Dates
Sept-Dec 2011 (12 weeks plus launch show, 14 couples).
That time period in context
There were riots in England in the summer of 2011 on the back of a protest about the police shooting of Mark Duggan in London. In November the UK Government sold the Northern Rock Bank (nationalised in 2008) to Virgin Money for £747m. After a 15 year break the band the Stone Roses announced in October that they were reuniting and playing/touring together again. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died in December. Also in that month two giant pandas arrived in Edinburgh from China (for the zoo, not to just celebrate Hogmanay).
Judges
Len Goodman (head judge), Alesha Dixon, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli.
In early November Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) took Goodman’s place on the panel and Craig was temporary head judge (a dangerous precedent).
Presenters
Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly (main show), Tess and Claudia Winkleman (results show).
Zoe Ball (above) took over It Takes Two. It was challenging to replace the very popular Claudia perhaps but Zoe really made it her own and Heather and I were even proper sad when she left the show in 2021. You spend hours with these people (more than with your own family), plus (unlike family) you can just switch the TV off when you’ve had enough of them (it’s a win-win).
Addition to format
There was a Wembley show in November (for Children in Need).
Another theme night was added – this time Broadway (now called Musicals Week).
This year Blackpool was visited for the final, rather than earlier in the run.
The first Pro Challenge on It Takes Two took place (botafogos – won by Artem). They still do a pro challenge every year. It involves a lot of repetition (and that’s just Craig’s intros).
Dancers
(celebrities first, professional partners second; couples listed in order of elimination with winners last)
Edwina Currie and Vincent Simone
Dan Lobb and Katya Virshilas
Rory Bremner and Erin Boag
Nancy Dell’Olio and Anton du Beke
Lulu and Brendan Cole
Audley Harrison and Natalie Lowe
Russell Grant and Flavia Cacace
Anita Dobson and Robin Windsor
Robbie Savage and Ola Jordan
Alex Jones and James Jordan
Holly Valance and Artem Chigvintsev
Jason Donovan and Kristina Rihanoff
Chelsee Healey and Pasha Kovalev (new pro)
Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani
Celebrities we had heard of before the series (and how we knew them)
Edwina Currie (another Tory politician and this one even more of publicity seeker than last year’s contestant Ann Widdicombe – luckily this time the politician was first to be voted out), Rory Bremner (impressionist), Nancy Dell’Olio (lawyer and media personality, it says online, but most of us knew her from her association with the Swedish manager of the England football team, Sven-Göran Eriksson), Lulu (singer), Audley Harrison (boxer), Russell Grant (TV astrologer and really famous in the 1980s), Anita Dobson (actor, Eastenders, my era), Robbie Savage (footballer), Jason Donovan (singer/actor/former Neighbour).
Who did we vote for?
It was a bit of an odd year, this one, and I think I probably voted for Chelsee and Pasha most. They did a song from Shrek in movie week and who doesn’t love Shrek? I don’t think she went with the full makeup for the performance but this is from the annual (and below from the show).
Was it obvious who was going to win?
I don’t think so – any one of the 3 finalists (Harry, Chelsee or Jason) could have won as they were all very good. I did think Jason Donovan’s middle-aged massive might carry him to the glitterball but it was not to be. Personally, I found him a bit frantic – as if he looked like he wanted to win too much and I think the audience doesn’t respond well to that vibe on a Saturday evening just after their tea. I guess Harry Judd was a more relaxing presence for the voters (though I can’t remember any of his dances – can you?).
Were there articles in the papers moaning about one of the celebrities being good because they’d danced before?
Can’t remember… maybe actor/singer Holly Valance. She was pretty good right from week 1 (she got to the semi-final).
Did it matter?
As usual, no.
Was there an obvious ‘shouldn’t stay in long but did’ contestant?
I think it depends on your taste in men. I think Robbie Savage stayed in longer than the judges wanted but some of the voters seemed to like him (big hair and all) so he stayed in a good while. Russell Grant, though a better dancer, was presented as the next Widdecombe in some ways (i.e., the comedy turn of the series – he was shot out of a cannon at Wembley) but it felt a bit forced, as if the show wanted to repeat the Widdecombe experience over and over (I mean, can you imagine?). Russell went out of the competition on Wembley/cannon week so I don’t think I was alone in those feelings. Here’s Russell!
Shock exit?
Nothing I remember particularly.
The story of the series
Nancy Dell’Olio was possibly the worst performer in the history of Strictly. For Halloween she was in a coffin (for a rumba… see below) and that was a highlight for her in terms of movement. She had such disdain for the old joy of dance business that it was kind of impressive. It was as if in her head she was just repeating “I’m too rich for this shit. I’m too rich for this shit.”
I feel like there should be more of a story to the series than just appalling dancing but really, over 10 years on, her appearances are what I remember most (that and a very tired Jason Donovan in the final, knowing it was all over, looking desperate for a sit down and possibly a cup of tea).
And our family - what was going on with us at the time?
So, we were back home from our big adventure (see last post). It was a bit weird to be back in our old lives, as it were, and around this time I suppose I thought “well, if I am going to have to keep watching Strictly even though Mum’s gone I will try and make it different, more of an event”. This meant we had visitors, drank cocktails (not Heather obviously, she was only 11) and we dressed up to watch the show now and then, even had a party for the final (with a guest who brought a whole cocktail cabinet). I don’t know if I really enjoyed the show any more watching it this way (and there are no photos you’ll be relieved to hear). I did a lot of clubbing in my youth (between the ages of about 14 and 30) and I find it’s hard to recreate that same full-on party feeling at 6pm in your own front room with Bruce Forsyth. But I tried.
In the autumn of 2011 Heather and I also tried watching The X Factor. Up till then we had never watched it (it wasn’t my Mum’s cup of sherry and I am very anti Simon Cowell, plastic music man that he is). But with Mum gone I thought maybe I should encourage Heather to at least try this show that most of her peers watched. I was wondering if growing up with Grandma in the house, me being a bit out of the Mums’ loop and her missing months of school hadn’t helped her with the old fitting in business (though that was never really her vibe anyway). So we tried X Factor and it wasn’t too bad a year (Tulisa’s “little muffins” Little Mix won and Kelly Rowland was also a judge that series). And look – they have journeys on ITV too!
The worst part of watching it was that Cowell (ugh) had been replaced by Gary Barlow for that series (and if there is one thing in life I can exist without that thing is Take That). We never watched it again after that one series (just in case Barlow showed up again, plus all the ads). We did give The Voice UK a go here and there (it started in Jan 2012) and it’s quite impressive how few long-lasting careers that show has started. Despite some of the great star judges over the years (Jennifer Hudson! Tom Jones!) it has never exactly been a must-watch (for us anyway). More a “well, the TV’s still on…”
Heather was in the last year of primary school by this point and coping well despite the 6 months away (not sure what that says about our education system). She was Princess Fiona for Halloween at school (bit of a Shrek theme today), took part in a panto in town – all the good things. Painting above her head here by Stuart Buchanan.
She has always loved stories and shows but, like myself, is a bit allergic to sci-fi and Lord of the Rings style fiction. There’s a lovely diary note in amongst the Strictly dates for that year that just says: “M tried to get h to watch Star Trek, no joy”.
And on a totally different tip, Mark and I went into Dundee that autumn (woo – the big city!) to see the film You’ve Been Trumped made by local filmmaker Anthony Baxter about Donald you-know-who and his shady dealings in Aberdeenshire re his golf course and “resort”. I mention this because, whilst the foxtrots and the sequins are all very well for Saturday night, there is still a planet to save, ways of life to protect and so much evil to fight. ¡No Pasarán!
If you want to read any of the previous posts just click Older Post below till you get to the one you want. Or use these links: Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, Series 4, Series 5, Series 6, Series 7, Series 8 and our Dancing with the Stars interlude. Back tomorrow for Strictly Family – Series 10 (autumn 2012).
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