The only to people to blame for the changes to the Show are the Producers and it not the BBC who are making the changes to the show

Why the Producers think the show need a Dance Troupe is a bit puzzerling when in the past they got fine with out one

And trying to slowly get rid of the successful and most liked dancers who have one the show in it's different formats baffling to say they least- no wonder why Brian quit

Do they have new producers for the new series

Moria Ross is the new producer - so yes - I think she has had something to do with DWTS - please dont yell at me if I am wrong about that!

Well the BBC did hire the producer....


And yes, she has a DWTS background I think, so she clearly thinks the same would work here, forgetting that somewhere along the line she crossed the Atlantic and encountered a different style of programme to the one she left, where hysteria, mad hype and style and image over substance and class don't go down very well...

I think its more to do with anyone who you might really want not doing it in the UK and the UK voters voting for some hopeless comic act or hunk or journey story rather than the best dancers. The US show works fine at producing quality dancing, big names and quality competitve finals and stories that make sense. We get winners who win for being bad at dancing, finals that are walkovers without the dancing competition in them and winners who then get humiliated on the tour soon after .


The producers seem to be trying to do contradictory things. To get a high quality modern looking show, that will pull in more viewers and compete with other dancing shows , they need a highly capable, high profile, cast and probably one thats younger and more dance trained. They can't however, get their existing voters to vote for that or to accept anyone who starts good and becomes very good and they can't pay enough to get high profile people. Its become a downward spiral as fewer good people sign up to dance and more sign up to be funny, the voters get into the habit of voting anti-judge and pro anything remotely funny and fewer high profile people join up to risk an early departure to someone hopeless. Net result - a more dynamic, new team of dancers who may not pass the personality test and a lot of contestants who can't possibly do what their newer pros might logically want them to. Change but no change, Brucie - but half time Brucie.

Two aims, two directions, an audience that voting for something completely different and a potential audience that won't watch what the current voters will vote for.

So im guessing this is the last series of strictly then. Oh well I'll only have XFactor to watch now. At least Simon Cowell knows never to f*ck with the audience favs.

UK Strictly has never been a dancing competition entirely though (and no need to make such an obvious dig at Chris and Ola, it's not their fault that they won and they rightly said the tour means nothing, it's just a bit of fun. I've never once seen it suggested that they were humiliated, not even by those who don't think they deserved to win), the public don't care who can master the most technically difficult steps, they want to see someone who gives them hope that everyone can dance a bit, and can learn to dance, while getting on well with their partner, creating magic on the dance floor and just generally having the time of their lives.

If the public vote for that, then that is what Strictly is about here, not the level of technical precision someone can attain in a very short space of time. This year's final showed that personality is a key component too - not the only component though, as to say that Chris for example couldn't dance at all really is just sour grapes...

The partnership of Chris and Ola showed a total greater than the sum of the parts. They interpreted the spirit of dance perfectly in the charleston, less well in the waltz and tango. All factors were taken into consideration and a jury of twelve million good people and true reached a verdict, not five judges.

Well done the winners and the voters.

The BBC will judge it on viewing figures.

If it does turn out to not be a success, I'd be blaming Moira Ross and this guy:-

BBC Controller of Entertainment Commissioning Mark Linsey says "Strictly will be back this autumn with more world-class dancers and more spectacular dancing than ever before. I'm delighted to be welcoming three new fantastic dancers to Strictly and am really excited about the introduction of a professional dance group, giving us even more opportunities to feature different areas of expertise and more genres of dance than in any other series."

Removing dancers and replacing them with dancers who are less good at ballroom and latin.
Introducing a dance troupe which is aimed at other genres of dance.
Fans of SYTYCD may think its an improvement. I hope there were lots of them.

You said that a lot better than my attempt, thanks I do disagree with you about their waltz though, I thought it was really lovely

I'd say employing a producer who knows less about the show than the average viewer is a crime. And dismissing your most useful assets is pure stupidity.

It all gets down to a matter of taste .... apart from the charleston, I thought Ola and Chris were unbearable. But loads of people did like them, so for that reason they were worthy winners.

So are you suggesting they employ a member of the viewing public to produce the show?

Seriously, fact is, everyone moaned that the last was boring, staid etc etc etc. This year they're trying to readdress that by making changes. But as with all things in life, it wouldn't matter what changes they made, they would never suit everyone. And let's be honest, there's those who never like any change of any description, but sooner or later everything has to move on.

Matt, for example, may well be some viewers favourite, but not everyone's. He's a lovely dancer, and a lovely guy (I've known him through dancing since he was a junior), but he's not exactly endowed with great personality.

The pro dance group, in the style of DWTS, means those pro dancers who take part in it this year, means they may well find themselves with a celeb next year. However, if they feel that choreographing and dancing with a group of other professional dancers every (or every other) week, is beneath them, then they stand no chance of getting a celeb in following shows.

A very good post.

Thank you.

Harebrained producers ! Change the show a bit each year but don't get rid of popular dancers while they are still hot. Don't these people have any feel for what people want or what will work ? Would have kept Matthew, Brian and Ian for at least two more years, and also Lilia. Aliona or Erin should have gone.

It is true that it is hard to please everyone. For instance I remember before Arlene left I saw post after post after post after post of people complaining about her. They axe her and now mostly I see posts about wrong it was do to that. Where did all the people who were complaining about her go? How do the producers know exactly what the public is thinking every minute and do they cater to the shifting opinions if they were to come here and based on what they read decide how to proceed.

If the producers were to sit in a room and watch reel after reel of the pro interacting with the celeb in the VT and the excitement and interest of the dance they produced, they can gauge who makes for interesting t.v. and who doesn't, irrespective of how well a pro dances. A dance purist who is only interested in proper world class technique or who simply loves their favourite pro is compelled to watch for that aspect alone but most of the general public watches to be entertained no matter who the pro is. You simply cannot please each and every fan as you can see just from reading here.

Edited to say maybe they did get it all wrong and got rid of the wrong pros but you just won't know until the season gets underway if there is a mass exit of viewers.

Agree. It's all in how you view it.

I didn't My prob with the show last year was that it was ill-humoured at times, the judges acted like 9 year-olds through the whole thing, the occasional 'rows' seemed contrived, and the warm atmosphere the show used to have seemed to have evaporated altogether...

I agree that the show has to move on and refresh itself if it's to survive, but the problem lies with the presenter and the judges panel. The first is just not up to the job anymore and the second have forgotten they're adults...imo

Sorry kaycee but that reads as a little below the belt esp since you know him........in your opinion do you mean personality generally or just the one that is transferred through the TV screen which TBH seemed pretty great to me esp with Alesha.


I've read this in a few threads now..........how does anyone know for sure this will happen ?? SCD could just as easily pull the plug completely on Ian,Darren and Matt next year,there are no guarantees they will get a celeb next year..

ITA with all of this. The last thing that needed to be tampered with was the professional dancers. But it looks like the producers will go more in the "reality show" direction and less towards the warm family entertainment. Too bad. Hope I'm wrong.

Tess mentioned it when she was interviewed, i believe that is where it came from in the first place

Sorry, Fairygirl, no offence intended. The thing is there are 2 types of people - those who are very lively, loud, "the-life-and-soul-of-the-party", and generally in-your-face; then there's those who are quieter, usually more sincere, and tend to be more reserved. Matt almost definitely belongs to the second category, which, in real life, is more often or not, the more pleasant type to be around long-term.

But SCD is not real life, it's tv entertainment, and the producers have said - not just this year, but previously - that they want to introduce more pizzazz and va-va-voom (ala DWTS).

Part of the idea of having a pro-dance group made up of the best dancers, was to introduce an element of real/serious dancing as opposed to just celeb "entertaining-prancing", which would not only be great for those already "into" dancing, but to show non-dancing viewers just how things should be done.

In many ways this was a promotion for the dancers - it is unfortunate they seem to have viewed it differently.

It depends on what the troupe was intended to do.
The producer has been talking to Arlene and other choreographers and there was a statement by the BBC that they planned to introduce more genres of dance.
They also said they intend to bring in dancers depending on the genre.

That reads to me like the dancers would be in a SYTYCD situation of being asked to dance other styles to choreography they had no say in.

I would have preferred to see Ian, Matt, Lilia and Darren being put in charge of the choreography and the dances to be Ballroom and Latin, maybe with influences from other genres, if they thought that would work.

I can see how they would not see the new troupe as a promotion, if the structure was as I suggested.