I was really upset to read that 5 of the most popular and successful pro's on the show are to be effectively demoted.

What Im wondering is, will the other professionals back them up?

Surely if the old guard put on a united front the BBC would have to at least consider a change and bring the old pros back?
It would be a devastating blow for them to have to find 14 new dancers.

Saying that, the 5 pros in question may be seriously demoralised by the idea already and not wish to involve their old friends.

Hmm.

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I would just love to see them all go on strike over this. Don't think it will happen (and quite understand why not) but it would be just the best thing ever imo.

Im in two minds about this.

It seems a really odd decision -but I know the other pros have to keep their own best interests at heart.

Its a starnge one.

Given that the pro tour is still ongoing, I can't see how Brian, Ian and Matt can have avoided discussing what has happened and I'd guess all 10 pros on the tour will have talked about what's going on. It would seem reasonable that one or more of them will have spoken to Darren and Lilia and possibly Anton and Erin too.

At the end of the day though, they are professionals who need to work, so they may not look at things in the same way as us fans.

I think this is a seriously difficult question to be honest.......last year I said that if Alesha was upset about Arlene being sacked which she said she was then she shouldnt have taken the job but I was saying that about a young woman who has a career away from Strictly and plenty of money in the bank.......I am not so sure that the strictly pros are in that happy position, they may have become popular and well known with Strictly viewers and 'celebs' in their own right but I doubt if any of them are rich as a result and in the postition to be able to resign on principle. The public are remarkably fickle and I think many people on these forums would be suprised how many people watch Strictly regularly but know little or nothing about any of the professional dancers........also I dont think the BBC would have any trouble finding dancers to take their places, that obviously wouldnt be ideal for them but not impossible, counting the 3 new men announced they have introduced 9 new pros in the last 3 years and only 1 (Hayley) didnt survive.

I think we are thinking along the same lines Jan.

They may have their hands tied contractually. After what happened with Nicole the Beeb may have written in a clause stating that the pros can't discuss other pros and their part in the show publicly. (Pure speculation).

I'm gutted Ian won't be dancing (he's my favourite) so won't get chance to win after coming so close with Zoe and the disaster of Jade's injury last year. I liked him and Natalie last year too, and after seeing them together on the Pro tour couldn't wait to see more. I realise they may still dance together....if he stays. But what if he doesn't??

It's not an age thing as some of the new dancers are older than Brian and they're not exactly getting rid of dead wood are they?

Saz I've got a feeling Natalie will be paired with one of the competing pros though.

I know, and they have such chemistry together (and have won over quite a few people with the pro tour, eh Buddy?)

I feel very sad for Ian that he won't have a chance of winning the trophy. Darren, Matthew and Lilia have all won.
Whose going to partner any of the tall girls that tak part now? Ian did a marvellous job with all the tall girls and was great at bolstering their confidence.

I thought Anton, Erin and Brendan were going to retire this year anyway as they have been on the show the longest.

Bad decision by the suits at the BBC.

I totally agree with many of the points made about the pros not endangering their career by speaking out.

Its a difficult one for sure - on the one hand, it would be hard for them to stand up to such a large organisation, on the other hand they could find themselves in similar positions next series and may want support themselves.

Maybe they should start a union!

I think if they can agree on the direction this dance troupe should go, I think that would be a good start. That way they can present a united view which is likely to be in tune with the viewers.

What made Strictly a success should still be the basis, but aiming to keep it fresh and of high quality. All 4 of those still under offer have a great record on the show, and vast experience to draw on. We haven't seen enough of what they can do yet.

Ballroom and Latin have a lot of potential still to be displayed.

Tango show dances for example. Vincent and Lilia have won the recent tours doing Tango, and I'd love to see Darren's pro version of his 'Under Pressure' Tango with Lynda, or a pro version of Flavia's Jai Ho Tango with Craig.

The burniing question still is

" Where is Nicole " and "was she Mathews Wife , "
Where would DS be without those two question repeated at regular intervals .

Nicole still teaching in London studios; and yes she definitely was Matthew's wife.

SCD has probably made some of the dancers wealthy but I don't think some of them were on the breadline before it became a success.
I lived on the same road as Darren and Lilia before they were well known on Strictly.
Their house was a large detached and they had a brand new car each.
There is money in dancing and dance schools evidently and I think they are prudent and realistic enough to realise a gig like SCD will not last forever.
All the best to them though, they worked hard and they were lovely neighbours.

I would guess the competing pros have already signed their contracts and so are tied in that way. Whether or not they knew there would be a pro dance troupe as well as the competition is another thing altogether - they may have simply been told that they're competing and doing the pro dances which suit their specialisms best. I doubt they were told by the BBC that Brian, Matt, Ian, Darren and Lilia were getting demoted - they may have rethought their position and held off on signing if they'd known that. At the end of the day though they probably came to the conclusion that they're better off signing for another year than not having anything to do with Strictly. A lot of them could line up other work easily, but with Strictly's clearly limited lifespan they might as well take advantage of it while they can.


What I'm not sure of it whether the tour pros have known about this since before the tour, or whether it was as much a shock to Vinent, Flavia, James, Ola, Natalie, Kristina and Aliona on Tuesday as it was to all of us.....I sincerely hope they did know and have had time to talk about it among the 10 of them and with Darren and Lilia, the tour has become even more special now and it would be horrible to know that the BBC ruined it for the pros halfway through...

I seem to think that the competing pros would've got their contracts first and signed them before they knew about the troupe thing so they couldn't back out if they really weren't happy about the BBC's awful decisions.
From the BBC it's bad timing because of the tour and I hope it hasn't effected anything too badly but because of recent events - World Cup etc they thought they could get away with this as they didn't think it would make as big headlines. Online especially as it's all over the net especially after Brain announced he was quitting.

I know !!!! It was an ongoing joke on DS and the BBC boards .

That's basically what I meant, or at the very most they knew of the troupe (or that they wouldn't be in all the pro dances, which would have just seemed normal anyway!) but not who would be getting cut....

It would be good if the pros did back each other but as a few have said they were probably locked into their contracts before the fine details were explained.

I'd like a couple of walk outs at least. It'll be interesting to see if Brendan, who admits to having a life and career outside strictly and has been critical of the salaries paid, simply accepts this decision even though it affects at least a couple of his friends.

I suspect that Brendan, along with the others, will take the money and run. Having a reputation for stage-managed trouble is one thing; digging your heels in and standing up to management is another altogether.

What this may do is make ALL the professional dancers review their options and look at alternative income sources to Strictly - which, being the BBC, won't pay all that well.

So it's possible that the impact of this frankly stupid and typically badly managed decision may not be felt for another year yet ...

I agree. I think he'll take the money but make it clear he's not happy about the decision, which is tantamount to doing absolutely nothing.

I think what people have to realise with the pros is that if they are to be seen to hold the BBC to ransom then this will not serve them well in the future for any media work. (including outside of the beeb)

I support what Brian has done - he has gone about it in a totally professional manner, making it clear that he wasn't happy with the changes but without any direct criticism. He has also continued to perform in the Pro tour promoting the Strictly Brand and will do so for another Month (and I have no doubt performing to his high standards as usual).

I am sure the pros have discussed things but the likes of Brian will be realistic that others have to think of their careers & future.

However, the way things have leaked out leads me to suspect that the pros that were offered contracts must have been sworn to secrecy as they will have known that they would have spoken to each other, particularly with the pro tour in full swing.

i would like to think that they would stand up for each other.

All the pros know - have always known - that their contracts may not be renewed at any time, and for any reason. They have never been under any illusions that they will automatically be signed up for another series.

Being part of the Pro-Dancers group will probably amount to relatively easy money compared to having to teach a celeb day in day out. Even if they do a pro dance every week - and I sincerely hope they do - they can learn and rehearse a routine in 1 day, 2 at most.

The other thing is, it is possible that those who do the pro-dance group this year, may well have a celeb partner next year (this is what dwts has done - Louis Van Amstel, for example, was 'only' in the pro group for several series, but had a partner last time).

As for the pros 'standing up' for the "demoted" pros - what can they do? If, as was suggested somewhere above, they all decided to up sticks and leave, or go on strike, then the beeb will simply send its scouts back to USA to find more pros - it really won't worry them that much.

And maybe we should try and be a little more positive. I don't know much about Artem, I've only seen him in So You Think You Can Dance, but both Jared and Robin have great promise, and I for one am looking forward to see what they can do.