Strictly Come Dancing is introducing a competition-changing twist tonight: a triple dance-off, the first in the show's history. Three celebrities will be put at risk, with two saved and one sent home.
Ian Waite's verdict on the new twist
Former Strictly professional Ian Waite has given his verdict on the new addition for Halloween Week. He told The Mirror exclusively: "It's a good way of making sure that really good dancers don't go home. Because in the past before we had the dance-off, there would be some really good dancers who might have a little bit of an off day and find themselves in the bottom two and then they'd end up going home."
He added: "And you'd think, 'My God, they could have made the final.' It's a great addition because it's judged on the dancing and not just popularity. The judges are quite fair in that they do judge it on that performance."
Why Ian is glad he avoided the dance-off
Despite seeing it as a great addition to the show, Ian is glad he never had to tackle it directly. He said: "As a pro dancer and as a competitor on Strictly for many years, I never liked the dance-off because you never want to be in it! I'm quite happy not to do it! I did it for three years in Australia over the last few years, and there was a dance-off and I never went in it, thankfully, so it was good."
Ian also believes it is harder for professionals now, noting they have to be versatile, whereas in his day it was all about technique and competitive ballroom dancing. He joked: "I'm sure if I was doing Couple's Choice, I would die out there, you know, like I couldn't do anything contemporary, because if I go on the floor it takes me 10 minutes to get back up again!"
Working with Strictly legends again
Ian is now performing in a new dance show alongside fellow Strictly legends Brendan Cole, Vincent Simone, James Jordan and Pasha Kovalev. He said: "It is a challenge because we are all very different. We've all got our own characters and our own opinions, so sometimes it is quite hard to get together on stuff."
He added: "But one thing we do have in common is this history. We've all been competitive dancers for many years, so we've all learned our craft, and then we've been also in the entertainment industry for like 20 years as well." Ian Waite was speaking on behalf of BestBettingBonuses and is currently on tour with other Strictly legends for their Legends of the Dance Floor Vegas tour.
