Strictly 2026 : WEEK THREE 18.15 pm Get On Your Dancing Shoes NO SPOILERS

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

HOUSEKEEPING :

Doing weekly threads as was agreed to at the start of the series by the majority. But this means for the first time this series we’ve got an unfinished thread. People are also posting still on the end of Week Two. Chat split over 3 threads isn’t great. If we could all move over to this thread and stick to it, that would be great

CHEERS

KEEP DANCING 💃

Yes! I’m not as excited as I usually am for Saturday nights now and don’t really care if I miss it and have to watch on catch up. I think it’s the lack of any real celebrities, I don’t care about any of them!

I also thought last night, I’m sure there were fewer people commenting on the thread than there used to be, and the thread itself is moving much slower these days…

Also Kai is morphing into Alan Davies.

Kai is the new Alan ! Lol
Don’t mind JJ, but I bet a few people are not happy at being turned down for the job. I caught a bit of Rylans radio show yesterday and he usually mentions strictly , but he didn’t say anything. He asked a contestant on the quiz what they were up to and last year Rylan would have said ‘ I’m watching the dancing ‘ but he didn’t yesterday unless I missed it! I bet it can be a bit competitive with choosing new people and the backlash with Josh too!

I forgot to vote. D'oh. Kai is about 3 feet taller, half the age and far better looking than Alan!

It’s the hair with Kai ! I like his new style, it’s all the rage with the teens round our way.

When the Beeb put Tess in charge of the biggest live light ent show on TV they genuinely took a chance and created something new - a female led big show. There were plenty of commenters even then spouting that women couldn't really front the big shows. She and Claudia really did have chemistry and it felt natural to the viewer.

This time they could have been even more confident in their new female presenter who comes with a much greater track record than Tess had at the time. Instead she has to share with a man who is really the wrong fit for the show. He seems only to be there because the Beeb are desperate to hang onto the demographic where he is popular. It feels like a key point in the terminal decline of the show.

I'm utterly bemused at the notion that Janette genuinely thought she was in with a chance up against solid pros like Zoe, Sarah and Emma.

Yes but... we should still be able to criticise a poor presenting choice for one of the biggest shows on TV.

He is sharing the anchor for the show - I can buy giving Jojo time for the Clauditorium because he brings other expertise and my expectation was that he would need some time to settle into the role. However Josh is sharing the anchor slot and its reasonable to have higher expectations. Emma has been spot on from week one - its a highly paid professional contract not work experience.

I wish the show wasn’t so hyped up. I am sure it wasn’t this bad even 15 years ago , but the whooping and yelling is a tad annoying at times.
I suppose I’m getting old. Lol

I think there were always loud audience reactions but agree its much more whoopy. However I think that is just a trend in broadcasting with live audiences.

A friend of mine was in the audience last year and she said that boards are held up regularly telling everyone to whoop and cheer. She found it very odd and contrived.

I think Vito is an acquired taste. He's very immature and excitable which I think suits a younger partner such as Ellie that he won with but anyone over 30 is going to get pissed off with his antics.

It does sound fake I think.
Shame really , but I suppose that muted clapping isn’t what they are after.

I enjoyed it last night. As I said last week, I simply enjoy watching people dance and seeing people having a lovely experience, improve and the joy lots of them seem to have. I did a lot of ballroom/latin dancing as a child/teen (over 20 years ago) so maybe I enjoy it for that reason as well.

I also think Josh was much better last night and seemed more relaxed/natural. I don’t really over-think it and just enjoy watching a positive Saturday night entertainment show for a bit of escapism from the world.

Just out of interest, I just picked a few random Strictly threads from previous years and scrolled down to read a few random comments and there’s generally negativity/moaning on a lot of them, so I don’t think this year is any different!

That’s not meant as a moan at any of you, but just a reflection that people seem to often prefer to focus on the negative than the positive! 😊

I agree!

She’s probably thinking she’s got 3 kids at home and doesn’t want to spend her spare time with an adult child.

Sometimes parents need time away from their children and to be mature, adult company and I imagine his silliness is grating when you have to deal with enough of it at home too. It must be exhausting.

There’s been something “off” about their partnership from the very first show when they were put together. She looked unhappy about being paired with him and she still doesn’t seem to be particularly enjoying herself like the other couples are.

Lacey has the kind of face which shows her emotions well and she isn’t being very positive is she !
I thought her dance was by numbers. I didn’t hear the judges comments at all though , so maybe they liked it !

Me too but she could have done upstairs. On paper at least, far more experience than Johannes (she was at the helm of it takes two for two years? and has hosted the live tours, whereas he had no hosting experience to his name, just stage experience from Kinky Boots).

Does anyone know if the pros choose the dance/music?

As I may have mentioned, I really like watching Julian but the music didn't seem to fit the dance, and I wondered whether he made a bad choice or whether it was imposed on him.

And I will be happy to ship Tabby and Mark as long as they are both single. The chemistry in their dance was wonderful.

Plus Claud went from the sister show to the main show, so she must have thought she had a chance, however small.

It used to be they put forward tracks and their ideas for themes and producers shared equitably, gave a yay or a nay.
Examples Kev wanted to do Edward Scissor hands, told no can do. Dancing with scissors bad for kids allegedly. And chill guy who danced with Jamilia (cannot believe I have forgotten but am getting old) wanted a routine to Janet and Michael's Scream but got told no. Also no to him being Beetlejuice.
I think though increasingly, pros are being told rather than collaborated with. Some of the routines this series would have had more impact with a different track.
There should be a law against paso and tango having pop music. Does my head in.

Tristan!?

Sorry. Am in pain atm.
So I loved Deb and Gio's tango but to Black eyed peas. Nope. Same as Geronimo. There are others.
I like a sultry, steamy Spanish vibe Ty. And pom poms wafty sleeves for the Viennese.

Rewatched, and I think Tabby was the best of the night. Just hated the Ariana tune for AT.

I don’t like the rumba. I had high hopes for Lawerence , but it fell flat for me as he didn’t take the lead much.
I know it’s a tricky one to get right and often controversial. I wish it was dropped really.

Yes fair point - I'm thinking of the anchor role rather than the chat role. That said, Tess/Claudia managed a kind of blend where Tess was anchor but. Claudia was supporting anchor rather than just the chat part (if that make sense!).

Much of the latin really works best with latin music. Sambas, salsas, pasos and especially AT really need that latin beat even if its not totally traditional pieces.

There is a huge catalogue of popular latin music but we rarely hear even the best known of them - its nearly always western pop or show tunes shoehorned into the slot.