Congratulations, Ian!

Congratulations to former Strictly pro Ian Waite, who married his partner Drew Merriman recently.

The wedding features in the current issue of Hello! magazine, and some of the photos are on the website.

The wedding was attended by a whole host of Ian's Strictly friends, past and present, as you can see from the photo above.

Latest Rumours: Ross Kemp And Mollie King

Former EastEnders actor Ross Kemp and Saturdays singer Mollie King are the latest names to be linked to Strictly.

The Daily Express reports that Ross hinted that he might do Strictly in a interview with the Daily Star. He said: “I love Strictly Come Dancing. I have been asked before. I was going to do it. Then I got home from Camp Bastion after being shot at and thought, ‘No, don’t be so silly’".

But now he may be reconsidering: “I’ll never say never to anything... You know what, in life, particularly if you work in television, who knows? Never rule out anything!”

The Sun reports that Mollie King has already signed up: “Mollie is all signed up and will be this year’s Strictly babe. She’s a talented performer because of all her experience with The Saturdays and her solo career — so she’s someone who is very likely to make it to the final rounds. Producers loved the sex appeal and performance skills of Daisy [Lowe] last year and believe Mollie offers the same. She’s also very well connected and has a lot of celebrity friends who will attend filming each week.”

The first participant in Strictly 2017 will reportedly be announced tomorrow.

Janette & Aljaž's Wedding

There are some gorgeous photos, and a lengthy article and interview, from Janette & Aljaž's wedding in the current issue of OK! magazine.

Well worth a read.

Jonnie Peacock For Strictly?

According to the Daily Mail, Team GB Paralympian Jonnie Peacock is being courted for Strictly, although typically there is not even an anonymous source to verify the story. Pure speculation.

Jonnie won Gold in the 100m in 2012 and 2016, and became one of the best-known atheletes in British para sports.

I kind of hope it's true. I think Jonnie would be great. 

Judges' Pay

A lot has been made over the past week about the salaries of high-profile BBC talent, and about the gender pay gap. But the BBC's Annex to the BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17, which revealed the figures, threw up some interesting questions regarding Strictly.

According to BARB, Strictly was second only to The Great British Bake-Off in viewing figures (which also happens to be presented by two women!). The final of Strictly was the highest-rating episode, with an average of 13.3m viewers. 

Admittedly, Strictly is only on air for three months - some of the presenters on the list work daily for most of the year - but for such a high-rating show, is it fair that Tess Daly is only paid £350-£400k? Claudia Winkleman earns £$50-500k, but this includes other work such as radio, not just Strictly.

It Takes Two host Zoe Ball earns between £250-300k, again including radio and other work.

What's more of a mystery to me is the difference between the pay of the judges. As far as I can see, they do exactly the same amount of work, and yet Len and Bruno get paid more than Craig and Darcey. Len and Bruno earn £200-250k, while Craig and Darcey earn £150-£200k. I really can't understand this at all. Even if you wanted to argue that Darcey is less experienced (which would be ridiculous anyway), Craig has been with the show since day 1, and therefore should be earning exactly the same, surely.

Quick, Quick, Glow

You can now get that Strictly glow, with a new range of tanning products.

According to Glamour magazine, a Strictly Come Dancing branded range of tanning products from tan speciallists Norvell will be available through shopping channel Ideal World TV, or directly through the Norvell website.

The range consists of Dazzling Shimmering Mist, Perfect 10 Self Tanning Airbrush Spray, Perfection Self Tanning Mousse and Show Stopper Colour Booster Skin Perfector.

Fake tan seems like a logical step. There have already been Strictly make-up at Boots, and Strictly fragrance from Avon, so a fake tan makes total sense.

If anyone tries out the products, do let me know what you think. Tune in to Ideal World at 2pm on Friday to hear more.

Congratulations Janette & Aljaž!

Big congratulations to Janette & Aljaž, who got married at the weekend. 

No formal photos from the day have been released, but Janette did share a candid photo on Instargram.

Heaven on Earth..... ❤ Happiest weekend of my life......

A post shared by Janette Manrara (@jmanrara) on Jul 17, 2017 at 3:42am PDT

According to reports, several Strictly stars were in attendance, including Craig, Darcey, Anton, Zoe, Louise Redknapp, Ore Oduba, Daisy Lowe, Ed Balls and Jeremy Vine.

Next! Levi Roots...

It seems that a way to get a quick bit of press is to announce that you turned down Strictly. There have been dozens of these stories recently. Or maybe it's just that the press ask everyone they interview if they would do it, in the hope of getting a headline.

Either way, latest to state his rejection of Strictly is food entrepreneur Levi Roots.

Levi told The Sun that the nature of the show goes against his beliefs: “My family and friends say I should do Strictly and go into the jungle and do all these shows I’ve been offered. But the decision is mine, and I have to think, ‘Is that the way of the Rasta?’ And to me, it isn’t. I’m quite comfortable holding on to what I’ve got, and people seem to like me the way I am. I turned down all those things because it’s not the way of a Rastafarian.”

Next! Martine McCutcheon

Martine McCutcheon was reportedly offered the chance to appear on Strictly, but turned it down for health reasons.

The Loose Women panelist told the Daily Star: “I have been offered Strictly numerous times and a few of the others."

But she decided to put her health first: “Out of all the reality shows I would have absolutely loved to have done Strictly, but I would have struggled with my health. Even people who are really, really fit have told me it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done so I know it wouldn’t have been possible. I never felt I would be well enough to return to music after all my health problems with ME and Lyme disease. I am fit and well at the moment but while I am healthy I want to concentrate on the things I love the most, like music.”

Is It Finally Ruth Langsford's Year?

Ruth Langsford's name has been connected with Strictly for over two years, but it always seemed that producers were only keen if her husband and This Morning co-presenter Eamonn Holmes would sign-up too. Eamonn has repeatedly made it clear that he doesn't want to do it.

Now the Daily Mail is reporting that Ruth will be signing up, alone, to the next series. Confusingly, the article implies that she has needed convincing, but I doubt that is the case. A source told the paper: "Ruth has always been a big fan of the show, and producers are thrilled that she has changed her mind and will be taking part this year. No one has signed any contracts for the show this year but she has had long talks with show bosses and, barring any injury, will be waltzing her way onto the show this autumn. Eamonn is really excited about cheering her on."

I love seeing genuine Strictly fans taking part. I think Ruth would be great.

Alexandra Burke Already Signed?

According to The Sun, singer Alexandra Burke has signed up to take part in this year's Strictly.

A source told the paper: “Alex loves theatre, but she wants to relaunch her TV career. This seems the perfect way for her to do it. She has heard a lot about how great the experience is and can’t wait to get started. She is already working hard on her fitness.”

Alexandra might have one of the judges on her side. She has recently been in the touring company of Sister Act, directed by Craig Revel Horwood.

Charlie Stayt Would Not Do Strictly

Despite the number of his co-presenters who have given it a go, BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt will not being appearing on Strictly.

He told the The Sun: "Lots of my colleagues have competed on Strictly Come Dancing and had great fun, but it’s a very straightforward ‘no’ from me. I know from their experience that to do a show such as Strictly and to do it well, you’ve really got to want to do it."

There are very few people left on BBC Breakfast who haven't done it already. My money would be on Steph McGovern to be next.

Stacey Solomon: "Never Say Never"

Presenter Stacey Solomon has indicated that she would consider taking part in Strictly, but would like to keep the frocks.

She told OK! magazine: “I’d never say never, I would do it for probably just for the costumes but I'm a terrible dancer. I wonder if you get to keep them - that would be make or break for me. It would be so rubbish to get to wear all of those clothes and not get to keep them!”

Someone tell her the dresses cost thousands and get passed on to other Strictlys around the world. She could buy one...

Ed Sheeran For Strictly... One Day

Singer Ed Sheeran says he will do Strictly at some point in the future.

TellyMix reports that he said: "I will 100 percent do Strictly Come Dancing one day. I think something like I'm a Celebrity... would be fun, too."

He had better hope it's still on by the time he's ready.

Next! Tim Henman...

Former tennis player Tim Henman has emphatically turned down the opportunity to appear on Strictly Come Dancing.

He told the Daily Star: "I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than do it. I have two left feet, and I can’t dance anyway.”

That's alright, Tim. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than watch you. I always liked Greg Rusedski better anyway.