Louise. Lou. Loulabelle. Loulabelle44. Louby. loulabelle44@outlook.com.
Proudly blogging about Strictly Come Dancing ALL YEAR ROUND since 2006. Always spoiler-free.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Kara To Go Back To The Floor?
Sport Relief Does Strictly Come Dancing winner Kara Tointon (who danced with Mark Ramprakash) could be returning to the dancefloor this autumn.
The Sun reports that now Kara is leaving EastEnders, she will be available to participate, and is in talks to do so.
A BBC source siad: "Kara has made it no secret that she has wanted to do Strictly for years. Hopefully we can make it happen. She’s exactly the kind of contestant that we want on the show.”
Here's a reminder of Kara's Sport Relief performance...
Massive congratulations go to Vincent Simone, who is going to become a daddy.
The People reported yesterday that Vincent's girlfriend Susan is five months pregnant.
Vincent told the paper that he found out just after the Strictly final: "[Susan] found out that week but didn't tell me because she knew I needed to concentrate on the show. I know her so well though and I knew something was different. I'm sensitive about these things. As we drove home the day after the show, I just turned to her and asked, 'Are we having a baby?' She told me we were. I was so excited. We had talked about a baby but had never expected it to happen so soon."
Vincent's going to have his work cut out. Vincent & Flavia's schedule is crazy at the moment. They are some of the hardest working Strictly pros. And the baby will be only a few weeks old when Vincent has to start training for Strticly - assuming he participates in the next series. And the tour follows the TV show for another 6 weeks.
I'm thrilled for Vincent. I know he's going to be a brilliant daddy.
But fear not ladies. Vincent will still be the charmer we all adore, and will still flirt with the ladies. He said: "A leopard can't change its spots. That will never change."
I just hope that the paper didn't force him to go public with the news before he would have liked. When a journalist hears something like this, she'll call and say "We know and we're going to publish this with or without a quote." I just hope Vincent was ready for us all to know.
The Sun reports that BBC bosses want to make Strictly Come Dancing more like it's transatlantic cousin, with younger dances and raunchier routines.
A source told the paper: “No one could ever say Strictly is not a huge hit. We can’t compete with the Americans’ massive budget, but we realise the dancers are younger and sexier. Strictly goes head to head with The X Factor, which has a lot of young viewers. We want to steal some of their 16-23 audience.”
I'm sorry if I missing something, but I don't really understand why Strictly needs to attract 16-24s. ITV1 needs that audience. They are attractive to advertisers which means ITV can rake in the advertising revenue. But BBC1 is supposed to be providing a public service, and is happily serving 7m+ members of the public each week during Strictly's run.
Personally, while I enjoy Dancing With The Stars, I do find that it's all style over substance. I like having pros of all ages too. There is a lot to be said for experience on the dancefloor.
Ian Waite visited Sarah Walker on BBC Radio Berkshire this week. He chatted to her about his trouser-splitting performance over the weekend.
He told her: "I had a bit of an altercation with my trousers. We'd finished a dance and I looked down and I couldn't understand why there was shocking pink coming out from underneath my trousers. The shocking pink was because I had a shocking pink shirt on, but I'd split my trousers. It was right in the crotch area!"
The show is available online until next week via the BBC iPlayer.
They asked listeners to call in with their own wardrobe malfunctions. I still cannot bring myself to talk about mine, and I'm not sure I ever will. Too traumatic. It was 20 years ago, but the pain is still too raw.
"I Turned Down Strictly Come Dancing" Part 145: Melanie Sykes
Miss Melanie Sykes is the latest celebritiy to admit that she turned down Strictly, although she said she 'almost' did it.
She told Celebs On Sunday: "I almost did Strictly Come Dancing, but I didn’t in the end and I think that was a good choice. I’d like to be at the end of my career and know I didn’t do a reality TV show. I think that would be quite something in this day and age."
Melanie joins the list that just gets longer and longer. Here is a small sample of those who refused to put on dancing shoes...
Duncan Banatine Ainsley Harriott Cherie Blair Rebecca Adlington Robert Winston Ingrid Tarrant Steve Wright Alan Titchmarsh Nancy Dell'Olio and that annoying tall bloke who appears on telly with his mrs.
To promote the launch of Dancing With The Stars, TV channel Watch has created a little video on how to jive with Camilla Dallerup (and a cameo by Ian).
It's not going to teach anyone anything much (it's only 2mins long), but totally worth Watch-ing.
Darren Bennett has given an interview to ThisIsSurreyToday, reflecting on Strictly Come Dancing, and his success.
On the backstage buzz: "Anything can go wrong at any point. You just want everyone to get through their dance and do well... We all know what everybody else is going through – there's that sort of bonding experience – everybody is in it together."
On his and Lilia's upcoming stage show Latin Fever: "It's going to be fantastic. We are all putting everything together at the moment – it's a very, very busy time. We've got a great year to look forward to. We are really, really geared up for that."
According to the Sunday Mirror, Alesha Dixon is being lined up to stand in for Tess Daly as co-host of Strictly Come Dancing.
According to the paper, a BBC source said: "Alesha is one of Strictly's most popular winners and very much part of the Strictly 'family'. Bosses hope that she will help give the show a bit of a shake-up alongside Bruce Forsyth. They have been keen for her to have a role on the show for some time but so far have struggled to find an opportunity to bring her in. But Tess's pregnancy is the perfect opening."
It seems the BBC are keen to woo viewers away from The X Factor, and think Alesha will bring in younger viewers.
What I don't understand, is that I have not heard Tess say that she wants any time off. Her baby is due in June, which would give her time to go back to work on Strictly in early October. The reason Tess took some maternity leave from Series 2, was because her daughter Phoebe was born on 17 October, and the series started on 23 October. I can't imagine that she would need time off this time around.
Poor Tess is being pensioned off already. I'd be livid if I were her.
Besides, if Tess does need a stand-in, I'd actually prefer to see Kate Thornton become co-host after her brilliant stints as host on the Strictly tour.
The Sunday Herald interviewed Anton and Erin seperatly about their partnership recently. It's a nice pair of interviews.
Anton on Erin: "She's got conviction and drive. She's elegant, beautiful and classy. And despite us now being known as dance partners, Erin's always had a good attitude when one of us wanted to pursue solo projects - she's very giving. She knows things come up and that not necessarily everything we do involves both of us."
Erin on Anton: "Anton's a real charmer, he's a proper English gentleman. You always know when he's in the room, because he either makes a grand entrance, or he's really loud. He does seem to attract a lot of attention wherever he goes. He's absolutely lovely, though. I'm definitely the quieter one, but I'm also the boss."
There has been a bit of speculation about the future of Anton & Erin's partnership. They've been dancing together for 12 years, and with Erin getting married in June she might want to settle into married life instead of running up and down the country.
But that doesn't sound like the case at all.
Anton says: "Our plans for the future of the partnership are more of the same, really. We hope to keep working together on stage, television and so on. We like the difference... when we're on tour it's really all about us, which is enjoyable. We both love what we do, so long may it continue."
And Erin says: "I don't think our partnership will ever end. I'm getting married in June, and Anton's going to be my head bridesman - that's how close we are. We've done this for 12 and a half years, and I can't imagine there ever not being an Anton & Erin."
Bruce Forsyth has again stated that he has no plans to retire from TV.
Bruce picked up a lifetime achievement award from the Royal Television Society last night, and told BBC News: "Even though I'm 81 when I walk on to a studio floor, I feel 30. People have been asking if I'm going to retire for the last 10 or 15 years. It's getting to be an old question - I'm nearly as old as the question!"
With the final of Let's Dance For Comic Relief on BBC1 tonight, I have to have I have enjoyed the series immencely, even if every week I think someone has gone home who shouldn't have.
I am going to give one line on each of the performances throughout the three weeks...
The EastEnders boys were great. Clearly John has had some dance training in the past. Cliff clearly hasn't. But I thought it just worked.
Nicki & Biggins did a lot of walking and not so much dancing. I thought Nicki would have been sexier than she was - perhaps that's just because I assume everyone in the music business has a sense of rhythm.
Robert Webb is an absolute legend. His performance was fantastic. Probably better than anything on Comic Relief last night. Inspired.
Les Dennis didn't do a bad job, although he was a bit of a dancing dad.
Dick & Dom got the soft touch with The Blues Brothers in my opinion. A bit of an easy one.
I thought The Chefs were really good. Thriller is so iconic, and they did a great job learning the choreography.
Week 1 Result: Robert totally had to go through, no question. But I think The Chefs were robbed. The choreography of Thriller is much more complicated than The Blues Brothers. Dick & Dom just did what they always do. The Chefs were robbed!
The Hollyoaks kids doing Footloose was brilliant. Some dance training behind that, methinks, but they totally brought the house down.
The Dragons didn't do too badly. I woulf have liked to have seen more of Peter Jones. He seemed to be more talented than Duncan Banatine. Deborah did well.
Sadly, Jo Brand left me cold, although I did like her leotard, complete with belly button. I'm totally getting one of those if anyone suggests such a skimpy costume in my next dance show.
I thought nothing could live up to Robert Webb, and then we got Paddy & Keith. I'm not a fan of anything Leigh Francis has done, but I might forgive everything based on this performance. What I loved the most, was that they stayed in character when they were getting the judges' comments. Brilliant!
I thought the Blue Peter crew did a good job with Jailhouse Rock, although I'm not exactly sure why Janet Ellis was there. She just stood about really. But all credit to the rest.
I have had a crush on Neil Fox since I was about 10, which still burns like a flame in my heart. So I was excited to see him perform Candyman with Nancy Sorrell. And he did a much better job than he did on that crappy ITV1 ice show (thankfully, he was knocked out Week 1 so I wasn't forced to endure any more). I liked the routine.
Week 2 Result: Totally agreed that Paddy & Keith were worthy winners, although I think Blue Peter were robbed. I'd have put them through over Jo, who clearly didn't enjoy her experience.
Angela Rippon was a bit of a let-down, if I'm totally honest. I have so much respect for her, but I don't think Big Spender was really right for her. I didn't like it.
Dom Jolly was quality. I used to have MC Hammer-offs with a former colleague, so I totally understood Dom's love of Hammertime. It was a great comedy performance.
My favourite Zoe was back on the floor, ditching Ian for Suggs. I liked the performance, although it was a total waste of Zoe's talents, as there wasn't enough steps. But I love Zoe with the Winklehair. She should totally go dark.
It was Strictly-tastic, with Martin & Denise joining forces for their Bollywood number. Denise looked stunning in her Bollywood attire. Although Martin is not the dancer he was when under the beady eye of Miss Boag.
How good was Fern Britton? She was brilliant. A fantastic performance, 100% solo. I knew it was going to be good as soon as I saw her sparkly mac. I've always liked Fern, but I have new found respect for her now. Fab-u-lous!
I really liked Lisa & Patrick from The Bill. Lisa must have done some dancing in the past. She was cracking. Patrick was too. And Riverdance is not an easy style to master.
Week 3 Result: I think Lisa & Patrick were really good, although I was as surprised as Lisa that they went through on the public vote. I think Fern was totally robbed. The bollywood routine was good, but I think Fern's was the performance of the series and she should not have been sent home.
If you missed it on TV, here are all the performances.
Youngsters Recognise Denise For Dancing, Not Athletics
Denise Lewis has revealed that youngsters generally know her from Strictly Come Dancing, rather than her athletic accomplishments.
She told The Times that she sometimes get recognised in the street: "I do get stopped every now and again. It’s nice. The younger they are, they probably recognise me more for the Strictly Come Dancing than they do for the athletics, which is quite funny."
She enjoyed her experience on last year's Strictly tour, but it's not the same as the Olympics: "When you are about to perform in any arena - we did the O2 in London, it was a full house - you are a bit nervous. But I took up dancing as something additional, something fun. I can never compare it with the emotion of walking out in Sydney and competing in the Olympics, what that did to me and how I felt about that."
Anton & Erin are making a show for Sky 1, which is due to be broadcast next month.
According to my mole, Anton & Erin will go into a rough inner city school, choose some dance novices and will have four weeks to turn them into star dancers who will perform at a gala event.
You may remember that I used to blog about my own classes and dance experiences.
I ceased to do this some while ago. This is becase I was taking medal classes, and was not learning anything new.
It's now almost time for me to take my exams! I'm taking bronze and silver medal ballroom and bronze latin. I'm actually quite excited to be finally taking the exams.
I may post my results when I get them. Depends on the result (ha ha ha!).
Lorraine Kelly has revealed that she will never appear on reality TV, including Strictly Come Dancing.
DigitalSpy reports that Lorraine told Celebs On Sunday magazine: "You'll never catch me doing Dancing On Ice, Strictly or I'm A Celebrity.... I have no desire to ice skate or eat a kangaroo's bum. I love to watch them, but it's supposed to be good fun and it always gets terribly competitive."
I think it's a shame. I think Lorraine would make an awesome Strictly participant. She's always been on my wishlist. But I respect her opinion.
Changing Rooms designer Linda Barker has revealed that she'd like to follow in Carol Smilie's dancing footsteps.
The Sun reports that Linda told Hello! magazine: “[My husband and I] have just signed on for ballroom classes near our home in South East London. I’d love to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.”
OK, I know I'm a total slacker for not posting this sooner, but here we go - my thoughts about this year's Strictly Come Dancing tour.
I saw the tour in the same three venues as last year, Wembley Arena, The O2 and the LG Arena in Birmingham.
It was brilliant to have Bruno as part of the tour this time around, and I was pleased to see the return of Kate Thornton who is a brilliant host. She's very quick witted and fun. If Tess decided to walk away from the show, they should get straight on the blower to Kate.
Tom & Camilla kicked off the show with their quickstep. Tom really seemed to thrive on having a large crowd to perform in front of. His performance was as slick as it was on the programme.
Cherie & James performed their American smooth. Their comments were always good. Craig commented that he thought it was a travesty that Cherie was knocked out of the series so quickly (queue huge cheers from the audience, presumably the same audience who were voting for John in their droves...). I totally agree. Cherie is a classy dancer, especially in the ballroom.
Kenny & Ola performed their fleckurlless Viennese waltz. It's very nice, but it not very technically complex. The judges were out on if Kenny had improved since Strictly. He is certainly as good as when he left the series.
Jodie & Ian performed their lovely American smooth to Witchcraft. Jodie is an elegant ballroom dancer and got some good comments from the judges.
Rachel & Vincent stopped the show with their dramatic and passionate tango. It was fantastic and captivating.
Following them was a new partnership - Gethin & Flavia. While being very competent and technically sound, I thought they were lacking in chemistry. Their waltz was very nice, but wasn't as captivating as when Gethin performed with Camilla.
Another new partnership followed - Julian & Lilia. Julian, who took the series very seriously, was definitely going for comedy. His quickstep with Lilia was actually pretty nice. Although the comments from the judges were not.
Finally, came Jill & Darren and their foxtrot. They looked like they'd never been away from the floor.
The second half opened with a pro demo which was excellent, as always.
The latin round began with Tom & Camilla's excellent samba to Mr. Melody. It was a crowd pleaser.
Cherie & James' rumba was as touching as it was on TV. Every time, it was flawless and moving.
Kenny & Ola's kilted paso was a crowd-pleaser. Their relationship is brilliant, and Ola's trust in Kenny to do those lifts is phenomenal.
I think Jodie & Ian were very brave choosing to do the jive - and to be up against THAT jive. But it's a fun routine, which Jodie gives everything to.
Rachel & Vincent performed their brilliant rumba. It wowed the crowd with it's passion and drama.
Gethin & Flavia followed with a salsa which was pretty good, and had an amazing neck drop in the middle. Craig even managed another 'legover' joke, although with less double entrende than last year.
Juilan & Lilia once again went for the comedy vote with their samba, complete with sparkly maracas! Julian looked pretty dreadful in the number, but it was on purpose and acted up. It wasn't the same Julian from the series.
Finally, it was time for THAT JIVE!!! Just as amazing as it was in 2004, I will never tire of seeing it. Perfection. Best dance on Strictly ever.
The show concluded with a Moulin Rouge inspired group number (my favourite number of the night) and Matthew & Kristina's showdance.
Overall, the show was excellent, although I was disappointed with the judging. Last year, the judges really seemed to be commenting on the performance they had just watched, and their comments were different each time. There were a few set-pieces, but much variation. This year, it was far more structured and scripted. It lacked spontaneity, which was a real shame. By the time they got to Birmingham, some of the comments had evolved, but it was still scripted for the most part. I thought that was a real shame. It made it less like the TV show.
I did like having the full compliment of judges, though. Especially as Bruno joined in the final number. Quality!
