Strictly should scrap judges’ votes and let the public decide who stays, says champ Darren Gough
IF anyone should know who to impress to win Strictly Come Dancing, it’s cricket legend Darren Gough.
The former England fast bowler was crowned champion of the BBC1 show in 2005, before winning the Christmas special that year, and another in 2007.
Follow our Strictly Come Dancing live blog for all the latest updates
But despite his Glitterball haul, he says the show should do away with the famous judging panel of Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.
Instead, he reckons the decision should be left purely in the hands of the public.
He said: “I believe reality shows should be nothing to do with the judges.
“The judges should put their scores in but the public are the ones who want to see that person week in week out — they should be the ones that make the decision about who stays in and who goes home.
“They’ll pick someone they really like early on in the show, and they’ll want them to get to the final because they might think they’re the best dancer.
“I’d have it down to the public. The public are quite honest voters and they want the best dancer to get right to the end. But sometimes people go out when they shouldn’t go out.
“That’s why I’d like the public to get the final say, not the judges.”
Darren is among 20 stars who have formed group Rig Aid, to compete for the festive No1 with single It’s Christmas Time (It’s Time To Lash) to raise cash for charity Restart Rugby.
He said if the Strictly panel does stay, he is keen for Anton Du Beke — a pro dancer on the show since its 2004 start — to be given a chance on it, comparing his talents to legendary host, the late Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Darren said: “I’ve always liked Anton. He’s hilarious, a very funny character.
“Obviously he’s not quite as natural as Bruce Forsyth, but he’s took a lot of his skills.
“When you see him do after-dinner stuff and present awards, you can tell Bruce has been a big influence on his humour.”
And when it comes to TV stars, you will struggle to get a bigger compliment than that.
Ran's reddy to rumba
THERE must be something in the water at the Strictly studio, because Ranvir Singh is glowing in these new snaps.
The Good Morning Britain star donned a red sequin jumpsuit, looking as glamorous on the shoot for Prima mag as she does each week on Strictly.
It is no surprise to hear the usual “Strictly curse” rumours around Ranvir and her pro partner, Giovanni Pernice.
But she claims the only man who has her heart is her son.
I thought Ranvir might be one of the first ones out when it was announced she was taking on the challenge, but she might just win it – if she can topple comic Bill Bailey, that is.
- The full interview appears in the January issue of , on sale the 4th December
Laurence is back at the bright time
LEATHER trousers? Check. Colourful shirts? Check. A dreary, fed-up Britain in need of some light relief? Check… so let’s roll out the red carpet as Changing Rooms is back.
Lead interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen vows he’s going to “make Britain bright again” as he throws on his signature gear ready to film the revamp of the Nighties classic interior design show.
In an exclusive interview he said: “For goodness sake, I’m 56 – I’m a grandfather, I live in the country. What am I doing squeezing myself back into the leather trousers?
“I’m absolutely exploding with colour. If there’s one thing you can rely on in this new series, it’s that I’m going to make Britain bright again.
“I am coming back and I am older, but I can’t say I’m in any way better behaved.”
While Changing Rooms came off air in 2004, Laurence believes that the new series – set to air next year – will be a great hit with viewers now more than ever.
He said: “Actually now in 2020, style has come back round again.
“We want rooms to be a bit more fun, we want interior shows to be a bit more fun.”
And Laurence believes the perfect woman to make them more fun is his new Changing Rooms co-star and friend Davina McCall, who he has known since the TV presenter got her big break on Big Brother.
He said: “I just know she’s going to be so perfect.”
Hel's fairytale role
WHAT do The Crown and a Cinderella pantomime have in common?
Leading ladies Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter.
The Crown stars are set to reunite for a retelling of the classic tale this Christmas in aid of charity.
Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime For Christmas, will air on BBC2 on Christmas Eve, and will see Olivia (who plays The Queen in the latest series of The Crown) make her pantomime debut as the Fairy Godmother, while Helena (who portrays Princess Margaret in the Netflix hit) kits up as Lady Devilia.
The upcoming one-hour virtual adaptation of the fairytale also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, from Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, as Cinders.
Executive producer and Comic Relief founder Richard Curtis said he is “hugely grateful” to have been given the opportunity to air the panto on telly.
He said: “It’ll be very funny and merry and also a great opportunity to raise crucial funds for the projects that will help the most vulnerable people, especially as Covid has made things harder than ever.”
Lord Lenny
MORE than 20 new cast members were announced yesterday for the new Amazon Originals series based on the timeless Lord Of The Rings novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Among the big names is funnyman Lenny Henry.
Curtis gets the Covid all-clear
CURTIS Pritchard has had a bit of a mixed week.
First he tested positive for Covid-19, then he found out his scheming ex Maura Higgins had been fibbing about her closeness to Love Island co-star Chris Taylor.
Most read in Bizarre
But now he finally has something to celebrate as he has been given the coronavirus all-clear, meaning he can return to filming E4 reality series Celebs Go Dating.
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A friend said: “This is a massive relief for Curtis. Being the sort of person he is, he felt terrible that with his test result he had halted production.”
A spokeswoman said: “After four negative results and in agreement with the team at Celebs Go Dating, Curtis has gone back to filming.”
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