Strictly Come Dancing is enjoyable, but something still feels off. There is a growing feeling that the show has lost its sparkle — the new hosts, the changes to the format, the sense that Saturday nights just aren't quite what they used to be.
However, that entirely misses the point. Strictly hasn't lost its sparkle. It has, however, started to lose something just as important: its sense of fun.
A 'fun sponge' moment
After tonight's installment, I found myself wondering when a show that once made us fall in love with dancing became so preoccupied with telling people what they were doing wrong. The moment that made me almost shudder came during the judging, particularly towards Emmerdale's Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal, when Shirley Ballas's criticism prompted Craig Revel Horwood to call her a "fun sponge". It was a sharp remark, and an amusing one, but it also struck a nerve — because isn't that precisely what has been bothering some viewers?
Not that Strictly is no longer entertaining, or that its new presenters have somehow ruined the magic, but that the joy seems to be getting lost amid the scrutiny. Change is inevitable for a programme that has been on our screens for so long. New presenters bring a different dynamic, and a familiar format cannot remain frozen in time forever. Neither is necessarily the problem. The problem is that Strictly seems to be taking itself a little too seriously.
Technical perfection isn't the appeal
For all its glitter, glamour and elaborate routines, the show's greatest appeal has never been technical perfection. It has been watching people do extraordinary things, often while looking slightly terrified in a spray-tanned, sequinned costume. It has been the nervous contestant who surprises themselves, the couple who make a mistake but laugh it off, the dance that is technically imperfect but somehow leaves you grinning from ear to ear.
Look, we still have the fun costumes, and Aljaz debuting his new look with a moustache and wig was exactly the sort of ridiculousness that makes Strictly so enjoyable. That is fun! But I can't be the only one who feels that this side of the show is getting a little lost.
Constructive criticism vs joy-sucking
Shirley is an accomplished dancer and an experienced judge. She has every right to point out a misplaced foot, a missed step or a lack of technique. Nobody is asking her to pretend a mediocre performance is a masterpiece. But there is a difference between offering constructive criticism and making the criticism feel like the most important part of the evening. If the judges are sucking the joy out of the room, no amount of sparkle from the presenters can compensate.
This is why I am reluctant to join the chorus blaming the new hosts — all the negativity from viewers online feels jarring when really at its core Strictly is still the same. The hosts still bring warmth, humour and enthusiasm, but they cannot single-handedly restore a sense of lightness if the wider programme feels increasingly serious.
For a show with sequins and a Glitterball trophy, it really needs to loosen up. Of course, nostalgia has a habit of making the past seem better than it was. Strictly has always had its awkward moments, its controversial scores and its judges who occasionally get under viewers' skin. The old days were not perfect, and the current series does not need to replicate them to succeed.
So, please, Strictly, don't panic about your hosts. Bring back the warmth, the playfulness, and the feeling that, even when a dance goes wrong, everyone in the room is ultimately there for the same reason: to have a good time. Because Strictly Come Dancing hasn't lost its sparkle. It just needs to remember that sparkle means very little if we aren't having fun watching it.
