STRICTLY COME DANCING 2024.

[Cleoriff]

It's that time of year again.

@sheepdogcomes out of hibernation to join me and others like @RunrigForever  to comment on BBC's 'flagship' entertainment show. SCD.

I did wonder if it would take place this year as it's had some really bad press recently.

Two of the male professionals, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Prima have been accused of abusive teaching methods. Giovanni has denied any wrongdoing. Last year he danced with Amanda Abington, who dropped out of the show. Graziano danced with Zara Larsson and he admitted kicking her. He was sacked immediately.

The BBC  have said they will be putting advisors into the training rooms to monitor all training and ensuring the welfare of the celebrities. So away we go again.

It doesn't start until September so I'll be adding to this thread as and when other celebs are revealed.

The first two contestants have been announced;

CHRIS McCAUSLAND - COMEDIAN

Chris is a really funny guy. He's also totally blind. As he said, this should be a laugh. 😂

The next contestant is JB GILL (from the boy band JLS)

[Cleoriff]

Week Two

I'll leave comments on the judges plus Tess and Claudia to @sheepdog 😂

Tom + Nadiya Cha Cha.  A bit stiff but less hunched. As Craig said he needs to dance to his height. Score 20

Punam + Gorka. Foxtrot. Dramatic opening and loved her outfit. Dance didn't match though. Poor footwork

Score 18

Paul and Karen.  Salsa. A lot of  walking and not much else. Good lifts Score 15

Wynne + Katya. Viennese Waltz. I think too much time is spent fawning over Wynne. A lovely dance though He lead well Score 30 (overmarked I thought)

JB and Amy. Cha Cha. I loved this dance. Musicality excellent Score 27

Sam + Nikita. Charleston. Very fast dance. Out of sync a lot. Good performance. Score 22

Chris +Dianne. Foxtrot. So impressed with Chris. This was a lovely dance with great footwork. Score 29

Jamie + Michelle. Rumba. The judges liked this more than I did. I felt there was a lack of connection Score 27

Toyah +Neil. Jive. She spent more time off the floor than on it! It was JUST better than last week. Score 18

Nick + Luba. A,Smooth. Injured arm and only managed 16 hrs training. Quite poor I thought. Ploddy Score 21

Montell + Johannes. Samba. Great dance. Lovely voltas. Performance excellent. Score 30

Tasha + Aljaz. Viennese Waltz. Really beautiful dance. Flowed perfectly Score 35

Shayne +Nancy Tango. I loved this. Great great music. MY dance of the night Score 31

Pete + Jowita. American Smooth. He should have more confidence as I think he's good. Lovely dance and great lifts. Scored 22 (undermarked)

Sarah + Vito. Paso Doble. Totally wrong music for this great Paso. Loved it. Score 32

[sheepdog]

@Cleoriff how can I not respond to that 😂 Tess in 70's style off the shoulder barbie dress which I have to say was better than last week's pant suit in garish red. Incidentally, somehow my tv got put on "Dynamic" instead of "normal" so thing's looked right this week. Smart TV's are dumb. Er what is this? Yes, Claudia in wow, green glittery dress and not a sackcloth! Almost glamorous so back to the sackcloth next week for movie week then. See Shirley borrowed a green sackcloth and for Motsi's Monstrosities, would have been good if she actually dressed under the jacket....

Tom & Nadiya: Needs more campiness and move those hips baby. 

Punam & Gorka: Well she has the walking bit done to a tee. Not a bad dance but I think we need to see more than prancing about.

Paul & Karen: Just smile. Which is about as much you can do rather than looking for any form of technical ability. Rather a thoughtless comment from Craig about the drinks. 

Wynne & Katya: About as perfect as it gets for him tonight. Very enjoyable. Definite replacement for Claudia. 

JB & Amy: Really needs to avoid the turtle move at times otherwise progressing nicely. 

Sam & Nikita: Timing issues BUT this really needs to be blamed on Nikita. He's done this before and not danced down to his partner's level.

Chris & Dianne: Timing is everything and he's has that. See Nikita that's a pro paying attention to their partner. 

Jamie & Michelle: Dance of Death and thankfully not Murder on the dancefloor. Not bad and being week 2 probably a good thing to get it out of the way. Will he able to build on this for next week?

Toyah & Neil: Channelling Tina Turner or Dolly Parton? More like Cousin It:

Let's dissect the routine: imagine if you will, transported back to the early 80's and witnessing Toyah's appearances on TV. Well you don't have because that was every single move (all one of them. Ok two but walking off stage doesn't really count as a dance move) she did then in that routine. As for the jive, distinct lack of it. Going home without a doubt. 

Nick & Luba: Not so bad but oh for that arm injury it could have been as good as last week. And I'm guessing if its like the one I had this year which hasn't fully recovered, he's going to be screaming with searing pain in the middle of the night for a number of weeks so may end up retiring which would be a shame. Also: see Nikita pay attention to your partner....

Montell & Johannes: There is a word and the word is "Fierce". Absolutely on fire and wait for this, I'm really looking forward to seeing her do the Rumba. 

Tasha & Aljaz: Best to describe this as a ballerina on a music box. That was just about the best week 2 dance ever let alone a VW. Minor issues but er week 2!

Shayne & Nancy: After last week, this had everything that was missing. Awesome routine. Keep it up. 

Pete & Jowita: Really liked this routine. As with Tom, needs to have more campiness and smiling going forward to match the dance but the Tango is going to be perfect for him. 

Sarah & Vito: Oh wasn't this just a perfect end to the tonights rather excellent week 2? A Paso in week 2 is hard enough but getting 4x 8's is remarkable as it is. She's only going to get better isn't she. I might just hold thought depending on the faster salsa/samba to come. 

So tomorrows Mediocre Musical Act is The Ezra Collective. They're new to me so youtube tells me they're a jazz type ensemble. In the words of Alexei Sayle "There's are 2 types of jazz...and they're both c***". I hope it is a little faster paced than the 3 I randomly picked but I doubt it. 

[sheepdog]

@Cleoriff how can I not respond to that 😂 Tess in 70's style off the shoulder barbie dress which I have to say was better than last week's pant suit in garish red. Incidentally, somehow my tv got put on "Dynamic" instead of "normal" so thing's looked right this week. Smart TV's are dumb. Er what is this? Yes, Claudia in wow, green glittery dress and not a sackcloth! Almost glamorous so back to the sackcloth next week for movie week then. See Shirley borrowed a green sackcloth and for Motsi's Monstrosities, would have been good if she actually dressed under the jacket....

Tom & Nadiya: Needs more campiness and move those hips baby. 

Punam & Gorka: Well she has the walking bit done to a tee. Not a bad dance but I think we need to see more than prancing about.

Paul & Karen: Just smile. Which is about as much you can do rather than looking for any form of technical ability. Rather a thoughtless comment from Craig about the drinks. 

Wynne & Katya: About as perfect as it gets for him tonight. Very enjoyable. Definite replacement for Claudia. 

JB & Amy: Really needs to avoid the turtle move at times otherwise progressing nicely. 

Sam & Nikita: Timing issues BUT this really needs to be blamed on Nikita. He's done this before and not danced down to his partner's level.

Chris & Dianne: Timing is everything and he's has that. See Nikita that's a pro paying attention to their partner. 

Jamie & Michelle: Dance of Death and thankfully not Murder on the dancefloor. Not bad and being week 2 probably a good thing. Will he able to build on this for next week?

Toyah +Neil. Jive: Channelling Tina Turner or Dolly Parton? More like Cousin It:

Let's dissect the routine: imagine if you will, transported back to the early 80's and witnessing Toyah's appearances on TV. Well you don't have because that was every single move she did then in that routine. As for the jive, distinct lack of it. Going home without a doubt. 

Nick & Luba: Not so bad but oh for that arm injury it could have been as good as last week. And I'm guessing if its like the one I had this year which hasn't fully recovered, he's going to be screaming with searing pain in the middle of the night for a number of weeks so may end up retiring which would be a shame. Also: see Nikita pay attention to your partner....

Montell & Johannes: There is a word and the word is "Fierce". Absolutely on fire and wait for this, I'm really looking forward to seeing her do the Rumba. 

Tasha & Aljaz: Best to describe this as a ballerina on a music box. That was just about the best week 2 dance ever let alone a VW. Minor issues but er week 2!

Shayne & Nancy: After last week, this had everything that was missing. Awesome routine. Keep it up. 

Pete & Jowita: Really liked this routine. As with Tom, needs to have more campiness and smiling going forward to match the dance but the Tango is going to be perfect for him. 

Sarah & Vito: Oh wasn't this just a perfect end to the tonights rather excellent week 2? A Paso in week 2 is hard enough but getting 4x 8's is remarkable as it is. She's only going to get better isn't she. I might just hold thought depending on the faster salsa/samba to come. 

So tomorrows Mediocre Musical Act is The Ezra Collective. They're new to me so youtube tells me they're a jazz type ensemble. In the words of Alexei Sayle "There's are 2 types of jazz...and they're both c***". I hope it is a little faster paced than the 3 I randomly picked but I doubt it. 

[Cleoriff]

@sheepdog 

The male judges definitely outclassing their female counterparts this week in the fashion stakes. Motsi forgot to put a top on. Showing your bra is great if you are in your 20's or a catwalk model but not a good look for her.

Word on the street (well social media) is querying whether Tess has had some work done on her face?

It makes no difference really, she reminds me of a wooden doll. (as you said @sheepdog, channelling Barbie in that pink frock.)

I really do prefer Claudia, she has a personality at least. I liked her green dress tonight but as it's more fitted than her usual outfits, it struck me how thin she is. Perhaps that's why she covers up?

Annoyingly (and without looking for it) I hit on a spoiler group on FB. I wont go there again but I do know who was evicted last night. Saying nothing else as I won't 'spoil' it for others. (Pffffttt!!) 😂

I actually went looking for these negative comments which have plagued Shayne last week. I don't do X or Instagram but found nothing on FB. (Quelle Surprise!)

I know they exist as the judges made reference to them, as did a few other contestants. I hope they stop as he's one of my favourites along with Sarah, Montell, Chris and Tasha.

I'm developing a fondness for Pete Wicks as well. He's currently appearing in that Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins TV show which just started in September. Doing quite well really. I was surprised as I thought he was just another pretty boy from the Essex crowd who would wimp out. No, meeting every challenge head on.

Love your image of Cousin It re Toyah. I don't think Neil is doing her any favours. He's trying his best to cover up how poor she is. 2 minutes to impress with a jive and she spends most of the time  laying on the bar, or astride a 'bucking bronco'. Her footwork was appalling, bouncing around the dance floor, giving no jive footwork (kicks and flicks). Doing her best to channel Tina Turner with her song. When it's all over, running across to stand on her spot hoping the judges will all bow down. She has got some sort of ego thing going. She was popular in the 80's but did we really need to see all her outfits? My husband loved her back then but even he, who knows nothing about dancing, couldn't think of one good word to say about her after that godawful jive.

Thanks for the info on the Ezra Collective. As it's such an unusual name, I felt sure it would be something to do with George Ezra? As it's jazz, I'll be turning the sound down.

Oh yes, someone on another SCD FB group, posted the odds from some bookies. Currently they have Chris as the winner. So take that! 😂

[Cleoriff]

I enjoyed the opening number with judges and professionals. I have no idea what the storyline was about but I thought it was great.

The Ezra Collective wasn't for me. The singer couldn't be heard (probably just as well!)

In the dance off was

Tom and Nadiya

Toyah and Neil

3 judges decided to save Toyah. No idea why, unless they are paying her more!?

There was really nothing in either dance to impress.

Next week it's Movie Week.

[sheepdog]

I had no idea what Jason Gilkerson was trying to convey in the opening number. Again. So more of that again this series. Too much walking by the judges. Big plus though was the orchestral version of Blue Monday (no video just audio) mashed in:

Less said about the Ezra Collective the better. In fact did they even do anything as we couldn't hear the singer at all and couldn't hear any tune. Needless to say in the new world of streaming and social media, I know what to block.

Goodness knows why they decided on timing being an issue when there was a severe lack of it in Zelda's routine let alone technique. Googling how to register Motsi, Craig and Shirley as legally blind....I wonder how the audio description described the dance off?

Movie week and by the sounds of it, oh dear. Some are going to be in the dance off contention by turning up in a stupid outfit. Sigh but then again, who's going to get the green paint!

[Cleoriff]

Re movie week, it appears that Wynne is going to be Mrs Doubtfire? Can't remember that being used before?

No surprise that Tasha is being Barbie.

Missed the few others mentioned.

As for Toyah being saved, does that mean the judges will start marking her higher in the hope she'll be saved every week?

What a terrible thought. 😖

[Cleoriff]

@sheepdog @RunrigForever 

Week Three

Movie Week.

Montell and Johannes: Tango to One Night Only from Dream Girls

Punan and Gorka : Couples Choice to Bole Chudiyan from Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham (PARDON!!?)

Sam and Nikita : Paso Doble to Elevation from Tomb Raider

Sarah and Vito:  Viennesse Waltz to Hedwigs Theme from Harry Potter.

Tasha and Aljaz : Rumba to What was I Made For from Barbie

Toyah and Neil: Samba to Poor Unfortunate Souls from Little Mermaid (Dear God!)

Jamie and Michelle : Quickstep to  I'm Still Standing from Rocketman

JB and Amy : American Smooth to Pure Imagination from Wonka.

Nick and Luba : Charleston Rain on the Roof from Paddington 2

Paul and Karen : Cha Cha To The Magnificent 7 theme.

Pete and Jowita : Samba to George Of The Jungle Theme

Shayne and Nancy : Viennese Waltz to If I can Dream from Elvis

Wynne and Katya : Cha Cha. to Papa's Got A Brand New Bag from Mrs Doubtfire

Chris and Dianne : Jive to Waynes World Theme from Waynes World.

Not sure a Couples Choice on week 3 is a good idea. Having said that, I've never heard of the film so it might work well!! 😂

Info on the film here:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248126/ 

[MI5]

Here's a photo from 1989 taken in a town near my home.

Who can you spot ?

[Cleoriff]

@MI5 

I can see Paul Merson 3rd from the left. If there's any other famous faces in the photo, I have no idea. 🤣