Other than the excitement / pleasure of actually winning, is there any benefit to be derived from winning SCD for the celebs? (I can obviously see multiple benefits for the pros.)

Of the past winners, Natasha was pretty high profile to start with anyway, Jill has faded to obscurity, Goughie and Ramps carried on playing cricket (with the occasional novelty outing), Alesha's found "fame" only as a SCD judge and Tom also seems to have disappeared.

So as a result of winning SCD, there's no obvious benefit in terms of relaunched careers. Maybe the celebs really do enter for the "journey"...

Tom will be back on our screens next week when the new series of Waterloo Road starts. Dunno if that had anything to do with winning SCD or not though!

Tom's acting on Waterloo Road.

High profile RTV winners often end up on the West End - Jill Halfpenny was offered the starring role in Chicago, and Ray Quin who won DOI is also on some west end show. It doesn't always last though.

Alesha realised a successful album, which probably wouldn't have got backing from producers without SCD.

Darren Gough brought out a dancing book with Lilia, which I guess made him some money.

Matt Dawson (runner-up) continues to sell himself to whatever RTV show will have him (he's now advertising some fish on TV).

Mark Ramprakash continues to play cricket, probably still hoping he'll be called up for country test cricket in his forties!

I think Natasha is the one who has had most success in her professional and personal life, and I think at least the former is somewhat related to the fame she got when she was on the show.

I think you may be downplaying the benefits to Alesha considerably.

I was under the impression the whole revival of her music career owed much to Strictly.

Obviously I don't know if winning it made that much difference as opposed to just doing well...but it can't have done any harm.

I'm sure the others have benefited too to some extent...though in less obvious ways.

you will never have to watch them dance again - unless the winner is Jill Halfpenny or Colin Jackson (robbed) and you actually want to.

The tour!

I must have missed that. Is she any good as a singer?

I thought signing up for the Tour was a benefit in winning SCD (or at least getting to the final) rather than winning it enhancing your prospects for the Tour.

Well she sang live on the show last year.....

According to Bruce, she's going to be the next Beyonce.

I'm still waiting.

I think lots of the celebs have done well out of coming across well on SCD - I'd say Aled did really well out of it, James Martin seemed to be around a lot more after, and I think John Sargeant benefited. I bet there are loads more that I'm not thinking of, off the cuff. I don't think winning matters so much as people liking you.

I think people whose careers are based on them being themselves, like presenters, comedians, sportsmen, arguably get more out of it than actors. Matt D'Angelo may not have got Hustle without it, but personally I think he would have, and I definitely think Tom could have got Waterloo Road after Holby without doing SCD. I've heard some actors say in interview recently that they are nervous of doing reality TV because if people know you too well as yourself they don't believe in you in character, and I think that's a fair concern.

truth there I think

plus it does mean you can issue books with the name "strictly" in the title as Ramps biog is called "strictly me"

That's a good point - A decent run in SCD to generate a higher profile and to demonstrate some media savvyness is better than winning or getting to the final by being a top notch dancer with limited personality, I'd say. After all, despite what the judges say about some of the celebs being pro standard every so often, the chances of a celeb coming through SCD to become a pro dancer are pretty limited, so the major spin-off must be in an enhanced media / public profile, but this still has to be backed up with some decent performances in any enhanced role.

I think it's of more benefit to the Pros. Its a great accolade to be a winner of SCD.

[quote=Shappy;36027015]
Mark Ramprakash continues to play cricket, probably still hoping he'll be called up for country test cricket in his forties!

QUOTE]

Mark has another two years' contract with Surrey and intends to complete his cricketing career at the Oval .
He certainly hasn't been waiting for a test call up!!

He and Karen are still close friends , as are their families . Karen and her husband have been known to watch Mark play .
He is always full of praise for Karen and says the whole SCD experience was life changing .On a personal level , he obviously thinks it has changed his attituide and outlook .
He has said he would incorporate some pf Karen's coachinhg techniques into his own coaching

He has written about it in his book Strictly Me and there is a series of 3 interviews recorded last week on the Surrey site where he talks about the book nd in the first interview about SCD and Karen

He has danced with Karen recently .

I think it has given him a confidence outside his comfort zone , which he didn't have before . You can't put a value on that and from what I have heard and read , I'd say taht is far more important to him than any extra money he could earn, though he has done quite a bit of TV and even some advertising for Ford !!! which involved him dancing the AT with Kylie Jones at e the Tower of London

Isn't Jill going back onto the West End in Legally Blonde: The Musical? Or did I make that up?

You get to be a judge

50k fee.....I think a few of the contestants genuinely love the show...Alesha for example.....and she has done pretty well off the back of winning strictly....She`s fronted a couple of BBC 3 documentaries as well as relaunching her pop career....As far as actors go appearing on strictly just lets the public and more importantly the casting directors know their still out there.....The sportsmen/women....strictly puts their face on the map.Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash have both stated that their asked more about appearing on strictly than their very successful sporting achievements......and as someone has already mentioned "The tour"....rumour has that appearing on the tour is a nice little earner....I seem to recall someone stating the fee was 5k per show.....How many shows were there last year...40-50....that`s 200k minimum if the rumours are true.

No thats right.

http://www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk/ has pictures and video.

[quote=arddunol;36028907]

He should have got one, though.

Thanks for that. Sheridan Smith sounds good.

Add to which who knows what the show brings in in turns of fees and demand for PAs and advertising jobs and presenting jobs - some people seem to appear lots more more on TV after and you can watch some past winners in youtubes of adverts.

Its all as you say about being able to do something in any job you get offered afterwards and luck and having something thats just right. Liz Mclarnon has been all over the place after winning celebrity masterchef from food advertising and cooking demonstrations to prime time TV with Ant and Dec wheras I havn't seen anything like as much of Jayne Middlemiss who won this year . Same with the reality shows - X factor has produced more westend stars than single singing successes and it may not be the winners of any of the ALW shows who have the best or longest careers.

Personally, I would rather sell albums because my songs were good (and not because of a reality TV show). What was that novelty hit Alesha brought out a year or two ago? Anyway, I guess being a judge hasn't done any harm to her bank balance (even if her credibility has suffered somewhat).

[quote=fancynancy;36031368]
He certainly should and their only real objection is age and a fixation on his temperament , at least as it was 15 or more years ago .