I've just got this awful feeling that the BBC have got a whole host of ill-advised, ill-thought through changes up their sleeves for this year.

All this talk of trying to make it appeal more to X Factor audiences worries me. Don't get me wrong, I like the X Factor, but I don't in any way want every other programme I watch (in fact, no other programme) to be like it.

I can't help fearing that the Arlene-out/Alesha-in thing is just the first of a number of changes. I remember towards the end of last year there was a lot of talk of many of the longer-standing professionals being axed and replaced with newer dancers à la Brian Fortuna. If this goes ahead, along with anything else, I fear it could be the end of the show as we know it.

I feel uneasy- esp now that the alesha thing has been confirmed. It was almost universally panned as a poor idea by Strictly fans, EVEN Alesha fans didnt like the idea!!

I havent heard about getting rid of a lot of the dancers... I know that there will be natural attrition- no more Camilla for example but Id hazard a guess that after changing judges they'll leave it at that and make more drastic changes re: presenters/dancers NEXT year...

... shows have a natural shelf life and perhaps SCD is on the slow path downhill now...

Yes I do feel uneasy - it seems the BBC are determined to destroy the goose that laid them the golden egg!

Yeah, Im a little uneasy.

X

Just read the press release... seems there are more changes afoot, other than just the judges thing and Im also a bit dubious about it...

Anyone read the other thread that says the new series might be on FRIDAYS and Saturdays??

Yep, definitely feeling uneasy.

Don't like the idea of Alesha as a judge, and it's left me wondering what other changes they will make which might spoil the show for me.

I hope the format is not changed too much because it has been such a successful series so far, appealing to all ages and sections of society. I adore Alesha and have long thought she would "do" a Saturday night entertainment show very well but am not sure about her credentials for judging SCD. After all, she is not a dancer. She can dance, beautifully, but is not a professional dancer who knows the ins and outs of it all like Arlene. Silly to try and compete with X-factor, everyone who likes both shows watches both! scd has always been the better of the two shows anyway, less falsity.

I am glad Darcey Bussell is going to be a guest judge.

I sincerely hope that Alesha is taught not to go off in peals of manic laughter at nothing, after every sentence.

I dont care what they do with the judging panel they better not replace Claudia Winkleman on It Takes Two!!

Jump the shark !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No offence to Alesha but there are several regular posters on this site who would make a better judge then her......she just has`t got the credentials or knowledge to judge the contestants......I`am actually surprized she accepted the offer by the BBC.

Yeah, and wheeling in her old grandmas and mother, even her frigging dog. Just imagine her having to give advice to the likes of Matthew, Ian, Darren, Brendan, etc.

Dumbing down and wrecking the show. They might as well pick someone off the street to judge and pay less than have Alesha 'giggle' Dixon.

I'm really worried. I have nothing against Alesha other then her laugh but I just couldn't take her seriously as a judge. I'll watch it but I just don't see what your going to add by having Alesha as a judge to the actual programe itself.

Yes, I would say that Strictly Come Dancing just took a giant reverse fleckerl over the shark.

Strictly was fantastic in it's simplicity, and it's winning format was shipped all over the World. When a show starts fiddling about with the formula, changing faces, shifting things around you know it's the beginning of the end.

Real changes, changes that are needed come in without fanfare and go mostly un-noticed because they were valid and needed (ie. the dance off for example) but when you fiddle about for the sake of fiddling about, it's obvious and pathetic.

Sad, very sad.

There's talk of this year being Brucie's last too, so 2010 will have a new host. Won't be surprised to see new graphics, America changed theirs two years ago.

I think it passed jumping sharks when the public started voting for the worst dancers. This looks like a move to combat that by restoring the judges credibility by making them look friendlier (alesha) and credible (Darcy) Its far more important to get the casting right - avoid the hopeless cases who will command support and the pretty males and actually find some people who are really good and some who are bad enough for the public to eject them. X factor, Dancing On Ice and SCD all seem to be running out of really good contestants though so can they find them?

Really? Wouldn't credibility have been restored by actually having someone with extensive competitive ballroom dance experience as a judge? I've no objections to Darcy appearing (although I gather her appearances are going to be limited anyway), but Alesha as a judge..............

A couple of series I couldn't have envisaged a situation where I wouldn't watch SCD, but I really don't feel like watching this series. I think it's likely that I'll stick to my weekly lessons and give the show a miss.

His last should have been after the first series.

The dance off was one of the worst changes ever...took all the power away from the public!! This show has changed loads since it first started and first became popular - u should all be used to it by now - the BBC change things whether or not the fans like it! Simplify it and bring it back to how it started and what made it successful in the first place!!

Blackpool/ Half public vote/half judges and JLC!

I disagree I'm afraid, I think the Dance Off was needed and they brought it in mid Season 4 ( I think it was the semi-final) without big press announcements and hoopla. It wasn't a big change, it was done on Strictly Dance Fever and was a part of similar show formats as well.

I don't think the show has changed much either since the beginning, I can only think of the Dance Off and er....more couples in it to be honest!

Agree on bringing back Blackpool though!

So series 1 then?


Yes, clearly what this show needs to save ratings is to cast no good-looking men.

You mean in the third week of series one?

I don't think the show can be rescued from the problem that has dominated it for two or three years now- it's taken too seriously, the celebs are obsessed with getting tens, making it to the final etc, the judges have become too big for their boots, the marking is inflated to try to pretend the standard has risen, the public are irked by the overmarking into voting for the wrong people etc. It's a million miles away from the light hearted entertainment it used to be for the first two to three series. It's gone from a quirky show to a machine churning out showmances, contrived storylines (e.g Austin v Tom ) and ever inflating scores.

I don't have much patience with the show any more. As soon as my favourite pros stop taking part I will stop watching completely.

oh my god what is the bbc bosses doing to strictly, there was nothing wrong with strictly apart from the voting in last serie

Oh God can you imagine if someone of Julian Clary's standard made the final these days? The Internet would have a baby made entirely out of spite.

I think it's series 3 that broke it as purely light-hearted entertainment to be honest. The public reaction to Zoe Ball and Len's reaction to Colin Jackson soured the milk forever.