Monday, August 25, 2008

Countdown to Strictly

It's not long now - just 2 weeks on Saturday - until Saturday nights get totally taken up with Strictly Come Dancing.

The BBC have posted this teaser on their website:



I am really looking forward to it starting up again. Yesterday's News of the World gave this year's line up as:

Girls: Christine Bleakley, Heather Small, Jessie Wallace, Gillian Taylforth, Cherie Lunghi, Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon.

Boys: Tom Chambers, Don Warrington, John Sergeant, Phil Daniels, Austin Healey, Gary Rhodes and Andrew Castle.

Louise over at Strictly Come Blogging adds Jodie Kidd and Mark Foster from the Sun's prediction.

Unfortunately neither list has Alex Wotherspoon from the Apprentice. Teddy Sherringham, who last week was suppposed to have signed the contract, also appears to have sunk without trace.

There's no indication of which celebs the dancers are paired up with. I hope Anton gets someone he can win with - although some of his Latin routines have been truly terrible.

I quite fancy Andrew Castle's chances - with his tennis background he'll be fit and co-ordinated. Rachel Stevens also has to have a chance.

One person who definitely, and unfortunately, won't be back is Nicole Cutler The first indication she had that she wasn't being asked back was when she didn't receive a contract. She vented her spleen in yesterday's News of the World, complaining about the poor pay the dancers receive, the poor facilities they have at TV Centre, having to change in the corridors, how Brucie forgets the dancers' names, how Tess doesn't mix with the dancers off camera and how there are some feuds between the dancers.

Their pay of £17,000 for the series is pretty lousy when you compare it with the sums the judges receive. Sure, they can then charge a fortune for their private lessons for the half of the year when they aren't on Strictly, but this isn't nearly as big a premium as the celebs and judges get. The show couldn't happen without the dancers, so there is an argument for them to be paid more. Of course, there's a stronger counter argument for everyone else to be paid less. Brucie gets not much less than half a million, which is ridiculous.

As to the faciities, I am sure the dancers are all used to changing in front of each other in competitions so wouldn't really bat an eyelid at having to change in a corridor.

We all know that Brucie fluffs his lines and is a bit forgetful but he is 80 and I love him regardless.

As for the feuds, there's no more information that we knew already - tension between Vincent, Matt and Flavia - who would have thought that?

The saddest thing is that Nicole probably got paid a pittance for the article but will effectively have burnt her boats with the Strictly producers. Not much chance of being asked back next year, now..........

Anyway, I can't wait until we're back amongst the feathers and sequins and tears and bitching that makes Strictly so compelling.

6 comments:

Mark McDonald said...

You know I misread that and thought for a split second that Paul Daniels was competing.

I feel disappointed now.

Unknown said...

The very first time I read the list in the paper, I thought the same thing.

Didn't feel the disappointment, though. Can you just imagine it - Paul and Ola, Debbie and James........ Doesn't bear thinking about.

Mark McDonald said...

They would have been "magic"

*Retrieves coat*

Unknown said...

Mark, I think you might have got your m mixed up with your tr:-)

Gail Is This Mutton? said...

I wondered which dancers had been given the boot because there are apparently 3 new professionals.

Unknown said...

Gail, only Nicole is not coming back - there are two extra couples so we have 2 dancers for them - Brian Fortuna and the weird, severe looking one who's dancing with John Serjeant and one to replace Nicole, Hayley.

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