Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has accused the show of alienating its main demographic with sweeping changes to the dancing. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the 48-year-old dad of one, who was on the show from 2006 to 2013, claimed the show's original success was because of the older demographic who are now being ignored by the BBC.
Jordan: 'That's what they fell in love with'
"The only reason Strictly was such a success is because the older viewers were the main demographic. You get rid of those, you're going to lose viewers. They fell in love with ballroom and Latin dancing. That's what they fell in love with, essentially."
He criticised the addition of other dance genres, saying: "They keep adding in all these other b****y genres of dance, hip hop and contemporary and jazz and this and that. They're good, but that's not what the demographic wants to see. They want to see a beautiful waltz, a beautiful foxtrot, a jive, to authentic music."
'They need to go backwards a little bit'
Speaking on behalf of Which Bingo, he continued: "And people might go, 'Oh yeah, but it's boring. You've got to move with the times.'"
"Not if the show is set up for a certain demographic of person," he insisted. "Is it set up for young teenagers? No. Do many 19- to 20-year-olds watch the show? Probably not.
"It is the older generation that are watching it. So I think they need to remember that, and I think actually they need to go backwards a little bit and make the show a little bit more authentic again with the dancing, with the music, and with the VTs," he said.
Backlash over new hosts and format changes
His remarks came as the show has come under harsh criticism and faced backlash after it introduced a trio of new hosts in the form of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and former Strictly pro Johannes Radebe, to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
They also axed several of the pro dancers, including Luba Mushtuk and Nadiya Bychkova, and completely revamped the format of spin-off show It Takes Two.
The trio of hosts have got off to a shaky start, with Emma Willis being praised for her charisma and professionalism, while Josh and Johannes have appeared to struggle under the spotlight. Josh sparked backlash from viewers for appearing very nervous as he was deemed a "spare part" during his first couple of shows, while Johannes faced several mic and timing blunders during his first live show and appeared to miss his old role.
