So sad about Strictly.

[CurlewKate]

It's been part of our family life since it started. I really wanted to think it was as wholesome and joyous and life affirming as it looked, even though I knew it probably wasn't.

And there are celebrities that I feel differently about now because they didn't blow the whistle.😢

It was racist to call him that, doesn't mean people didn't use the term. The same as people would say ch*nky to refer to Chinese food or people. It's still offensive. There was more casual racism in the 80s than there was in the 90s.

James Jordan? Pure speculation obviously.
Or maybe he was too early. I suspect it could be a dancer from when Strictly got ultra glossy and uber competitive, not the early days when the show was more...sedate.

It’s also very hard work for them as they need to do the choreography as well.
I thought they had choreographers?

Also re Anton and the p-word. IIRC he was being lined up to replace Bruce but this scuppered his chances. So to see him now as a judge feels like a pacifier as he didn't get the main gig.

As PP, the Pro Dancers need to stay in the competition longer to build their brand for their pro dance shows as well as their racy calendars, merchandise etc.

Aliaz is coming back because he needs the £.

Cameron left after 1 or 2 series as he was just not given a celeb partner / exposure.

I don't think it's just the male pro dancers with aggressive training regimes. Oti tied broomsticks to her partners to correct their posture and Jovita seemed very strict/frustrated with Hamza.

12 hour training sessions plus media / ITT commitments, dress fittings etc are just ridiculous and should be limited.

I remember a Corrie actress was dissed because she could only fit in 4 hours of dancing after her filming commitments.

Basic work place practice should be in place. Limited hours and mandatory breaks..

They're not all at the same level. The more recent additions (including Graziano, I think) aren't traditionally trained ballroom/Latin dancers and haven't competed at the highest level.
If anything, you'd expect the actual ballroom/Latin competitive pros to be the real taskmasters and possibly abusive.

This! Training should be limited to 6 hours a day, that means contestants have time to do all the other stuff that is needed.

There should be a nutritionist and a counsellor that they need to see each week. And an independent physical trainer to assess the training regime and that it is suitable for them. This shouldn’t be optional.

Then it should move to fortnightly (or split the celebs into 2 groups) until Blackpool.

The pros should get a flat fee regardless of where the come in the competition. Especially as they have no say in their partner.

Unless they are big changes strictly will remain rotten.

Interesting that both professional dancers are Italian. I have worked with Italian men in the past and I found them to be sexist bullies if I am going to be totally honest. I don't want to make a judgement about all Italian men and I am sure most are lovely but I must say my own personal experience with the few I have met wasn't great. One instance ended up in a full blown slanging match. The guy couldn't believe that a woman was questioning him. He was so angry that I dared to question him that that became the issue in the argument, not what the disagreement was originally about. It was a petty work disagreement. He wanted (or rather expected) that I just shut my mouth.
He wasn't just annoyed, he was angry. I think if I had been his wife/girlfriend, I would have gotten a slap. I think they have a culture of a woman must know her place especially in the older generations. I suspect they've both come up against strong minded women who have called them out on their behaviour.

I definitely think they should put a limit in training hours, same for everyone. Spending too much time together. If you not getting on that well it’s going to be awful and it’s just too much when they say they’ve been training 9 til 9 at night ..

Although the standard/expectation of celebrity dancing has jumped since the program began, it really doesn't improve the audience experience of the show.

I think the audience want to get behind an average, or below average dancer (Jeremy Vine, or Dan Walker ) and see them make gradual improvements each week and blossom into a reasonably good performer.

The celebrities that come on the show that can already dance are not giving an interesting 'journey' so are a bit dull to watch or get behind. Ellie won last year, because she was relatable, wasn't a natural to start with, and gave the audience a good story to watch.

With that in mind why put in someone like Layton, or raise the bar to generate impossible standards when this probably isn't why the audience is watching in the first place.

Watching the dancers on iPlayer with my dd on Sunday, we fast forwarded all the chat and fillers, watched who we liked and fast forwarded others. I don't think I watch Layton at all as we just were not invested in him, but we did watch Zara as my DD loved her story (she did look like a beautiful Disney princess too which did appealed to my DD) and she is more inspirational as someone completely out of their comfort zone trying new things.

And nor did we watch the show as a whole because the presenting is so very very poor, over hyped and too many fillers. We don't watch 'It Takes Two' as the formate and presenting are very poor too. I don't know anyone irl who watches strictly now, which is sad as it was once a really lovely show, but they have really lost focus on why people tune in.

@FlannelandPuce completely agree. This is how I watch Strictly in recent years. The in between bits are too cringe making and as for the forced emotion and sob stories well that just makes me puke.
Then every time someone leaves they get put on the spot to gush about how wonderful it all is and how their partner is now a friend for life.
The ringers are boring to watch. If we wanted to just watch excellent dancers we would be watching a different show. Strictly was always about non dancers learning to dance. Layton’s inclusion made a mockery of that.

Completely agree with other posters.

I went to dance classes for a little while and got nowhere near the standard on Strictly, who are all meant to be amateurs too. You often can't tell between the pros and non pros.

I imagine that the PTSD feelings celebs have felt post show are due to the pressure of delivering this extreme standard on the night.

I'd prefer to see a more realistic development of skills, the celebs are meant to be 'us', the non pros after all.

Just to chuck in a different opinion, I've always liked the inclusion of already strong dancers as well as the complete novices. They are all new to ballroom and latin and partner dancing, so although they take to it more quickly, it is still a challenge and a learning curve. I loved watching all of Leighton's routines. Such an incredible dancer!

@WannabeHealthier

. It’s always struck me as super tight of the BBC only to pay £30k given it’s 6 months of their life including the prep. It’s also very hard work for them as they need to do the choreography as well.

This is shocking and borderline abusive really. I haven't done the maths but I bet given the hours of training (nearly 24/7 it sounds like for the most competitve ones) the hourly rate ends up v. low.

I think the business model is to ensure that none of the professionals get a chance to become too prominent so that they don't get the goodwill of the Strictly brand associated with them and can't demand more money. Anton is the only one who really navigated that with any skill. I think the sacking of Brendan Cole was an illustration of that policy. He was the only pro dancer who anyone (general public as opposed to die hard fans) could really name or know because he'd got a bit of 'personality' (ahem) that he had let show.

If you watch Americas Sweethearts on Netflix about the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders (DCC) its the same thing but worse. These extraoridinarily beautiful women (look like models) who are fantastic dancers, fantastic athletes are so desperate for the job - to touch the hem of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader stardust - and the brand are so focussed on locking down the brand - that they pay them utter peanuts - as in $12 a hour!!! & $400-500 for a whole game performance. The DCC are as valuable a brand as the team - people are obsessed with them and the glamour. It's shocking how low they pay them but they can do it because so many people are desperate for the job.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-demand-increased-wages-19867648

PS: I'd really strongly recommend that series Americas Sweethearts on Netflix if you are interest in dance. It's really well done and absolutely fascinating. It gets better as the episodes go along and you get to know the auditionees. It follows the recruitment process for the squad which is recruited as a whole new every year. Even last years cheerleaders have to compete and audition again. It's brutal stuff.

Watch AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders | Netflix Official Site

I'm another one who loves the strong dancers. I loved Layton and Nikita's routines last year, similarly Danny Mac, Jay and many of the other ringers.
To be honest I found Dan and Jeremy rather dull and would hate a series full of mediocrity- I think having a range is Strictly's strength. Ellie had plenty of dance training and if Layton hadn't been there - Ellie and Amanda would likely have been the ringers.

Totally agree.
I've been spat at.by an abusive ex and it's so awful.
Someone linked to a Monkseal quote where he described graz as like Clifford the big red dog on uppers! That's exactly how I saw him,bouncy,friendly,excitable but overall fun and nice! He was always so smiley and twinkly eyed so it's a shock to me.

*It’s always struck me as super tight of the BBC only to pay £30k given it’s 6 months of their life including the prep. It’s also very hard work for them as they need to do the choreography as well.

This is shocking and borderline abusive really.*

Well that's the first time I've seen max 5 months work (less for most of them, or at least most of them are only doing a few hours a week by the end), for £30k (more if they last longer btw) described as abuse. It's more than a lot of people earn in a year, plus being on the show opens up lucrative opportunities elsewhere. And there's a dance team to help them with choreography, music choices etc.

I'm not saying the pros don't work hard, they do, especially if they stay in until the end - but £30-£50k for five months is not abuse. They don't have to do it, after all.

I'm not saying the pros don't work hard, they do, especially if they stay in until the end - but £30-£50k for five months is not abuse. They don't have to do it, after all.

It is in the context of what the show generates income wise, what the presenters get paid (like £150k) and the level and intensity of work the dancers do compared to the presenters.

Abuse in the sense of unfair treatment. It's shocking.

I think the judges salaries are obscene really. Esp Shirley’s. Judges and presenters should get less and the dancers more. The opportunity argument doesn’t really work for me…applies to the judges and presenters as well. There is no doubt the dancers are under huge pressure and their salary should reflect that plus the hours they put in. The hourly rate for the judges must be eye watering.

Another pro may also be named. I've always got bad vibes from Janes Jordan.

I’m not a Strictly watcher but have watched many reality series over the years and many of the details have been surprising.

“Appearing on Strictly” is often used in social media posts as shorthand for “easy money that will raise the celebrity’s profile for a few weeks” 👀

I’m not surprised that the programme has massively changed since series 1 as all reality shows seem to evolve that way with a small minority of shows not becoming more ruthless, clinical and designed to attract clicks and viewers rather than maintain the initial series charm.

I’m not surprised that it’s taken this long for allegations to emerge either. If I was a contestant I would assume that the treatment I was getting was normal because previous people who worked with the pro hadn’t complained and I would be scared of getting a reputation of being “difficult to work with”

Somebody mentioned that Zara did some social media videos with the pro dancer. I suspect that their agencies or the BBC ask celebs to do stuff like that to keep up appearances /promote the show. Celebrities who have the same agencies often do social media stuff together even if they aren’t friends in real life because their agencies insist on it for business reasons.

They’re married; not sure what you
mean?
it was James who criticised his partner Georgina for being ‘fat’ (discussed earlier on this thread). He also has a range of… interesting views on Brexit, the Covid vaccine etc.