EXCLUSIVE: Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has called for a major shake-up on the BBC One competition, as he urged for two judges to be axed
Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan has called for the BBC One show to undergo a major overhaul with a new judging panel.
The cherished programme has been rocked by multiple controversies in recent months, following the departure of Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima from the professional line-up, claims regarding Wynne Evans’ conduct, and two unnamed celebrities from past series being detained on suspicion of rape in separate inquiries.
Amid the turmoil, presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman revealed they would be leaving the show in a surprising announcement just weeks ago.
Whilst their successors are yet to be announced, former Strictly professional James has demanded that the judging panel should also receive a complete overhaul.
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The professional dancer featured on the programme from 2006 to 2013, alongside his wife Ola Jordan, partnering with celebrities including Alex Jones, Vanessa Feltz, Gabby Logan, and Denise van Outen, reports the Mirror.
Speaking about the show’s future, James told Reach PLC exclusively on behalf of Freebets, where he serves as entertainment betting specialist: “Shake them up, get rid of some of them.”
He went on: “You need to get rid of at least two of them to shake it up a bit.”
Hinting at himself as a possible replacement, he added: “Maybe get someone on there that’s quite honest and outspoken, and not afraid to say the truth for fear of offending the ‘woke minority’ that write in and say, ‘You can’t say that’, but a the end of the day, it’s a dance competition and you’re being judged.
“I used to prefer it when they were a bit more honest and not saying something and then going, ‘But I love you and I think you’re doing an amazing job’. It’s ok to say, ‘Actually, I didn’t enjoy this dance, I didn’t feel your technique was correct, you’re doing heel leads instead of being on the toe, your posture needs work,’ what’s wrong with saying that?”
He added, “I feel we need to bring back that. You don’t need to be mean, you don’t need to be horrible or get personal, but I think it needs a bit of honesty on the panel.”
James elsewhere urged for more clarity on the rules involved in Strictly, after La Voix was forced to pull out of Blackpool week due to a devastating injury, but received a bye through to the next live show.
He said: “In my opinion, I’ve got nothing against La Voix and Aljaz Skorjanec, because I love them, I think they’re brilliant, but it’s still a competition at the end of the day, there needs to be more clarity on what the rules are.
“What are the rules? Tell us what the rules are? At what point can you not get a bye through to the next round? Or maybe next year, for example, make it a proper competition and say, if you get injured and pull out, you’re out of the competition and we have no elimination that week.”
He continued: “The rules just need to be more clear. And my personal feeling is it should be that if you don’t dance one week, you’re out the competition, and there’d be no elimination that week which means it stays exactly the same.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6.35pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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