http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s104/...-strictly.html



So sad . I am sure all of them that have been sidelined for this dance troupe who have either left or have chosen to stay put for the sake of putting money on the table must be so gutted.

I will miss Lilia, Matt and I am gutted that Ian will not have the chance to compete.

Its ridicilous- Lilia has been shafted in terms of partners since the horrid Dom! I really wanted to see her with someone with real potential again. She is a fantastic teacher- look at how she managed to get Don Warrington a 30 for his Tango when the week before he had been in the Dance Off and near the bottom of the scoreboard.

I'm mystified as to why someone who has won the show and who worked miracles with Matt Dawson to reach another final could be dropped from the main line up.

And yet the likes of Anton and James have been kept on?

Before I'm pounced on, I'm not suggesting any of them should have been cast aside. But Lilia was one of the most successful pros they had! The same goes for Matt who won with Alesha and got so far with Carol and Christine. Ian, too, a finalist twice and who knows how far he and Jade could have gone.

The new producers clearly don't care about the professionals' choreography skills or how well they've done with their celebs. It's all about the reality element of the show and who will get the most headlines … and, compared to Brendan trying to pick fights, James being outspoken, Vincent being cheeky, Ola wearing next to nothing and Kristina's romance with Joe, the others never stood a chance.

What the producers fail to understand is that viewers don't tune in for fake 'drama' or 'outrage'. But doubtless they'll find out the hard way when the ratings come in …

Totally agree with you Sid

Spot on. The day they realise that competing with The X Factor shouldnt be their priority is the day Strictly will be great again.

So Brendan, James, Vincent, Ola and Kristina aren't qualified and good choreographers too?

Not everyone can have the same personality, it's not the returning dancers' fault that they were asked back and others weren't! (and don't get me wrong, I think Lilia's a fabulous choreographer and teacher and will miss Matt a lot too!)

maybe she and Darren will look at starting a family now that she's got some time off

The thing that puzzles me, aside from all the stuff about how good her choreo and teaching is (which I also agree with), is that Lilia does have a very popular personality. It isn't tabloid headline material like a few of the others, but people were in stitches over the dance machine spot last year... A lot of what won Strictly for Darren was the relationship he had with Lilia- they were the 'giggle twins'... Aled won the public vote for six weeks- beating Jill- again partly for their relationship. A lot of the newer fans of the show don't 'get' the Bennetts, I think because they've been relatively sidelined for the last few years. But in series two to four, they were the golden couple of Strictly in terms of fanbases.

Your post rather makes it sound like you think I'm blaming the professionals who were either demoted or left for what has happened … which couldn't be further from the truth.

I'm not arguing for a SCD full of manufactured controversy that will get tabloid headlines. But I think it's fair to say the producers clearly are. What's happened is their responsibility and my guess is that their cynicism will come back to haunt them.

I agree with you totally

I pretty much agree with this too...ho hum!

This is so true. And very well put. We've made more or less the same point in our blog. It's a travesty really, isn't it?

Frankie & Clover
http://frankieandcloverstrictly.blogspot.com/

You said the producers clearly don't care about the professionals' choreography skills, which rather implies that you think those who are left are inferior choreographers, when that is at best subjective, at worst untrue.

And I don't think it's at all fair to say that the producers will get a Strictly which is full of manufactured controversy from the pros who are left when you're not going get anything more from Brendan than storming off and not listening to the judges, which is hardly controversial when they are talking rubbish! James has done nothing controversial with his own partners since his first series, yet some people seem to focus on that rather than the great and uncontroversial rapport he has had with every partner since - Claudia even pointed out on ITT that one of Zoe and James' problems was that they had nothing controversial to make them stand out! And after his supportive comments about Ola and Chris last year (and his very objective midweek reports) he cannot go back and say it should be solely a dancing competition. Vincent being Vincent is hardly controversial, and Ola is not the only dancer to wear revealing outfits - in fact, didn't Laila's outfits cause just as much controversy last series? And there are plenty of group dances where Ola wears more than more of the other female pros! Kristina's romance with Joe is a fair point, but seeing as she's still with him she's hardly likely to repeat it, is she? And the potential for showmance is limited to whoever's with Jared, Artem, Robin and possibly Aliona. As it is pretty much guaranteed not all of them will get young celebrities, that rather limits the options more.


I don't disagree that the producers are looking for headlines, I just think your examples are not enough to show why the professionals you have singled out were kept over those who have been demoted or left, and is focusing too much on the past. Perhaps it's just that the producers want some new faces rather than those who have been successful - Ola is immune because she's defending champion, and Brendan is immune because he's Brendan (not saying I agree with that). Anton and Erin get in because although they've been on the show a long time, they're the token ballroom specialists and neither have won, likewise Vincent and Flavia are in on their AT specialism, the fact neither has won and their general popularity on the pro tour. The new girls all get a second year because it would be cruel not to, James is in because of Ola and Kristina because she's never had a chance to prove herself with a decent partner. Darren, Lilia and Matt were demoted because they won, Ian and Brian's demotions are more difficult to explain, but I suspect the latter is to do with Burn the Floor, and the former (sadly) because they wanted a strong choreographer to head the pro troupe / have hired a tall new female dancer.



I'm not trying to defend the producers, by the way, I think they're stupid to ditch Lilia, Matt and Ian, but I think it's unfair to say the remaining pros are there because they will provide tabloid headlines, when I don't believe that will be the case. If they are looking for such headlines, they might find it from the new boys, but not those returning. They've pretty much all had their controversial moments and mellowed, so the producers are seriously mistaken if they think the current pro line up will make Strictly tabloid hot gossip this year I think!

I didn't realise SCD has got new producers.

Does anybody here know their names, just out of interest?

Poor Lilia, you gotta feel for her haven't you

You're so right - year after year I've been left open mouthed at the talent and expertise of the pros who, with endless patience and clever choreography, manage to bring out the best in their celeb partners. Not only that - but somehow, from somewhere they discover that nugget of gold from the most unlikely source.

No pro is better at this than Ian, Matt, Darren and Lilia and I cannot see any newcomer eclipsing their record.

I feel privileged to have seen Matt, Darren and Lilia lift the trophy - but bitterly disappointed that Ian didn't negotiate that final hurdle.

You have to feel sorry for all the pros who have been dumped or offered the dance troupe.

What's the point in being a great teacher/choreographer, polite and totally professional when rude, insulting and tantrum throwing pros remain?

Take note new SCD pros.

Servalan,I totally agree with you!

Oops, I'd better slip back to my 'parallel universe'!

Wise, wise words.

I, and probably most strictly fans, don't want the show to be reduced to gutter press headline chasing with faux drama. We'll leave that to certain other shows which shall remain un-named.

The only 'reality' element should be aimed at the celebrities and their personalities, characters that the public can grow attached to or loathe in equal measures. The main reason why 2009 was such a flop, was because most of the celebs were as dull as dishwater. The very few that were actually entertaining, were booted off in the early rounds of the competition.

Problems start when the pro dancers become celebrities and overshadow the actual celebs. Where's the defining line between the two? The pro's should remain as anonymous as possible (with regards to their personality).

All professional dancers are competitive people, or they would not have got where they are.

Have the BBC considered they are driving a wedge between husband and wife, intimate partners on and off the dance floor? How would Lilia feel when watching Darren dancing on BBC1, regularly partnering another woman pro dancer?

Sorry but I don't see it as the BBC driving a wedge between them when they were both offered the same position.
They obviously think differently about the situation otherwise they would do the same thing.

Agree 100%.

As regular viewers we will lose out because there is one big thing that the producers have missed in demoting these pros (especially previous winners) to the dance troupe - they will lose the vital experience of training a newbie to produce a decent performance every week (in fact more than one performance as the weeks go by).

What pros new to SCD or DWTS struggle with is showcasing their celeb and not themselves, which must be very difficult when doing your own choreography.

I honestly think the pros who have done SCD or DWTS have a head start over pros who haven't - simply because of the unique experience they gain.

I remember seen Matt Dawson being interviewed after he did SCD for Sports Relief with Elaine Page as his partner. As an ex-contestant he was supposed to be the partner with dancing experience, yet the first time he walked on to the dance floor in the training room with Elaine, he hadn't got a clue what to do. Matt said that was the moment he realised how much of the work Lilia had done for them as a couple.

I'm still on the fence about the changes, but I'm not very optimistic.

I think that's the problem they were so dominent that the producers felt they ought to handicap them enough to stop them winning so for the last two seasons they've both had no hopers and they've proved they can turn a middling celeb into a contender - neither Goughie or Dawes were obvious ringers and Leticia Dean wasn't one of the front runners either. It desperately sad - though because Lilia isn't just a great dancer and cheorographer but an engaging personality - how many people think the funniest thing on ITT last year was her outrage at her abysmal score on the Dance Dance Revolution challenge. If I was Dancing on Ice producer I get her for the judging panel there.

I don't think there was any handicapping going on tbh - most of the time it is hard to guess who will do well or not. The show just got bigger with new pros and more couples.