Strictly Come Dancing | 2019

Who do you propose they get, who isn't either too expensive or dead?

After our reminising in the other thread of Saturday night stars of the past I was going to flippantly suggest Mr Blobby, but now I've put the idea in my head I actually want to see it happen.

The 2019 line up so far does not look great but with previous series, it seems when the show really gets going, all the fuss over the "celebrity" appeal will cease, and the viewers will latch on to who they want to win, and the ratings I am sure will stable.

With ITV X Factor using two very different formats for this autumn (I assume both Celebrity X Factor and Past X Factor contestants series will air during Sept to Dec) - I wonder will the usual ratings battle be the same, with Strictly thrashing X Factor each week?

Last year Strictly had a huge lead over X Factor, I wonder if it will continue in 2019?

Well, someone familiar with people on their 50s 60s 70s etc, which (hardly rocket science) means people from programmes or activities that are familiar to that age group. In no particular order, BBC 1, Radio 4, and ITV newsreaders, presenters of livestyle programmes, early evening quiz shows, MPs, in fact the very pools of people they did used to select from?

As an aside didn't Chris Evans announce back in December he was in this year's line up?

My mother gave up on SCD when it became the Daly and Winkleman show.

Haven’t they got Anneka Rice? people will have heard of her from as back far back as 1982.

Strictly is one of those shows now that it doesn't matter who is in the lineup the ratings will rise as it has mass appeal, is a feel good show and the competition from the X Factor is decreasing every week. Not a lot of people knew Tom Chambers or Chris Hollins and they went on to win it and I said last year or the year before it was the weakest lineup and it got one of its highest ratings ever.

Funny enough my mum every year says when the line up is revealed "it is not as good as last year" and then she is glued to the series each week along with millions of others who I guess say the same thing and still watch.

Yes, in the end it won't matter. The reveal of the cast spread over a week doesn't do it many favours to mask the lesser names, though does feel now like they are announcing them quicker at 2 or 3 a day. I'm sure when they started it their announcements were 1 or 2 a day over a couple of weeks.

Ten "celebs" in and the line up does look unappealing, I have to say (annual tradition for me) - how many in total will be taking part in 2016, 15 or 16? I just hope the last four are at least a bit more high profile than the others.

The BBC are afraid of leaks, especially after the GMB incident, so my guess is the BBC management decided to fast track the reveals much quicker this year, before the launch show is recorded over the August Bank Holiday week.