Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Season 13

ceebee

By ceebee
in Strictly Come Dancing [V]

Recommended Posts

ceebee

ceebee

The pro dancers for the forthcoming season have been announced - 16 of them in all!!

Tristan returns and Gleb Savchenko will join the cast alongside 2 other new dancers.

The line-up in full

Aljaž Škorjanec

Anton Du Beke

Brendan Cole

Giovanni Pernice

Gleb Savchenko

Kevin Clifton

Pasha Kovalev

Tristan MacManus

Aliona Vilani

Janette Manrara

Joanne Clifton

Karen Hauer

Kristina Rihanoff

Natalie Lowe

Ola Jordan

Otlile Mabuse

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/095f42d3-26c5-4f36-86e8-1a238a969ac5

Link to comment
legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)

Anton again?  He's going to be 49 in July, which is ancient by this franchise's standards.  Why is he still around?

 

And I notice that James is absent from the roster again, even though Ola's not.  To tell the truth, I'd rather see either him or Ian replace Len as a judge.  James can bring the snark in spades (his tweets during the season are hilarious), but he also knows his technical stuff and would really be great at the job, in my opinion.  So would Ian.

Edited by legaleagle53
Link to comment
Morrigan

Morrigan

(edited)

I wonder if Gleb is the only pro who's appeared on 4 different versions, and the first three, he only had one season with a celebrity. Though it looks like he's gonna win his season in Moscow next week (or whenever the final is.) I'm so happy Tristan will be back - and sad to lose Iveta and Trent. And I like Gleb, so I guess I'll be trying to figure out how to watch this thing - I wish they'd open up BBC i-player to whoever is willing to pay the license fee, whether you're in the UK or not.

Edited by Morrigan
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

I'm shocked Ola is back and Iveta out. James has slagged off the show and the BBC so much, I think he's well and truly burnt his bridges. I had thought Ola's playing truant from Strictly to train for another show would have finished her off too, but clearly not! She seemed so unhappy last time, I'm surprised she wanted to come back..

Anton and Brendan seem to be with us forever. They each have there own tours, so I can understand why Strictly is good for them, but cannot for the life of me see how these two survive when the likes of Iveta get the chop. Brendan was fed up and disengaged last time and Anton...pfft! (Actually, I did enjoy Judy - so him by default a little - last year).

It's a little sad Robin didn't warrant a mention in the press release, but I don't mind that he's gone. Nice chap, but didn't really rate his choreography. I would have been happy to see Trent again, but he, allegedly, said he would only do it if his wife was given a pro role, too. She wasn't.

I only know Gleb of the new dancers. It seems, from their respective twitters that Giovanni is a good friend of Joanne, so the Clifton franchise expands....

Otile looks lovely. She's just been on the German version and in the clips I've seen looks fun and giggly. She and Keo were (professional) partners for a time, too.

Edited by ceebee
  • Love 1
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

I've always found Ainsley rather irritating, but I put that down to his TV persona. Watching him just now talking about being on Strictly he was much more likeable. So long as he drops his cheeky chappie shtick for the duration, I think he might be okay. Seems to have a good attitude and I reckon he may have some moves. I'm pretty certain he'll have zero inhibition. Remains to be seen if that's a good thing....;-)

He's pretty tall (6'3?). Natalie seems like an obvious fit.

Edit: ah, but now I see Jeremy is also 6'3

Edited by ceebee
  • Love 1
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

Celebrity number 3 is soap actress Kellie Bright. I don't know much about her but understand she's 39 and fairly short. She went to stage school so will definitely have done a bit of song and dance. I wonder if she was any good at it...

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

No 4: Georgia May Foote

Soap actress, 24, pretty, 5'1 or thereabouts.

Apparently she has left the soap she was in so presumably won't be working at the same time as SCD.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

So far, the female celebs all sound as though they might be good matches for Tristan. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, though.

Three women announced so far, with five to go (assuming each of the announced pros gets a partner). The Telegraph have reported an actress called Helen George has signed, but nothing official yet (blond, slim, in her twenties, completed the London marathon earlier in the year, so no slacker...). They also claim Sharon Osborne is in, but that seems less likely to me.

On the male side, the BBC site briefly had Peter Andre up as their 6th reveal but took it down. Either something went wrong with the deal or someone pressed the button prematurely! (Next official reveal on tomorrow's Breakfast News - home to three other heavily touted possibles). Peter is very well known but not for entirely good reasons, so he would be a divisive signing, but probably generate a lot of press. Another strongly tipped is Gok Wan, stylist and TV presenter. He has spoken previously about wanting to be on the show, but said he would want to dance with a male partner. I can't see them going for it, but you never know.

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)

What are the odds that Tristan gets Sharon, if those rumors are true?

 

As for a same-sex male couple?  I know the show has actually toyed with the idea for some time now, and I think it would go there sooner than our version would.  

 

I can tell you that James Jordan's head would explode, however.  He's been quite vocal on Twitter about his opposition to same-sex couples because he thinks that dancing is all about the relationship between a man and a woman, period.  Of course, he never responds whenever I remind him that Argentine Tango started out as a dance that was only done by male/male couples before it was introduced to the bordellos of Buenos Aires sometime in the early 1920s and is still traditionally done that way today in Argentina!

Edited by legaleagle53
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

I think the odds of a Sharon and Tristan pairing are pretty high, sadly. There's another lady hotly tipped who presents the weather on the BBC who I could see with T. She's 53 and I can't see her being a great dancer, but she is really popular (with her embonpoint attracting a lot of online male attention!). She's very giggly and fun. Anyway, she may not be doing it of course, but other rumors include Jamelia (in her 30s, quite possibly a good dancer) and Kirsty Gallacher who is 39 and in good shape. If Sharon's in she would be a good, camp fit for Anton, so T would still have a chance for someone decent. Quite possibly none of these ladies will be in!

Yes, James would be foaming at the mouth if they do have a same sex couple. My only reservation about it being Gok (if he's even in) would be that he might not be the most empathetic candidate to ease the GBP into a new challenge. There are other gay celebs out there who could count on more support, but we'll see.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

No7: Peter Andre. 42, I think. Had a bit of a pop career 10 years ago and then turned his hand to reality TV and generally living his life in the media, with bits of presenting thrown in. I think at heart he's a nice guy, but he is pure cheese - very orange cheese! Has a recent marriage to gush about and a new album to promote. Set the gain on your cringe-ometer to high....

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

No 8: Daniel O'Donnell. Irish singer, 53.

I like a good range of ages and types on the show, but this cast is feeling very middle aged and middle of the road. They mostly seem to be good sorts, but hardly exciting.

Hmmm.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

No 9: Anthony Ogogo. Boxer, good looking, 26 and just under 6' tall.

The boxers on DWTS and SCD, as far as I recall, have been uniformly awful. Almost as bad as the tennis players. Am hoping for better things from Anthony!

Edited by ceebee
  • Love 1
Link to comment
SnideAsides

SnideAsides

From what I remember of Anthony from his time on Big Brother (well, from his time on the mediocre "Celebrity Big Brother is taking a year off because of The Racism" filler spinoff Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack), he doesn't seem like the sort of person whose personality would transfer into votes.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

No 10: Jay MacGuiness, 25, member of boyband The Wanted, 6'1, may have some dance background

No 11: Anita Rani, 37, BBC journalist/presenter (another!), slim, attractive

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

It seems, from the Strictly Facebook page that there are only four more celebs to be revealed, so one of our 16 pros will be celeb-less. No idea if it was always planned this way or if someone has dropped out at the last minute.

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

No 12: Jamelia, singer and TV personality, 34, about 5'7. Looks to be in good shape. Courts controversy as one of the hosts of Loose Women (think it's a bit like The View). Divisive character, I think.

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

Brendan's wife has tweeted that there are two more women and one man still to be announced, so that suggests one of the female pros is not getting a partner. Unless there's a twist...

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

Joanne is the pro who will not be assigned a celeb as per her Twitter.

With three more celebrities to come, there have been sightings arriving at group rehearsals of a blond woman (Helen George?) and Iwan Thomas (Athlete turned telly person). Both could be good signings, I think.

Link to comment
Anothermi

Anothermi

No13: Helen George, actress, 30 or 31, 5'7 (?), ran a marathon in the Spring.

 

Glad the rumour about her was true. She the only celeb I know (from Call the Midwife) so at least I have someone to support. Of course I may not like her and be drawn to someone I didn't know of before because of their skill or personality.

 

Glad to hear that Ian will be back on ITT.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

Apparently Gleb has let slip on Twitter (now deleted!) that Kirsty Gallacher (age 39) is in. She's a presenter/sportscaster, slim, attractive and daughter of a champion golfer so you might expect a go-get'em personality? 5'4 or 5'5

If so, I think the female line up is pretty strong, with Carol as the oldest lady in her early fifties. No idea if she can dance, but I don't think she's shy!

On the face of it, none of the male pros needs be afraid! Of course they have yet to dance. Jamelia could be a poison chalice. Lots of potential, but prone to whining and tantrums.

Karen Hardy, Joanne and Robin will also be part of the ITT team. Great news is that ITT will run for an hour on Fridays. This was always a rushed show so now there's the opportunity for more stuff from dress rehearsals. It will have a live audience. Dunno if that's good or bad!

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

No 14: Kirsty Gallacher, 39, presenter, about 5'4

No 15: Iwan Thomas, 41, retired 400m runner athlete, sports/TV presenter, 6'2 ?

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

Jay has been really funny on Twitter, and self-deprecating as well. I already like him a lot. I can't wait to see the pairings!

He's not someone I'd heard of before this, but I agree he's coming across well. Rumor has it, he dabbled in a bit of hip hop and contemporary in his teens so he could be a contender.

Link to comment
legaleagle53

legaleagle53

Well, I can tell you this much:  your celebrity cast seems a damn sight better than ours does on DWTS this time.  We've scraped the bottom of the barrel so much here now that I think we're starting to dig a hole through the bottom that will land us somewhere in China or Australia!

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Twickenham

Twickenham

I have to agree that I'm a lot more excited about SCD this year than DWTS, and will hopefully be able to follow most of it on Youtube. Encouraged by the fact that given there's only one female celeb over 50 - and surely she must be Anton's horse, right? - that Tristan has an excellent chance of getting someone with potential. And I adore Ainsley Herriott, so I'll have someone to cheer for on the guy's side as well.

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

The couples have been leaked. Shall I post them? I don't have any formatting available since I started using an iPad, so can't put them in spoilers.... (Any help getting the formatting back would be much appreciated!)

Link to comment
Buggin

Buggin

Just put the brackets [spoiler*][/spoiler*] around them (without the asteriks) and it should work.

 

I read the list and would be ready to discuss with anyone who wanted to. Not that I know much about the celebs.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

Thanks Buggin - I should have thought of that!

Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice

Kirsty Gallacher & Brendan Cole

Helen George& Aljaz Skorjenc

Jamelia & Tristan MacManus

Ainsley Harriot & Natalie Lowe

Iwan Thomas & Ola Jordan

Jay McGuiness & Aliona Vilani

Jeremy Vine & Karen Hauer

Anthony Ogogo & Otlile Mabuse

Katie Derham & Anton Du Beke

Carol Kirkwood & Pasha Kovalev

Daniel O'Donnell & Kristina Rihanoff

Peter Andre & Janette Manrara

Anita Rani & Gleb Savchenko

Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton

Link to comment
Buggin

Buggin

I don't know the stars so I'm trying to remain optimistic but I've already seen so much "Poor Tristan" and people not liking Jamelia that I'm worried he got hosed AGAIN. Anyone want to reassure me that's not the case???

Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author

I really think it might be okay.

She has a reputation for being whiny and difficult, but she can also be fun and funny, so it depends which version turns up. I honestly think he has the best temperament to deal with her.

She's a bit prone to shooting her mouth off and saying stupid things though, so it could go either way with the public! I think she'll be one of the most interesting to watch, but I can't deny it's with my fingers crossed...

Gleb's partner Anita is a bit 'safer' but less well known. I have a hunch she may be pretty good

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Buggin

Buggin

Did Gleb really say that? I definitely get a smarmy impression from him but didn't think he'd imply he'd sleep with a celeb for real since he's married. He's definitely eye candy but I found him to have very little personality on DWTS so it'll be interesting to see how he is on Strictly.

Link to comment
Dots And Stripes

Dots And Stripes

Did Gleb really say that? I definitely get a smarmy impression from him but didn't think he'd imply he'd sleep with a celeb for real since he's married. He's definitely eye candy but I found him to have very little personality on DWTS so it'll be interesting to see how he is on Strictly.

Didn't his wife take to twitter to accuse him of cheating on her a year or so ago? I'm still not impressed with Gleb. He is failing upward though. He went from finishing last on DWTS Australia all the way to Strictly. 

Link to comment
Morrigan

Morrigan

(edited)

You're right, Dots and Stripes. While Elena was competing on DWTS India (which Maks judged a couple weeks!), Gleb apparently had an affair with a dancer/actress/model/whatever in Los Angeles and Elena called her out on it on Twitter, after the girl posted a sexy video of her and Gleb, doing a rumba or a contemporary dance - I know not why? Perhaps it was a gig or a promotional video to get her/them work. It got pretty ugly. He went back to Elena within a few months, after flying to see them in Moscow and I believe Hong Kong - they've worked and lived all over the place.  I'm pretty sure Elena/daughter are not with him in London, which could be problematic and may be why he seems depressed or something.

 

About that comment that his pairing might get "sexual" - he was strangely vague about whether he was married or not in an interview when he first came to America to do DWTS. I think he simply is desperate to do well and thinks that pretend "showmances" might be necessary or at least very helpful.  (and he might be right!)  So many have got their start with those stupid things - Mark with Sabrina (and he had a live-in girlfriend at the time), Derek sorta with Shannon Elizabeth, Val with Kelly etc., Tony with that country music singer, Brendan Cole with his first partner, Artem with Kara, Pasha with Rachel Riley, Flavia with Matt and then another one she ended up marrying, Julianne with Apolo, and on and on...

Edited by Morrigan
Link to comment
ceebee

ceebee

  • Author
(edited)

Odd to have odd numbers of the genders, especially when there's a spare pro available. I bet someone did drop out.

James Jordan tweeted that 'someone' told him they'd had difficulty getting male celebs this time. I think we had an uneven number for the last two years - so that isn't new - but announcing Jo and then not using her does sound like a change of plan.

Re: Gleb - he seemed oddly disconnected on the launch show.

Edited by ceebee
Link to comment
legaleagle53

legaleagle53

About that comment that his pairing might get "sexual" - he was strangely vague about whether he was married or not in an interview when he first came to America to do DWTS. I think he simply is desperate to do well and thinks that pretend "showmances" might be necessary or at least very helpful.  (and he might be right!)  So many have got their start with those stupid things - Mark with Sabrina (and he had a live-in girlfriend at the time), Derek sorta with Shannon Elizabeth, Val with Kelly etc., Tony with that country music singer, Brendan Cole with his first partner, Artem with Kara, Pasha with Rachel Riley, Flavia with Matt and then another one she ended up marrying, Julianne with Apolo, and on and on...

 

Tony Dovolani (who is happily married and has three children with his wife) was never romantically involved with Sara Evans.  That was a trumped-up charge that was made by her then-husband as part of their rather bitter divorce case.  There was absolutely no truth to it whatsoever.

Link to comment
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...