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.

It's so disappointing to read all of this. I'm not naive, the professional dance world is cut-throat and no picnic, but there's absolutely no excuse for violence or physical and mental bullying of any kind and I am glad the Beeb are thoroughly scrutinising everything, not just individual cases we already know about.

In addition to doing this; I think they could reduce the pressure on the contestants considerably. I don't understand why they have to appear on podcasts and do all the social media appearances as well as the show and Strictly 2. And then have to travel to other parts of the country to film ridiculous pre-dance videos. And appear in countless skits. It has got to the point where there is so much "other" content that it overshadows the dancing, and the dance routines seem to be getting shorter!

I don't understand the Beeb's reasoning tnh. Yes it's their big flagship entertainment show. But as a non-commercial station, what is the purpose of all of these add-ons? If they don't bring in revenue is it simply a question of saving money and letting one show fill a lot of air time?

Either way, it's a marathon for contestants before they even get to the dancing, and if there are a lot of time pressures and deadlines, that is going to ramp up tensions even further. Not that that is any excuse for violence whatsoever, and the anger management excuse is pathetic and inane, but I do think that the BBC should bear some responsibility here, and think about the increasing demands that they put on contestants.

In terms of payment, is there a Blackpool Bonus or is that a myth?

They do have an absolutely urgent need to hit reset and go back to basics it's true @Whatdoyouneedsonia32789

@Whatdoyouneedsonia32789
I totally agree about the pointless 'extra' stuff.
Make training a maximum of X hours per day or Y per week. Set hours probably wouldn't work because everyone has a different schedule but mandate proper breaks and cap total hours.

Reduced the It Takes Two commitments for couples who are still in - they could film content with celebs before they start training to use in the early weeks. The weekly interviews are pretty pointless because we know they will all roll out the same 'bestest friends', 'loving every moment' script even when they are hating it/being abused by their pro.

Stop couples making schlep round the TV /radio circuit plugging themselves/ the show.

My understanding was always that the pros got paid a flat rate for their time on the show - £40k was the figure I heard at one time, which sounds like a lot on first glance but when you consider they are all self-employed and have to commit to the show for a good 5 months - they'll be working on the pro dances in August and then have to be available through the whole run - plus have to work long hours, not just in training but also choreographing the routines, etc and it's not really a lucrative deal, especially when the judges are on at least 3 times that amount.

Didn't Brendan once say it was hourly minimum wage once spread over all they do ?

The pros are so underpaid, IMO.

I think the pros have agents now so they probably negotiate money i don't see them on NMW these days.

I read that it was a sliding scale for the pro’s but I guess it’s all rumours as the bbc don’t publish the info. I agree the BBC has responsibility for the pro behaviour as well as protecting the celebrities. They seem to have dropped the ball. It’s a shame that the show is in this situation, it’s been such a joyful show and to find out that there has been bullying of this extent is awful and hugely damaging to the shows reputation.

They really have to ditch the celebrities with pro dance experience-for me it ruins it rather.

I wonder if they will maybe put in "chaperones" disguised as assistant choreographers.

They ought to. They did that for Steve Backshall I think and it needs to be done for everyone. Mind you..if they video evidence then presumably someone was there taking the video?

It was maybe remote cameras? I know they do filming then film the sessions then they all faff about on tik tok/instagram so not always monitored.

It occurred to me that there haven't been any complaints from sports people contestants. Now that may well mean they are used to bullying training, which isn't good, but might imply that expectation levels are different amongst different groups of celebs.

Agree that everything needs to scale back, the endless wringing of every possible bit of emotion is PAINFUL. It seems nowadays that we're only a few weeks in before Claudia or Tess are asking, "is there anything you'd like to say to..." in the hope of getting partners to declare wax lyrical about each other. That nonsense used to be saved for the last week, I'm sure.

I must admit that I did wonder the same. Totally different work ethic & level of stamina to begin with. (Not that that excuses any sort of physical violence obviously)

@ClaudiaWinklepanda
Yes, and worst of all, after they've been through it all with Tess after dancing, it's repeated with Claudia upstairs... plus we've usually seen and heard the same story (whatever it happens to be) in training, and possibly on ITT during the week as well. Total sick-bag overload.

I've been looking forward to the new series but I just don't know what to think now. There have been allegations about two of the professional dancers and both have left the show. I'm a firm believer in the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' but something seems to be amiss. It has cast a very big cloud over the show.

I wonder what impact social media has on the professional dancers? I suspect social media is bringing in a lot of revenue for them, in addition to whatever they get paid by the BBC. So the longer they participate in the series, the higher the profile they'll have on social media. It all adds up to a lot of pressure to succeed. And if a professional has been paired up with a ringer, it gives them a clear advantage over a professional who has been assigned a less talented dancer, who is likely to be voted out in the first or second week. Must be very frustrating for the latter.

Just to be clear, I'm not excusing any bullying behaviour (if that turns out to be the case).

Also, I agree with pps who have written about all of the extras that come with the show. I just watch the Saturday night show and then I record the Sunday night show. I fast forward the Sunday night show to see who got voted out. Life's too short for 'It takes two' as well. But I guess if the viewing figures show that people are tuning in to 'It takes two', then they'll continue to run with it. It fills up a space that might otherwise be taken up with expensive content. They'll milk it for all they can get. Was 'It takes two' always part of the show or is it a relatively new feature?

Given the popularity of the show and its high profile, it would have been very difficult for Zara to raise her head above the parapet and lodge a complaint. Or maybe she just didn't want to face the uproar that would follow. And the possible backlash that she didn't appreciate the fantastic opportunity she was given and wasn't prepared to put in the necessary work. If the allegations about Graziano are true, then we should be very grateful to the staff member(s) who lodged the complaints and saved future celebrities the same fate.

So, what will happen next? I'm guessing the BBC will introduce intensive training for the professional dancers. And make changes to their contracts. I'm sure there will be ongoing mentoring and support for the celebrities. Will it put celebrities off signing up for the show? I guess only time will tell.

I imagine they will be concentrating on Amy Dowdens return and "lovely" Alijaz for distraction and hope it will all go away.

It will bring in revenue from social media likes and views, especially on YouTube.

Oh and Carlos was on TV the other day and has said he is gay and maybe get a male partner so another distraction !

Oh good for him. I'd read somewhere he was but then kept seeing Nancy draped all over him (even though she has a partner irl). At least they didn't pair him off like Ian and Robin initially, making out there were showmances (Ian - Denise, Robin - Patsy).

I don't know if that was him just saying for the first time or not it was quite moving though he said he wouldn't be comfortable coming out in China but felt "at home" in the uk to be himself He was with Amy as they are doing a tour next year.

Aw lovely and as it should be. I know Jojo said the same.

Yeah it was very sweet . Yes Jojo said being gay in S A wasn't easy.