Just watching Sky News - they are saying BBC is axing 1700 jobs.

I reckon the BBC are holding all the cards when it comes to remuneration. They have a hit show, yielding great ratings and, (I'm guessing), loads of celebs and probably pros, (though maybe not from right at the top of the dancesport tree), queuing up to be on the show.

Given this, they will be able to dictate the market rate. I'm fine with this. The exposure the celebs/pros receive and the heightened profiles that result must be worth a great deal. So their direct pay might be considered a tad miserly, but all the fringe benefits must at the very least double, triple or quadruple it.

We don't read about it or see it on tele, but minor celebrities bathed in a warm glow in the public eye can earn a nice few bob regularly opening supermarkets and shops, endorsing products in newspapers and magazines and catalogues etc.

That's more than enough for the judges.
I'd do their job for free!

For 5 half-hour shows over 10 weeks - that's not a bad hourly rate.

How can they compare that to what the pros earn, putting in hours of hard training every day ? At least Bruce and Tess are presenting a live show whereas, although "almost live" ITT is basically scripted.

Is that £13,750 each for the judges or divided by the four

The one thing I would say is that without SCD they wouldn't earn all that much - I assume. however, through SCD the celebs are, in some cases, reviving their careers whilst the pro's and judges are getting exposure that allows them to do the SCD Tour and earn even more money.

I know there's a huge difference between the money paid to Bruce and the pro who wins SCD but I guess they then go on to earn a lot more than they may have done otherwise.

ps Paace, it'll be each. £3,500 divided by ten weeks - get a job in Morrisons

No wonder Bruce isn't retiring anytime soon!

Do think the pro dancers deserve to be paid morethan that though -- and most of them would probably make as much or more with dance teaching plus events. Agree SCD has raised their profile, but they still work bl**dy hard during SCD and deserve to be paid accordingly.

Surprised too that the judges are paid so little as they do provide quite a bit of the 'entertainment' factor and love them or loathe them, it wouldn't be the same show without them.

I'd have to agree.

Isn't it horrible that Bruce gets nigh on half a million for a ten week show, which, let's face it, he isn't that great at presenting, while a thousand and some people accross the organisation lose their jobs. I know the BBC has to compete with the other channels on pay, but really, neither Bruce nor Tess is worth what they're getting. For that money we should have some really decent presenters.

I don't mention Claudia, because for the entertainment value she brings she's worth her weight in gold.

I wonder if Mr Half a Million is getting a 'Brucie bonus' for the 'extra' show on Sundays.

I agree - surely the next best alternative wouldn't cost anywhere near as much as that. And I'm sure if he was offered £10k a week he'd lap it up. £300k could then be shared out among the pro's and judges. Or allow the beeb to keep on some decent staff and make new programmes rather than showing so many repeats.

And Tess needs the money so she can buy a dress for both shows in the hope of making people believe they're not really recorded one after the other!!

No kidding:

"Nice to see you,
To see you - Nice"

I think paying Bruce Forsyth that sum for just ten weeks is somewhat obscene actually.

If he and Tess Daly present the shows equally, then where is the equality in the differential between what she gets and what he gets?

I like Bruce Forsyth but do feel he is past his best and fail to understand how he can command such a sum.

I remember the glamour model Samantha Fox being interviewed years ago and she stated that her fee for page3 shoots was tiny but the exposure(excuse the pun) she gained made her a £million. So one can hopefully assume the professional dancers do ok on the back of SCD....I still think they should have their talents recognized and be paid more.
Did`t Brendan Cole say that he was made an offer he just could`t turn down to appear on Celebrity Love Island. I maybe wrong but it was something like 80K or more.


Just done a google search....According to which press reports you read BC was paid between 75k and 100k for appearing on celebrity love island

Because it would`t be the same without him.......Has he ever hosted a show which has been a flop...I can`t think of one.
The problem with great hosts is that they make it look easy.....especially live TV. I`am old enough to remember Terry Wogans TV chat show in the 1980s. I can recall at one time he had a break and the BBC drafted in a number of TV personalities of the day to host the show in his absence....... They were rubbish and it just made you appreciate how good TW was at hosting a live show

........but he does interrupt so much with a great deal of waffle whereas Terry Wogan still has the gift of the gab and, yes, I also remember his chat shows from the 80's.

I am appalled that the professional dancers are paid so little. When you consider how much work they have to put into it, blimey, it's insulting.

Couldn't agree more - especially when you consider what hard work they have to put in in order to get the celebrities into shape for each week's performance.

It is really disgraceful.

Could it be down to supply and demand? So many World Champion pro dancers want to do it that the bidding drove down the price? Emerging from a niche pastime, SCD is catapulting pro dancers into TV celebrities in their own right, a well-deserved perk of the job. Reminds me of the phenomenal rise of snooker, made possible by the coming of colour TV.

SCD has been better than sliced bread for the ballroom dancing scene, with dance schools reporting 300% increase in attendance. It's good if young people can check out the new cool, good clean fun and an alternative to all-night ecstasy-fueled rave.

I agree with you Mistermind.

Len Goodman's dance school is not far from where I live (he is a legend in his own lunch hour), and I bet there are more would be ballroom dancers than ever before. SCD has been very good for the image of ballroom dancing which a few years ago was looking rather jaded, very old fashioned and unsexy.

I've been captivated since the first series, if I were a young girl again I would certainly want to learn to dance like that. When i was young, they used to wear dresses like great big powder puffs!

They Pay Bruce That Much?????????????? That Is Such A Waste!!! He Is Useless!

Your heart is young,
and the night is young.

Bearing in mind the above, Claudia seem good value at a little over 2 grand per show.