STV ruined our wedding hopes

Nov 30 2009 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

A FURIOUS couple hit out at telly bosses yesterday after their hopes of enjoying a dream wedding were left in tatters.

Scott Howell and his fiancée Natasha Walker were one of five thrilled couples who made it through to the final of the My Best Friend’s Wedding competition organised by makers of The Hour show on STV.

The couples were all set to battle it out for the right to enjoy a lavish £30,000 wedding, with the pairing which received most online votes from members of the public being declared the winners.

Scott, of Blackstoun Oval, Ferguslie Park, Paisley, was ready to hit the campaign trail in a bid to land the prize – but his hopes have now been shattered after STV bosses suddenly pulled the plug on the competition because two couples backed out.

“To say we’re disappointed is a huge understatement,” said 25-year-old tannery worker Scott.

“We were supposed to be getting a video camera to go out and film our ‘election campaign’ to drum up support for the online vote and we were really up for it.

“Marianne has already appeared on the show to say why she thought we should win the competition and we were due to go back on the programme but now the whole thing has been ditched.

“It’s appalling.”

Scott and Natasha were nominated for the My Best Friend’s Wedding contest after one of her friends spotted it while watching The Hour.

Natasha, from East Renfrewshire, revealed how, together with Scott, she had already visited a bridal shop to film a segment for the show.

She said: “I was in total shock when a guy from STV phoned to say the whole competition had been cancelled.

“We had come so far in the competition and to have the mat pulled out from under our feet is an awful feeling.

“The man from STV said that, by means of compensation, they would pay for us to go out for a meal but that offer was just embarrassing.

“Now it looks as though we are going to have to start saving up again becausewe’re determined to have a good wedding.”

Scott added: “I work in a tannery in Seedhill and everyone there had promised to vote for me, so you can imagine my embarrassment at having to tell them the competition has been cancelled.

“If there were lots of original entrants, why couldn’t they just promote two couples who hadn’t initially made it through to the final?”

Natasha and Scott met through a mutual friend in 2005 and got engaged two years ago.

The prize for the My Best Friend’s Wedding contest included a £7,000 honeymoon in the Caribbean, £3,000 worth of flowers and a £3,500 budget for the bridal dress and bridesmaids outfits.

Scott said: “It really was a stunning prize.

“It would have been an absolute dream come true had we won but now the whole thing has turned into a bit of a nightmare.”

Competition partners The Wedding Group are also dismayed by STV’s decision to ditch the event.

A spokeswoman said: “The Wedding Group consists of 14 companies who got together to offer a prize of a £30,000 wedding.

“I really feel for the couples who were involved.

“It must have been a huge disappointment to them when the competition was pulled.”

A spokesman for STV said the decision to scrap the contest was taken with “great regret.

He added: “This competition required five couples in the final stage, according to the rules of the game.

“Unfortunately, two of the five couples have now pulled out, meaning we are unable to continue the competition.

“It was with great regret that STV decided to cancel the competition. We’re sorry about any disappointment this may have caused the remaining entrants or their friends and families.”