I am getting deeply bored with all this 'oh, I don't like X pro/X judge/X other person, why couldn't we have Darren/Ian/Matthew/Lilia/Ian/Karen/Ian/Ian/Ian to dance/judge/present/do other random thing that has suddenly reared its head as an SCD requirement?'

I did not dislike any of the former professional dancers usually mentioned in this context. I enjoyed what they brought to the show when they were there, and they never came across as anything but charming people.

But why continue to hark back to something that is, to put it simply, a) not affecting the quality of the show we're getting and b) not going to change any time in the future?

If Darren, Lilia, Ian et al were still in the show they'd be as guilty of using props, flying, novelty elements etc. in their routines as anyone else. So I'll hear no 'oh, but back then dancing was dancing' arguments regarding a).

And as for b), the producers are clearly much more concerned with what they can do to continue the ratings boost than in harking back to a time when ratings were lower.

So why not take a leaf out of the producers' book, open your minds and start thinking about NEW people that could be brought onto the scene to keep things fresh?

well said.

love the ian/ian/ian

Well said, if the old pro's hadn't of left then we wouldn't of seen the introduction of the mighty popular and excellent Artem and Robin last year and the new Pasha this year who has settled in great and is doing really well!

I miss Mathew and Ian as dancers I do think their loss effects the quality of the show .
I miss them in the show dances too . I love Strictly and will stay loyal but its not , for me , as it was three years ago .I prefared it then .I still watch it and enjoy it but for me its missing something .

Lilia would never use any of those ghastly props

Oh well said Lorelei I am so mightly fed up with lets get the sainted Karen Hardy back to be a judge....you know I would actually like them to do it and then for her to be monumentally obnoxious (which I think she could easily be) so that I could laugh at all the 'get rid of Karen' 'WTF does Karen know' 'why did she give that ridiculous inflated score' threads.

Funnily enough, i too think the only ones I miss are Ian and Matthew. Some of the new dancers have been absolute deadwood. Hayley??? The young lad from last year whose name i cant even remember??

JJ (turning into a grumpy old man)

Yep, I feel the same and just to reiterate, I miss Matthew(sigh) Ian, Lilia and Darren. Sorry if that makes the op and others mad but it's just the way I feel.

Yes me too , I am am not sorry because how I feel .

I agree with you Lorelei, I never liked Matthew Cutler so no great miss for me! I know, sorry, but nope, never liked him. I do miss Ian, mainly because he was the only one tall enough to dance with tall women, but I love him on ITT now, so I'm happy with his role.

Darren and Lilia - I think that everyone has a sell-by date and the show needed to freshen. I'm getting really fed up with Ola this year and have realised that she's not that great a choreographer, she has the same signature moves that she just regurgitates in a different order, so to be honest, wouldn't mind if we lost her and her shirty husband next year in favour of newer pros.

Why would it make people mad? You're as entitled to your opinion as anyone.

What a BRAVE thing to say on DS!!!

The Dance-Nazis would insist - nay, even COMPEL you to agree with them on EVERYTHING!!.

Luckily there are a few free spirits around (lol)


JJ (busy looking over his shoulder)

This is exactly how I feel. The time I really miss them is in the Pro dances. Both as dancers and choreographers. Yes I like Pasha and Artem, Robin I like as a person but a bit ambivalent about him as a dancer. In my view freshening up is fine but they replaced the wrong pro's. Of the newer girls I've grown to like Kristina and like Natalie but really not keen on Aliona and Katya.

Well said Alli-F

I think both the Jordans have passed there sell by date. Not keen on Katya or christina either but warmed to Natalie and love Artum (but maybe thats for other reasons lol)

Not sure I would want any of the old pros back but isn't there any more English dancers left in the world.

I do miss seeing Matthew and Aliona together. But I'm sure if they let any of the current pro couples do solo dances (as in 1 couple in solo, not a single dancer) then we would see some great work from them. It's very difficult to be original in a group dance. I don't really get why they keep doing group dances?

Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian,Ian.

*Looks round pram. Wonders where toys have gone.*

Me too !!!!

I wish that SCD had managed to pull off the DWTS pro dancing troupe idea.
We could have then had more of a moveable pro group with peeps moving in and out of the troupe or being a celeb partner as the series dictates.

It seems to work well for DWTS to bring pro's in and out depending on the casting and if the troupe had been bigger and had been given a real role showcasing the dances with some innovative choreography there wouldn't have been the whole "demotion row"...

Sometime when I watch the pro dances I'm really disappointed - let the celeb partners concentrate on that and bring in a real pro troupe so we could have some genuinely thrilling routines for us to enjoy.

I miss being able to watch Ian and
Natalie dancing together They were
fantastic.

To an extent I agree with the OP. Everything has to change and evolve.


Doesn't stop me missing and yearning for Matthew though.

I am impressed with the newer crop of pros by and large. The only blot on the copybook has been that American embryo last year. He reminded me of a 10 year old in the dressing up box.

DWTS has two shows a year which means a bit more leeway about imploying different pros - like many things I'm in two minds on this one. I miss Ian whom could have partnered Holly but I love Artem and Pasha. Natalie doesn't count as she came in to replace Camelia who left of her own free will. I'm a bit grumpy with Ailona at the mo but that might change of she stops faffing and produces some content for Harry to dance to.

I think the problem with the dance troupe here as opposed to DWTS is that on DWTS they rotate their pros around anyway....they arent a fixed feature like ours. (although some are more fixed than others)....Pros come and go from series to series and when they arent on the series then they are usually in the dance troupe. When they formed the troupe here it was seen as a demotion with no way back onto the main show and was thus dismissed by most of the 'pros' and Strictly fans as irrelevant.

I posted earlier that I get fed up with the 'Karen Hardy for judge' threads but I do miss Ian he has a particular charm, but I am not bothered particularly about the others.....I agree with a previous poster I think Ola is not a strong enough choreographer and should be considered for the chop....along with Aliona.

Agree with Lorelei Lee but also with this, Natalie is just too tall for Brendan and would be so much better if Ian were there instead.

Now I would love to see Anton, Erin & Brendan changed That really would shake things up.

Brave thread, OP!

As others have said, I do miss certain pro dancers (Ian and Ian - oh, and Ian) but I do roll my eyes whenever people bang on about it ad nauseam.

The dance troupe format that is so successful in the US (I'll take your word for it, as I don't watch it) didn't work here, a) because it was seen as a demotion by the pros (I believe Brian went off in a huff because of that); b) because they brought in some pretty shitty dancers and Darren and Ian just made them look silly (with the exception of Shem - I liked Shem); and c) because the troupe appeared only rarely, with the existing pro dancers doing their thang at other times. Most confusing.

I like the current crop of new and newish pros - Artem, Robin and Pasha looked SO much sharper than Vincent, Anton, Brendan and James in that Chorus Line number, for example.