After the initial row over Arlene being replaced by Alesha, things have seemed to go a bit quiet on the Strictly front. Not that nothing has happened; there has been an incredible amount of injuries and last week Ricky Whittle almost did not make it onto the show because he was in custody for allegedly assaulting a paparazzo. Then of course there was Anton du Beke who called his dancing partner a “Paki” and Bruce Forsyth missing a show because he had the flu. Lots of exciting news, one would say. But what about the dancing?
It seems that tv shows are relying more and more on a shock factor to raise audiences than they do on actual performances of their candidates. Of course, tv is entertainment and even though for instance Jedward on X Factor couldn’t carry a tune, they definitely had some sort of “X Factor”. Shows like The Restaurant and The Apprentice have been criticised for admitting more incompetent candidates, but at least people are discussing their efforts, whether they are horrible or good. With Strictly though, it seems that almost no-one is talking about the dancing any more. This does not seem to affect the ratings, as there are still almost 9 million people watching Strictly every night, despite scheduling conflicts with X Factor. Nevertheless the BBC have already announced changes for next year as they will return to a Saturday and a Sunday show instead of just one long Saturday show. It’s difficult to understand why they have already announced this, as the current series is not over yet and one would expect the BBC bosses to wait reviewing things until after the final. And I suspect they have some more to review; this year saw an increase in complaints about the “sexy” outfits and there has also been a lot of critique on the choice of candidates.
One person that will probably not be under review by the BBC bosses any more is Alesha Dixon. It is now obvious that the BBC wants to make her one of their new figureheads as she also opened and presented Children in Need. Time will tell if she’s got the skills that are needed to make a proper tv presenter, but at least she’s managed to prove herself as a judge, even though she’s known to give high scores and lots of praise.
What’s next for Strictly? There are now four couples left and this Saturday Darcey Bussell will join as a guest judge. No doubt on Monday the newspapers will be full of comments about how she did, and no-one will discuss the dancing. Oh well, as long as the ratings are high and the Strictly tour is sold out, who’s complaining?!