SCD Series 21 Discussion Thread

[*Wallace]

17 minutes ago, *Lily said:

Seeing that Annabel has been kinda problematic in the past too so oof.

 

Mixed feelings on this cast just as there were a couple names in the frame who I was excited for but I’m now thinking they might not make it on the cast  I heard Brenda Edwards’ name mentioned and I was particularly looking forward to her. Also Daniel Sturridge who I thought would have been a great choice for a younger sports star.

 

However, still excited for this cast! Pre-season faves currently are Layton, Zara, Nikita, Ellie, Bobby and Angela S.

Ooh dear, I haven't heard of or seen that yet.  But with her being a former tennis player, I don't see her doing well or lasting too long.

 

Awww yeah I hear you. I do like this cast overall, but I was hoping for Brenda Edwards to be in the cast. And Daniel would have been a good addition to have being a younger sportsman. So those were two I was really hoping to see in the cast as well.  There's still room for one more (though the person that it's pointing to seems to be someone else  ).

[*Wallace]

And the final reveal....

 

 

Les Dennis completes our line-up for Strictly 2023!

 

 

Les Dennis is our fifteenth and final celebrity contestant confirmed for the brand new series of Strictly Come Dancing. Les has been in showbiz for over 50 years, including famously hosting Family Fortunes for 16 years.

 

He started his career as a comedian on the Working Men’s Club circuit in and around his native Liverpool. He got his big break on TV Talent show New Faces, and went on to star in sketch and variety show The Laughter Show, forming a double-act with the late Dustin Gee.

 

His TV acting career includes roles in Extras, Brookside, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders and two years in Coronation Street. On stage he’s starred with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English National Opera, and in hit plays and musicals such as Hairspray, Legally Blonde The Musical and 42nd Street.

 

Les Dennis said: “I’m thrilled to be doing this iconic wonderful show as I approach my 70th birthday! In my career I’ve always gone for challenges outside my comfort zone and this is the ultimate one! Can’t wait.”

 

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/8ebea67a-b209-43d0-a639-739c219bf1ad

[*Wallace]

Ooh how I wish Brenda Edwards was the last name, but Les Dennis did seem inevitable. And makes sense for Les on what I presume is a big/well-known name to be announced last. Hopefully we see Brenda and Daniel Sturridge in the future. 

I do still like the cast overall and looking forward to getting to know them! I think I'm most looking forward to: Layton, Eddie, Angela S, Zara, Adam, Nikita, Ellie, Bobby and Nigel.

[Ariel1989]

Looking at the calendar, the Launch Show will likely air September 16, with the Live Shows running September 23-December 16.  I’m thinking they’ll film the Launch a week before it airs so that the couples get the usual two weeks of training leading up to the first live show.  
 

My predictions for pairings:

 

Adam & Lauren: he seems like a decent first partner for her.  
 

Amanda & Giovanni: she’s controversial so a popular pro will balance it out.  
 

Angela R. & Vito: a good contrast for him after last year.  
 

Angela S. & Graziano: I think she’s going to be popular and he’s gone further and further for the last two years.  
 

Annabel & Johannes: I think I remember reading that her late husband was a fan of Johannes, plus she’s tall.  
 

Bobby & Nadiya: really should happen as he’s the tallest in a short male lineup and I can’t see her getting benched without Gorka-level backlash.  
 

Ellie & Gorka: seems inevitable as she’s 5’1” and he’s by far the shortest male pro.  
 

Eddie & Nancy: I go back and forth between Nancy, Karen and Katya but went with Nancy since she’s gotten lucky with good partners and he supposedly has some rhythm. 
 

Jody & Jowita: shortest male celeb with shortest female pro, plus he’s probably not going to be that good and the reigning pro champ usually gets a duffer.  
 

Krishnan & Katya: I go back and forth with Katya and Nancy but he seems more like Katya’s type sadly despite Nancy being due a non-contender.  
 

Layton & Kai: went back and forth between Kai and Graz but Kai does have experience partnering a male celeb on DWTS Ireland and since he had the first-boot last year and sadly had to drop out of the Final the year before, I can see him getting a second chance (Layton will sail through some dance-offs but he’ll very likely make the Final).  
 

Les & Dianne: she had a contender last year so she’ll probably go back to a duffer this year, plus he’s the second-shortest male celeb and she’s the second-shortest female pro.  
 

Nigel & Karen: I’m torn between Karen, Katya and Nancy; since he’s a contender, most likely Nancy but Karen had a similar type in Greg Wise plus she’s due a good one but same for Katya.  
 

Nikita & Nikita: seems inevitable lol. 
 

Zara & Carlos: she’s tall, he’s tall, but I don’t think the Love Island base will come through for her, judging on their lack of support for their female contestants on other competition shows.  
 

Benched: Neil since he’s about to have a baby in September, Luba since there’s not enough tall men, and Michelle since she’s not as experienced with Strictly as Lauren.  

Edited August 12, 2023 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

Oooh loving your partnership predictions there, Ariel! I will try to attempt those.... at some point.  I did try to gather up some of the cast announcement videos, whether if they were on TV shows or the radio, so here's what I found. (If I find more, I'll edit them here).

 

 

Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvidBS0g5Ey/
Angela R: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvpco6FN0uV/
Eddie: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvrmIAQNFS4/
Zara: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvpnpV7NzOT/
Nikita: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvrb1_SKUbV/
Adam: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvrMAoytCOQ/
Ellie: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvuYzeJuDgK/ 
Nigel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq6v9BMQrxI
Les: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvzutGNAFWC/ 
 

 

[*Wallace]

Oooh and I also found out recently that Molly & Tyler are a couple. I don't know how I missed that but I love them (separately and now together) and ship this so yay.    

 

Some article I was looking over: 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/eastenders-strictly-star-molly-rainford-30316166

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/22659607/strictly-tyler-west-relationship-eastenders-molly-rainford/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvzdg_7t2Er/ 

[*Wallace]

I tried doing some couples predictions for fun, just to see how right or off base/wrong I am.  Should be fun to see regardless.  

 

 

My early couples predictions:

Amanda & Giovanni
Angela R & Vito
Angela S & Carlos
Annabel & Johannes
Ellie & Gorka
Nikita & Nikita
Zara & Graziano (or Kai as a back-up)

Adam & Lauren (or Michelle)
Bobby & Nadiya
Eddie & Karen
Jody & Jowita (or Dianne)
Krishnan & Nancy
Layton & Kai (or Graziano)
Les & Dianne (or Jowita)
Nigel & Katya

[*Wallace]

This is a fun/cute video of the cast doing some of their favorite signature dance moves!

 

Check out Miss Angela Rippon doing the Charleston.  Anywho, with it getting close to the Launch show I assume the social media will post little Meeting the cast video clips over the next two weeks, so I'll try to post highlights on those every few days.
 

[taylorkat]

Pre-favorites: Zara, Nikita, Ellie, and Angela S.

[*Wallace]

I will post the first three Meet the Cast video clips (and I'll try to do 3 every 3 days here). Here are Angela S, Layton and Nikita.

 

 

- Angela's favorite past Strictly contestant is Scott Mills (from Series 12). She especially loved his Samba where he was a lobster.
- Her favorite signature dance move is the Running Man. 
- Her favorite Strictly theme week is Halloween. She would love to play Wednesday Addams or Uncle Fester.

 

 

- Layon's favorite past Strictly contestant is Ashley Roberts. He mentions really loving her Jive.
- A song he wants to dance to is "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston.
- His favorite signature dance move is a shimmy shake.
- His favorite theme week is Movies week. He'd love to do something from the Barbie movie. Also mentions will he play Barbie or Ken or both. (Lol I was just thinking of how I'm sure the Barbie movie would be represented for this year's movie week).

 

 

- Nikita's favorite past Strictly contestant is Rose Ayling-Ellis.
- Her favorite theme week... she didn't say it technically. But she would love to play Sandy from Grease. So I'd take that as Movies or Musicals week.
- A song she would want to dance to is "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira
- She wants to bring the sass, spicy, her culture and the Asian flavor to Strictly.
 

[*Wallace]

Here are three more Meet the Cast videos, this time with: Adam Thomas, Ellie Leach and Jody Cundy.

 

 

- Adam's signature dance move is the robot. 
- His favorite past Strictly contestant is Kelvin Fletcher.
- His favorite theme week is Movies week. He would love to star in a movie and feels this is the closest chance he'll get. He'd like to dance to something from The Notebook.
- Three words he used to: Fun, exciting and emotional.

 

 

 

- Ellie's signature dance move is the worm.
- She's hoping to bring excitement, fun and bubbliness to the show.
 

 

- Jody plans to bring his discipline, sport and proest and a big smile.
- His favorite past Strictly contestant is Louis Smith.
- He demonstrated his signature dance move, which he did at the Rio Paralympics and it was some hand motion movement.

[*Wallace]

Strictly won the Best Talent Show award at the National Television Awards last night!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw01Kt5L7uP/

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw07iWCoISm/

 

 

As far as celebs, it looks like Fleur, Hamza, Molly, Tyler and James were there. A lot of the pros were there too. Most importantly, Amy was there. It's sweet seeing her there with everyone.  
 

[Ariel1989]

Couples Spoilers:

Adam & Luba

Amanda & Giovanni

Angela R. & Kai

Angela S. & Carlos

Annabel & Johannes

Bobby & Dianne

Eddie & Karen

Ellie & Vito

Jody & Jowita

Krishnan & Lauren

Layton & Nikita

Les & Nancy

Nigel & Katya

Nikita & Gorka

Zara & Graziano

[Abe1818]

On 9/3/2023 at 10:32 AM, *Wallace said:

 

- A song she would want to dance to is "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira

 

When she recreates this hot mess of a dance 

 

[*Wallace]

I'm gonna try my hardest to avoid couples spoilers and wait until next week's launch show to find them out.  Wish me luck!  Anywho, The next three Meet the Cast videos include: Krishnan Guru-Murphy, Bobby Brazier and Zara McDermott.

 

 

 

 

- Krishnan's favorite past Strictly contestant is Bill Bailey. He calls him his hero as he never imagined Bill would do Strictly and to win it.
- The song he would want to dance to is the Starsky and Hutch theme song.
- His signature dance move was some head nod he did.
 

 

- The songs that Bobby wants to dance to is "Seven" by Jungkook & Latto. He didn't know the song title but sang it. He also wants to dance to Maxwell's "This Woman's Work" and something from Bobby Valentino or Aaliyah. (He's got some taste with these picks).
- He plans to bring joy to the show.
- The three words he used to describe Strictly are: fun, hard and sexy.
 

 

- Zara signed up for Strictly as she's been a Strictly superfan since she was 7.
- She's scared of Craig the most out of the judges but if she gets a 3 on Week 1 she'll be happy.
- The song she would want to dance to is "Grenade" by Bruno Mars and claims it to be one of her favorite songs of all-time. (SLAY as I also love that song a ton!)
 

[*Wallace]

The group photo and individual photos of this year's photoshoot has been released!

 

 

Adam Thomas 

 

Amanda Abbington 

 

Angela Rippon 

 

Angela Scanlon 

 

Annabel Croft 

 

Bobby Brazier

 

Eddie Kadi

 

Ellie Leach

 

Jody Cundy

 

Krishnan Guru-Murphy

 

Layton Williams

 

Les Dennis 

 

Nigel Harman 

 

Nikita Kanda 

 

Zara McDermott

 

Links: https://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/669869-strictly-come-dancing-cast-2023-contestants-get-glam-ahead-of-launch-show.html 

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/strictly-come-dancing-2023-first-look-images-newsupdate/
 

[*Lily]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:30 PM, *Wallace said:

something from Bobby Valentino or Aaliyah. (He's got some taste with these picks).

The way he might have sealed my pre-season fave card with the Aaliyah shoutout

[*Wallace]

The next three Meet the Cast videos include: Amanda Abbington, Eddie Kadi and Annabel Croft.

 

 

- Amanda favorite past Strictly contestant is Anita Dobson, where she shouted out her Waltz being very beautiful.
- Her favorite signature dance move is doing some breakdance move.
- Some songs she listed that she wants to dance to are "Pure Shores" (though I don't know if that's a song or group?), "Senorita" by Justin Timberlake, "Hold My Hand" by Jess Glynne, Fergie, Italian songs from Chicago, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, some Elton John.... and wow she listed so much here.  

 

 

- Eddie signed up for Strictly as he loves dancing and wants to bring lots of energy.
- His favorite past Strictly contestant is Alesha Dixon, as she turned into Superwoman on the dance floor and had her moves on lock. (Slay taste in favorites!)
- His favorite theme week would be Movie Week. He shouted out loving Beverly Hills Cop, with Axel Foley being his favorite character. He mentioned he would love doing the Salsa to that theme - though he was doing the Robot instead.

 

 

- Annabel's favorite past Strictly contestant is Ed Balls, she loved how he made her laugh and brought a different side to his personality than she remembered.
- Her favorite theme week is Halloween week. She calls it magical and think it would be fun to play a witch.

[*Wallace]

On 9/10/2023 at 2:41 PM, *Lily said:

The way he might have sealed my pre-season fave card with the Aaliyah shoutout

Samee!  Especially as I wasn't expecting it but I loved the shoutout for Aaliyah!  

[*Wallace]

The final three Meet the Cast videos that are posted include: Les Dennis, Angela Rippon and Nigel Harman.

 

 

- Les' favorite past Strictly contestant is Debbie McGee. He mentioned that she's a friend of his and thought her Tango was fantastic and amazing.
- He would love to dance to anything from The Beatles. He specifically mentioned wanting to dance to "When I'm 64" but says that ship sailed 6 years ago.
 - The three words he would use to describe Strictly are: fantastic, tan-tastic and micro-tastic.

 

 

- A song that Angela would love to dance... is anything from Glenn Miller and she would love to do a Quickstep to his music.
- Her favorite theme on Strictly is Musicals week. She mentioned seeing and loving the 42nd Street musical.
 

 

- A song that Nigel would love to dance to is "Tattoo" by Loreen from Eurovision. Ooh that's a fun and unexpected choice.
- His favorite signature dance move is doing some pogo dancing as he gets quite jumpy and excited while dancing.
 

 

That concludes the Meet the Cast videos - as the Launch show airs tomorrow!

[Abe1818]

I was not expecting a Loreen song to be a song a person would love to dance to. Although I think "Euphoria" would probably be the first one to be used on strictly.

[*Wallace]

19 hours ago, Abe1818 said:

I was not expecting a Loreen song to be a song a person would love to dance to. Although I think "Euphoria" would probably be the first one to be used on strictly.

Ahh same! And yeah I thought "Euphoria" would be a good song choice used. I remember it was used for Mairéad & John's Paso on DWTS Ireland for their Eurovision week, which was a pretty cool song choice for that dance.

[*Wallace]

Yayy Launch show day today!  It should be airing in the UK with just over an hour to go.

 

I'm hoping I can find an episode to watch in full as I would love to find out the couples there while watching. Though so far I haven't been tempted to look at spoilers... so I'm hoping I can still hold out when they are officially revealed.  (Although I may have been spoiled on two things, one of which I'm not pleased about.)

[Abe1818]

On 9/12/2023 at 10:38 AM, *Wallace said:

- Some songs she listed that she wants to dance to are "Pure Shores" (though I don't know if that's a song or group?

.

I'm pretty sure she was referring to the song by All Saints...

[*Wallace]

Ooh yayy I found a launch show episode, so gonna watch that now and will post my thoughts afterwards!