I've come to the conclusion that the BBC moved them to the dance troupe simply because it would be embarrassing if the Bennett's won anymore trophies !


Also loved this from Darren Gough on twitter:

can't believe Lilia and darren are not on strictly come dancing anymore most successful dancers winning 7 trophies between them , good luk !

Just how did you reach that conclusion?

Am angry and disappointed for Lilia, she has been for me since Series2, the outstanding choreographer, teacher and personality all rolled in one on SCD. She's been bloody terrific to be frank. No one is irreplaceable but I'm really going to miss the little Russian doll.

Series 3 winner, 2 Christmas special, strictly tour.....they would have to invent a new category just so Lilia has something new to win !

I think perhaps with Lilia and Darren becoming so well known by Strictly fans and casual viewers there was a danger they would be more recognisable than their 'celeb' partners. Particularly with the normal parade of D listers.....

also as a happy (gasp!). married (double gasp!) couple it didn't give the producers much to manipulate it terms of faux romances with their zelebs. I imagine if Lilia was single , ghastly Dom would have been exploiting that angle for all its worth.

I hope Lilia can take comfort in the fact that she was probaly too happy in her personal life and too recognisable for the 'Strictly come OK magazine' world of 2011.

Actually most of the Strictly pros are in established relationships now I think- so unless the producers have reason to believe someone is going to have an affair, they haven't really got much material for manipulation!

Any more so than the others though?

Yeah, I know what you mean but the other well known faces have their gimmicks.

Anton - old lady pleaser, Bruce fave, general crappyness

Brendan - 'Has Brendan met his match in x , can x tame the bad boy etc

James - plays up the bad boy angle

Ola - plays up the nuts magazine angle

Being a good dancer isn't enough any more...

I think Tiger Rose is right. I don't think Darren or Lilia are nearly as recognisable by the general public these days (imho Lilia is much more recognisable than Darren). Also, not all the 'Strictly come OK magazine' world is gossip. Some of it was clearly arranged with the pro involved. I don't think there is the same tag of tackiness with Hello or OK magazine coverage these days - there's too much money involved).

I think you are being unfair to these pros.

I think the above points are where your argument falls down slightly. The BBC have no problem axing people who have had only one series, who have never had a decent partner, or both. It could be other reasons which are also not about trying to get tabloid headlines and/or showmances, but I don't think it's the reasons you have given.

Natalie I would say was always likely to be asked- I can't think of any finalist pros who have not had their contract renewed the following year (apart from Camilla- her choice).
Katya didn't make a huge impression on me so not sure what the logic is there.
Aliona- could possibly be for pro choreography/dancing? Although on that logic it hardly makes sense to ditch Matt when a lot of what worked there was the partnership they had.
Not sure what it could be for Kristina.

Lilia could have come back to Strictly, it was her choice not to. Yes, it's sad that she won't be involved in the show, I'll miss her choreography a lot and hope she does backstage reports for ITT as they're always fun, but it was her choice to leave the show altogether.


Darren and Lilia are no more recognisable than some of the other Strictly pros - I'd say there are quite a few who are equally famous and regularly eclipse the celeb factor of their Strictly partners.

And don't forget that Darren and Lilia aren't the only married Strictly pros, let alone the only married couple on the show!!!! James and Ola are in just as stable a marriage (granted they haven't been married as long as D&L but it doesn't make their marriage any less stable), Erin is married, Brendan is married and many of the others are in stable relationships. As I pointed out earlier, the only ones we know for sure are single are the 3 new boys!

Your arguments make sense in principle, but they don't just apply to Darren and Lilia, but to many of the pros who are still competing this year.



To be honest, those were the only arguments I could think of for keeping them!! Much as I like Aliona and Kristina, there's no sound reason why they're back, except perhaps their willingness to commit to Strictly-related tours etc. Natalie I think you're right about, back by virtue of making the final last year. And I can think of no real reason why Katya's back tbh, she didn't make much of an impression on me either!

I knew that argument was not very sound, but it was the only one I could think of at all!

What makes no sense to me as well is the splitting of the Matt & Aliona and Ian & Natalie partnerships - I think the two new girls were helped tremendously by having such good pro partners, and they were fabulous on the tours. I think you're probably on to something when you said they're keeping Aliona for pro choreography and dances, but you're right, it won't be the same when she's not with Matt!! And just when I started to like their jive!

Just wanted to add that I'm not going to take to Aliona until she gets her hair under control - that pony tail drives me mad!

Oh hell, thats all I'm gonna notice now !

Sorry, but you've taken an inference from my post I never intended. There was nothing in what I wrote that said I thought any of those remaining were less talented choreographers. What I said - and others seem to have thankfully understood - was that the producers clearly want 'drama' and having 'characters' who can generate that is a greater priority for them than anything else. Look at all those demoted or gone: they're all 'lovely' or 'nice' - and I don't mean that in a negative way (I love them too! ) and therefore, in the cynical producers' eyes, less likely to create 'controversy'.

Of course this is totally misplaced, and what the producers want and what they'll end up with are two different things ... Like Buddy, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but the signs the producers are making so far are not inspiring.

That happened to me at the tour show - everybody raves about the new jive Matt and Aliona did and all I can remember is Aliona's hair.

Totally agree, and when the ratings fall even further for the next series which I definitely predict they will, those same producers should be fired and Lilia, Matthew and Ian reinstated.

My apologies, it read to me as if you were saying that the most talented choreographers had gone from Strictly, when that is obviously a matter of opinion. I apologise for thinking that was your intention

I don't disagree that the producers want drama, or that those who have left are 'nice' characters, I was merely trying to point out that those who are left are not necessarily those are more likely to create any real controversy. I think I just have a different viewpoint of the characters of some of the pros who are left than you do. Maybe that's bias on my part from my own experience of meeting James and Ola, who are very down-to-earth, lovely people, and being a big fan of them both, and maybe I'm being too lenient on Brendan by saying he's mellowed considerably But I do think that none of them are controversial enough (insert 'anymore' in here for some of them) to justify categorising the pros who left as the 'nice' ones and those staying as the 'controversial' ones, that's all. It's my opinion that there's not the big personality difference in the series 7 pros and series 8 pros overall as some people may make out

And yes, I agree entirely that's it's misplaced, I'm not a supporter of the changes at all and would quite like to see it come back to haunt the producers in one way or another!!!

I've been waiting to hear what Lilia had to say.
It sounds like she really wanted to be on the show, but the terms and conditions were far from what she thought she could work with.

I'm sure she has made the right decision.

Lilia has shown herself to be exactly the sort of person the show needs. She has many years of experience and probably a good feel for what will work.

Circumstantial evidence was leading me to conclude that the dancers would be asked to dance other styles, choreographed by a mish-mash of choreographers - like SYTYCD.
That is not a recipe for quality, and its not what SCD has been about.

I would expect Darren has similar feelings, but maybe feels that they would be best keeping some presence on the show, to see where it all ends up.

I do know someone from SCD retired but keeps in touch and gets some information so re: the new girls that most people are surprised are back. They were always going to be back as I was told last year that the BBC were delighted with the new girls and wanted them all back espectially Natalie who they had been trying to get for two years.

Also as sad as it is re: Lilia, Matt, Ian etc as I was told all the Pro's know that they are employed on a yearly basis so there is no guarantee for returning each year.

BBC are very keen to get new dancers in now and change things around so personally I would expect changes next year as well !!

Why do you think this is when it is pretty obvious just from reading the forum that the fans prefer the established pros and do not WANT new. Why are they bucking the trend and going against what it appears that the public wants. Since the prediction is that the ratings will plummet with these new pros replacing the favoured pros, why would the BBC take such a risk? It's baffling.

They may be single but how do we know that they are not also in relationships? Jared has a steady girlfriend whom he acknowledges as his girlfriend. Matt and Ian were single also so I am not sure why being single comes into play?

The argument was that the pros who are left were kept for showmance factor. It's clearly a false argument, and that's what I was trying to point out. I remember reading somewhere that both Artem and Robin have said they're single, and I haven't read anything about Jared so I didn't know he had a girlfriend. Matt and Ian were not necessarily single.

Apology accepted!

But I think you still misunderstanding some of the points I am making ... I agree with you about the Jordans (I like them too ) and when I refer to 'characters', I'm not talking about who the pro's really are; I'm talking about how the producers view them.

Reality shows are run just like dramas and, just like them, they can generate publicity from conflict. So while EastEnders can have Pat and Peggy feuding (for instance), SCD can stage a feud between Brendan and the judges (for instance) - and both will receive media coverage. As brilliant as Matt, Ian and Lilia are, they have no history of doing this and that, I would argue, is why others who, in the producers' eyes, have stronger television 'characters' have been prioritised over them.

It's a move that smacks of cynicism and also signals that SCD is yet again being set up to compete with The X Factor for tabloid coverage and media attention - and viewers. This is a dangerously stupid move: last year's scheduling fiasco reflected badly on the BBC and now we have a government in power that has as much as said that the BBC should not be competing with commercial broadcasters.

Furthermore, it's a move that seems to pay little attention to viewer loyalty - as if chasing a handful of TXF viewers is more important than keeping the core SCD audience happy.

At least it means no "is Lilia pregnant" threads this series