Did a quick straw poll at work... of eleven people who watch the show (some only occasionally though) all trying to come up with names as a group:
- Anton was the only one that came up for definite (although most people were identifying him as things like 'that really bad one')
- two people were talking about a really attractive male dancer... I thought maybe it was Darren but turned out to be Matt! And they weren't impressed to discover he was being cut either
- I showed them this photo and no-one could name any of them, even Matt and by then I'd already told them his name.
http://www.strictlycomedancingprotou...?contentID=693

So basically... Anton is the face of SCD

A few people knew who Darren and Lilia were, but only because I had told them about Latin Fever.

Ok... oh heck... How can Anton be the face of Strictly ???
This is NOT GOOD.....

Imagine if the thing you most strongly associated with Strictly was Anton... no wonder the show is losing viewers!

He's been there the longest, he's got a "big personality", he does probably the most media side-projects, he has a consistant storyline running over all the seasons (Anton gets the old ones/crap ones), he stands out as being different (ie he's ancient) and he had a metric ton of scandal attached to him last series that made the news and (I think) questions in Parliament. It's not really surprising.

I'm not Anton's biggest fan but there is a lot of focus on the negative aspects here. I genuinely enjoy watching Anton's ballroom dancing (not as much as Ian's admittedly) and there is entertainment value in his latin dancing (maybe of the wrong kind, but even so). He may not like getting older women as partners, but it has worked well in the past (even the memorably bad ones like Jan). At the risk of upsetting Katie_p (sorry Katie) I think that is one of his strengths over Darren in that I think he would have provided a more memorable partnership with celebs like Lynda and Gloria.

I just wish he would pause for breath when being interviewed.

Come on now. Some of us have been saying for a long time now that the things we feel strongly about on here, are really not that important to the vast majority of the viewers. For all we know, the BBC might hold viewer focus groups to test out their ideas for change. Our views are tiny blips on the BBC's radar.

Given that he's presented another show and been in a huge tabloid scandal, why would anyone be surprised that Anton is the pro people can name?

I think that first point you've made in your second paragraph is key.

A senior figure in entertainment at the BBC has clearly decided that Anton is someone who should be cultivated - hence him being first team captain and then host of Hole In The Wall. He's also allowed to perform with Bruce in a way none of the other pro's are. So he clearly enjoys favoured status - especially given that he's survived last year's 'P***-gate' scandal (not exactly the kind of media coverage the producers aspire to and enough to make BBC Diversity spontaneously combust).

I agree that our views may well be tiny blips on the BBC's radar - but I have worked on a BBC drama where one character was perennially unpopular with the public (in focus group research), yet was kept on purely because the executives thought she had a tabloid profile and was therefore valuable in publicity terms.

So even if there is research about what audiences want, it's more than possible that executives ignore it ...

That's ok!

If I was an older woman though, I'd rather be with someone like Darren who would actually teach me the basics of a dance... as opposed to Anton who would try to stay in on the strength of his personality, talk over me during interviews, and not even try to teach me a latin routine.

Can you imagine Anton doing a Jive or a Rumba with Gloria? I can, and it's not pretty.

I still think Anton is being lined up to take over from Bruce.

Thats not quite true Brendan has been there the same amount of time, he has won a series and he does media things outside of strictly also

In the little survey i did amongst friends/family (do it as it's fun ) a girl in her 20's who has never seen one minute of the show was able to name Brendan remembering him from Love Island, when others who watch the show each year struggled to name any, the only names i got were Anton (remembered cos he's funny) and Lilia (remembered cos she's beautiful), I had to name Brian as he was just called the American chap.

I agree, Buddy. In some ways I think it makes perfect sense - he's connected with the show and a dancer and has (some) presenting experience. However, I'm hoping that it won't happen, myself. Mind you, I'm not massively keen on Bruce either so he might be an improvement!

God forbid !!

Brucie gets on my wick, but Anton would take it to a whole new level.

Brilliant idea! As soon as possible please.

That would 'kill two birds with one stone'.

I know what you mean, although I'd qualify that by saying that Anton's teaching of ballroom is ok, for example the quickstep with Laila was very much focussed around the basics that you'd normally learn first, rather than anything too gimmicky or showy. But I certainly agree with you that from the celeb's perspective that if they want to all round tuition which means learning to dance latin as well,and if they want to not be a figure of fun, and be heard during interviews, then Darren is the better bet. But from a producer's (and possibly casual viewer's) perspective........ hmm not so sure.

I do think Anton's habit of talking over people will need to be curbed if he is to take over from Bruce.

Who? What drama?

Sorry, but I'm not going to name names in public and risk blowing my cover!

You've got the response there of people who read tattle magazines about the dancers who had scandal or love triangles associated with them...

I do think the BBC should consider the image people have of Strictly, if the only person they can remember associated with it is someone they actually don't think very highly of- in my straw poll, most people could name him, but they were describing him as 'the one who can't really dance' and 'the one who'd do anything for a bit of camera time', as well as other insults I won't repeat here!

So the association they have is of poor quality.... when in fact the BBC is fortunate to have some exceptional dancers on the show (less so this year after the rather odd cuts they've made to the pro line-up). I think they should be trying to make a few of their other pros a bit more well known. For example they used to have an ident of AT dancers- how great would it be to use Vincent and Flavia on one of those? or a few other dances from some of the other pros as well?

How about having a couple of the pros on Who Do You Think You Are? Or invited to guest dance on a few of the mainstream BBC shows like Breakfast, the national lottery etc.

If I was a producer I'd want people to know the show has some real quality dancers, not just Anton making fun of Latin dancing and making a career out of his 'personality'. Maybe this is what they're trying to do with the new 'dance troupe'- it will be interesting to see whether this is something they're really committed to, or if it's just going to be regarded as filler to be dropped at once if Cliff Richard wants to promote his latest single... at least if it is a genuine commitment, they have chosen very well in terms of choreography and dance ability.

Katie_P

I think you have a good point. Perhaps the producers have seen BTF and the excitement and public interest that show has. They are looking to create the same kind of interest with spectacular numbers and more contemporary music. The dancing is so stylish and innovative and full out. It would be unfair to ask a pro to dance to train long hours and produce those kind of dances every single week while also putting in long hours training a celebrity. Perhaps they that the dancers they chose were the best dancers for this dance troupe and they could give their full attention to producing these dances.

The downside being of course you cannot see your favourite pro with their celebrity and the "demotion" aspect of it while unknown unproven pros are brought in. I would love to see the training footage of the pro dances as well the dances but I guess in the interest of time they won't do that.

Personally I don't why people complain about too many couples or the season being too long. (Maybe the pros complain that the season is too long and too much on them?). If the public loves this show and their pros why would they complaining about a few extra weeks. It is all levels of bad - angry fans over their favourite pros being cut and new guys coming into a situation where they basically not being given a chance because they are pushing the well established pros out. If they were willing to have more couples they could bring in new pros to mix up the show a bit but also keep the perennial favourites.

I don't necessarily mind not seeing my favourite pros with celebs, if I get to see them dancing professionally every week. I'm sorry for them if they would rather carry on the pro/celeb aspect of it, but the pro dances have always been my favourite part of the show. Having a guarantee that my favourite pros will be in all those routines is like a big present!

I go back and forth because I do feel as though it's been presented as a 'demotion', and that makes me hope the remaining four all tell the BBC where to go. The fact that they are probably the four I'd name as the best pro partners to have on the show in terms of choreo, teaching ability and setting off the celeb in the performance itself... makes the decision all the more nonsensical.

At the same time, however, I do feel this dance troupe could be a really great thing if the BBC give it the standing it deserves. I do worry about who else will be in it... and wonder if there's any chance at all that Matt might say he'll only do it if Nicole is included!

It has been hard to figure what the producers are trying to do. You could argue youth but only Jared is 21. Artem and Robin are 28 and 30 respectively so no younger than Brian.

My thinking is that they are planning to match Jared with a very young celebrity, a girl in her teens. A lot of people feel skeeved out if a teenager would be dancing with a pro in their 30s. Imagine if they matched her with Vincent? Anton takes the older partners.

But the inclusion of Artem and Robin I am not sure about when they already had Matt, Brian and Ian as the "sexy" pros if that is what they were going for. So just not sure what the producer saw in these guys that she was willing to take a risk and bring them in. Surely they know how popular and well respected the established pros are.

Surely they did exactly that with Louisa, though..?

I see. I was not aware of that as I have only been following SCD for the last few years. So much for my theory. Haha.

Ah, sorry, I wasn't trying to be smart. It's still possible that they have decided to get a young pro in for a young celeb this year - there's no reason why not. Especially if the celeb is younger or appears younger than Louisa.