We are all aware this year has been anything but ordinary. But if there is one thing that has given us (well, for me anyway) a tiny bit of positivity… it’s that Strictly Come Dancing is back soon!
Strictly is back on our screens with special ‘best of’ episodes to get us in the mood for the main show. It should realistically be back on our telly screens now, but thanks to Covid 19 we’ll have to wait.
This year we have a mix of people again, as always there are celebrities we know and celebrities we aren’t familiar with. But with the year we’ve had, the fact that the show is back at all is rewarding enough.
The first contestant to be announced was actress and television presenter Caroline Quentin. Older contestants don’t tend to do very well unless they have some sort of dance background. Debbie McGee made it to the final in 2017 thanks to her dance experience. Based on the occupations and ages of past contestants in similar positions, Lynda Bellingham was 61 when she signed up for the show, and finished 13th and Lesley Joseph was 71 and finished in 11th place, I’m going to predict that she will be the first to leave. Caroline is 60, the oldest contestant this year, and has no previous dance experience.
Jason Bell is a former NFL player. Sportsmen are naturally quite competitive, but last year former England goalkeeper David James had zero rhythm in his body. But former NFL and Dallas Cowboy player Emmitt Smith won series three of Dancing with the Stars in America. It seems that NFL players may actually have a bit of rhythm. Many NFL players who have appeared on DWTS have made it to the final. It will be very interesting to see how far Jason goes in the competition. I’m going to predict he will finish in 4th place.
Members of boybands always do well on this show. In 2011 Harry Judd from McFly won the show with his partner Aliona Vilani. Across the pond in America, James Maslow from the American boyband Big Time Rush made it to the final of DWTS in 2014, and The Wanted’s Jay McGuinness won Strictly in 2015. Hoping to make it a double win for The Wanted is Max George. There will be a lot of pressure on Max to live up to the standard of Jay. No doubt people will be comparing them, especially when Max dances the Jive. I’m going to predict that Max will make it to the final, but he will just miss out on getting the glitter ball trophy in 2nd place.
Breakfast TV presenters always have a rough ride when it comes to Strictly. In 2005 GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips was, in my opinion, one of the worst contestants the show has ever had. In week 2, Craig Revel Horwood actually gave Fiona a score of 1 for her Rumba. I think that says it all. Good Morning Britain presenters Kate Garraway and Charlotte Hawkins also had constantly low scores from the judges when they both took part in the show. This year it’s Ranvir Singh’s turn to step from behind the desk. Based on her work colleagues’ performances, she may be just as bad, but you never know, she might surprise us. I’m going to predict she will finish in 8th place.
After Dev Griffin was robbed last year, Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo is hoping to go a couple of steps further. Most radio presenters over the years haven’t had the greatest Strictly journey. Most leave the competition within the first four weeks. Capital’s Vick Hope finished the competition in 12th place and Melvin Odoom left first. The furthest a radio presenter has gone in the competition is 3rd place and that was Zoe Ball in series 3. Zoe has since gone on to present Strictly: It Takes Two. I’m going to predict she will finish in 6th place.
Nicola Adams has already shown a lot of controversy after the producers announced that she would feature in the first same sex couple. Australia’s Dancing with the Stars are one step ahead of us, as Drag Race star Courtney Act appeared on the show last year as part of a same sex couple and finished runner up. The USA are yet to bring in a same sex pairing, but I’m sure, now the UK have done it, America will be next. I’m going to predict she will finish in 7th place.
Bill Bailey is best known for his stand up and for his many appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and QI. This year he is going to be shaking his hips on the Strictly dance floor. Last year, comedian Chris Ramsey made it all the way to the semi-finals. It didn’t start off wonderfully for him, but he improved week on week. I don’t think Bill will be as good as Chris, so I’m going to predict that he will finish the competition in 10th place.
JJ Chambers is a television presenter, public speaker and Invictus Games medallist. He was injured in Afghanistan in 2011. He was awarded medals in the non-amputee cycling where he captained the trike team and won gold. He also won bronze in the 1-mile time trial and 4 × 100m mixed relay race. Over the years there have been many Paralympians taking part in Strictly such as runner Jonnie Peacock and table tennis player Will Bayley. Will Bayley withdrew from the competition last year after sustaining an injury. Let’s see how far JJ goes this year. He may be used to winning, but I’m going to predict that he will finish in 9th place. I wonder if his dancing will be as good as his sporting prowess.
I am so glad that Jamie Laing is finally able to live out his Strictly experience after it was cut short last year. He injured his foot during the opening performance of the launch show and was unable to compete. Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher took his place at the last minute and ended up winning the show. This year Jamie is back, I have no doubt that he will be fighting for his place to show everybody that he deserves to be back. I don’t think he will win the show, but I do think he will make it to the final. He’s young, he’s motivated and he’s a reality star, they tend to do well. I’m going to predict he will come third.
Maisie Smith is the youngest contestant to take part this year at just 19 years old. She is known for playing the role of Tiffany Butcher in EastEnders. Soap actors and actors in general are naturals when it comes to facial expressions so they already have a slight advantage when it comes to emotional dances. Soap stars in previous years have done especially well. Kelvin Fletcher was the series winner last year and back in 2015 Georgia May Foote, known for her role as Katy Armstrong in Coronation Street, finished in 2nd place. Maisie also has a bit of dance experience and is no stranger to the Strictly dance floor. She competed in the Children In Need special and won the glitter ball trophy. I’m going to predict that she will be holding the glitter ball trophy once again and be the 2020 winner.
Social media stars are now classed as celebrities these days. HRVY is a popstar with more than 2.7 million YouTube subscribers. Social media stars such as Joe Sugg and Saffron Barker competed in the show in 2018 and 2019. Joe finished the competition in 2nd place and Saffron finished in 6th Place. Due to his millions of online followers, it is almost certain that HRVY is likely to stay in the competition for a while. I’m going to predict that he will finish in 5th place.
The final contestant to be announced was the former Home Secretary and political broadcaster, Jacqui Smith. In the past, politicians such Ed Balls, John Sergeant and Ann Widdecombe have had many memorable moments. Who could forget Ed Balls dancing to Gangnam Style and John Sergeant dragging his dance partner, Kristina Rihanoff, across the dance floor? I can’t wait to see what memorable moment Jacqui has for us. I just hope it will be in the first two weeks, as I’m predicting she will leave second, in 11th place.
| Celebrity | Prediction |
| Caroline Quentin | 12th place (last) |
| Jacqui Smith | 11th place |
| Bill Bailey | 10th place |
| JJ Chambers | 9th place |
| Ranvir Singh | 8th place |
| Nicola Adams | 7th place |
| Clara Amfo | 6th place |
| HRVY | 5th place |
| Jason Bell | 4th place |
| Jamie Laing | 3rd place |
| Max George | 2nd place |
| Maisie Smith | 1st place (winner) |
I have also decided to make some predictions on the coupling up this year. Lets see how close I am, or if I am way off.
| Celebrity | Professional |
| Caroline Quenten | Aljaz Skorjanec |
| Jason Bell | Nadiya Byckova |
| Max George | Dianne Buswell |
| Ranvir Singh | Anton Du Beke |
| Clara Amfo | Giovanni Pernice |
| Nicola Adams | Katya Jones |
| Bill Bailey | Karen Hauer |
| JJ Chambers | Amy Dowden |
| Jamie Laing | Oti Mabuse |
| Maisie Smith | Gorka Marques |
| HRVY | Janette Manrara |
| Jacqui Smith | Johannes Radebe |
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One this Saturday (26/09/2020) at 8:15pm with Strictly: Best of Blackpool.
Tonicha Luffman 