Yahoo News Does dancing experience give Strictly stars an advantage?
Why it's difficult for the BBC to get stars without any dance experience
Strictly Come Dancing has become embroiled in a fix row again after Tasha Ghouri has been topping the leaderboard in the 2024 series.
The former Love Island star has a background in commercial dance but she has never learned Ballroom or Latin routines. Her professional dance teacher is Aljaz Skorjanec, who returned to the BBC show after a two year break.
Other stars who have come under fire from the 2024 series for their previous dance experience include Jamie Borthwick who won Strictly Come Dancing's 2023 Christmas special and JB Gill who is a boybander from JLS, is married to a professional dancer and competed on reality show Dance, Dance, Dance.
A TV insider told Yahoo: "There is no rule that celebrities cannot have dance experience before taking part and it would be near impossible to find a cast of celebrities who have no previous dance experience as many people in the entertainment industry go to stage school.
"They have never been trained in Ballroom or Latin and have not tried to hide their dancing experience, but it is not remotely similar to what they will be required to learn for the show."
We take a look at why there is a backlash, the difficulty of getting contestants without any experience and what some of the 2023 contestants have said themselves about their history of dancing…
What is the backlash about?
Every year Strictly Come Dancing faces a backlash over its celebrities having previous dance training, whether they have gained experience from being in the West End or from theatre school.
With this in mind, all the 2024 contestants have varying levels of experience when it comes to dancing. Some fans have claimed this gives those famous faces an "unfair advantage" over others in the competition.
X Factor star Alexandra Burke defended Ghouri's past experience, telling The Sun: "Tasha's not had Latin and Ballroom dancing. I got that negative response, but I'd never had Latin and Ballroom dance experience. Actually, let her live and let her live her best life, because she's having the most amazing time, most likely."
Ahead of the show's launch, Ghouri said herself: "Commercial dance is very different to ballroom dance and latin, I’m still having to strip down and relearn, even walking in cha cha step is weird to me."
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Why is it difficult for the BBC to get contestants without any dance experience?
The contestants come from all walks of showbiz, from TV presenting to working in radio and acting circles. Although they are all in the spotlight, the famous faces have had different life experiences and opportunities.
Plus, all the contestants are different ages — with Angela Rippon being the oldest ever contestant in the history of the show at 78 and she took part in the 2023 series.
Stars who come from a musical theatre background will have professional dancing experience on stage that others do not have. Also, some actors will have been taught dance as it is often on the curriculum at drama school.
Who has faced criticism in previous years?
Layton Williams
Strictly contestant Layton Williams hasn’t shied away from his previous dance training, having starred in the West End for more than 15 years with roles in Billy Elliot and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Throughout last series, the star was trolled because some people claimed he had an “unfair advantage” over others for this reason.
Addressing the trolling, he wrote on social media: "The messages of love are overwhelming but as is the low key trolling. I’m just here to have fun like all the other contestants. I’m trying to handle this with a smile and determination to slay another day but reminder #BeKind."
Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Williams had been open about his experience of dancing on stage before joining the Strictly dance floor. He previously said: "I trained in jazz, tap, and ballet to a certain degree. I’m absolutely not a ballet dancer, but I’ve done shows that I’ve had to play characters who are.
"So dance is in me, it’s a core feeling and I love it and it’s my passion. But this world of Latin and Ballroom is completely new to me, so that’s what I’m excited to explore."
He made it all the way to the Strictly final but narrowly missed out on the glitter ball.
Angela Rippon
Dancing played a role in Rippon’s life too. At 78, she was the oldest ever Strictly contestant but she showed off her fabulous high kicks and moves during the live shows.
In 1976, Rippon famously wowed the nation with her high-kicking dance routine in the Morecambe and Wise Christmas special. She later went on to host Come Dancing, Strictly’s predecessor on the BBC.
Ahead of the 2023 series, she addressed the speculation around her dancing past saying: "I was 37 for Morecambe and Wise! It was a very long time ago. I presented Come Dancing, I didn't dance in Come Dancing.
"But I'm very fortunate I've been around dancers for a very long time and doing Come Dancing, I was chairman of the English National Ballet for four years – I've been around dancers.
"So I know what's required and I did go to ballet class until I was about 17."
Helen Skelton
When Helen Skelton appeared on Strictly in 2022, she laughed off claims she had an advantage over others competing for the Glitter Ball trophy. Lorraine Kelly had no qualms asking the presenter about her previous dancing experience.
With good humour, she said: "I found it so funny when they said it was a fix – Helen’s a tap dancing champion. When I was seven, yes, I did tap dancing."
It had emerged the star had won the Ken Dodd Tap Dancing Award more than two decades before her appearance on Strictly and in 2016, she had said: "Not a lot of people know this, but I’m very good at tap dancing. People are often amazed I can tap dance."
She had also made an impression on people when she had danced in the Christmas special of Strictly in 2012.
Fleur East
Also in the Strictly 2022 line-up, Fleur East come under fire for her previous dancing history. Naturally as a pop star and former X Factor contestant, she can dance live and she also loves to show off her moves on TikTok.
She had to tackle the issue head on when Ranvir Singh asked her on Lorraine: "Everyone knows you can dance and can deal with the pressures of a live show. Do you feel like the pressure’s on you to be the top of the leaderboard every week?"
The pop star clarified her dancing experience, saying in her defence: "I can dance in the club, and when I'm singing on stage, but I’ve never done any technical dancing. So I don’t know anything about ballroom, how to point a toe or spin or any kind of stuff like that.
"Put me on TikTok and I'm away but ballroom, this is a completely different level."
Strictly continues on BBC1 on Saturday.
