A devoted Strictly Come Dancing fan has argued the show should have ended while it was still shining, citing the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, new presenters and an underwhelming celebrity line-up.
Cathy Owen, Breaking News Editor, has supported the show since it began in May 2004. She described how Saturday night Strictly became a family ritual, a "little pocket of joy" at the end of an exhausting week. She watched with her eldest child, then a toddler, and continued watching with friends for years.
The magic combination has gone
Owen believes the show might have been better off finishing when Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman walked away. She called them "the magic combination," writing: "Tess and Claudia were never just presenters. They were Strictly."
She praised Tess for bringing glamour and Claudia for dry humour and "the magnificent fringe," saying together they made the show feel like a Saturday-night institution. Now, she fears "the sparkle has gone."
Owen said she likes Emma Willis and finds Josh Widdicombe funny, but questioned whether they fit Strictly. She also expressed disappointment that Johannes Radebe has stopped dancing, writing: "I don't need another presenter. I needed Johannes dancing."
An underwhelming line-up
She admitted she had not heard of half of this year's professionals, saying the show now feels like it has "a completely new cast." She acknowledged that Strictly may be trying to reinvent itself, but said she wants the show she watched when she was exhausted and needed something lovely at the end of a long Saturday.
Owen acknowledged television must change, but warned that in trying to keep something alive, you can accidentally remove "the very things that made people love it in the first place."
She said she will give it another week, but after the opening show she is not sure she will be hearing "Get dancing!" this year, adding: "It may be time to hang up my sequins."
