SCD 2009:
[LIST][*]Martina Hingis: 28[*]Richard Dunwoody: 45[*]Rav Wilding: 31[*]Lynda Bellingham: 61[*]Joe Calzaghe: 37[*]Jo Wood: 54[*]Zöe Lucker: 35[*]Craig Kelly: 38[*]Phil Tufnell: 44[*]Jade Johnson: 29[*]Ricky Groves: 41[*]Natalie Cassidy: 27[*]Laila Rouass: 38[*]Ali Bastian: 27[*]Ricky Whittle: 27[*]Chris Hollins: 38[/LIST]
Average age: 37.5

SCD 2010:
[LIST][*]Anne Widdecombe: 62[*]Felicity Kendal: 63[*]Gavin Henson: 28[*]DJ Goldie: 44[*]Jimi Mistry: 37[*]Kara Tointon: 27[*]Matt Baker: 32[*]Michelle Williams: 30[*]Pamela Stephenson: 60[*]Patsy Kensit: 42[*]Paul Daniels: 72[*]Peter Shilton: 60[*]Scott Maslen: 39[*]Tina O'Brien: 27[/LIST]
Average age: 44.5

Comments?

(Yes, I am indeed bored)

I thought the same thing when I saw the line up. I know we haven't seen them dance yet, but I'm thinking that the older celebs will be better at the ballroom rather than the latin.

Looking forward to it though, I love Strictly.

Maybe they are trying to balance the ageist accusation people throw at them?

44.5 Isn't old

Can't say any of the celebs excite me at all, although some could be entertaining in a cringing sort of way, others, such as Paul Daniels, I think I will just have to try and ignore altogether.

I'm far more excited about the 3 new male professionals! At least 2 of them (if not all 3) should add some much needed life and vitality into the show.

I completely agree - it's the ideal age

But 44.5 is 7 years older than 37.5. Which is pretty significant, statistically, I think.

In 2009, the oldest contestant was 61. But in 2010, there are 4 contestants in their 60s - and one in his 70s.That's nearly half the contestants.

It seems difficult to believe this demographic shift is random.

you can expect more of this sort of thing you know, demographics show the population is ageing

Safe to say my expectations are pretty low on the latin front this year!

It's been a stressful 12 months, but I don't tthink I've aged 7 years in that time.

At this rate, in 2015 the contestants will average out at "older than Bruce"...

What amazes me is that there's a whole bunch of predictable conspiracy theories that come out all the time during the series, with no evidence beyond "That's what I think".

But when you show something unusual, with incontrovertible evidence, everyone goes "Meh".

What's all that about?

I wonder did they get a job lot of zimmer frames and orthpaedic insoles this year .

Blanking out works well , sing a little song with your eyes firmly on the carpet and you will find you can pretend it never happened.

Age is just a number at the end of the day........its how they have aged and how fit (in the correct sense of the word) they are that matters really. Felicity is very slim and says she does fitness classes including yoga she is very much in the Cherie Lunghi mould and if Cherie could only have got her head round the latin (and I think it was a lack of 'letting go' rather than anything else that hampered her) she would have been a fantastic contender, so there is absolutely no reason why a woman in her 60s couldnt be great and a winner of the show.

I think its a brave and interesting choice to have Felicity AND Pamela on the show.....there are, in my opinion, quite a few strictly viewers who will remember them both with fondness during their 'hey days' on The Good Life and Not The 9 O'clock News. I also think there are a fair few older male viewers and husbands of strictly viewers who will remember them with fondness too.

The last time the average age of the population was recorded was mid 2009 and it was 39.5 years of age.

As we also have an ageing population overall (i.e. people are living longer and there are fewer youngsters around) it is only going to get worse (or better depending on your point of view)! .

Last year was the youngest crop ever so it might not the best comparison overall. I don't have my Strictly spreadsheet handy (hush your mouth), but the average is usually around 41/42 from what I recall.

I think looking at the numbers individually, they've replaced celebs in the age range of 40 to 60 with those between 60 and 80. Shouldn't make much difference, because most celebs over 40 have been mediocre-crap anyway. By the time the public have booted all the oldies out we'll be left with an end selection that look more or less the same as usual

You have a Strictly spreadsheet?

Blimey.


You're assuming that the public won't vote for the oldies; but the producers may be aiming at an older demographic anyway - so that could mean the young ones get voted out.

Combined with the lack of a dance-off, the horrendous prospect of a Widders vs Daniels final looms ahead of us.

I think its better to have interesting older personalties like Pamela, Felicity Kendal and Ann than personality free Hollyoaks tyes tbh.

Well said you. I'm of the same opinion.

The older contestants seem to have more to say for themselves, a good sense of humour and they tend not to trot out the usual Strcitly cliches when they speak.

The dancing is only part of what the show is about. So much of it revolves around interviews with the couples and backstage chats and how the celebs and pros interact and the banter with the judges. You need an engaging personality for all that stuff.

Yay! We've got onto the "dancing vs. entertainment" debate within 1 page.

Well done, guys, I knew you had it in you.

It's a blessing and a curse. It let's me have a vague idea of what I'm talking about, leading me to make statements I later have to correct when I actually look it. So :

Series 1 : 38.25
Series 2 : 40.20
Series 3 : 39.08
Series 4 : 40.29
Series 5 : 39.29
Series 6 : 42.44


Every series thus far suggests the public won't vote for the oldies. As a rule oldies and fatties (moreso male fatties) get voted out at a rate disproportionate to their scores. The one exception is John Sergeant, and I'm hoping he remains exceptional for a few series to come.

I'm hoping Felicity and Pamela can both dance.

It's a long long time ago, but Pamela said she could dance back then. I'd like to see her stay in and get back in shape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZO1EYs_ZzU

Can Ann last more than one week? She might if she can dance better than Peter Shilton, who I'm guessing will make Schmeichael look good.

I think Paul will only be kept in if the public want to stir things up - which may happen. Despite him starting from zero, I wouldn't be surprised if he could learn to dance, but it would take someone strong (like Ola) to teach him. I dont think Flavia would be forceful enough, and if she got Paul after Craig last year, there would be a new charity - the RSPCF.

Yes, I'm quite optimistic (although it wouldn't be the first time I've been hopeful about a celeb to be disappointed).

Although I'm happy with older celebs (yes I'm another who hadn't heard of Michelle Williams . ) I am quite puzzled. The BBC appeared to want to sex things up a bit,as evidenced by their choice of new pros, and yet their choice of celebs doesn't match.

I'm 26 and they're all older than me!

They maybe could have done a bit better for the ladies as regards 'hunks', but they have 3 or 4 women who are going to look good and may well dance good too. They also have 3 new pros for the girls, so that should be enough?

And even more difficult to believe that whoever did the casting was working off the same script as whoever decided to go for younger pros or the trend to make it more dynamic like DWTS of any of the newer dancing shows.

Not sure whats meant to happen. They may have given up on any one winning for being good and just put people in who will be familiar from the 70s or shows that people who watched then watch now.

One problem is that an older cast will attract even more of the "corpses move faster" type of judges comments that kept JS in - so they will end up wih even more of an anti-judge vote.

Another is that with more older dancers, you inevitably have fewer younger fitter ones - which means that if you take a couple of the latter out early you have no competition for best dancer and may end up with two people doing completely different things at different speeds in the final.

It's absolutely bizarre to fire a raft of dancers for being too old & then hire celebs with an higher average age.

I assumed the production team were going DWTS-style for a younger demographic to compete with X Factor. Apparently not. Now I don't think they if they're coming or going...

It solves the problem for me as to whether to bother watching this year.

if they were firing people because of Age then Anton and erin would have gone.