After a summer of scandal, independent inquiries and seemingly endless speculation about the culture behind the scenes, Strictly Come Dancing is finally back. The show got off to a reassuringly glitzy start, reminding us what we love about the escapist entertainment juggernaut – and its return came hard on the heels of a National Television Awards win for Best Entertainment show (which is voted for by the public). It was the strongest sign yet that audiences are standing by it, ready for another season of shiny and sustaining entertainment.
And so, as tradition dictates, in tonight’s show, the celebrity pairings were announced and we can finally begin the furious speculation about who looks like a serious contender and who will limp out in week two with a clicky hip.
Let’s start with the big hitters, because from that very brief glimpse at their dancing abilities, we can get at least a clue about who has moves worthy of a place in the final.
I think Sarah Hadland (paired with Vito Coppola) could be a potential frontrunner and is sure to attract some high scores with her triple-threat credentials. She’s a West End Wendy and also undertook dance training as a youngster. Traditional murmurings about unfair advantage aside, we need the good hoofers as well as the plucky hopefuls.
Gladiator and former Olympian Montell Douglas also looks ready to rumble with Johannes Radebe. The super-fit sportswoman will have the stamina required for the more energetic dances, but it remains to be seen if all that training precludes a fluid hip action.
The glorious return of Amy Dowden, after cancer treatment, is sure to inject a bit of much-needed warmth and wholesomeness now she’s fighting fit again. Her partnering with JB Gill from the boyband JLS is definitely one to watch. They wouldn’t give her any old donkey on her first series back and we know he can move thanks to several years performing high-production routines with his band.
The oldest woman in the competition this year is 66-year-old Toyah Wilcox, partnered with Neil Jones. But if you’ve seen the Sunday Lunch series of videos she made with her husband, Robert Fripp, during lockdown, you’ll know she has the moves and athleticism of someone half her age. Her partner has never made it to a Strictly final, but it’s possible he’s got his best shot this year with the punk legend.
And if you think you’ve seen EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick already in a skin-tight lamé blouse, pointing at the camera, you have – he won the Christmas episode last year with Nancy Xu. Studying his form, he can already quickstep pretty well and his pairing with Latin champ Michelle Tsiakkas is a sign they expect great things from his hips, too.
The mid-table potential growers are harder to separate after this first glimpse. Visually impaired comedian Chris McCausland is dancing with Dianne Buswell, a good high-energy foil to his laconic vibe. I’m trying and failing to picture him jiving but he might pull a Bill Bailey and surprise us all.
Pete Wicks, in his VT, assured us he would bring “cheekiness and bad dancing”, but is he hustling us? Jowita Przystał is no slouch, but has experienced the best and worst of Strictly, winning with Hamza Yassin, her first-ever partner and then crashing out in 13th place the following year with Jody Cundy. It could go either way.
I also have to file Love Island’s Tash Ghouri (Strictly’s second-ever hearing-impaired contestant) as an unknown quantity. Partnered with audience favourite Aljaž Škorjanec, she cites series 19 winner Rose Ayling-Ellis as an inspiration, being the first deaf celebrity to compete, and she really wants to get to musicals week.
Coronation Street’s Shane Ward is an ex-pop star, so probably has some gyratory capability, plus they’ve put him with Nancy Xu, who strikes me as a powerhouse in the rehearsal room. Sam Quek MBE is a veteran of celeb contests including I’m a Celebrity and Celebrity MasterChef, so she can cope with the pressure, but who knows if a pro hockey career lends itself to a solid grasp of choreography. If anyone can loosen up her sportsperson’s discipline it’s Nikita Kuzmin, who came dangerously close to winning last year with Layton Williams.
The i’s own columnist Dr Punam Krishan is acquainted with Strictly’s pros thanks to her role as in-house GP at Morning Live. She’s in the very safe hands of Gorka Márquez, who isn’t usually saddled with a no-hoper. I have a feeling the show will want to front-and-centre the audience favourites when it comes to the pro dancers this year, to remind us of its warmth.
Swimmer Tom Dean MBE is with Nadiya Bychkova and looks like another potential mid-table finisher – the last swimmer to take part, Adam Peaty, finished ninth despite showing early promise.
Karen Hauer, the longest serving pro, seems to be becoming the Anton in that she gets saddled with more early-leavers than finalists these days. Despite making it almost all the way with Jamie Laing in series 18, she’s also had to work with Jeremy Vine, Greg Wise and Simon Rimmer – all plucky hopefuls who didn’t make it to Halloween.
This year, she gets footballer Paul Merson, who is sure to be affable, a bit stiff, and ultimately leagues behind the rest of the field. I love watching Karen dance, so this is a bit disappointing – but such is the way of Strictly.
Nick Knowles is the oldest man in the contest this year and I think Luba Mushtuk has her work cut out for her if she wants to turn him into a convincing dancer. Just from the early hip-wiggles and finger-guns, it’s not screaming “Nureyev”.
And finally, Wynne Evans, the Go Compare opera singer, is partnered with choreo whizz Katya Jones. I still watch her “Gangnam Style” with Ed Balls when I need cheering up. She’ll no doubt get creative with his non-dancer physique and use his likeability to win over the audience, but I don’t see him going beyond a week three or four.
If I were a betting woman, at this very early stage, I’d lean towards Hadland or Gill for the glitterball. But when have I ever been right? Who do you fancy for the title?
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