richard Hillman (Corrie) not even currently on the show.
Sooo out of touch I can’t honestly believe what I just read hehehehahaha
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What a load of tosh !! Channel 103 have stated its Jessie Wallace (Kat from Eastenders) & Brian Capron ( Richard – Gails killer -husband from Corrie) !!
If Jersey is going to have a mass-hysteria then perhaps they are thinking of all the zimmer-frames of these well-loved soap characters…
Really, who are these pin-striped, sitting in the ivory offices idiots think they are?
The hysteria is all theirs.
As for pre-blaming they people of Jersey for the aforemoentioned ” mass hysteria” I can’t recall all the outside concerts (Jersey Live, Status Quo, People’s Park etc) ever having a problem.
Perhaps this would only happen if the politicans got on stage & said “lets raise GST even higher”!!!!
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This is stupid. If you really think that they are that great then you all need your heads testing. You silly man !!
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And of course headlines such as these will not ?
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Ha ha God love Jersey….they do love to try and jump on the bandwagon..you are not one of the big boys, never will be!! I’m sure naming the person who no doubt was once (back in the 90’s a Z list celebrity) will not so much as cause a break out in sweat, let alone mass hysteria!
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Goodness, this is incredibly exciting!!! Who could it be, that patron saint of chastity Katie Price, her mensa iq rated ex Peter Andre, one of those Loose Women from that worldwide smash hit ITV show, my personel favorite would be if the powers that be have coaxed Jodie Marsh back!!! WHOEVER it is, i know it will be a world class Celeb and will definatly put Jersey back in the spotlight for the whole world to see!
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Its Geoffery, George and Bungle. Answers on the back of a post card the Islander inside the Bungle outfit
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But haven’t they been named for over a month now and where on channel 103 fm this morning!
For god’s sake they are only soap stars.
This is just blown out of all proportion, may be the battle of flowers committee should cover their ar##’s and not name their celebs either for fear of a mass crush on to the avenue or may be some overzealous fame seeking fan turn hit man.
Why not go the whole hog, get the swat team from the states police to body guard these two “stars” with a 50 meter radius so no-one can touch them.
I hope all the emergency services will be there to, to revive all the fans as they faint or get crushed in the stampede!
Health and safety gone mad once again.
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So there’s no point in paying ‘celebrities’ to switch on the lighs if we aren’t allowed to know who they are. Lets just get a competition for schoolies and one of them would be delighted to do it for free. More ££ saved with no effort at all.
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Jessie Wallace and some geezer whos in a play with her atthe opera house I believe, at least thats what Jersey Insight say.
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Puffin? Kids love Puffin, bet he is not to expensive either, I do hope they havn`t spent a small fortune in this time when money is tight on a special finger to flick a switch.
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Further more, they are named on Jersey Insight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This has got to be the most high profile demonstration of completely stupidity of recent weeks.
Which is likely to create more “hype”? Telling us clearly depraved Islanders who is turning on the lights, so that we can make an informed choice on attending or making it so secret that the implication by media is that you need to be there or you will miss something “life changing” and as a consequence create a larger crowd?
Why, when no one in the States is willing to just make a simple decision and tell us who will turn the lights on do we have to reach for the Health and Safety excuse book?
No doubt next year the Health and Safety decision will be that it will be safer not use light bulbs, but we will still pay someone a lot of money to turn the switch on…
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Has anyone told Channel 103 who seem to be telling the world who the two celebs are!?
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Someone obviously forgot to tell other news reporters on the island, I read who were switching on the lights on a popoular Jersey newsthread over fours hours ago!
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My money is on one of the X Factor cast offs.
Could we see Jedward in St Helier ?
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best look on 103fm website then!
hardly international stars, washed up soap has beens more like
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do not worry if its blowing a gale, and raining, i guess many will stay in.
maybe the conker trees in the royal square should be cut down, just in case there is a accident ,playing conkers.
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If its so top secret then why have 103 confirmed its Jessie Wallace and Brian Capron then?!?!?
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Channel 103 can reveal the two celebrities who will be switching on St Helier’s Christmas lights.
Ex-Eastender Jessie Wallace, aka Kat Slater, and Brian Capron who played serial killer Richard Hillman in Coronation Street will be doing the honours tomorrow.
They are performing in Stepping Out at the Opera House and popped along to our studios earlier.
The lights will go on at 6.45pm following a parade from West’s Centre to the Royal Square.
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If its so top secret them why have 103 confirmed its Jessie Wallace and Brian Capron then?!?!?
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I saw the names on another ‘insightful’ website. Surely this is false advertising – celebreties… get real. Another epic fail along the lines of that sub Jordan z-lister who turned up to the battle of flowers..
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Stuart Syvret???
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Jessie Wallace and Brian Capron….. wow, fantastic ( errrrr who are they?)
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Must have led a really sheltered life – who the hell are Jessie wallace and Brian Capron, any relation to Wallace and Gromit???
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“What a good plug. Could it be the second coming? (no religious discrimination intended)!”
No.
I am away from Jersey at present. I have no plans to reurn to the island until late January.
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Wow! I can hardly wait? Will Terry Le Sueur be there? Can I have his autograph?
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This has got to be such an implausible headline it has got to damage the credibility of the JEP.
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Someone else who should be sacked on the spot.They maybe also sack the person that interviewed him. It, once again, proves that if you cannot make in the real world you either work for the states or the parish; you only have to look at the states members.
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Oh dear! What a pathetic statement. Hysteria for JLS? Understood. Hysteria for 2 ex soap stars?? NOT!
“Town centre manager Richard MacKenzie” ? What on earth is a ‘town centre manager’? Another highly paid civil servant? What does he manage? What defines ‘the town centre’??
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How much is the taxpayer forking out for these non entities?
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Can we run a book on who its going to be? Stuart Syvret, Lenny Harper and Gary Glitter?
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No expense spared m,luvs,Jerseys pullin out all the stops and our special guests are Mike Smith
and Tony blackburn.Surely it would have been cheaper to get Murray norton.
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Wow… that’ll get the crowds out! Who’s in charge of marketing this huge event on the Jersey calendar?
If the above comments are fact, are there really that many people who will go to this primarily because there are two poor soap actors present?
You need to give your people a bit more credit than that…
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Well I’m still laughing here!!!
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UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUnbelievable!!!
Mass hysteria no less. Not exactly Robbie Williams and Cheryl Cole, but hey, this IS Jersey.
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Yawn.
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I could understand stampedes and mass hysteria OUT of Town if one of our numpty states members was flicking the switch, unlikely though, cos they would probably press the wrong button! Its been done before!!
I suggest the Town Centre Manager is given a temporary sideways promotion, possibly to a phone box until the populace have come to a rest! Oh and a lesson or three in PR!
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This is such a poor attempt to increase the public’s interest in the vain hope we might actually be bothered to turn up and watch such a “huge” event in the local calendar……..on second thoughts, I’ll be washing my hair
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just out of interest what is the job description of the town “centre” manager, what is his salary and how many people does he manage??
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Oh well, at least this story’s given us all a laugh instead of the usual doom and gloom news stories!
I’m actually old enough to remember Brian Capron from his Grange Hill days, so I wouldn’t mind seeing him, but I may not bother if it’s chucking it down and blowing a gale out there!
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Why waste money on D-list so-called celebs. Put the underworked and over-paid to work like the L.Govenor or the Bailiff.
Better yet get the guys whom put these up over a month before Xmas to flick the switch before they clock-off.
Even better, Terry Le Sueur, the head of the Waterworks and Telecoms to inject festive spirit into the 100 or so people laid off just before Xmas.
Life enriching…
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Get a grip Health & Safty!!!
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Jessie Wallace & Brian Capron? Perhaps we should lay on extra police to control the excited crowds. I’ve never bought in to the hysteria of watching somebody turn on a light switch. I can’t imagine ever standing in the cold to watch such an event, unless it was Jess Dunsdon in a St Trinian’s outfit
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Town Hall hysteria. Rather than face the real world, the Town Hall officials watch recycled soap opera.
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The Town Manager is responsible for overseeing everything that happens within the town centre, from late opening hours for businesses, events, road closures and planning permission.
http://www.sthelier.je/section/65
No info on job description or salary …. yet!
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media blackout you say…
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Hahaha!!! I am already out tonight so will fortunately miss the crush ;0)
Robbie Williams and Leona would have done it for me!!!
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This story is so pathetic it could only happen in Jersey!! The identity has already been revealed!
I am sure there will be a headline in a few days about the amount it has cost the taxpayers in extra police etc to hold back the crazed crowd.
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The identity has already been revealed and even before the JEP went to press. This story could only happen in Jersey!!!
I am sure there will be a headline in a few days saying how much money it cost to bring in the extra police to hold back the crazed crowd! I am surprised the Opera House hasn’t bought in extra security for the performances!!
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Oh well, at least this story’s given us all a laugh instead of the usual doom and gloom news these days!
I’m actually old enough to remember Brian Capron from his Grange Hill days, so I wouldn’t mind seeing him, but I may not bother if it’s going to be chucking it down and blowing a gale out there!!
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Kat Slater from Eastendings? “Surely” not the Kat slater? Oh my goodness,im so excited ive
peed my pants!Sometimes i cant believe how lucky we are to live in little Jersey!
OH! and to Darren at no 52* “yes” Jess Dunsdon in a St trinians outfit,or Britney spears attire complete with pigtails! “I feel young again”.
Lets hope she dosent have to turn the lights on with Stuart Syvret,if the lights failed guess who would be villified.
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Is it the folder ??? !!! It seems to have more brains than the rest of our leaders !!
I have laughed my way through this groundbreaking news report and blog – what on earth is dangerous hysteria ??
get a grip
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103 are using a deflection tactic, whos going to bother to see this Kat and the other bloke. I doubt anyone would bother.
No, I believe it will be Jedward turning on the lights, and therefore am going to take my children down early to get to the front.
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Is it that rogue coconut?
Oh yeah and we best look out for those falling conkers….
Happy light flicking …..Merry Christmas to you all x
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The only dangerous hysteria is that of us folks in danger of hysterically laughing ourselves to death !!
I for one vote for the folder to turn on the lights !!
Vote for the folder
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Are you living in the real world……….Christmas lights is for children they wont know who these two old actors etc are cant they get someone better even Father christmas?!?!?!!?
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The only Hysteria we will experience is when we find out how much they are going to pay these two actors to push the button even though they are already being paid to appear at the opera house, aside from that I dont think they will need too many police in riot gear!
Reality check needed I feel, No-one who would pull a serious full on screaming histerical crowd would consider turning on our lights!
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I guess we’ll have to stop the Battle of Flowers, Jersey Live, and the air display in case the crowds are too unruly.
This kind of catastrophising “what if?” negativity is the sort of thing we normally hear from those who call for island wide 20mph speed limits
Get a grip on reality, please!!
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WOW… this article was publishe about an hour AFTER the names were announced… how very ‘local’ of you JEP… well done, god this island is a mess these days.
The most modern trendy and fashionable thing about jersey is gallery magazine and even then it’s totally unnecessary in a community where nothing cool/modern/progressive is allowed with the old folks permission which no one has ever managed to get… and if they did the decision was reversed later (on that note.. stop protecting run down buildings in town.. it’s becoming a wasteland becaue no one wants to buy a property that can’t be updated) and nobody has cared about it since they took the jersey events pictures out of it.
Think about it… 5 years from now most of those old people won’t be with us any more and we’ll be stuck here wanting stuff that we’ve wanted for years but couldn’t have therefore leaving the island in the past.. it’s time for jersey to wake up and smell the future.. let the young people’s opinios matter more, they have to live longer with the outcome be it good or bad
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… but what on earth is a jedward?
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Mein Gott, how can this attract so many comments,yet people ignore more important issues like the Women’s Refuge / domestic violence. Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn about the Christmas lights – humbug!
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Sadly, I have a subsequent engagement, rearranging my sock draw.
For Pete’s sake guys, surely if you’re going to hype something you should at least have someone vaguely capable of raising the heartrate of the teens – gord bless ‘er, but Kat won’t be doing that will she.
I think there’s a bit of difference between JLS and a couple of washed up soap “stars”
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In reference to points 18 and 65 – Jessie and Brian are not receiving a fee for their appearance this evening.
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Just to avoid any uncertainty, have they decided to switch the lights on already, as it is just 4.30pm and the precinct appears to be lit up…?
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Well well well.. the mass hysteria plan seems to have worked.. i have never before seen 71 comments on such a silly article… Well done JEP!!!!!!! Ohh well add my comment and me to the list of hysterical people as well… Ha ha ha
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“Media blackout”….ahem
“Mass hysteria”…..for two soap actors that were slightly famous many years ago….
roflcopters
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Dangerous Hysteria what’s that then – a boy band or comedy act? Jessie Wallace invented the Dambusters bouncing bomb and Brian Capron discovered a type of chicken, didn’t they??
Simples…
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bumper m…don’t take yourself so seriously. thisisjersey.com is hardly intellectually stimulating so read something else if you want to debate topical issues. i hope to see the chucklebrothers.
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Steve # 76. Me take myself seriously? Humbug, I tell you, humbug. All this Christmas nonsense…..I think Stuart Syvert should make a guest appearance and give one of his pedantic speaches before switching on the lights……not very green or environmentally friendly wasting all that electricity.
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As a bean living in London, I can safely say: I wish I had such trivial problems in the area I live in!
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#52 Darren. I love this website, and your comments are a prime example why. In amongst the depression, there’s the occasional post that really makes me laugh. Perhaps your suggestion should be passed on to Channel TV to see whether Jess would be happy to oblige. I’m sure she would be most amused to read what you wrote. Over the past year, there’s probably numerous references to Jess Dunsdon on ‘This is Jersey’, but I doubt there’s many of her switching on lights dressed in a St Trinian’s outfit
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Give credit where it is due. Town centre manager Richard MacKenzie may be a nerd , but 77 other nerds, including myself, have taken the time to comment. No publicity is bad publicity.
Re: JEP. Did anybody attend this instantly forgettable event
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Yes, the Christmas lights were switched on way before 6pm! I didn’t attend at West’s Center but I passed through the Royal Square and wondered why such a crowd was there just to listen to some politicians speaking from the United Club. What on earth was so fascinating? Did I miss a memo?!
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Well I think they did a great job of keeping the lid on this – before the event they managed to keep me in the dark as to who the “celebrities” were and now that the lights have been switched on I still haven’t got a clue who they are….
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Mark # 82 – What instantly forgetable event are you talking about?
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So were any Crapauds crushed to death last night or is there another media blackout over there about this?
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What a laugh. All this over someone pretending to press a button while some States worker stands in a corner switching on the real switch!
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#65 Flighty… that is the best comment ever made on This Is Jersey… I have just (nearly) laughed myself to death!
Thank you so much
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Well, judging by the comments above, I’d say this one has truly backfired on you Dickie Boy.
What on earth does a town centre manager know about who’s popular and who’s not?
One thing’s for sure, Wallace and Capron’s agents certainly know how to big up their clients. And they found a naive, gullible sucker right here. Another worthwhile use of our taxes.
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I,m not sure that we should have Richard Capron over here. He played Richard Hillman-imp and he was a very bad man. Is that the kind of person we want to turn on our christmas lights?
What about having bullet Baxter off Grange Hill?
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I think this kind of hype can only lead to people not turning up next year. Talk about deflation. I think famous means famous now not years ago in this case they should have got the chuckle brothers over! or my gran, shes famous for her cakes.
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Hello can jersey please get a grip !!!!!!!!!!!!
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The lovely Jess Dunsdon in St Trinian’s atire – now that I would stand in the cold to see – she is scrummy!
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No media coverage ?
No riots or mass hysteria ?
Must be Susan Boyle then !
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James e (comment 91) I’d go with your gran-sounds like a great choice!
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Local people doing local things. I’m so glad to be a Jerseyman! now that the lights are on my life is somplete.
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