SCD Series 19 Discussion Thread

[*Lily]

We should start to hear more details in the coming months for the new series of Strictly! The plans so far I believe are to go back to a full-length season with the return of Blackpool, so hoping that can all happen.

 

Some recent news - Zoe Ball is leaving It Takes Two  Her replacement announced today - Janette will be co-hosting with Rylan! So she will be stepping down as a pro. I think this is a good fit for her in the hosting capacity, and her run with HRVY last year was a nice closure as a pro.

 

 

[Ariel1989]

Happy for Janette and glad that she will still be part of the upcoming series!

 

They also said there would be new pro dancers announced soon.  Since they’re likely going back to 15 couples this year, there will probably be a new female dancer and two new male dancers since currently there’s 8 females (Amy, Dianne, Karen, Katya, Luba, Nadiya, Nancy and Oti) and 7 males (Aljaz, Anton, Giovanni, Gorka, Graziano, Johannes and Neil).  AJ and Kevin weren’t immediately replaced last year since it was a smaller cast but their spots and Janette’s spot will probably be filled this time since there’s a need for more partners and benched pros.  
 

I think Kai Widdrington from DWTS Ireland is a definite hire as a pro partner or benched pro since he was involved in the pro dances last year.  I can also see Pasquale La Rocca getting hired after participating in the pro dances but I’m not as enamored with the idea of him as a pro.  He’s gotten very lucky with his wins in Belgium and Ireland since he had actual ringers and he didn’t do so well with contender/non-ringer Grainne in Ireland’s Switch-Up Week; she was progressing so much and then with Pasquale, her scores slid all the way down to the same number she received for her first dance.  I’ve also heard he’s been a bit misogynistic in IG posts that are now deleted.  Idk, he just rubs me the wrong way.  
 

Some on Digital Spy are also throwing around names like Michael Danilczuk and Jowita Przystał, who won The Greatest Dancer with Oti as their mentor, and Ksenia Zsikhotska, another DWTS Ireland pro.  Jowita and Ksenia are also on the short side like Janette so either of them would be sensible replacements.  Also, Stephen Vincent’s name was floated around last year as a replacement for Kevin along with Kai, Pasquale and Aaron Brown from Britain’s Got Talent and DWTS Sweden; plus, Stephen’s wife, Kylee, is petite so she could be considered as a Janette replacement if Stephen is being considered again this year.  
 

The new pros will probably be announced before the end of July.  Series 14 had Katya, Gorka and Oksana announced in late June with Neil, AJ and Chloe added in late July, series 15 had Amy, Dianne and Nadiya announced in late June, series 16 had Graziano, Luba and Johannes announced in late May and series 17 had Nancy announced in late July.  I hope we hear something soon since Janette is already confirmed to be leaving and DWTS in the USA takes ages to even announce the pros let alone the celebs and partnerships.  

Edited June 11, 2021 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

Sad about Zoe leaving ITT.  I do think Janette is a really great replacement for her and she'll be perfect for the role. I am sad we won't see her as a pro this year - but not sure she would achieve as strong/standout of a year as she did with HRVY. So it's probably for the best she ends on a high note? I do wish we could have known and she had a proper send off last year (same with Zoe).

 

Thanks for all of that info and speculation regarding the pros there @Ariel1989. Definitely excited and looking forward to on who the new pros will be.

[taylorkat]

I'm sad that Janette is not going to be a pro.

[*Amanda]

Aww sad that Janette is leaving as a pro.  But I’m glad she ended on a strong partnership with HRVY last season.

[rpryor03]

Thank G-d Janette is leaving and we will not be stuck with her choreography on non-Latin dances any more. Now just to hope that the Great British Public (TM) doesn't vote for the funny old man in lieu of the talented woman again.

[*Lily]

Official news on judges! Bruno won’t be returning this year due to the travel restrictions, and Anton will be replacing him.

 

While Anton’s never been a favourite of mine, I enjoyed him as a guest judge in the show last year. I think he’s the right fit to take on a judging role and start that transition to step away from being a pro.

[*Diana]

Is this spring or for fall like dwts 

[Ariel1989]

1 hour ago, *Diana said:

Is this spring or for fall like dwts 

Strictly always airs in the fall.  

[Ariel1989]

7 hours ago, *Lily said:

Official news on judges! Bruno won’t be returning this year due to the travel restrictions, and Anton will be replacing him.

 

While Anton’s never been a favourite of mine, I enjoyed him as a guest judge in the show last year. I think he’s the right fit to take on a judging role and start that transition to step away from being a pro.

Glad there’s a ballroom judge on the panel now, Shirley and Motsi are Latin specialists and there’s been some overscored ballroom dances since Len’s exit.  
 

Anton’s absence as a pro also means we might be getting three new male dancers instead of two.  Hopefully Kai, Michael and Stephen with either Giulia Dotta/Jowita/Kylee/Ksenia replacing Janette!  Kevin Clifton has been vocal in wanting to see Graziano and his fiancée Giada Lini with partners; Giada has danced in pro numbers and Blackpool/Musical Week dances but she’s never been an official cast member like Chloe or Nancy.  Speaking of, I hope Nancy finally gets a partner this year, Chloe was on the bench for two years before getting the boot and this will be Nancy’s third year with no partner in the main series or Christmas Special.  

[*Wallace]

Delighted at the news of Anton being a pro this series.  He's never been my favorite pro but I thought he was a great fill-in last year and I wish they had kept him in for the rest of the season. He offered a lot of great constructive  critiques in a positive way. My only concern is that he'll be an over-scorer. It was okay for him to do that as a fill in judge but hoping he's a little stricter with the scores as a regular judge. Not saying he has to score like Craig or anything.

[*Wallace]

On 6/24/2021 at 1:21 PM, Ariel1989 said:

Glad there’s a ballroom judge on the panel now, Shirley and Motsi are Latin specialists and there’s been some overscored ballroom dances since Len’s exit.  
 

Anton’s absence as a pro also means we might be getting three new male dancers instead of two.  Hopefully Kai, Michael and Stephen with either Giulia Dotta/Jowita/Kylee/Ksenia replacing Janette!  Kevin Clifton has been vocal in wanting to see Graziano and his fiancée Giada Lini with partners; Giada has danced in pro numbers and Blackpool/Musical Week dances but she’s never been an official cast member like Chloe or Nancy.  Speaking of, I hope Nancy finally gets a partner this year, Chloe was on the bench for two years before getting the boot and this will be Nancy’s third year with no partner in the main series or Christmas Special.  

Yeah with Janette and Anton no longer  being pros.... the Pro line up will have some big changes  but looking forward to some new names and faces in the line up.

 

And a BIG YESS at the bold comment. The main thing I want is for Nancy to finally get a celeb this year. I'll be so upset and  sad for her if new pros get a celeb over her. Graziano and Neil should have another chance at being  a pro too. I'd like to see if Graz improved his choreography/teaching since his last showing.

[*Wallace]

On 7/12/2021 at 8:35 PM, Ariel1989 said:

Haven’t been on in a while but thought I’d share some speculations about possible new pros.  
 

A producer of Strictly, Richard Curwen, recently followed dancers Jowita Przystał, Nikita Kuzmin and Cameron Lombard on IG.  As I’ve mentioned before, Jowita won “The Greatest Dancer” with her partner Michael and Oti as their mentor and she and Michael performed on Strictly last year.  Nikita was a pro on Let’s Dance Germany last year but he’s mainly a Latin dancer and his standard ballroom choreography and dancing was very weak so hopefully if he’s a Strictly pro, his ballroom will have improved since 2019; he also recently followed Strictly and Oti on IG.  I haven’t heard of Cameron but he’s a Latin champion in South Africa and seems to know Johannes, Oti and Motsi; he also recently moved to London and is quite good looking .  I’m still sure that Kai will be another new pro if they go back to having 9 males and 9 females; Cameron, Kai and Nikita will be needed to replace AJ, Anton and Kevin and Jowita will be needed to replace Janette.  

[*Wallace]

Bringing over @Ariel1989's post from the SC18 thread into the SCD19 thread as it's related to this season.

 

Thanks for this spoiler info on the new potential pros. Interesting names. I was wondering when we would hear some info on the new pros. Hoping we get an official statement on them soon.  

[*Lily]

New pros just announced! As @Ariel1989 had mentioned in the speculation post - this includes Kai, Nikita, Cameron and Jowita

[*Wallace]

Wow well done to Ariel on spotting the speculation of the new pros.  But yayy for this new Pros announcement!  Thanks for posting this, Lily!

 

- Happy for Kai to be included. I really liked his work and partnerships on DWTS Ireland so i think he would be a great addition. Hopefully he gets a partner.

- I know Jowita is a The Greatest Dancer winner (with Oti) as her mentor so no doubt she should be great. I never watched that show but am sure she was a guest performer on Strictly?

- Don't know much about Cameron or Nikita but looking forward to getting to know them. And of coruse always here for another black pro dancer.  

[Ariel1989]

So happy my predictions were correct!  
 

Kai was my favorite male pro on DWTS Ireland, he’s got a great personality and is a great teacher, choreographer and partner in both ballroom and Latin.  I think he has a great shot at getting a partner on Strictly this year given his history.  
 

Jowita is a fantastic dancer and teaches both Latin and ballroom with her partner, Michael, plus she looks petite so she might get a partner if they cast the usual Janette-height partner who can’t work with medium height pros Amy, Karen, Katya, Nancy or Oti.  
 

Nikita I’m a bit apprehensive about after his flop season in Germany.  He’s a purely Latin specialist and it really showed in the Viennese Waltz he did with his partner over there; there was no recognizable VW content, barely any dancing in hold and very heavy on lifts, plus Nikita’s own technique was quite poor.  Hopefully he’s been studying up on ballroom these last two years, his current professional Latin partner has also competed in ballroom before so maybe (fingers crossed) she’s been helping him since then.  His sister, Anastasia Kuzmina, is a pro on the Italian version and has done very well (one win and two runner-ups), she’s competed in both ballroom and Latin while Nikita has only competed in Latin.  I think him getting a partner will probably depend on the heights of the celebs, he’s around 5’ 10” according to his Let’s Dance bio.  
 

Cameron I don’t know much about but he’s apparently won many Latin competition titles in South Africa.  I also can’t find his height but I’m thinking he might be on the bench anyway given his lack of TV experience.  Who knows though, Graziano got a celeb in his first year over Johannes (who had already partnered celebs in South Africa) and Neil (who had done Specials).  
 

Here’s heights that I gathered from the Internet and estimates from pros standing next to each other:

 

Kai: 6’ 2”

Aljaž: 6’ 0”

Johannes: 6’ 0”

Neil: 6’ 0”

Graziano: 5’ 11”

Nikita: 5’ 11”

Giovanni: 5’ 10”

Gorka: 5’ 6”

Cameron: N/A

 

Nadiya: 5’ 8”

Luba: 5’ 7”

Amy: 5’ 7” (doubtful though since Karim matched her)

Katya: 5’ 6”

Nancy: 5’ 6”

Karen: 5’ 5”

Oti: 5’ 4”

Dianne: 5’ 3”

Jowita: N/A (but clearly more than one inch shorter than Oti during The Greatest Dancer when both were wearing heels)

 

The pros paired up with celebs will likely depend on height.  Nancy was a late hire two years ago most likely due to Luba being needed to partner tall James Cracknell and Nadiya partnering other tall celeb David James so they needed a benched female dancer.  Looks like Nancy getting a celeb will depend on whether two tall men are signed up again, if there’s only one then I think Nancy might get to have a partner with either Luba or Nadiya benched again.  
 

There’s also the possibility of a same-sex male partnership happening after Nicola & Katya so it’s harder to predict how many men and women will be benched.  Series 13 had 16 pros (8 men, 8 women) with Joanne benched; Series 14 and 15 each had 17 pros (9 men, 8 women) with Chloe and Neil benched for both; Series 16 had 18 pros (10 men, 8 women) with Johannes, Luba and Neil benched; Series 17 had 18 pros (9 men, 9 women) with Gorka, Graziano and Nancy benched; Series 18 had 16 pros (7 men, 9 women with Katya in a same-sex partnership) with Graziano, Nadiya, Nancy and Neil benched.  I think we’ll have a better idea of who might get a partner and who might be benched once the celebs are revealed.  

[*Wallace]

^Thanks for all of that info on the Pros there Ariel.  I'm surprised at some of those heights. I thought Neil, Amy & Nancy were shorter. I thought Karen was taller. Neil doesn't scream someone on the same height as Aljaz and Johannes but hmmm.

 

But in some other Strictly, Ugo Monye is reported to be the first celeb signed up for this year's line-up.  

Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9812015/Former-England-rugby-ace-Ugo-Monye-celebrity-sign-Strictly-Come-Dancing-2021.html

 

So with the rumors coming out from The Sun, Daily Mail and other media reports.... we should hopefully be getting official name reveals soon. Should be around early August?

[Ariel1989]

1 hour ago, *Wallace said:

^Thanks for all of that info on the Pros there Ariel.  I'm surprised at some of those heights. I thought Neil, Amy & Nancy were shorter. I thought Karen was taller. Neil doesn't scream someone on the same height as Aljaz and Johannes but hmmm.

 

But in some other Strictly, Ugo Monye is reported to be the first celeb signed up for this year's line-up.  

Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9812015/Former-England-rugby-ace-Ugo-Monye-celebrity-sign-Strictly-Come-Dancing-2021.html

 

So with the rumors coming out from The Sun, Daily Mail and other media reports.... we should hopefully be getting official name reveals soon. Should be around early August?

You’re welcome!  Yes, I think Amy and Neil’s heights might be a bit off, Neil especially since Alex Scott is apparently 5’ 4” and there didn’t seem to be much height difference when they danced together; Kevin is apparently only a little more than an inch taller than Gorka and he seemed to have around the same height difference with Alex that Neil had with her.  

 

Ugo is 6’ 2” so a possible Luba or Nadiya partner?  Rugby players have had mixed results on Strictly but more good than bad. The best dancer by far was Austin Healey and others who were decent-to-good were Matt Dawson, Ben Cohen and Thom Evans.  Then again, there was also Kenny Logan who overstayed his welcome and outlasted a few MUCH better dancers (including his wife Gabby).  I hope Ugo falls into the better category because the whole always giving the tallest female pros the tall and awkward celebs is getting old and wasting Luba and Nadiya’s talents.  

 

We should start hearing some confirmed names in maybe a week or two; for series 17, the first celebs were officially announced on July 31st but aside from that, most of the recent series had their first celebs confirmed a week or two into August.  

[*Wallace]

On 7/23/2021 at 4:49 PM, Ariel1989 said:

You’re welcome!  Yes, I think Amy and Neil’s heights might be a bit off, Neil especially since Alex Scott is apparently 5’ 4” and there didn’t seem to be much height difference when they danced together; Kevin is apparently only a little more than an inch taller than Gorka and he seemed to have around the same height difference with Alex that Neil had with her.  

 

Ugo is 6’ 2” so a possible Luba or Nadiya partner?  Rugby players have had mixed results on Strictly but more good than bad. The best dancer by far was Austin Healey and others who were decent-to-good were Matt Dawson, Ben Cohen and Thom Evans.  Then again, there was also Kenny Logan who overstayed his welcome and outlasted a few MUCH better dancers (including his wife Gabby).  I hope Ugo falls into the better category because the whole always giving the tallest female pros the tall and awkward celebs is getting old and wasting Luba and Nadiya’s talents.  

 

We should start hearing some confirmed names in maybe a week or two; for series 17, the first celebs were officially announced on July 31st but aside from that, most of the recent series had their first celebs confirmed a week or two into August.  

Yeah the heights do look really off with some of them. And agree with you on this with Neil/Alex and there not seemingly to be much of a height difference. He seems 5'8" or so to me.

 

I think Ugo could be potentially good or at least I hope so. Agree with a lot of your comments. I want Nadiya or Luba (preferrably Nadiya.....as I felt Luba had someone potentially good in Jason last year) to have someone good.

 

Ah yyes I remember this. S17 names were announced super early whereas in the past they are announced earlyish August. I wonder what will be the case this year.  

[*Lily]

Don't know too much about Ugo but interested to find out more! Another name to keep an eye out for would be Tilly Ramsay, daughter of Gordon Ramsay and TV personality. She was rumored to be in the cast last year but got injured so this will be interesting to see.

 

https://www.list.co.uk/article/128228-tilly-ramsay-signs-up-for-strictly-come-dancing/

 

Excited to hear names for sure. With this year being planned to go back to more of a 'normal' it'll be nice to see those August reveals again.

[*Wallace]

1 hour ago, *Lily said:

Don't know too much about Ugo but interested to find out more! Another name to keep an eye out for would be Tilly Ramsay, daughter of Gordon Ramsay and TV personality. She was rumored to be in the cast last year but got injured so this will be interesting to see.

 

https://www.list.co.uk/article/128228-tilly-ramsay-signs-up-for-strictly-come-dancing/

 

Excited to hear names for sure. With this year being planned to go back to more of a 'normal' it'll be nice to see those August reveals again.

Ooh I just saw this and was about to post here but you beat me to it.  Although I thought her name was Matilda? But maybe Tilly is her nickname.

 

I have heard of her but not that familiar with her. She'll be the 3rd female teenager in a row if she's on the show. I can see her being paired with Nikita or Cameron.

[Ariel1989]

53 minutes ago, *Wallace said:

Ooh I just saw this and was about to post here but you beat me to it.  Although I thought her name was Matilda? But maybe Tilly is her nickname.

 

I have heard of her but not that familiar with her. She'll be the 3rd female teenager in a row if she's on the show. I can see her being paired with Nikita or Cameron.

That would probably mean that Graziano and/or Neil will stay benched .  I'd probably prefer Cameron to get a partner over Nikita though, I'm worried that Nikita will be a repeat of Graziano when he was a first year partner or repeat his past mistakes from Let's Dance Germany.  I'd rather see Nikita do at least a year on the bench than take the place of a more experienced pro.  I do think if Matilda ends up doing Strictly, she'll have one of those two guys since they're the closest to her age (19); Nikita is 23 and Cameron is supposedly 20 (the first pro born in the 21st century!) and the next two youngest are Kai (26 by the time it starts) and Graziano (27).  

 

Speaking of Kai, some sad news; he and Giulia split up about 9 months ago .  Not surprising since they've been living apart for awhile (Giulia in Italy and Kai in the UK rooming with Giovanni) and haven't been posting about or commenting on each other's IG posts lately.  I was really hoping to see Giulia on Strictly some day but hopefully she'll still be on DWTS Ireland when it comes back.  

[*Wallace]

5 hours ago, Ariel1989 said:

That would probably mean that Graziano and/or Neil will stay benched .  I'd probably prefer Cameron to get a partner over Nikita though, I'm worried that Nikita will be a repeat of Graziano when he was a first year partner or repeat his past mistakes from Let's Dance Germany.  I'd rather see Nikita do at least a year on the bench than take the place of a more experienced pro.  I do think if Matilda ends up doing Strictly, she'll have one of those two guys since they're the closest to her age (19); Nikita is 23 and Cameron is supposedly 20 (the first pro born in the 21st century!) and the next two youngest are Kai (26 by the time it starts) and Graziano (27).  

 

Speaking of Kai, some sad news; he and Giulia split up about 9 months ago .  Not surprising since they've been living apart for awhile (Giulia in Italy and Kai in the UK rooming with Giovanni) and haven't been posting about or commenting on each other's IG posts lately.  I was really hoping to see Giulia on Strictly some day but hopefully she'll still be on DWTS Ireland when it comes back.  

Aww yeah that would be sad if Graziano and/or Neil gets benched again.  Both def deserve another chance - even if they are amongst my lesser fave pros. Hmm I don't know anything about Nikita but I get this concern you have here. I'm open to giving all of the new pros a chance. And oooo Cameron is only 20? And wow the first pro born in the 2000s. That's an amazing honor.  

 

Awww noooo this is such sad news regarding Kai & Giulia.  Ooh and also hoping Giulia returns to DWTS Ireland (and oping that comes back early next year).

[Ariel1989]

13 minutes ago, *Wallace said:

Aww yeah that would be sad if Graziano and/or Neil gets benched again.  Both def deserve another chance - even if they are amongst my lesser fave pros. Hmm I don't know anything about Nikita but I get this concern you have here. I'm open to giving all of the new pros a chance. And oooo Cameron is only 20? And wow the first pro born in the 2000s. That's an amazing honor.  

 

Awww noooo this is such sad news regarding Kai & Giulia.  Ooh and also hoping Giulia returns to DWTS Ireland (and oping that comes back early next year).

I'd prefer Graziano over Neil based on personality but Neil might be put on older-lady duty since he's now the oldest male pro in the lineup.  I was underwhelmed by Neil's work with Alex and Graziano seemed to improve his partnering and teaching with Chizzy in the Christmas Special, he also comes off as really humble and self-aware so I'd like to see him get a second chance maybe with a fun personality for a partner.  

 

I'm anxious to see if Nikita's been working on his ballroom, his partner on Let's Dance actually did quite decently on the Launch Show where she did the Tango with Andrzej who's also mainly a Latin specialist but has competed in some Standard Ballroom as well.  When she did the Viennese Waltz with Nikita, she was a totally different dancer in a bad way, no elegance at all and very awkward.  Nikita also didn't choreograph very much in hold and put in a lot of lifts likely to compensate for his own lack of ballroom experience which honestly showed in his technique; they got 4, 4, 1 compared to her Launch Show score of 5, 5, 5 .  She was also a totally mess in their second and last dance together, the Cha-Cha, one of Nikita's specialized dances and only got 5, 5, 2.  I just hope if he is getting a partner this year, he's had the self-awareness to work on his Standard Ballroom; it's not like he hasn't had opportunities, his competition partner has competed in both Latin and Standard so he's had like two years to learn from her.  

 

The British tabloids have already started in on Cameron, running a story about how he got kicked out of school for fighting which he said was in self-defense.  If what he's said is true (FWIW it doesn't sound like a violent fight, just a weapon-free schoolboy fistfight by the sound of it), I hope it doesn't affect his future on Strictly or play a part in him not getting a celeb.  The tabloids are also trying to claim "Strictly Curse" in the headlines of their stories on Kai's split from Giulia but don't mention in the headlines that the split happened months before Kai became a pro, just in the articles .  ISTG if there's a talented woman in the cast and they give her the Alexandra Burke treatment .