This is a serious consequence of moving too fast. The departure of beloved hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman and the sudden exits of much loved professional dancers including Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez and Nadiya Bychkova, were always going to cast a shadow over the BBC programme leaving a sour taste in the mouth of the nation’s favourite dance competition.
The introduction of three new presenters – Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe – has divided fans. Attention is also on the judging panel, with whispers circulating that they, too, could be eyeing the door. Despite sources insisting it “just isn’t working,” Express understands that Strictly staff aren’t aware of any imminent changes to the show’s line-up while a BBC spokesperson confirmed, “This is pure and utter speculation.”
I can’t help but wonder if the sudden revamp—including line-up changes, the introduction of new professional dancers, and some celebrities who may not be widely known to the public—is just the tip of the iceberg.
Over the weekend, Strictly bosses introduced a Halloween twist which seems to have landed like a lead balloon with viewers. The judges voted to eliminate one couple rather than save their favourite couple, as they have in previous dance-offs.
In the show’s first-ever three-couple dance-off for the festive special, Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal were the fifth couple axed from the show in a surprising result on Halloween. BBC viewers dubbed the result “unfair,” with many saying two couples should have been axed if three were dancing against each other, since the two saved couples are likely to be in next week’s dance-off. Lawrence and Jowita went up against Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu and Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. The three couples repeated their performances to advance, but the Emmerdale actor was forced to leave the competition.
But this is the problem, I don’t think show bosses have seen coming. It’s not the chemistry of the three presenters or the judges showing blatant preferences for particular performers. It’s something they have overlooked for several years.
The voting system appears to be somewhat flawed. For the past few weeks, actress Jaime and her dance partner have landed in the bottom two and each time the judges have chosen to save her. It’s clear that she is one of the more talented performers on the programme and was not one of the worst dancers but the public vote ultimately decides when a celebrity enters the dance-off. It comes down to a popularity contest. If the public isn’t supporting you it’s not uncommon to end up in the dance-off every week until the judges finally agree it’s time for you to leave.
It’s happened before. EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal broke the record for being in the most dance-offs last year. In total, she was in six dance-offs and every single week the judges chose to save her before she’d end up in the bottom two again the following week. It was uncomfortable viewing and is not what Strictly Come Dancing is about.
It may be high time Strictly got rid of the public vote altogether and left the decision to the judges. Alternatively, the judges could vote on who should be in the dance-off and then the public could decide who should be sent packing.
New reports have since claimed bosses are holding crisis talks to revamp the show. But the latest Halloween twist just proved the current voting system needs revamping more than anything else.
