Come Dancing BBC4

[Parts]

Oh, the absolute joy of it. Terry Wogan, dancers who look 34 but are actually 19 yr old secretaries and mechanics, awkward descriptions of the enormous sequinned dresses (created by Carol's mother, Sheila), the proper dance band, cutaways to the dinner-dance audience smoking grumpily through the 'now traditional Come Dancing disco section!', brutal marking...

Can't believe my childhood now looks as ancient as a Pathe newsreel.

That's a special though and she was a pro — here she is younger. I've had her partner in this clip as a judge at competitions before (Kevin's dad too actually).

Here again, in the Blackpool Tower. I'm not sure these have quite the same charm as the seventies ones though somehow.

Brilliant! Was Matt Cutler on it towards the end? I think he was the one I was thinking of but Google isn't helping.

Looking forward to this Sunday's episode, apparently it's Scotland v Northern Ireland 😁

He was on the 50th anniversary one, I couldn't see a normal one. Not to say he wasn't though.

I'd forgotten that he wasn't always blond! It's funny to see him and Nicole as a romantic couple.

The dances, the costumes, the camp, the lights, the male lorry mechanics and the women who manage knitwear shops! I've been watching old clips on YouTube, but to get full episodes is wonderful. It's the most glorious thing I've watched on telly in years. It makes Strictly look positively butch and strait-laced.

The disco bit = Couple's Choice, but totally magnificent.

The disco dancing being judged by Miss Top Teen! The little old ladies in the audience with fags hanging out of their mouths! Every second of this is like mainlining purest entertainment.

I'm a Strictly stalwart, but I have to admit I'm looking forward far more to seeing Scotland vs Northern Ireland than I was for some of the episodes this series!

The formation dances were far more transfixing than any of the recent pro routines on Strictly.

I realised belatedly that they're marking out of 5, not 10. So what looks like a soul-destroying 3 is actually just a faintly patronising 3.

It’s starting!!

I'm here! Love the spangly dress 😁

Made by her mum 🙂

Great tuxedo catsuit!

Terence and Margaret, 16 and 18!

I'm vigorously nodding along to all the comments on this thread.

That last samba put me in mind of Strictly Ballroom 😂

Eleanor’s 14

Good lord, what a dress! Looks like it belongs on a toilet roll.

Thanks for starting this thread. Yes, everything you said in your OP.

How did Judy Clifton do a samba on the grass in purple glittery heels, how? They were brilliant.

When I put it on my husband said, “why are you watching this?”. I said, “why aren’t you watching it? It’s great!”. He was soon invested, especially when we heard that the jiver from Home Counties North was keen on Page 3. To show the girls that he was all man, I assume!

But I have so many questions.

What happened to old time dancing? Quite enjoyed watching the military two-step. How come it is never on Strictly? I might start watching it again if so, take my mind off the excruciating ‘journeys’. I wouldn’t mind being in the Weston Super Mare old time formation team, currently strutting their stuff in episode 1. Looks like great fun.

Are Donnie Burns, Gaynor Fairweather, Sammy Stopford and Barbara McColl pariahs from ballroom dancing? They were always on Come Dancing in the 80s strutting their professional stuff (shown after 10 pm on Sunday night, we were allowed to stay up to watch it. Best TV night of the week, also included Howards’ Way). So I keep expecting them to show up on Strictly as elder statesmen of the noble art.

Weston Super Mare old time formation now dancing to ‘Hitler has only got one ball, the other is in the Albert Hall’.

I miss the oldschool men's Latin outfits on Strictly, I prefer the stretchy trousers and sewn-in spangly shirts!

So much more camp and they showcase the movement and lines of the dance infinitely better than the Primark gear they stuff them these days on Strictly 😩

They've done away with ballroom tails too for the most part 😠

It’s pure joy. No stupid celeb sob stories, just pure joy in a homemade frock.

In the courtyard 😂

The camerawork is a million times better than Strictly. The choreography for each dance is clearly delineated. The music has the correct time signature.

I'd be gutted if I went on this and the commentator didn't say I was part of a handsome couple.

The man in this pro couple is spectacular!

These two are amazing! Both their outfits are incredible 😁

Loving the indoor/outdoor cutting edge segueing!