Saturday Night TV. You either hate or love it. It is the telltale sign that Christmas is coming when everyone ends up spending their Saturday evenings indoors with the television on. But this year there seems to be one programme which is causing this influx of television watching. It’s Strictly Come Dancing, of course.
The sequins are back, the fake tan is more orange than ever, and Bruce’s jokes are getting considerably worse. There is something about Strictly Come Dancing which has the nation glued to their TVs, either applauding at the sheer talent of some of the celebrities, or laughing hysterically at their lacklustre performances (Hairy Biker Dave Myers is SO worth a YouTube search).
Now in its fourth week and already there have been performances which caused even Craig Revel Horwood to crack a smile. However, there were some who were so cringe worthy that it was deemed acceptable to grab the nearest pillow and hide behind it. Arguably the hot favourite to win at this moment in time is former Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede who impressed the judges with her rumba on Saturday night and earned four nine’s. Yet there were those who didn’t impress (again, Dave Myers is one of those), but it was the end of the Strictly love affair for BBC Radio 2 presenter Vanessa Feltz this week as she lost out to fashion designer Julian Macdonald in the dance off.
The competition isn’t yet halfway through and there already appears to be front runners in contention for the Glitter Ball trophy. Singer Sophie Ellis Bextor, WAG Abbey Clancy and rugby player Ben Cohen all seem to be staying on the right end of the leader-board. Those are the ones who are in serious contention for the finals. Of course, there are others who have managed to gain the legendary, yet average, score of seven, like Bond Girl Fiona Fullerton (perhaps Anton Du Beke might actually make it to the halfway point this year?) and Countdown star Rachel Riley. There is still time for them to pull it back and become the dark horses of the competition, unlike those who have absolutely no hope, regardless of how long they train. Those unfortunate celebrities happen to be Julian Macdonald and Dave Myers, but who knows, perhaps one of them could be the next John Sergeant?
Even if the critics have argued that this year’s stars aren’t exactly famous, does it really matter? After all, the majority of people are tuning in just for the dancing aspect of the show and as time goes on people will end up with their favourites.We all know Brucie does.
The show has hit its eleventh series and everything still remains familiar. Three out of the four judges remain the same, with the welcome introduction of ballerina Darcey Bussell to the show. Bruno Tonioli remains as erratic as ever, Craig Revel Horwood laps up every boo which he receives, and Len Goodman continues to provide us with memorable quotes about ‘pickling his walnuts.’ It could be said that Strictly Come Dancing is like a safety blanket for Saturday night entertainment. So long as it continues to draw in huge crowds, beat the X Factor in the Saturday night ratings and have celebrities interested in it, the BBC would be wise not to axe one of the nation’s best loved programmes.