I along with many have watched this show from the beginning and have loved nearly every second, but this year if it hadn't been for my love of Kara and Artem I would have switched off.

As I remember when the show started it was touted as an Entertaining Show about Dancing, both Anton and Brendan in particular were worried that the dancing would lose out to the entertainment.

For the past couple of years it has started dumbing down but this year it has slumped into "X Factor " territory, the show has completely changed and for the worse in my opinion.

Brilliant choreographers have been replaced, the dance off has been scrapped and the results show is a joke.

The professional dances bar one or two have been substandard and there have been no celeb group dances something that has always added to the show. We also are no longer told how long the Celebs are training for, no two dances in a week, (could these changes have anything to do with a certain contestant who can't or won't dance).

Instead we get Anton dragging an old lady who can't be bothered to learn to dance around the floor. Prop's, sometimes so many there is no room to dance and 3 judges who don't know or don't care what they are talking about.
Then the "X Factor" mob laughing at, not with and voting accordingly.

As someone who loves to be spellbound by dance and seeing people learn to dance after this year I will probably not watch again.

Shame on the BBC and shame on Anton and Brendan in particular for turning Strictly Come Dancing into an Entertaining Show where the dancing comes a long way behind ridicule and ratings.

I am very dissapointed with the format this year and I hate the results show with a passion, even the pro dances haven't been as good and as for the costumes.... very few have been outstanding and most have been bits of material sewn together.
Kara, Matt, Scott, Patsy and Pamela have kept me watching everyweek and if "you know who" gets to the final I won't be watching!

I agree with almost all of that, but I'm puzzled as to why Brendan's been subjected to so much criticism.

This is the first year I've watched and I really wish the Beeb would take it all more seriously.

I'd like to see the show be about dance - that's why I didn't watch previous years because thought it was a formulaic, X-Factor like show. This year it's Kara and Artem who have grabbed my attention but I get no joy watching Anne not dance - she's more entertaining on a Britain's Got Talent level really.

I would like to see more dancing from the Pros - learn about the dances - and even have a few lessons thrown in. I'd like the Beeb to celebrate and respect dancing and not diminish the talent and hardwork by allowing comedic elements to dominate the competition. The Results Show could be a fantastic showcase for dance with special guest stars in the dance world getting a chance to shine (instead of putting the spotlight on some singer or group), and you could have one or two the Pros dance something special too. You know, you could do a bit of dance history too and show some clips of Fred and Ginger and all the rest.

I'd like the judges to be more serious and have more input.

It could still be fun, and it could be more about dance.

Threads like this piss me off. If you don't like the format, then don't watch it. But I bet you do, all the way to the final and again next year.

Jeeze, there's really no pleasing some people.

If you don't like threads like this, why read them?

I don't see why they should! The OP is simply stating that the original format was the one which appealed, and I must say I agree. Such a shame they have messed with it & turned it into something else.

I have no objection to entertainment shows such as this has now become, but why couldn't the BBC have produced a separate show for this sort of trivia & continued with SCD as an additional program in its original format.

I'm sure there would be an audience for both types of show..

I have just seen a picture of Natalie's costume and it's a bikini with a skirt attached....I wish they would employ someone who can design nice costumes and not think that showing as much flesh as they can get away with constitutes a dance outfit!

How rude! I'm sure if one had time or inclination to trawl through all your posts (or indeed mine) they would find plenty of reason to say something similar.

I love Strictly - it's a show I look forward to every year, but I don't think that it helps the show to refrain from saying how it might be improved.

Yes I agree - and a lot of others do as well. If you care a about dance and love watching it, SCD has ruined what was a good idea and turned it into another cheap Saturday slapstick show for the lowest common denominator.

Actually, is that really the target audience or have the producers completely lost all sense of what made SCD work in the first place?

At it's heart was 'dance' - not giant egos or slapstick. No wonder the judges have stopped giving a damn.

Absolutely. I've been disappointed in a lot o the costumes this year. I'm no fan of the dreaded AW, but too much flesh on show - particularly in the ballroom gowns is not always a good thing. Natalie seems to avoid wearing anything that covers her up.

When and if Kara is eliminated I will switch off.
The format has been radically changed this year, dumbed down to the same standard as all the other dreadful reality shows, none of which I watch.

If the Rt Hon Miss Widdy wins I can see the likes of Cannon and Ball or the Chuckle Brothers joining next year, won't that be fun:yawn:.

As for Brendan, he was so protective of the show in the beginning and now just tows the party line of Widdy deserves to win, other professionals who had a problem with the format have had the sense to walk, Reputation over Money.

Interested in this post as it described what the show was mostly like in earlier Series.It started to go a bit awry after series 4

I regret the demise of rules and the advent of the no holds barred approach ; I think many of the pro ladies' costumes have become a bit too risqué for the nature of the show and I am sorry to see the end of the group dances , the swingathon just doesn't cut it for me.

This comment
reflects exactly what we said of the Blackpool show : using props means they don't have to use the whole of the dance floor .
A sort of cheating .

You're right there Rosco - the inveterate moaners still keep coming back for more. I think it's a fantastic entertainment spectacular. Yes I'd love to see some tweaking with judging, etc., but I doubt I'll abandon the show anytime soon.

But it is in context with the theme and the music they've chosen.
I'd actually tend to agree about the eyepopping amount of flesh on display, but on this one I have to admit it's perfectly appropriate.

I know it is very brief, but it does replicate the famous Ursula Andress bikini in Dr No, which is the their movie theme ,so it's appropriate in this case.

Edit: oops, miss m has already answered this.

Well not really since Dr No , I believe only has the generic James Bond film theme , not a specific one like Goldfinger , or Live and Let Die , so she could have chosen any costume ......or none for that matter

Thanks, Noone - I'm another one who agrees with this post. I am not a dance purist (whatever that might be) but at the heart of this programme was a love and respect for ballroom and Latin dancing. That has been immolated on the altar of populist entertainment.

To a certain extent, ITT tries to fill the gap with some more about the actual dances themselves, but it can't have that great an audience. Would it hurt to make the results show about dance rather than those stupid cowboy or movie fillers? Utterly unnecessary. And I agree about the guest singers. The highlight of the results show last week was not James Bloody Blunt but that amazing rumba from James and Ola. More, please!

However, I won't stop watching Strictly any time soon. It has been essential viewing for me since about half way through series 2 when I watched it for the first time. They can tinker with it, but somehow I know the changes they make won't beat my Strictly addiction.

It's in keeping with the theme.....and besides, with a body like hers, why hide it?

I thought Dr No was the first Bond film, so maybe it didn't need it's own theme, not that it really matters.

Calm down dears, it's only a debate!