Strictly: How 2020 Will Look

A number of changes which have been introduced to Strictly Come Dancing for 2020 were communicated in a press briefing yesterday.

Hello! reports that producer Sarah Jones confirmed the four pros who will not have a partner this year: "We have four professional dancers who won’t be partnering celebrities this year. They are Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Graziano Di Prima and Nancy Xu. So we have two males and two females, and they will be forming some CCCs [close contact cohorts] together, so that they are able to dance to the guest music acts."

I'm a little bit sad for Neil. I really enjoyed watching him with Alex last year, and I thought he had proved his worth as a competitor. Graziano and Nancy are spending a second consecutive year on the subs bench, and to be completely honest, I don't think Nadiya will be missed. After Graziano's brilliant performance with Johannes and Emily Sandé last year, I was looking forward to him getting another chance after a less than stellar first series.

There were be changes in the studio as well. Should there still be a public audience as planned, they will be masked and sitting at cabaret tables (series 1 vibes!). And the couples will be sat at tables to watch as well, with only one couple in the Clauditorium at a time. As reported in the Daily Mirror, Sarah Jones said: "Claudia will obviously only be able to speak to one couple at a time in her area upstairs. And we won't be able to have all of the cast up there like usual and the fact Claudia is so brilliant with people and with the contestants, I have no doubt that she'll still be able to have lots of fun just with one couple.”

Sounds like more Series 1 vibes. Remember Tess' original 'Red Room' backstage? The other couples were there, but they were quiet and largely ignored while the couple who had just danced were interviewed.

The worst news is that there is no Halloween special planned, despite the fact that there will be a show that evening. I guess it is a victim of a reduced glam squad. Series 1 again! Although, Series 1 was broadcast in the spring, so that's not a fair comparison. There will be movies and musicals.

All we need now is Arlene as a guest judge in place of Bruno...

The BBC have also announced that participants will be regularly tested for Covid-19, and anyone testing positive will have to self isolate for 14 days, and therefore will loose their place in the competition. Remember the 'rule book'?

The band will be present, but socially distanced. Some music may have to be pre-recorded if the band cannot all be together.

It's going to be very different this year, but I am beside myself that Strictly is still going ahead. As winter draws in, and the prospect of more lockdowns on the horizon, we all need a little bit of Saturday night sparkle.

Final Two Celebrities Complete Strictly Line-Up

The final two celebrities competing in this year's Strictly Come Dancing were announced yeaterday.

First up, 'popstar' HRVY (or Harvey, as I will probably refer to him - no-one should have a name in capital letters. I might use Hrvy if I'm feeling generous) was announced on the Kiss breakfast show yesterday. No, me neither. Highest chart position of 62. Accoring to the BBC press release he has a social media following of over 10 million, and has performed at Hammersmith Apollo. He's done some presenting for CBBC. Fair enough. As always, I'm a bit skeptical about the social media types. I felt the same way about Joe Sugg when he was announced, but at least we didn't have to spend the whole series calling him ThatcherJoe. I would expect him to have some rhythm if he is a popstar.

Finally, this year's political figure is Jacqui Smith, former Home Secretary and now politcal commentator and broadcaster, who was announced on Steve Wright's show. Former politicians have done quite well on Strictly, but not necessarily for the right reasons. I don't see her being the comic relief, though. We'll have to wait and see.

So there we have it. A dozen celebrities for this year's reduced series. There will be five male pros and seven female. With the departure of AJ and Kevin, and no new faces joining the group, that means that there will be two pros of each gender sitting out. We'll have to wait a few weeks to find out who.

Next Four Celebrities Announced

Four new Strictly celebrities were announced today.

First up is comedian Bill Bailey, who was announced on Zoe Ball's show on Radio 2. Bill is very musical, so you would hope that he can at least count in 4s (or 3s for the waltzes!). He's well known and funny, so will likely get the public onside quickly.

Next up is Invictus medallist, presenter and former Marine JJ Chalmers. I have not personally come across JJ on TV before, so I have no idea what he might bring to the table. As a former military man, I would expect him to have the determination and tenacity of a sports person.

The return of 2019 participant Jamie Laing was announced on This Morning. Jamie was keen to return following his premature exit last year. It will be interesting to see if he is still paired with his original partner Oti, or if they'll put him with someone else this time around. I'm glad they have found a place for him in this year's group.

Also announced on This Morning was EastEnders actor Maisie Smith. Maisie is not a newcomer to the Strictly dancefloor - she appeared on last year's Children In Need special, and raised the glittery Pudsy alongside Kevin Clifton. With Kevin no longer a part of the show, she'll be partnered with someone else, but she looked pretty handy on the dancefloor, so I'm sure she'll adapt to someone new.

With a shorter series, you would expect fewer participants. We have 10 so far, but the line-up is still not complete. There cannot be more than one or two still to come.

Three More Celebrities Announced

Another three celebrities were anounced for Strictly Come Dancing 2020 this morning.

ITN journalist Ranvir Singh was the first announced on this morning's Good Morning Britain, for whom she is the political editor. I'm not much of an ITV viewer, so I am less familiar with their presenters than those on the BBC. I'm not familiar with Ranvir. News presenters are always a bit of an unknown quantity. Some have been great (Susanna) some not so much (Fiona).

Next up is Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo, who popped in to the Radio 1 Breakfast show to tell Greg James the news. I don't listen to Radio 1, but I do know who Clara is through her appearances on other shows. She was on House of Games not that long ago. Like news presenters, DJs have been a bit hit (Gemma, Zoe) and miss (sorry, Scott). 

Finally, Olympic gold medal-wining boxer Nicola Adams was announced this morning. Nicola will be half of Strictly's first same-sex pairing. Speaking to Louise and Charlie on BBC Breakfast she said: "They wanted to know if I wanted to be on the show, and I said 'Yeah, I'll do it, but I want to dance with another female dance partner'". I've always liked Nicola. She has a winning smile and bring so much energy to everything she does. I think she's going to be great for everyone to get to know her outside of sport.

More announcements will be coming soon, including one on the Radio 2 breakfast show tomorrow.

The First Three Celebrities Of 2020

The first three celebrities for this year's Strictly Come Dancing were announced on The One Show this evening.

There seems to be quite a lot of apathy toward Strictly among my peers, and it seems to be increasing each year. But given what a horror 2020 has been so far, I can't wait for a bit of escapism. Saturday nights, albeit fewer of them, filled with sparkles and music (but hopefully no props!) is what the nation needs right now.

So the first celebrity is actor Caroline Quentin. Caroline is probably best known for her roles in Men Behaving Badly and Jonathan Creek. She admitted on The One Show that she did dance classes in her childhood and into her teens. She attended Arts Ed in Tring, a noted performing arts school, but mostly focused on acting in her professional career. Given the pandemic, I suspect 60 year-old Caroline could easily be this year's oldest participant.

Next up is the BBC's NFL presenter, and former player, Jason Bell. I know a lot of people won't be familiar with Jason, but as a big NFL fan I am really excited to see Jason in the line-up. He's a really charismatic chap, and I think he'll be a joy to watch. I look forward to the nation getting to know him.

The final celebrity announced tonight was Max George, who was a member of boy band The Wanted, alongside former Strictly champion Jay McGuinnes. To be honest, I was on safer gound with Caroline and Jason. Post-millennium boy bands are not a strong subject for me. One would assume that as musical performer, he would at least have a sense of rhythm, but I've been burned by that assumption before.

I can't wait to hear the rest of the line-up. It's a good start.