It's bars in their eyes

by Tony Halstead London's Nylon bar will be thrust under the national spotlight in March as the venue for a new ITV network reality show The Club. Three celebrities are being invited to run separate bars inthe 1,000-capacity venue over a seven-week period, each one assisted by three contestantschosen from the public. Cameras will broadcast live shows from Nylon on ITV2 five times a week, with the final slot each week seeing one of the "staff" from each bar selected for the chop by the celebrities. The show is designed to capture the drama as the stars fight to make their own bars the coolest and hippest, accelerate takings and persuade their celebrity friends to become regulars. But their success will depend on the ability of the staff to make the bar tick. After the celebrities have selected staff members to be axed each week, the viewing public will then get to vote on who stays and who goes. Each week, ITV1 will feature an omnibus edition, made up of the five live broadcasts on its sister channel. Nylon boss Gary Hibbard says the series will be a wonderful profile for his bar, which is already one of the busiest in the city of London. Hibbard, who runs a string of other clubs and bars under his Style In The City company, said he can't wait for the series to begin. "It will give us massive profile and, hopefully, educate people to understand just how difficult it is to run a successful pub business," he said. "I'm told the celebrities will be chucked in at the deep end and will either sink or swim. They will end up pulling pints, cleaning tables or even changing barrels in the cellar so it will be a humbling experience for them ­ but great fun for everyone else!" So far, the identities of the three celebrities are being kept firmly under wraps, although names such as actress Barbara Windsor and former boxer, Chris Eubank, have been mentioned.