Strictly Come Dancing winner Darren Gough has said he believes judging is not all done at the live show but ahead of the broadcast. The ex-England cricketer took the title of the third series of the popular BBC show in 2005.
He has now been giving the lowdown on the show – sharing his views on everything from the good to the bad. And the cricketer said he thought the judges got information to make their decision ahead of the televised event.
He said: “I believe that’s where the judges get a lot of their info from [final rehearsals] because they have to prepare as well. They have to have some idea of what they’re going to do”.
He also revealed the worst thing he found on the show saying: “It has many magical things. But when you’ve done the show and I won it and won 2005 Christmas special and then I won champion of champions. So wherever you go now, people think you can dance.
“I can’t. All I can do is learn to do a dance in five days and learn the steps and then deliver it on a Saturday. You can’t just get up on a dance floor and suddenly dance.
“You remember some of the steps, now and again I have a joke in me when I’m on the golf course and someone asks me to do it. I go to my usual Salsa steps or something because you can do a little routine in five or 10 seconds, which looks good, but really it’s very basic.”
The star was speaking to online betting website OLBG and gave the lowdown on what happens behind the scenes as well as who he believes will take the current title. Here’s the rest of his views on the show.
Who’s your favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing this year?
“It’s been interesting actually watching it. I think there were quite a few obvious ones who were going to go out and I think one went out last weekend, a good mate of mine Paul Merson. It was a bad dance for him and he was always going after watching that over the weekend.
“There’s one person that does stand out at this moment in time. It happens in every Strictly and it doesn’t mean they go on and win it but they have a very good chance the way the format is now.
“That is Jamie Borthwick. I think he’s got everything really. He’s got the look, he’s got energy, he has the character of every dance because of his acting skills, he has a great partner, Michelle and they just really hit it off together and they’re so good. He’s so far ahead of everyone else on that show.
“Tasha is not far behind. She’s got that elegance on the dance floor, she’s got the look as well, and she’s got the steps – she knows how to dance. So those two are the standout two, but I think Jamie is by far the favourite.”
What did you think of Jamie Borthwick’s Paso Doble?
“Out of this world. Well, that was my big dance, the Paso Doble. That’s the one that really changed it for me when I did it. It wasn’t my favourite dance though.
“It suits the male celebrity dancer. There’s nothing worse when you’re a male and you do a dance like the Rumba – you just want to get that out of the way. Once you get that one out of the way, you can relax – Pete Wicks got rid of that one at the weekend.
“You don’t want to get that when you come to the quarter-finals and semi-finals. That would be a disaster zone to get it at that point in the competition.”
Is it strategic where your dances come up in the weeks?
“Absolutely, it plays a big part. Back when I did it, series three it was, we all did the same dance that week, so you could judge everyone. I find it very difficult now, how do you actually judge someone when you’ve got someone doing a Waltz, someone doing a Quickstep and someone doing a Jive?
“Naturally, some of the dancers are full of energy and some aren’t, and the public is like, ‘This is a boring dance’. They’ve just seen a Quickstep and then they watch a Rumba… you’re going to struggle to get points.”
Who could be a dark horse to go all the way?
“The one who I think could really improve massively and that’s because they’re an athlete is Montell. When you’re an athlete there’s something about that coming back week after week, after week, you get past that first one or two weeks and then there’s that relief and then the athlete kicks in.
“It’s that train harder mentality. You want more from your professional. You’d go from doing six hours a day to eight hours. You’ve got the fitness levels and the mental strength to just keep going up a notch. I think she’s going to be one that’s going to improve week on week.”
What would be your top tip for the cast of Strictly this year?
“Just remember, it’s the public that are voting for you. Be yourself. Enjoy it. Go on the journey with them. They want to see someone go on a journey. They don’t want to see the best dancer in week one winning.
“Trust me, they don’t. The judges do. The judges do because that’s why the rules changed, so they get the final say. They want to see the best dancer there, but realistically, the public wants to see the journey.
“They see the enjoyment factor and I think they go on that journey with you. So be yourself, enjoy it and really let the public know you’re enjoying it. That’s the secret.”
Can you give us insight into any secrets that happen behind the show?
“Yeah, I mean, there’s quite a few actually. If I go through how it goes each week. So you get your song and you get told after the show what dance you’re going to be doing the next week – you might even get told before the actual weekend show for next week, just in case you get through.
“From then, you get a CD and you train wherever you train, whether it be in a gym, studio, at home, you train to that CD (which is a certain speed). You then practice that throughout the week and get used to that rhythm – you dance to that rhythm.
“You turn up on a Friday night where you go into the BBC studio and you try and fit that dance you learnt in a gym or in a studio into the BBC studio, which is a specific size. It’s the weirdest feeling ever, you say, I can’t do this, I can’t fit it into the studio and you get two goes at it – that’s it.
“You get two goes to a CD with the other dancers there so they get to see you for the first time as well – so you’re judging everyone else, right? The judges don’t see you then. You turn up Saturday, you get one more go to a CD on the Saturday. You get one go to a live band and then it all changes again because it’s a different tempo. Someone’s singing the song you’ve been practising to a CD all week.
“We all know live performances compared to a CD are totally different. So again, your head is scrambled, it’s mad.
“Two o’clock full live rehearsal and I believe that’s where the judges get a lot of their info from because they have to prepare as well. They have to have some idea what they’re going to do. I believe they watch that live rehearsal. Well, they’re there. They’re watching that live rehearsal and they get their little bits from there. Then, unless a disaster happens, in the evening, right, they get a lot of their info from that live rehearsal at 2pm on the Saturday.”
What was your favourite outfit you wore on the show?
“You don’t see your outfit until Friday either when you get there, right? So you’re a bit nervous because they don’t know what they want you to wear. I remember my first dance a Cha Cha, in week one, I had this cut-off number with the diamonds stuck in my tattoos and I can’t believe to this day I wore that, so I started to get a bit more control and have a little bit of input on the outfits I would like.
“My best outfit I wore by far was my red suit to a Christmas special in 2005 and it was Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, a Christmas song and it was a magnificent outfit and it’s the only one I actually took home with me. I bought it and took it home with me.
“I gave it to Matthew Hoggard, a cricketer, for his benefit year and he auctioned it off. I wish I would have kept it now because it was unique, a full red suit.”
Did you have the full spray tan shebang?
“Again, some people are a little bit more into that than I was. I think I did it once. I’m quite dark-skinned anyway, right? And I kind of always look as though I’ve been in the sun for a while. That’s probably cricket. I wasn’t too keen on the spray tan, I’ll be honest with you.
“But the makeup, you do get a little bit, you do get braver week by week. You start to put the eyeliner on and stuff like that, which is comical. But again, you just embrace the show and that’s what the public like.
“You just try everything you can do to get through week by week. If someone else might be getting an edge because they look a little bit brighter on stage with their makeup, you do it as well, right? It’s a will to win.”
What was the most memorable dance that you had on Strictly?
“My most memorable would have been ‘Hey Big Spender’, which was a Foxtrot and that was, for me, one of the moments where people started to take me seriously I think. Then the Quickstep, which was to Robbie Williams, who I’m a massive fan of. Robbie Williams, let me entertain you. The public loved that.
“I tended to pick songs that were lively and suited my personality. Those two, the music to those dancers suited me and they were popular with the public as well.”
Who would you like to see on the show in the future?
“Kevin Pieterson all day long – I think it would be hilarious. Honestly, he’s six foot seven, or six foot six and he’s married to Jessica Pieterson, who was an ex-singer – she did Dancing on Ice. We’re good friends, I was his best man, and I’d love him to do it. I don’t think he ever would, but I would love him to do it.
“If I could go for an ex-footballer, who would I like to see on there? Gareth Bale. He’s quite quiet, and a little bit reserved, but I actually would love to see him on the dance floor.
“Or even better, what about Andy Murray? I think it’d be terrible though. It’d be terrible, Andy, honestly, it would be terrible.”