Strictly Come Dancing fans have spoken out in their droves against the decisions made by the BBC show’s producers regarding the songs and dances for Week Six.
This coming Saturday, Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman and co will be donning their spookiest ensembles for what has been billed as a fright-filled Halloween special.
In years gone by, this means the judges and contestants alike are decked head to toe in their most elaborate Halloween-themed costumes while the stars perform horror-themed routines.
However, for the 2024 series, several fans have accused bosses of ignoring the theme of the week, opting for songs with “barely any connection” to Halloween.
The show’s Instagram account confirmed the full list of songs and routines for the remaining celebs on Tuesday afternoon.
“Who’s ready for a spook-tacular Saturday? It’s going to be frightfully good! Time to reveal our Halloween Week #Strictly routines,” the caption read before going on to detail the specifics.
BBC Strictly fans are not happy with show bosses ahead of Halloween Week
BBC
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe will dance a Cha Cha to Love Potion No. 9 by The Clovers, Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez have been tasked with a Tango to Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, and Sam Quek & Nikita Kuzmin will Jive to Time Warp by The Rocky Horror Picture Cast.
Elsewhere, Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will perform an Argentine Tango to Ready Or Not by Fugees, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec will be hoping to bounce back with a Samba to I Like To Move It Move It by Reel 2 Real, and Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will also take on a Samba to Stayin Alive’ by The Bee Gees.
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas have an American Smooth to The Addams Family Theme by Vic Mizzy to perform, JB Gill and Amy Dowden will Foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader, Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal will Viennese Waltz to That’s Life by Frank Sinatra, Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu will take on a Paso Doble to In The Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg, and finally, Wynne Evans and Katya Jones are going to Salsa to Canned Heat by Jamiroquai.
The notable absence of typically spooky songs synonymous with the Halloween season hasn’t gone unnoticed by BBC viewers, with several flocking to the comments section of the post to express their dismay.
Paul Merson left the show after receiving lowly scores from the judges
BBC
“I wish they would do all Halloween songs I wouldn’t care even if they got repeated a few years down the line,” one fan suggested before a second hit out: “This is supposed to be Halloween week why are there only 2 so far that are connected to Halloween @bbcstrictly get it together.”
Elsewhere, a third expressed their confusion: “I don’t understand………only 2 Songs which could be remotely connected to Halloween. Thought it was a themed week.”
A fourth echoed: “I’m looking forward to Halloween special, I miss the days where they would do full cast opening special. Some of the songs don’t seem very spooky so let’s see how they turn out.”
And a fifth slammed: “Repeat songs and songs that barely have any connection to Halloween in terms of theme. Another disappointing Halloween week yet again.”
However, there was some support for the show’s bosses’ decisions, with a handful of followers branding the song choices “great” and one expressing: “Can’t wait!!” (sic)
Fans will have to tune into Saturday’s show to see how each of the dancers fare as they all hope to avoid the dreaded dance-off.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Last week, it was Paul Merson and Karen Hauer who bid farewell to the show following their Samba.
However, their exit was shrouded in controversy as many fans accused bosses of sabotaging Merson with the “joke act” gimmick.
Just one week earlier, Merson had been on the receiving end of plaudits from the judges after performing a “straight” Quickstep alongside Hauer, something fans welcomed.
Merson’s Week Five routine failed to live up to the bar set by his Week Four Quickstep, resulting in a fiery back-and-forth with Craig Revel Horwood over his critique.