Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left stunned by the recent announcement that a beloved element of the show has been scrapped.
The BBC’s flagship dance competition kicked off a new season last weekend, captivating audiences as they watched a fresh group of celebrities take to the dance floor during the launch show. The surprise revelation, however, is that the show’s official blog has ceased operation, shifting the focus to the programme’s social media presence instead.
Previously, the blog provided fans with frequent updates straight from the Strictly team, including weekly song reveals and post-elimination commentary. This resource has now stopped, as the team announced on Tuesday: “We understand that a community has built up over the years and some of you will find this disappointing.
“However, in line with changing audience behaviours a decision has been made to direct users to our social channels where there are active communities discussing the show on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
“The Strictly blog and its comment section will soon be closing in line with other blogs across the BBC, with content no longer being published or updated.”
The statement went on to express gratitude to fans for their contributions over the years, and expressed hope that they would continue to engage with them on social media.
Despite this, the official Twitter/X has not been updated with any information about this year’s show or contestants, leaving some fans heartbroken, reports the Mirror.
One user vented in the blog’s comments section: “Shame on you, BBC. We don’t all use social media and even if we did I don’t think it would replace our blog family.”
Another fan expressed confusion at the decision, stating they couldn’t understand the comment ‘the changing audience behaviour’.
They argued: “This suggests a lack of numbers contributing to the blog. Yet on 30/09/23 there were 1644 comments, on 28/10/23 there were 2175 comments and on 25/11/23 , 2496 comments this hardly suggests a lack of traffic through the blog. There is much more to this than the beeb is prepared to say….or admit to.”
Other fans said the statement left them “full of questions,” and felt like “death by a thousand cuts”. They were angry that it “smacks of a disregard” for loyal blog users over the years.
Ahead of the first live show, contestant Paul Merson has been picked as the bookies favourite to leave the competition first with his odds standing at 9/4 to be booted off.
Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati commented: “Paul Merson will already be praying for extra-time if the latest odds are anything to go by.”
Although JLS star JB Gill has been pegged as the favourite to win the entire series with his odds standing at 7/2.
Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show will air on September 21 on BBC One from 7pm.