Sure, it’s still 20 degrees-plus outside but Christmas is just around the corner. How do we know this? Because a new series of Strictly Come Dancing is upon us. The BBC’s ballroom blockbuster will bestride the schedules like a sequin-spangled colossus, starting this Saturday and counting down the weekends until the festive season. You can almost smell the mulled wine, roasting chestnuts and arguments about Die Hard already.
Running an eye over this year’s choreographic contenders, most of the usual boxes are ticked. There are soap actors and sportspeople, radio DJs and reality “stars” of whom you’ve never heard. What also stands out, though, is how many mid-life celebrities will be donning Spanx and getting double-dipped in fake tan.
