Judges To Dance With Celebrities

According to Craig Revel Horwood, the judges will dance with the celebrities this year, in a new twist to Strictly Come Dancing.

The Daily Mirror reports that Craig broke the news on This Morning, stating: "This year is going to be very interesting because like Australia... the judges will be dancing. I don't know that Shirley Ballas knows that yet but she will be. We dance with the contestants, you put yourself on the line, so to speak. I did it in Australia and I absolutely loved it, it was great, with Courtney Act, which was absolutely fantastic. I loved it, to come into the room, to choreograph, to actually create an entire scenario and star in it yourself. And be judged, that is sort of the big thing. But I loved that, I thought it was really great fun. And I'm up for anything."

I really like this idea. I loved seeing the judges dance on tour this year, and would love to see them in competition. I think Shirley especially would be great. She's a born competitor, after all.

It will be a lot of pressure for whomever is the new judge, though. Which makes me think that they must have recruited someone pretty experienced.

In the Australian competition, this was done with six couples remaining. Two couples each teamed up with a judge and performed a group routine. Here is Craig's routine with drag queen Courtney Act & Josh Keefe and kids' TV presenter Jimmy Rees & Alexandra Vladimirov.

Tamara Ecclestone For Strictly?

According to reports, Tamara Ecclestone is being lined up for Strictly this year, and is keen to take part as long as she can fit it around childcare.

A source told The Sun: “Tamara would love to do Strictly, and her family and friends are all desperate for the public to see the real her. But her priority is [her five year-old daughter] Fifi. Tamara is an incredibly hands-on mum, and wants it written into her contract that she can rehearse around the school run, and fetch Sophia from her various after-school clubs and birthday parties. It’s not a standard request, but Tamara has said she will train around-the-clock when Fifi is in bed.”

It might not be a "standard request", but it's no different to other celebrities who have work commitments. I'm sure she is not the first celebrity to have to fir the show around other things.

Congratulations, Pasha!

Congratulations to Strictly pro Pasha Kovalev, and his partner Rachel Riley, who are expecting their fist child in December.

Rachel posted the news on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

Pash and I have a conundrum for you...you have till December to work it out! We’re over the moon excited 😍

A post shared by Rachel Riley (@rachelrileyrr) on May 24, 2019 at 8:16am PDT

Pasha is not returning to Strictly this year, and will leave when the pro tour ends on 2nd June, which means he'll have more time to devote to fatherhood.

Congratulations, Graziano!

Congratulations to Strictly pro Graziano di Prima, who recently got engaged to partner Giada Lini.

Graziano popped the question on stage at the Watford Colosseum on 7th May, during a performance of Burn The Floor.