I think it is all absolutely down to the BBC's choice - they want entertainers first and foremost, personalities, characters, that sort of thing. That's what brings in the ratings, and at the end of the day ratings are what matter the most. The more attractive the dancer the better, of course - it obviously helps! Their overall dance background doesn't really matter all that much, so long as they know a little (enough) about a lot - especially since the dances exhibited on the show are no longer only 'traditional' Ballroom/Latin anyway. The dancers can be from anywhere really - as long as they can choreograph, teach and perform, then they've got the job. And I'm sure there are plenty of dancers from all backgrounds out there who have an interest in the show and are hungry for the secure money (and fame) it offers, so the BBC can have easy pickings from that lot.

There are also plenty of dancers out there who have a real skill for entertaining, have fabulous personalities and plenty of character, are stunningly attractive AND have a 'traditional' Ballroom/Latin background. However, these kind of people just aren't accessible to the BBC. Those of any real, considerable standard have promising competitive careers to finish and wouldn't want to throw away their future lifelong coaching careers whilst getting laughed at and made a mockery of by their peers at the same time, since taking part in these kind of shows is massively frowned upon. They just don't have the want for achieving fame to throw it all away, when they have success and secure money within what they are doing already.

Just a side note: I really wish that people would stop saying (on here and on various other threads) that Joanne Clifton (with Paolo Bosco) is the World Number 1. She hasn't danced in a real competition governed by a proper professional organisation for almost four years now, so I would find it very interesting to see where she would actually place if she was ever to compete in a real competition, run by a proper organisation (which will never happen). I would certainly doubt her ability to even make a final, let alone rank as Number 1. And anyway, she lost the World Championship run by her fabricated federation to Mirko and Edita back in February this year and was also second in it the year before, so World Number 1 she definitely ain't, and never has been. Just really annoying to keep on reading it when it just isn't true.

Interesting you say the part about Joanne Clifton, since reading that on here I've watched some of their videos, and been looking out for them. They are absolutely fantastic, beautiful dancers, I just couldn't find anything saying they were current world no 1 so I was really intrigued to find out what I was missing.

That's a bit stinging "her fabricated federation" as far as I can find it was the World DanceSport Federation which doesn't appear to have been fabricated by Joanne Clifton at all. Whatever is the truth, she's a dam' good dancer and danced for Italy not GB.

Oh no, you've interpreted me completely wrong there. She certainly didn't fabricate the WDSF PD herself - it was fabricated a good few years ago, long before Joanne was even dancing as a professional. It's just that she herself chooses to represent that federation rather than to associate with a real dance body. A shame really, and a waste, since they are a formidable couple. They'll probably just end up retiring ridiculously early as all the couples with any sort of talent in that federation tend to do.

Competition ballroom dancing was never meant to be a public entertainment and the two worlds are miles apart. Ballroom dancing is a combination of a do-it-yourself hobby and a competitive sport. I think this why the original Come Dancing failed - the producers thought that straight ballroom dancing would be entertaining and of course it wasn't. Strictly Come Dancing is basically a stage show with the dancers coming on one at a time and doing carefully rehearsed routines - which is completely foreign to ballroom dancing. This is why they are always going on about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers who never danced International style (which incidentally should more properly be called British style because it was invented here).

Whilst I agree with what you said, the quote above? It ran for 49 years. That's hardly a fail!

But then cookery isn't a public entertainment, but we have countless shows about people competing in or learning to do it. Knowing the complete works of Jane Austen isn't a public entertainment but we have Mastermind. Being able to reach a number using 6 given numbers isn't a public entertainment but some of us watch people doing it. I don't think that is a valid argument.

So why don't we see national ballroom competitions filmed for TV these days? The last ones were the UK Championships in the early nineties (which incidentally I put onto YouTube).

Well because ballroom went out of fashion and Come Dancing started to look dated. It is now back in fashion, although possibly not enough to attract an appreciable audience for serious competitions. But I don't think that Strictly necessarily needs to abandon ballroom in favour of watered down disco-like dances.

It's just sad that some people (not you) think that competitive ballroom hasn't changed since Come Dancing finished. Like part of life got frozen in the 80s.

Slightly off topic but... You would expect costumes and music to have evolved but I was amazed when I watched old clips on Youtube of how much the actually dances had changed. Even take Karen Hardy dancing with Mark Lunn about 20 years ago - when you look at current competitive couples the movements and style of dance has changed so much.

Yes, I remember when men danced latin in dinner suits with black bow ties - I actually watched Bill and Bobbie Irvine do that, around 1970, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. They were the only couple who won the World Championships in latin and ballroom separately.

As for Come Dancing, I watched that when I was in this country. I was very annoyed with Terry Wogan who tried to cover up his ignorance of the subject by making a joke of it and treating it as an activity for idiots. On the other hand I seriously fancied Rosemarie Ford who was the last presenter and could sing with the orchestra. I wonder if she would ever come on SCD - she is only 51.

I’d contend that if TPTB go too much further down that route they’d be in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

As a complete layman, SCD was addictive (I use the word advisedly) because it managed to combine a light hearted, fun, frothy reality show with teaching the viewers the technicalities of an art form – ballroom dancing. We not only got to see lots of pretty frocks, some sublime exponents of dance, some laugh out loud moments (step forward Chris Parker & Quentin Wilson – amongst MANY others), some heart warming relationships and some nascent dancers blossoming, but we actually learned something. And as we learned, we became more discerning. And the more discerning we became, the more invested also. I wanted – and still want - to hear an informed critique of every last couple that steps out on the floor, and I want to see marking appropriate to the performance they produce. I want to carry on learning so that I can get ever more out of the one and only reality show that I ever watch. I don’t want to learn to dance myself, but I do want to be an informed observer.

Sadly SCD went down the path of fighting a ratings war with X Factor and dumbed down the show to win it – which they have done. Arguably, they would have won it anyway. I don’t believe X Factor’s ascendancy would have lasted too much longer, but that’s just a gut feeling on my part.

Unfortunately SCD continues to dumb down and the increasing number of bastardised dances bear witness to that.

Somebody needs to take a clearsighted view of where the show is heading and slam the brakes on. I know we can’t go back to what the show used to be, but I do wish some clear sighted soul would take stock. I don’t want a show that’s preserved in aspic, but some subtlety wouldn’t go amiss.

Moan, moan, bl**dy moan……..

I certainly wouldn't say that ballroom dancing is in fashion, not by any stretch of the imagination.