SCD '23 #4: Fourth thread, second dances, first eliminations. NO SPOILERS.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Previous thread here.

Spoiler-free thread please

Video thread here. Please link videos on that thread to avoid slowing this one down for some posters.

@catwithflowers it's never been confirmed officially by the Beeb, but every article I've read says celebs get around £25 to start, and it goes up as they get further through, winner is estimated to take home £100k.

That is NOT a good use of the licence fee!

Agree that's a lot of money for a few weeks work

It might only be a few weeks work but they would not be able to accept other opportunities during that time. So that has to be taken into account.

Plus the hours they do during those weeks is very high.

Well if they didn’t pay enough to get people you actually want to watch to do
it there’d be complaints that the cast was going downhill. It has to be pitched somewhere that makes it worth doing on top of another job for most people. It’s a flagship show, it doesn’t bother me that much.

Yes, whilst not in complete order of merit, you tend to end up with the right people in the final which I suppose is all that matters. Generally they do get rid of all the Duffers first, followed by picking off the Mid Table ones. Occasionally a Duffer will survive based on pure entertainment but they never get too far.

Don’t forget that whilst the fees paid to the celebs might sound high, they won’t be coming out of the licence fee - Strictly has been syndicated all over the globe and the BBC will receive rights payments from every other network that uses the format.

Agree. Its also prime time Saturday night telly, and has seen off all competition from ITV. If they were hiring Nigel Harman to do a Prime time TV drama for 3 months, they would probably pay him not far off that anyway.

If people think the Strictly stars are paid a lot, take a look at what the I'm a Celeb people get paid - some up to £600k for 3 weeks work according to reports.

Yes they have to go to Australia to do it and they have to do some pretty horrible trials, but it's still vastly more than Strictly.

Pro dance was fantastic.
Beverly Knight is another league. Totally underrrated imho.
She obviously works out too, she looked so fit

I think some of these performances are filmed earlier - they're not always done on the night of the live show

I love when they do the group dances. Sometimes the pro dances try to be too clever, but I the simplicity of this one. There’s something very effective about every doing the same thing.

i do wish they’d have a traditional evening. Although movie week etc can be fun, it’ll be nice to do a night when everyone wears traditional ball gowns, a bit like early Come Dancing days and the group dance they did on Lens last programme ie, no gimmicks, props etc, just pure dance,.

I agree with you, @Riverlee .
Just like Bake Off getting back to baking cakes!

Actually, I'd ban props altogether. What the heck was that flame thing about anyway?

Yes. A lot are filmed months in advance.

People on this thread have been longing for a traditional ballroom week for ages. Maybe we'll get it one day.

For me, the group dances are pure joy and take me back to the days of Pans People 😂

Loved pans people and Ruby flipper !!
( I watch old Top of the pops on bbc three Friday nights sometimes )

... and Legs & Co!

Agree, amazing voice and gorgeous looking.

Legs and co! How could I forget them !!

Yes, Pan's People were not noted for their dancing skills...

really bad dancing

In fact, I think my childhood dance teacher was actually in Pan's People....although that could be a placed memory.

But to be fair to Pans People and the rest, the TOTP brief was to jig around in a vaguely entertaining way to a pop song at an afternoon's notice. They were all trained dancers.