Eight and 9, back for 10 I think.

Favourite Shimmy Jimmy line of all time, on second appearance on ITT back peddling after JS quit - I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, but ...
Yes Shim, it does - mainly because you are.

Blimey, that is more like it. I can remember that was the year my sister tried to get me to watch Strictly and the moment I turned it on Tom was dancing something Latin and I just couldn't watch after that.


Imagine Bruno as a paper doll with black socks and shoes, normal hair, normal panstick and then a blue sparkly, fringed Charleston dress, that was the image I got...I think full drag might have been more palatable...*thinking Some Like It Hot*...maybe not.

I do sometimes think that you have to have sat through all of that series to truly appreciate the hilarious and Karmic nature of Bacofoil

My state of appalled horror was too great to react to bacofoil when it ended -- up until I watched a very dumbfounded Bruce Forsyth struggle to say something positive about it. Then I laughed.

I remember that series fondly. My first strictly.
I am ashamed to admit that I was a full Smug vicar (Tom) fan, his Latin was among the worse, his gurning was off the charts, but to this day I haven't seen any other showdances like his. It's the best. (Natalie's was good but every time I watch it I am more and more disappointed there is something missing, Louis was just lifts and a nice production.)

Bacofoil was awesome.

Now, that's a Showdance

I think that for most of us there was that pause of open mouthed WTF before the laughter kicked in, made greater due to Brucie's bewildered expression and the forced/pained smiles on the judges faces

I was watching it with a friend, who was convinced they were going to take the Christmas tree out. I was more concerned about the way Brendan's arms were wobbling and shaking

Just watched Bacofoil again. It's even worse than I remember.

Best ever.

It never gets old.

My favourite comment: there was a lot on show, but not a lot of dance.

I agree completely re that show dance, Tom Chambers or "smug vicar" was the most annoying and cloying contestant. However in that final the showdance changed my total opinion Still annoying but I did not mind him winning. Then again it was a case anyone but "notclooney" for the win

Me too and I loved Brenda's presentation of her to the audience at the end

It's my standby whenever I need something to cheer me up

Bacofoil contained what can only be described as the most painful, un-elegant and ugly lifts in a dance I've ever seen. You could see the strain in Brendan's face, his arms, his whole abdomen and his brain when he was hoisting her about.

It was if she was a child who was fighting against going to bed so he was dragging her round - just cringe.

That and the Desth Star canteen

He had been practising that dance in the mirror since he was 4 years old though, so he should have been good at it by then 🙄 I'm not letting my annoyance at that series go, he was a massive ringer though we didn't really realise it at the time.

I was hoping that Jay would do some tap dancing in his showdance. He can do it as that was how he started!

I so agree. This was the best Strictly of all time. It all went wronger than wrong but somehow, even all the wrongness was joyful or at least Schadenfreude-R-Us. Bacofoil was the cherry on top.

No dance-off in the first four series either.

Didn't like it when it was introduced. Really, really didn't appreciate it when Lisa kept being saved and then not only Austinwozrobbed but also Erinwizrobbed to save her again.

Unappreciate the dance-off now, but a cash strapped BBC gets a comparatively cheap Sunday night programme with 10 million viewers, so it's OK I suppose (except in the semi-final).

Which is why i think he didn't do it - he seems to have wanted to show what he'd learnt rather than what he knew, if that makes any kind of sense

By the date on this vid he appears to be, as you say, the ringiest ringer in Ringtown.

I don't mind a bit of ringer-ding-ding because at least you do get a chance to see some decent dancing on Strictly.

Ah so next suggestion is a judges panel of 3 only no need to a head judge then with a casting vote.

We need to loose Len, his grumpiness is beyond tedious now
Loose Craig ( on this day of the sad news about his dad's death I won't say why, but he can go too)
So who we need is someone to fulfill the role of pantomime villan and technique expert all in one.

Hmmm , now who could that be, Har Har how marvellous would it be if there would be if there were someone on hand to do that role

And yet, when people talk about ringahs, they all conveniently forget that Austin Healey apparently took ballroom/latin dancing classes for about a year before doing Strictly. I don't know how true that rumour was, but it was quite prevalent when he was on Strictly. That's not a criticism of Austin, or even ringahs, by the way, it's just an observation.