Strictly Come Dancing viewers have revealed they turned off the present as a result of it was ‘sickly candy’ within the wake of the programme’s abuse scandals.
This weekend, the dance competitors was dealt one other blow final weekend as the primary dwell episode saw ratings plummet to its lowest ever.
Regardless of the sequence marking the beloved BBC programme’s twentieth anniversary, solely a peak 6.7 million viewers tuned in for the episode. That is down from 7.3M for a similar episode final 12 months and 10.2M in 2020.
The present has discovered itself embroiled in controversy over how the skilled dancers train the celebs, with multiple accusations emerging of bullying and abusive behaviour.
Whereas the BBC have introduced new anti-bullying measures for the celebrities, together with a devoted helpline and chaperones at rehearsals, these weren’t addressed in the course of the transmission.
Strictly viewers have revealed they turned off the present as a result of it was ‘sickly candy’ within the wake of the programme’s abuse scandals (pictured: hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly)
This weekend, the dance competitors was dealt one other blow final weekend as the primary dwell episode noticed scores plummet to its lowest ever (pictured: Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas)
Taking to X, previously Twitter, between the launch present earlier this month and the dwell present on Saturday, followers expressed their disappointment and gave an perception into why they could not join with the programme this 12 months.
They shared: ‘A lot love within the room, virtually OTT sickly candy, hope all of them get on this 12 months and there’s no drama. #Strictly’; ‘Can we simply have dancing please? Not considering life tales.’; ‘Agreed. This isn’t the X Factor and we do not want the sob tales of washed up celebs. #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly’
‘Each time somebody sheds an emotional tear, or tells a sob story, they get docked 5 factors. Deal? Deal. #Strictly’; ‘God,everyone is simply too good on strictly,come subsequent 12 months,we begin listening to the horror tales and scandals,#Strictly’; Seems like a large quantity of over making an attempt this 12 months, possibly as a result of scandals #Strictly #BBCStrictly [sic]’
All 15 celebrities and their professional companions took to the dancefloor for the primary dwell present following final weekend’s launch, the place the pairings had been first revealed.
A supply instructed The Solar that after bosses had been fretting after already being ‘apprehensive’ following the pre-recorded show losing nearly a million viewers on the earlier 12 months.
They mentioned: ‘The truth that the primary dwell present noticed a drop too might be of concern to them — notably if the drop continues into subsequent week, which is the primary elimination present.
‘They now face an anxious wait to see whether or not the drop in on-the-night viewers is made up for by a rise in followers watching Strictly on iPlayer, however these figures take days and weeks to compile.
‘These dwell figures actually matter to the Beeb, as a result of Strictly continues to be seen as one of many few reveals that present the shared TV expertise the place folks come collectively to observe a programme at a set time.’
A BBC Spokesperson instructed MailOnline: ‘Overnights not present an correct image of all those that watch in an on demand world.’
Taking to X, previously Twitter, between the launch present earlier this month and the dwell present on Saturday, followers expressed their disappointment
In latest months, the dancing competitors has been hit by a wave of scandals , with Giovanni Pernice being probed after his companion Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour
Graziano Di Prima was sacked over reviews he verbally and bodily abused Zara McDermott throughout rehearsals
The Strictly scandal erupted in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her Strictly companion Giovanni Pernice of abuse after she unexpectedly give up the present simply 5 weeks in.
Sherlock actress Amanda, 50, a has made a sequence of accusations about Giovanni’s instructing strategies and has described his behaviour as ‘pointless, abusive, merciless and imply’. He strongly denies the entire claims.
Then, in July, it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for ‘kicking’ his companion, Love Island star Zara McDermott.
On Saturday, decide Shirley Ballas apologised after stunning audiences by kissing fellow decide Motsi Mabuse in the course of the first dwell present on Saturday evening.
The dancing knowledgeable, 64, was giving recommendation to Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and his dance companion Nadiya Bychkova about their tango efficiency when she gave an impromptu demonstration.
Shirley defined that the type was ‘all within the posture’ as she requested Motsi to assist her illustrate the purpose.
Anton Du Beke inspired them as she shouted ‘go on women’ – simply as Shirley moved her head a sure means and by chance locked lips with Motsi.
Breaking her silence on the second on Instagram on Sunday morning after the present Shirley joked: ‘Sorry @motsimabuse you moved your head too quickly! @bbcstrictly what did you consider final evening’s present?’
Strictly returned for its twentieth sequence because it shrugged off the bullying scandal with fan favourites Amy Dowden and Aljaz Škorjanec making their return.
The BBC dancing present has been by way of a troublesome 12 months after quite a few earlier contestants alleged abuse by professional dancers.
Followers had been delighted as Amy returned to the dancefloor for a surprising Waltz along with her companion, JLS star JB.
In the meantime Aljaz carried out an equally unimaginable routine together with his companion Tasha Ghouri, as they shocked the judges with an upbeat Cha Cha.
Surprisingly, one star noticed within the viewers was Zara – who was on the coronary heart of the scandal – as she turned up for the present to assist her pal Pete Wicks.
Amy, 34, made a wonderful comeback and instructed host Claudia ‘I am so completely happy I might burst’ after scoring a powerful 31 factors on the dancefloor.
On Saturday decide Shirley Ballas apologised after stunning audiences by kissing fellow decide Motsi Mabuse in the course of the first dwell present
The fan favorite carried out a shifting Waltz to After I Want You by Leo Sayer, leaving each judges and followers emotional.
In a single day scores for final week’s present revealed that 5.5 million viewers tuned in to see a string of celebrities paired up with skilled dancers in comparison with 6.2 million in 2023.
The BBC dodged any point out of the present’s string of scandals throughout its launch episode.
Hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly excitedly launched this 12 months’s celebrities and introduced which dancers they’d be paired with – however the controversies of the final 12 months went unmentioned.