Why I am now boycotting SCD (Strictly Come Dancing)

Member Name: CTVicky

Product:	Strictly Come Dancing
Date:	01/09/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some marvellous dancing

Disadvantages: Recent recruitment of incompetent judges, no more Arlene or Karen

Part of this review appears on cherubtattoo.blogspot.com

The title, Strictly Come Dancing is a play on words. It's the celebrity version of the old family favourite "Come Dancing", where professional dancers would compete against each other on national television. It's also a reference to the excellent dance film "Strictly Ballroom".

It is hosted by the legend Bruce Forsythe and his lovely assistant Tess Daly. It begins around August or Septembertime , where until Christmas every Saturday night the celebrities are paired up with the professionals and dance in the hopes of competing the following week. They are first up against the judges who decide how good they are, giving them marks out of ten, and then the viewers at home decide which couple they want to keep in the competition. Towards the end of each episode, the two couples with the lowest audience votes have to have a "dance off" and the judges make a final decision on which couple to send home.

Until recently, Strictly Come Dancing was a brilliant programme. I loved to watch the dancing, the ballgowns, the celebrities. Every series was different. The chemistry between Karen Hardy and Mark Ramprakash in 2006 was just beautiful, the same goes for Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace. It was great to watch Alesha Dixon win with Matthew Cutler.

I loved the judges, Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel-Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.

Sadly, the BBC has decided to shoot itself in the foot. Recently they axed Arlene and Karen because of their ages! And who have they chosen to replace Arlene on the panel? None other than garage MC-turned-pop singer Alesha Dixon.

Although she won in 2007, she was by far not the best dancer they've had on Strictly. Her footwork wasn't too tight and her arms were a bit all over the place. The crazy thing is she was already a dancer. She'd danced in her music videos with Mis-teeq and N*E*R*D, whereas Matt Di Angelo, who came second, hadn't done much dancing at all previously.

The judge that Alesha will be replacing, and indeed her fellow judges, are all extremely experienced and qualified dancers and choreographers, ranging in age from their 40s to their 60s. Basically, they do know their stuff. And I'm sorry Alesha, but you don't. And winning one reality T.V. show doesn't really change that.

Even Bruce Forsythe is an accomplished dancer with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of dance.

The professional dancers who coach the celebrities on the show are also highly experienced, both in dancing and choreography; most having danced in competitions since childhood. Not only do they have to teach their charges to dance, they have to create the choreographies.

I'm afraid that in hiring Alesha Dixon as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC is insulting the professional dancers and the dance world in general.

That's not the only problem though, this year, the celebrities they have chosen all appear to be sportsmen and soapstarts. There isn't any A-List glamour like it's had in previous years.

It is a brilliant show but now it's gone belly-up, as all reality-television programmes do eventually.

Summary: I've watched it every year since it started, and now I'm turning it off.