Strictly 2025 : Build Up To The Final

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

KEEP DANCING

This is supposedly Sarah James' last year, and good job too. It's been more and more pantomime every year since I started watching it.

My suggestions for changes would be:

Ditch Couple's Choice - No sob stories, just clips from the training room.

Ditch Icons and Halloween Week - we don't need yet another fancy dress week with the same songs over again.

Go back to doing half Waltz, half Cha Cha in week 1 and alternate between ballroom and Latin in subsequent weeks.

Argentine Tango not to be performed earlier than week 8 - or have AT week with the remaining couples in quarter finals.

More traditional music instead of Tik Tok tune of the year.

Stop making Neil look stupid in every pro group dance.

Yes to AT only for the privileged few. Vincent and Flavia made a Vt for it takes two last week or maybe week before, anyway it was it was near the end of the series contestants did them.

Agree with @xsquared suggestions. Also, do the results show on Saturday night, with a lot less fannying around. Now that votes are all online, surely it’s much more straightforward - after all, I’m a celebrity manage it!

I’d also say they should rest it next year before coming back with a new format, judges and hosts. If they have to do next year’s, how about All-stars, splits into ringers & non- ringers to level the playing field?

Ringers:
Amber
Lewis
Danny Mac
Layton
Ashley Roberts
Tash Ghouri
Faye Tozer
Jay …?

and then non-ringers all-stars
Mark Ramprakash
Darren Gough
whichever of the rugby players made it furthest - Matt Dawson? Austin Healey?
Stacey Dooley
Chris Hollins
Gethin Jones
Bill Bailey
Tuffers
Simon Webbe

or just do a Christmas and a New Year special?

Placemarking. Love the idea of an All-Stars but don’t think they could stretch a whole series out of it.

Didn't they do a Christmas "All stars" im sure?

Only caught up on the whole thing last night after DH retired to bed with man flu.
I don't think I care enough any more. Karen is fine, George is meh and Amber i just can't warm to.
I will likely watch next week as it's the last one, but without Claude and decent Celebs I think I might be done.
I hardly ever watch the Christmas one.
From last night wtf was Kylie's Village People tribute Christmas song all about?
I really wanted the pros to Sit Down for James (sad, I know)
And finally how young were Tess and Claude in their little tribute piece 😭

No, I never watch Chistmas Strictly. Will watch the final on Saturday and be happy with who ever wins - Karen or George. Have enjoyed Amber's beautiful dances and like to see Dianne progressing nicely. Dianne's vlogs are so natural and funny by the way.

Am I the only one who actually quite likes the CC?!

No to the nans and the sobs and the oft repeated “I just want to make my family proud,” crap, but for sheer variety and the opportunity to showcase something a bit different, I think it works. And it’s nice for couples who won’t get within a hundred yards of the final to freestyle it any way they want for once.

Agree on ditching Icons Week, can't see the point of it. They have too many theme weeks already. DWTS in the US is even worse, every week seems to be a theme week!

Use some better/different songs and don't keep repeating them. And match the music to the dances better - it's painful watching someone trying to do a tango to a tune which blatantly isn't fitted to a tango beat.

Scrap the Sunday show and just do results later on Saturday.

Agree about not trying to make people do Argentine Tango in week 3 or 4. Also agree that all the tearful Couples' Choice VTs can get in the bin.

I don't really watch the Christmas special so the final will be it for me this year. I think if they're going to keep it going in a post Tess/Claudia era they need to make some smart decisions and change things up.

If they don’t change it up, they’ll have missed a trick.

Just watched Balvinder and Julian on It Takes Two, she was and always has been so gracious and down to earth. No histrionics. She phrased it very well when asked about how she felt going up against Amber. She said they were in different leagues, which is so descriptive, she wasn't being a sore loser and said she thought Amber was lovely and very talented.

Agree, @deadpan

Separately, I also thought DannyMac was good when Fleur referred to what Nikita said on Saturday night in support of Amber.

The winner will be George or Karen.
Obviously Amber will stand no chance.
I'm now not sure if it'll be George. I think Karen might have had a late surge in popularity. Also, all the people voting for Lewis have got to redistribute their votes.

I think Couple's Choice is good at sorting the wheat from the chaff and seeing what a couple can really do when not constrained by a set style.
There are some naff ones, but the good ones are highly re-watchable.

I don't think that there has been a contempowaft this series.

I don't mind a CC.
Lewis and Katya's CC was one of the best dances of this series.
AJ and Kai's CC is one of my favourite dances on Strictly.
Faye and Giovanni's CC was a work of art.

Also, all the people voting for Lewis have got to redistribute their votes.

Depends whether they can be bothered. I gave all mine to Bal and Amber to no avail.

I will see who entertains me most, but I've not voted for George once in the series.

I will see who entertains me most, but I've not voted for George once in the series

Neither have I.
I'm not sure who to vote for now.

I'll be voting for Karen.

@BogRollBOGOF
I noticed that too, no contempowaft. That’s been a blessing.

There didn’t seem to be much improvement/development this year. Either they were fab from week one and are slightly more fab now (Karen, Lewis , Amber) Or they have improved a little but are still only slightly above average depending on the dance (George, bal) or they got voted out early doors (Vicky Jimmy)
in previous years whilst there’s always been a ringer or two there has been a more noticeable improvement over the weeks.
id like George to win as I feel he’s improved/ developed the most over the series.

I agree if we end up with holly willowby and Zoe ball it’s just going to be a second rate version of what we already have. I think they need to go younger to keep the younger generations watching.

Yes it’s their second highest ratings show after celeb traitors. They make a lot from selling it to other countries too. It would take a lot for them to give it up.

It isn’t all about winning though. She, like other ringers before her, still get massive publicity and reach audiences who would never heard of her otherwise.

Amber is going on tour with legally blonde next year i don't think she needs the exposure, thats not a slight on Amber but I don't think she did strictly for the exposure she was asked last minute to step in Strictly probably wasn't penned in for her she was just free and able to work for however many weeks.

I think Karen has improved a lot more than that. Her early ballroom was shaky, and last week's waltz was a massive leap forward. I also don't think she'd have been able to pull off that samba any earlier.

I also think George has improved a great deal in terms of attitude and the way he performs and attacks the dance, and Bal got better as they went on; she got lots of comments about her improved footwork and technique.