New Strictly Theatre Tour

There is a new Strictly tour due to hit the UK's theatres this spring.

Strictly Presents... Dance To The Music will tour the UK for 23 dates in June and July. Tickets are already on sale from the usual outlets.

The show features former champions Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev reunited on the dancefloor, alongside Kristina Rihanoff & Robin Windsor. They will be dancing to a live band lead by Strictly's musical director Dave Arch.

5 June- Ipswich Regent
6 June - London Indigo2
9 June - Cardiff St David’s Hall (see you there!)
10 June - Plymouth Pavilions
11 June - Leicester De Montfort Hall
13 June - Reading Hexagon
14 June - Bristol Colston Hall
15 June - Birmingham Symphony Hall
16 June - Manchester Opera House
18 June - Edinburgh Usher Hall
19 June - Aberdeen Music Hall
20 June - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
21 June - Newcastle City Hall
22 June - York Barbican
23 June - Blackpool Opera House
25 June - Liverpool Philharmonic
26 June - Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
27 June - Sheffield City Hall
28 June - Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre
29 June - Swindon Oasis
30 June - Guildford G Live
2 July - Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
3 July - Southend Cliffs Pavilion

Strictly Underwater - Tonight

Don't forget that Strictly Underwater will be part of Sport Relief tonight on BBC One from 7pm.

Here are a couple of sneaky peeks...

Jason Admits Strictly Has Given Him A Career Boost

Jason Donovan admits that Strictly has given him a career boost, leading to a new album and new opportunities.

He told ES Magazine: "I’m not going to lie, Strictly is one of the main reasons the record is coming out. My profile is bigger than it has been for a while, which is nice, but there’s also a good crooner association between the album and Strictly."

Jason also thinks that his friend Gary Barlow could be a good candidate for Strictly but wouldn't do it: "Gary loves his sequins and spray tans. I think secretly he fancies himself as a dancer on Strictly, but if there’s one thing I can guarantee, it’s that he would never appear on the show."

Come On In, The Waltz's Lovely!

The first pictures of Strictly Underwater have been published today. Chelsee & Pasha and Harry & Aliona have donned scuba gear to dance to the depths for a segment which will air during Sport Relief on Friday.

Chelsee told the Daily Mirror: "I wouldn't say I'm a strong swimmer and I'm not that keen on water either. I like to bath in it but that's about as far as it goes."

Harry reveals he was skeptical at first: "When I first heard about Strictly Underwater, I thought 'How is that going to work?'. I didn't quite understand what they meant and I didn't think it would work - but it does."

Strictly Pro Shake-Up?

As many as five professional dancers could be left without a job this autumn, as the show's new producers are looking to make changes.

The Daily Mirror reports that it could be a "bloodbath".

James Jordan has admitted that he and Ola are nervous, telling the paper: “If they want to change it, there is nothing we can do. We survived before Strictly so we just have to keep our fingers crossed. We really want to stay on.”

Kristina Rihanoff would also like to stay: “It is the thing we want to do – but you do get nervous because it is a thing you love and you want to be there.”

Vincent Simone said: “The whole team is going to be changing. They’re running with their own thing before they call us, so it’ll be a while before we know what’s happening.”

A source told the paper: “The new producers will have new ideas and new faces they want to bring in. There have been changes to the professional dancers before and there will be again this year. It is looking like there will be a bloodbath with as many as four or five changes. It’s important the show stays fresh. If you are a dancer and haven’t had a call by the end of May you should start looking for other work.”

These comments will no doubt make fans of the show nervous. While fresh faces can have a great impact - the addition of Kristina and Pasha Kovalev among others have both been hits with the public - they don't always work out. For ever Kristina, there's a Hayley Holt or Jarod Murillo (whose surname I just had to Google!) who fail to find their feet in the Strictly family. At the same time, there are constant calls for Ian Waite to return to the line-up.

There are obvious candidates for the chop. Brendan Cole, Erin Boag and Anton du Beke have been with the show since day one (the latter two never having lifted the glitterball) and are also the oldest, and James & Ola had a public bust-up with Craig Revel Horwood over their exclusion from the tour. Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace have always been popular with the producers, but with new people in the hot seats it could spell the end of the road for them.

Who knows what will happen. Let's just hope that any change will be for the better, rather than for the sake of it.

Nancy For Judge?

The rumours are just getting silly now. Speculation now centres around dance disaster Nancy Dell'Olio.

What's On TV reports that when Nancy was asked if she would be watching the next series of Strictly, she said: "Probably. I might be doing more than watching, who knows. I can't tell you any more."

Nancy must be very proud. This comment has put her name back in the papers in relation to a job I doubt she'd ever be offered in a million years.

Len: BBC "Deserve My Loyalty"

Len Goodman says that the BBC deserve his loyality, after they took a chance on a dance teacher from Dartford. As long as the producers want him, he'll be a part of Strictly.

He told the Daily Mirror: "I'm going to keep pressing on with it until they get fed up with me... The BBC were wonderful - they didn't know who I was really, I'm just a dance teacher. They gave me an opportunity to do Strictly Come Dancing which was a life-changing event really, and I think that they deserve my loyalty, and my loyalty is what they will get. I have no intention of stopping or slowing down. I'm in a position where I could do that, but once I stop I know what would happen, I'd be sitting indoors on a Saturday night watching Strictly Come Dancing and I'd be thinking 'that's a bloody stupid thing to say' and thinking 'I wish I'd kept going'.

Judges Want More Money

The Strictly judges are hoping for more money when they come to negotiate their contracts this year.

The Sun reports that the judges are aware of the money being spent on The Voice, with judges salaries rumoured to be between £100,000 and £500,000, and want to be treated on a similar level.

A BBC source told the paper: "When [the Strictly judges] come to renegotiate their contracts the BBC will bear in mind that last year's series was one of the best ever — and their new deals will reflect that and they will be paid accordingly."

Darcy For Judge's Job?

Darcy Bussell's name is the latest to appear in the media in connection with the vacant Strictly judge job.

The Daily Mirror reports that producers have opened negotiation with Darcy, who was a guest judge in 2009.

When asked about Darcy at the launch of Maestro, Craig Revel Horwood said: “I think Darcy would be a good choice. She is very credible, has done the show before, and I know she would love to do it. I’d really like to see her on the panel, and she’s very well thought of by the Strictly producers. She was fantastic as a guest judge.”