Strictly Aimee: Celebrity reporter Aimee Seddon brings you entry 1 of her Strictly Come Dancing diary
As Strictly Come Dancing starts this weekend, celebrity reporter Aimee Seddon has launched a new diary in which she will discuss all the Strictly going’s-on in the build up to the weekend shows.
It’s that time of year again- BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing returns to our TV screens this Saturday promising three months of entertainment in the shape of sleek - or comical -dance moves, glittering outfits and a mixing pot of famous personalities.
On that note, the full celebrity contestant line-up was announced in August and I was pleased by the variety and fame of them all from TV stapes to music icons to sports stars.
Highlights for me include JB Gill (I used to love JLS), Pete Wicks (I’m a former Towie fan who even now has a soft spot for Pirate Pete), Jamie Borthwick (I’m still a major Eastenders devotee) and Sarah Hadland (I find her hilarious in every show that I’ve seen!)
The current odds place JLS’ JB as the favourite to win but I’m calling it now that I don’t think the popstar will make it out on-top.
Contestant Tasha Ghouri has faced some backlash in the build up to the show for being a professional dancer - she has defended her casting by saying she has never been trained in Latin or ballroom - and indeed Tasha comes in as the second favourite but I don’t think the former Love Islander will win either.
Whilst I predict JB and Tasha will make the final week, I instead think the Eastenders star Jamie Borthwick will take home that Glitterball trophy - he won the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, achieving the maximum 40 points from the judges, a score I’m sure he’ll repeat many times over the next few weeks.
Whilst winning the show is of course the final goal, I’m sure all the celebrities will relish the opportunities that Stricly gives them both in terms of the experience and the doors the show then opens - the BBC Strictly Instagram account has already shared fun clips of each of the celebrities looking very eager to go!
There will also be some financial gain for each of the stars appearing on the show, and whilst they are all paid a flat rate for taking part I was shocked this week to learn just how much each Strictly contestant could make per sponsored Instagram posts.
Online Casino site Casino Alpha has calculated that reality star Pete Wicks will make the most money, averaging £3,800 per sponsored post - a pretty outrageous figure but hey I’m all ears if he has some product tips to get locks like his!
Then of course it is not just the celebrities that make up the Strictly Come Dancing line-up, each one will be paired with a professional dancer and I am pleased to see so many of the dancers from last year return again.
Obviously there are two quite stark absences from the professional dancing line-up this year: Giovanni Pernice who faced misconduct allegations regarding his dance teaching methods and Graziano Di Prima who faced allegations of misconduct against him towards his partner last year, Zara McDermott.
Whilst Giovanni Pernice has denied "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour" and Graziano said that he "deeply regretted his actions that led to his departure from [the show]", the controvery surrounding the treatment of stars wades on, with the results of a BBC investigation into the matter yet to be made public.
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There have been fears that such controversy will put a dark cloud over series 22 and perhaps deter people from tuning in but I think these fears are unneccesary - although I’m ready to be proven wrong if the viewing figures say otherwise.
The beloved Strictly recipe is still very much the same as it was before the controversies: there’s another line-up of exciting celebs - who by the way are likely to feel safer now due to the extra procedures put in place- and the same familiar presenters and judges that we have loved entertaining us for years - in Craig Revel Horwood’s case, decades!
With a new spray of glitter and a fresh attitude focused on promoting welfare and transparency, Strictly Come Dancing can secure it’s place on the Autumn/Winter schedule for even more years to come - but first, may the 2024 show begin!
You can read my full explainer on what to expect from Strictly Come Dancing 2024 here.
I also have created a fact file on all the Strictly celebrity contestants this year which you can find here.