Strictly’s cursed by its own stupidity. It’s lost the plot… and I know who is to blame
As a lifelong fan of Strictly Come Dancing, I have watched every single episode since its very beginning. I fondly remember gathering around the television with my family and friends, eager to see the magic unfold on our screens. However, over the years, it seems that the sparkle which once made this show a jewel of Saturday night family viewing has gradually dimmed.
Following the Halloween special of Strictly on Saturday night, which seemed to have more suggestive moves and exposed areas than a passionate Paso Doble, I can’t help but ponder if our cherished family program has strayed from its original path. It appears that Strictly might have fallen victim to its own missteps.
Why did judges Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke decide to wear petite, pastel-blue, infant-like frocks? While they were attempting a costume for the eerie special as the twin sisters from The Shining, it was quite unsettling to see gentlemen in their mid-fifties dressed as flirtatious schoolgirls.
Instead of diving into risque content, they may have seen it as an attempt to stop the significant loss of over a million viewers who left Strictly this season, marking what should have been their triumphant 20th anniversary. However, such content appeared more fitting for a fetish site than a ballroom dance competition.
However, the events didn’t end there. Following the ‘gropegate’ incident where Katya Jones seemed to push away her partner’s hand, opera singer Wynne Jones from Go Compare, their dance on Saturday still involved numerous lifts, with his face buried in her undergarments.
I’ve counted up to eight, and that’s just how many times Vito Coppola hoisted a horizontal Sarah Hadland in their Argentine tango, and I could go on about the low angle shots focused there.
It was almost as disturbing as watching Nikita Kuzmin’s jive with ‘celebrity’ Sam Quek as he ripped his clothes off to reveal a tiny black basque, suspenders and stockings more appropriate for a sleazy Blackpool end-of-the-pier drag night than Strictly’s dancefloor.
Could someone, please, manage to control judge Shirley Ballas who donned an extravagant red wig resembling Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus. She seemed so enamored with her own grandeur that she spoke in character’s exaggerated voice throughout the entire show. It was painfully bad television. At what point did the judges believe they were the main attractions of the program?
Let me shift topics a bit: It’s quite surprising that many of us aren’t familiar with this year’s female celebrities, as we used to be well-acquainted with stars like Jerry Hall, Esther Rantzen, Alesha Dixon, Emma Bunton, Penny Lancaster, Natasha Kaplinsky, Felicity Kendal, Lulu, and Ann Widdecombe, just to mention a few. The era of their fame seems to have passed.
It appears that many believe the success of the upcoming 2024 series is largely due to Amanda Abbington’s long-standing drama with her past dance partner Giovanni Pernice and the BBC, a situation which reportedly discourages any notable female celebrities from joining the show.
Consequently, even though £250,000 was invested in probing Amanda’s allegations of severe mistreatment – with the most critical ones against Gio being discarded – BBC executives have now decided to engage in additional talks. Simultaneously, Gio is leading the rankings on the Italian adaptation of the program following his exit from the UK, due to the accusations he faced.
It wasn’t great for the BBC that one of their top and well-loved dancers decided to leave, following allegations that were largely discredited.
However, this instance is merely one of numerous controversies that Strictly has faced in recent times. The viewers have voiced concerns about the judges seemingly manipulating scores for celebrities they wish to keep on the show, which can disadvantage more skilled dancers. Moreover, it’s intriguing how all the judges consistently favor the same celebrity when they need to save one from the dance-off.
As a devoted viewer since the premiere, I’ve been a member of my personal Strictly fan club on Saturdays. However, it seems that the enchantment once associated with the show has dwindled. The show that used to be the gem of Saturday night family entertainment appears to have lost its luster.
Rather than tuning in live, we now gather at my place for drinks first, and then begin recording the show at 6:30 PM. We don’t start watching it until an hour later, as each episode seems to be overly extended, feeling like sitting on a plush Chesterfield sofa that goes on for 150 seemingly endless minutes.
Instead of sitting patiently through every lengthy segment, we quickly skip past the monotonous parts that seem endless these days. The shows are overloaded with unfunny skits by celebrities and judges who struggle to act, merely extending the runtime. However, our focus is solely on the dancing, the scores, and the initial Strictly commitment to educate novice dancers. Consequently, we manage to breeze through the entire program in roughly 30 minutes.
This season boasts an impressive roster of celebrities, many of whom have prior dance experience. Given this, it seems less like a balanced competition. For instance, we have Tasha Ghouri from Love Island, who is a professionally trained dancer. Also, JB Gill, a former member of the band JLS known for his music video dancing, and Jamie Borthwick from EastEnders, who studied performing arts at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and won the 2023 Christmas special dance-off with professional partner Nancy Xu.
As a devoted supporter, I must admit that the amateurs find themselves at a disadvantage, but Strictly continues to uphold the image of being faithful to its original ideals.
The show has reached such a low point that neither Claudia Winkleman’s hairstyle nor Tess Daley’s form-fitting Lycra outfits can improve it. Neither do the judges, particularly Shirley and Motsi Mabuse, who seem to be seeking attention, as they distribute high scores generously to average dancers, much like cheap confetti at a low-budget wedding.
It seems like it might just be comedian Chris McCausland, the one with the odds of 1/3, who could potentially win the glitterball on Strictly Come Dancing.
He entered the competition as a true amateur, saying: ‘My concern was that it would be a disaster, a car crash,’ yet that ‘the whole point of being here is to surprise people, to expose people to someone they might think would be incapable of doing these things.’
Although the judges consistently place Chris near the bottom of the rankings, it is the audience who continue to vote for him. This might be due to the fact that Chris, while not an exceptional dancer, reflects the core concept of the show as originally intended.
How ironic that a blind man is the only one who can see what Strictly should really be about.
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2024-10-29 16:08