Strictly Come Dancing '24 Thread 1 : Who will be our celebs and Pros?

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

Starting a new SCD thread for chat prior to the series as the last is about to fill.

These threads are usually helmed by @PolkadotsAndMoonbeams and I normally deputise, but I haven't seen her around in a while

This thread will discuss who has been chosen for the show, but not who has been paired with who as that's a spoiler for the first show.

This is a NO SPOILER thread

Get Ready To KEEP DANCING.

Breaking News

Strictly Come Dancing to put chaperones in rehearsal rooms. Just got a notification from Sky News

This is a shocking catalogue of abuse.

The BBC needs shutting down now. We need a referendum on withdrawing public support. I don't want my money being used to abuse women.

Page 10 | So sad about Strictly. | Mumsnet

Some of the footage of Brendan and James on this thread is eye-opening.
Both are doing a Legends of Strictly tour soon with Vincent, Ian and Pasha.
Their take on it is here and makes interesting reading.

James says he'd be gutted if he had four partners complain.
Brendan would be surprised if there weren't ex partners who still hated his guts.
Ian thinks the show has masked what they used to show under a kindness facade.

(This is before the Graziano revelations)

Giovanni's Strictly scandal? There's no smoke without fire... As they hit the road on their first tour together, the 'geriatrics of Strictly' say what they really think about the bullying scandal engulfing the show | Daily Mail Online

Yes, I think it has to be remembered that there have been occasions when the celeb has been the bully and the pro the victim or at least occasions when the celeb clearly makes the pro uncomfortable. Some of the male celebs have seemed a bit handsy. There were also partnerships where the celeb hasn't committed to training, either because they can't or won't, and you can feel the stress this puts the pro under.

IMO, most of the tension comes when the celeb is doing Strictly for fun or a bit of a side-hustle but the pro's entire career is contingent on becoming a success on Strictly. You need to cut through to the public like an Anton or an Oti, you don't want to end up like a Jared or an Anya. (Although I thought Anya was great.). Alternatively, you have situations where someone like Danny John-Jules (rumoured to be quite a difficult character anyway) is doing the show to get his one-man show about Sammy Davis Jr. off the ground and takes it far too seriously.

The whole thing reminds me of Glengarry Glen Ross ..... but with leotards. There's an element of inferring exactly where you stand with the producers based on which celeb you are assigned.

I suppose the chaperones are a good idea but I wonder if they could stop partnerships gelling if they are there all the time? And I do like a proper bit of old-fashioned Strictly sexual chemistry. There'll be no more 'Are they or aren't they?' if we know that Barry the runner is never more than two foot away. Goodness! What about the infamous Blackpool after-party? They'll probably have a group of Presbyterian ministers with a water cannon on standby in case of any shenanigans.

Time to stop with SCD! It’s had its day and these latest revelations are shocking…probably a lot more behind the scenes!

They shouldn’t do another show 😦

I don't think Strictly has had its day. I think the point that Ian (he'd better be as lovely as he seems) made in that linked article is true. We used to see a lot of the tensions and arguments in the training room but now the show is hellbent on convincing the public that everything is wonderful and lovely all the time.

I actually think the show needs to be a bit of throwaway fun for the celebs and to stop trying to turn itself into one long therapy session. Stop the mawkishness of Couple's Choice, stop all the narratives about celebs doing Strictly because they are grieving, divorced etc., stop trying to get them to constantly emote or talk about how much their pro means to them or how many friends for life they have made, stop getting them to make boring VT's about how much they want to win.

Well it's a start.
They need to not cast celebs with a very high baseline of dance experience so the total novices aren't trying to play keeping up with the Joneses with someone who is already a skilled dancer.
They need to cap training hours so pros can't push their celeb beyond the point of exhaustion because 'all the other couples will be putting in the hours'.
They need to mandate breaks so after X hours you must spend Y minutes out of the training room, ideally with the pro and celeb in separate places so the celebs can let it go completely and clear their head for a bit rather than being forced to carry on thinking about the dance while they eat.

I don't think it needs to stop either. As long as measures are put in place, there's no reason it should stop. It brings joy to so many people and look at the good it has done for so many people, Anabelle Croft, Debbie Mcgee, Krishnan Guru-Murthy to name a few.. don't forget this is also the Career for all the pro's and the behaviour from a couple should absolutely not spoil it for all the others. It's being dealt with, as it should and measures to stop it happening in the future are being put in place, so I really don't think it needs to go as far as being taken off the TV.

i have been rewatching Krishnan's dances lately; so joyous!

Exactly! Strictly has brought so much joy over the years, this is all so sad!

And Hamza's too.

Oh yes, lovely Hamza! So many amazing dances.. I constantly watch them back on YouTube! It is so sad that the joy and sparkle of Strictly has been tarnished 😪

Amen to all of this!

I went to Leyton and Nikita's show in London last night and they were brilliant, and look to have a really genuine friendship, which I don't think at the start I'd have predicted, when Leyton seemed like he'd be quite hard work. It was also so obvious just how much he had developed skills in dancing as a partnership. It was joyous.

Am sticking with what I said earlier especially as there have now been more revelations of a third pro now being looked into so it’s opened the flood gates it seems…3 people now …time to draw a line and stop the show.
had many joyous years with it am a fan but the behaviour isn’t okay …
It’s top story in DM this morning another pro being looked into re bullying and abuse allegations .

I just read the 3rd pro is a past professional.

Past or present it’s unacceptable…can take a fair guess at who it may be …

It's not top story in the Mail, it's just there. The issues with certain pros and participants need to be addressed and dealt with of course, as it seems they are being - but I see no reason why a successful show of such longstanding should be cancelled, and I highly doubt it will be.
Sure, the problems have probably ruined the show forever for some people; if that's the case, they can just stop watching.

@Bluffinwithmymuffin yes it was the TOP story when I posted my comment on here it is not now but it was this morning!

Why do people think they are always right 🙄...it was the headline in the DM simple fact.

Not everyone has the same view point and I am giving mine ...given what has come out I think it has had its day...

"Why do people think they are always right 🙄"

Why indeed, marshmallow.

I saw the piece on page 17 of the paper itself. That's all I was saying.

@Bluffinwithmymuffin because you were so quick to say it is not the top story like i had made that up...

Yes it was the top story/main headline this morning.

It isn't on page 17 it is prominent on the first page on the app am looking at it now...it's a big story they are running with.

You were trying to downplay what I was saying like it wasn't a headline like nothing to see here yada, yada....

I am a SCD fan! have been from the off but I know that this isn't okay the behaviour/ conduct that is being exposed...

Strictly being discussed on This Morning at the moment...the latest revelations.

saying chaperones not a good idea ...

Apologies if everyone already knows this but I’ve only just seen it - BBC will be showing the first ever episode of Strictly as part of a ‘summer nostalgia’ series. Not clear exactly when it will be shown though - a Saturday night starting from 27th July.

Shame it’s just the first episode, would love to watch the whole of the earlier series!

www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1922563/brucie-tess-daly-strictly-come-dancing-summer-nostalgia/amp

The piece I read is on page 17 of the actual, physical hard copy of the daily mail newspaper.
Get off your high horse.