Just a few short years ago, Strictly Come Dancing was the shiniest of jewels in the BBC’s broadcasting crown. It was a reliable ratings hit, celebrities were lining up to get vigorously spray-tanned and learn the salsa, and the whole production seemed to exude a genuine sense of niceness. It was comfort telly par excellence, and didn’t leave you with a grotty taste in your mouth, unlike its more exploitative competitors in the reality TV sphere.
But right now, the show feels less like the diamond of public service broadcasting and more like a weight around the corporation’s neck, as yet another bleak headline threatens to extinguish that much-vaunted “Strictly magic”.
