BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans complain as 'urgent' live show shake-up demanded

Strictly Come Dancing hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


Strictly Come Dancing viewers have demanded an 'urgent' shake-up to this year's live shows, accusing producers of 'messing with tradition' with a big change they've made this year.

Saturday night saw this year's Strictly celebs and their pro partners dance for the fifth time, with some significant changes on the leaderboard, as Tasha Ghouri dropped down to third and was replaced at the top of the standings by two of her rivals, with Jamie Borthwick and Montell Douglas both getting 39.

Jamie hit the top spot near the start of the week five live show, thanks to his brilliantly executed paso doble, as only Craig Revel-Horwodo failed to give a 10 for the routine. And then, plenty of fans argued that Strictly saved the best for last, as Montell and Johannes also got 39, having closed proceedings with their wonderful and vibrant Couple's Choice.

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this week's scoring and each couple's position on the leaderboard gave viewers plenty to talk about, but others were more concerned with something that happened before any dancing had been done and not for the first time either. In the past, after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman say the words "Please welcome out Strictly stars," the BBC programme's famous theme tune is then played out as each couple is introduced by name, before making their way down the staircase and onto the dancefloor.

However, this year the theme tune has been scrapped in favour of classic tracks from the decades. And, on hearing the strains of Shake Your Tailfeather ring round the ballroom on Saturday night, one irate critic took to X to fume: "Can we please go back to having the #Strictly theme playing when the stars are introduced? It really created the atmosphere."

In agreement, another responded: "Dear #Strictly, Can we please go back to using the theme tune for the celeb intros. You’re ruining the vibe. Thank you." as a third reacted: "Bring Back The Original theme Tune when the contestants are walking down the stairs"