Well you cant please everyone all of the time

Was that sarcastic? I'm not suggesting that you can. It is a pity that it is mostly the show's biggest fans that are unhappiest though.

I don't mind "new dancers" but I really don't understand the thinking behind removing pro dancers who are known to be widely popular - you can't even say they've done it on the basis of making the show more sexy in order to draw in more and younger viewers (remove Matt Cutler = keep Anton??? Yes, very sexy choice.)

And Matt probably has more female fans drooling over him than most gay men).

Waaaaaaaaa. Watch out pavement, here come my toys

I agree, although there are some people on here who clearly just want the 'purist' Ballroom/Latin pro on SCD. TBH it comes over to me a bit 'Come Dancing-ish'.

I can understand this and personally I think we do need a certain standard of pro, but for SCD they only need to be proficient enough to teach the celebs to a certain standard.

On that basis I am willing to give the newbies a chance.

Same. I used to think it was a strength of the show that the dancers they used were so highly regarded in the dance world. I think we've had something like seven or eight actual world standard or latin champions in the past. Up to about series five, the majority of the dancers were world semi-finalists or better. It's not as if the role particularly requires a strong competitive record, but to me it was a nice thing to celebrate British dancers in that way. Now it's all about importing foreigners with fewer dance credentials but flashy personalities that will supposedly attract new viewers. In the meantime we hear of British professional ten dancers who would love to appear on the show but are turned down by the Beeb in favour of Americans

And the thing is I don't think there is anything to say that these new pros are any more popular than Karen, Darren, Lilia, Vincent, Flavia etc were a few years ago when they were in the spotlight. Overly flashy personalities aren't needed to sell the show... people adored the relationships that Lilia had with Goughie and Aled, Vincent with Louisa, Bill and Mark with Karen etc. It was just about the chemistry of friendship and fun. The BBC think they need to sex things up... they just don't get it.

Buddy, yes I prefer the purist version of the show. Sorry, if it comes over as 'Come Dancing-ish'., but that's my preference. But I would never attack anyone else for having a different preference.

Agree with everything, very well worded.

He has - I posted a video earlier in this thread somewhere when they both did group dancing on DWTS but if Artem dances with Aliona who will dance with Jared??

Totally agree esp with the end part

I think you've got a point here. Give me the Mr nice guys anytime, Ian, Matt, Darren, over the neurotic and argumentative Brendan, and Anton's become a bit of a pastiche. I'm afraid to say it but they may well be going for sensationalism with the old pros they've kept, looking for a few good arguments. I don't know why people think you can't have entertainment without lots of emotional histrionics and general bad temperedness, I stopped watching East Enders because everyone was so damned miserable. Jodie and Ian were incredibly popular because they had a good time and she was utterly charming and gracious, even when getting a reaming from the judges. Strictly became a success as a genteel parody of the old Come Dancing mixed with the celebrity challenge, and that was the genius behind the concept IMO.

I hardly dare voice this, but do you suppose they are also hoping for the potential for more 'showmance? That could be another reason for the choice of the sidelined pros, not likely to happen with any of them, is it? If they want to bring in some hunks to give it sex appeal, I don't think you could do much better than Ian and Matt, but that's just my personal opinion. Brian did exactly that though, and now he's serious with Ali he's of less value. Just a possiblity...

AND another thing... What really gets me is that the simple solution to gaining a share of the XF audience is to stagger the times of the shows, so that Strictly viewers can switch over and watch XF or vice versa. Don't see why it has to be so gladatorial.

I think this is exactly what is going on. How would you describe the guys who've been relegated? 'Nice'. But, as any soap producer will tell you, 'nice' doesn't create drama - and drama is precisely what the new producers think will boost the ratings.



That is why they chose those four from last year - because they have the potential to create more drama (or, in Vincent's or Anton's case, comedy).

Will the audience buy it? Somehow, I doubt it - but I could, of course, be wrong ...

The change I'd expect are more celebrities with histories that feature more 'previous dance experience' - a la DWTS ... Another stupid road to take, IMHO, as British punters like to see celebs go on a journey (yes, the famous 'J' word) - not be good at the start, become the judges' favourites then fail to go on any journey whatsoever.

But I suppose Auntie knows best ...

Anybody ever thought that maybe some of the Pro's Now in the dance troupe were maybe not that keen on doing the full rehearsal schedule as well as the teaching and choreo time involved in working with the celebs. On top of that most would be involved in the group dances , thats a lot of work for 14 weeks or whatever. This way the dance troupe will not have to write off their entire week to strictly, and the competing pros will only have to worry about working with their celeb and not trying to also learn the group dances.

I don't usually come on here until much nearer the series, thought I'd pop over to see what's going on. Did not expect this

Lilia and Ian are my favourites too

It would appear from the way that this story has broken that the "troupe" professionals weren't fully in the picture until rather recently, so I don't think it's the case that any of them have asked for a lesser role, so to speak. Brian is the only one who's stated his intentions clearly, and while there are rumours that Darren and Lilia will quit for good too, Ian's been quoted as "considering" the offer and Matt's people haven't said anything.

I can't imagine the "troupe" pros will be paid the same as the competing ones, either! And while potentially competing with a celeb partner means a lot of time and effort if you get to the later stages of the competition, that's the proverbial nice problem to have - the pros who do well almost invariably enjoy an uplift in popularity and profile along with it.

Besides, there's a 50/50 chance for any given pro that they won't last past the halfway stage, and I imagine they still get paid the same whether they go out week one or win the whole thing, so even if training hours were a concern (which I don't think they are for most of the pros) there's a pretty decent chance they won't even get to the two-dance stage. And not much else pays as well as Strictly for ballroom and Latin professionals, even if they're underpaid when you consider Bruce, Tess etc.

This isn't like Camilla's departure, where she announced it long before the series, or even Karen's situation - she wanted to leave and the BBC didn't beg her to stay. For whatever reason, Darren, Lilia, Brian, Ian and Matt have been singled out for a reduced presence this year, and no one knows yet if they'll accept that diminished role or tell the BBC to push off.

It certainly seems like the story may have got out before the BBC were ready - I feel they'd have liked to announce the final line-up, troupe included, rather than stating they've made offers to those five pros but haven't yet heard their responses!

I hope you are not accusing me of 'attacking' you for having a different opinion. I hope you know me better than that.

My point is that SCD is not Come Dancing - a discussion has been done to death on here - and we can't expect every dancer on the show to have been on the a 'Come Dancing' career path. The world has moved on and there are now plenty of excellent dancers with careers that have taken a different road. As long as the rules of SCD are followed and the technical standard is maintained, I don't mind giving some of them a chance.

BTW I count myself as one of the show's biggest fans, having watched from the very first episode.

Me as well

and every ITT, and I record them as well to watch the rest of the year

*sob, sob* what have they done to this show

Darren and Lilia have put a statement on their website which basically says they're waiting on information from the BBC so that they can make an informed decision - looks like proper offers haven't even yet been made to the 5 sidelined pros!

Yet again the BBC have messed up considerably!

I think the theory of the 'attention grabber pros' is a very good one and the possibility of 'showmances'. I can just hear these suggestions being made at a brain storming session on how to jazz up the show.

I'd also bet that yesterday's announcement was released earlier than originally planned for some reason.

Unless the new pros are all hugely unlikeable from the start and the "celebs" are all complete unknonwns, the truth is all of us who love Strictly are going to watch it anyway - just probably not enjoy it so much without our favourites. So the viewing figures probably won't change much.

There is no cake in the world that would make up for the enjoyment of watching Matt and Ian through the series

You have to ask why change. There are few possibilities.

Money - the new people are cheaper?
They want to change the look - younger faces - why get rid of the younger pro faces then? wouldn't changing Anton or Len or Bruce change the look more?
They want to change whats danced - changing a few people and leaving people ike Anton doesn't do that.
They want to have younger fitter, more capable celebs and a younger looking show. You don't do that losing the Brians, the public don't vote for the best young dancers anyway (Zoe, Emma, Louisa, Rachel, Ricky, Ali) It works only if you only have good fit people so the public can't vote for comic turns or older hunks - but then how do you get people involved or find differences between similar people?

It looks like someone woke up and said lets have something like Pineapple studios or Stomp or DWTS or something more like the newer BBC dancing shows and after someone else agreed that was a brilliant idea for the yoof market , someone else again came along and pointed out that the audience wanted Brucie and Anton and contestants like Chris Hollins.

hope that's not sarcasm lol... Anton is the sexiest dancer on the show! By a long way...

and I'm not joking lol I truly believe that. Anton if you're by any chance reading I think you're hot and I love you ... Keep Dancing!!!

my toys are not far behind yours

This has got nothing to do with Strictly, but can anyone explain to me how a message from someone to their dad on his birthday got into my quote (see Lolly Du Beke's post, about two back)?

Who the hell is Nancy and how did she get into my quote? Creepy .....

+1

i haven't a clue but it did make me