I do appreciate there is a difference in Strictly. I would say for Strictly, I don't emotionally invest but I am influenced by a celeb's apparent approach to the show. So I quite like celebs who display less angst and just get on with it.

In terms of professional dancers, it is still possible to appreciate a performance from someone irrespective of their personality. Couples can appear to show a chemistry that isn't there in real life. However some dancers can be notoriously difficult to work with off the floor and this can impact their careers (their ability to build long term partnerships). The film Ballroom Dancer is an interesting but depressing insight into that side of things.

I was pondering this aspect of the programme too. It seems to me that without any interest in the participants one might as well be watching any dancers in any programme anywhere. Surely the "human interest" aspect is integral to the show.

I was just thinking about Strictly in comparison to So You Think You Can Dance. I used to watch that and appreciate good dancers without really considering their personalities because I didn't know anything about them beforehand and we never got to see much of them on the show. Although I enjoyed the dancing, I never really cared who won or felt particularly sorry when a couple left and it never became a must-watch show for me. Shows like Strictly really need viewers to become emotionally invested and create 'heroes and villains', otherwise it just becomes another show people can take or leave.

Most of their 'research' seem to consist of looking on Twitter and Wonkypedia as well as other news sources. As soon as one news sources picks up a story like this then all the others will repeat then it gains credibility because 'it is in all the papers'.

I have written before how I read an account by one journalist of 'doorstepping' someone and after a time all the reporters went down the pub, made up a story and all printed the same, claiming the person had said it. It was in all the papers (at least the tabloids) so it was very difficult to deny.

[quote=daziechain;80190300]I find it incredible that people switch off from what is a basic human instinct.

To me it isn't.

I don't have to switch off as I'm not that interested in their background or personal lives. That's not to say that I'm don't take an interest in what they say about their experience on SCD, and how they view their progress and training etc.

I fully appreciate others have different views but I really don't see why "human interest" is integral to the show. Don't viewers tune in to ITT to learn about dance and see training clips in the main ? The dancers both celebs and Pro's that appear, talk dance - you don't get to see the real personalities, so surely its the dancing that is integral to the show. Yes its nice to hear what they have to say....but other than that...

Personality, how someone comes across...... is crucial in this show, whether that's fair or not. I dont understand people who say just vote for the dancing...why If I dont like someone, I dont care if they're the best dancer in the world but I wont vote/root for them.
Strictly is not a pure dancing competition (and believe it or not even in those competitions I am sure that they're biases that some judges have towards competitors ) ; it is a reality tv show so someone's personality , chemistry with their partner.....is really important.

Going back to Helen. Not a fan of her but I think that some people are making too much of that comment...it sounds bitchy on paper but on the video it didnt actually sound bad; I dont have a problem with her; I think that she is quite lovely even though I dont look forward to her routines.
Give her a break.

I couldn't disagree more, especially with a show like Strictly. The fact there is a public vote and sister show with interviews of the celebs etc shows to me that dancing is secondary here and the human interest factor is the main driving force of the show. Otherwise there would be no public vote and the best dancers would just go through without any tension.

As it is, as Carol (for instance) has come across in such a good way, is personable, relatable and is having a laugh is key to her going through each week. Similarly the fun and joy she is having is compounded by interviews on ITT.

Yes it's a dancing show, but I think the human interest angle is at the top of the BBC's agenda with the show as it engages people and helps you latch onto a favourite and make you want to route for them/ vote for them.

From some of your posts it seems the celebs could be robots and it wouldn't matter.

To be honest Korky, when I see some of the posts on this forum, I wonder exactly the opposite i.e. How some people manage to sit through a whole show with such strong feelings and, in some cases, extreme distaste for some of the celebs and pros. I do take an interest in the personalities (otherwise I wouldn't be able to say that I like Katie and Jeremy for example). In many cases I am far more sympathetic than people on this forum. For example, I felt genuinely sorry for Gregg Wallace last year when he was so badly affected by nerves. I've also been interested to see the change in Kirsty recently.

However I certainly don't react in a strong negative way to anyone on the show and in many cases I simply don't see what other people see. That might be because when the Tesspit bit comes on I'm killing a few lines of sweets in Candy Crush or reading my emails rather than worrying about who is hogging the camera, looking hard done by or whatever.

I'm not that interested in their background or personal life .. but I am interested in them as people.
I think most people are .. that's why seemingly rubbish dancers like Judy last for as long as they do. She'd have been first out if we only judged the dancing. Similarly Jeremy.

I usually haven't heard of most of them when it starts, and I don't look them up during or try to follow their exploits after its over. I guess I am pretty immune to the whole celeb thing.
But I do like to watch them progress and learn the craft. Ands it's nice to "get to know" what the editors put forward as their personalities.
But for me the dance and even more the band is the thing.

Maybe it all depends on whether we are interested in psychology, body language, inter-action, how people respond to good or bad events, how they take adverse criticism, how they relate to their partners, their competitiveness, reactions, etc. I enjoy people-watching, whether in a café, on a park bench, in a bookshop (particularly), on a bus or train, in a city centre street...anywhere, including SCD. For me it's all part of the programme and without the human interest aspect it would be a lesser one.

Yes, the bile which spills forth on here and elsewhere on DS makes me wonder if people are really so unaware of how they are coming across ... And it's not well, believe me. But hey, if that's how they get their jollies, so be it. Just glad I don't have to encounter any of them in real life.

A good Dancer will go and Jeremy will still be in. I hope that people that think he is the greatest thing since sliced Bread appreciate that and perhaps if their fav goes they will realise the error of their ways.

Most often I have no idea who they are when the show starts. I don't read newspapers or have Twitter or Facebook so all that gossip/celebrity stuff passes me by (thank goodness ). But I do like to get to know them as the weeks progress. And that does influence how I feel about them in addition to their dancing.

The only person I loathed before the show was Anne Widdecombe and she did absolutely nothing to change that opinion. Ghastly woman.

So as far as Helen goes the launch show was the first time I'd ever seen her. To me she seems a bit flakey but does lovely ballroom. So I'm happy to watch her and, if I feel so inclined, I could possibly vote for her in the future.

It's the nature of the comp .. you have to engage people and he's done that.
I haven't voted for him but can fully appreciate why people do. A good dancer won't be voted out by the judges.

And what if it is Helen and Georgia in the bottom two and the Saga fav is still in.

I don't think Helen is horrible, I just think she is hard to know. I never know what she really is like.

I could prefer Georgia to be saved.

I don't give a shit about her personality. I care about her dancing. That's the way it should be.

If many more people vote for Jeremy than Georgia or Helen then so be it.

The only ones to blame ar those who did not vote enough for the people who end up in the dance off.

Then that's the way it is but I doubt that will happen.

Her personality is all party of the package, you have to remember that this is a Saturday Night Light Entertainment Show.

Based on Dancing not on Baking or Pottery. IMO Helen is in the top 3 Dancers but she still gets the bile aimed at her for no reason well perhaps one reason but I will not go there.

I agree that Helen does not deserve to have any bile whatsoever directed towards her, that is just not fair.