BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans outraged as beloved feature gets the axe
The official Strictly blog will no longer be updated with the BBC saying the decision has been made to direct users to social media accounts instead
by Jamie Roberts · ChronicleLiveStruck by shock, Strictly Come Dancing aficionados learned that a beloved element of the show has been scrapped.
As the popular BBC dance competition kicked off a fresh season this weekend, viewers tuned in with anticipation to catch the latest cohort of celebrities hit the dance floor. Yet, it emerged that the official blog for the show will no longer be available, redirecting followers to engage more with show updates on various social media platforms instead.
Previously, the dedicated blog allowed fans to immerse themselves in updates directly from the Strictly team, including weekly song reveals and immediate post-elimination insights. These features will now cease to exist, as confirmed by a statement released on Tuesday, which explained: "We understand that a community has built up over the years and some of you will find this disappointing."
The statement went on to justify the decision, indicating a shift towards where audiences already actively converse about the series: "However, in line with changing audience behaviours a decision has been made to direct users to our social channels where there are active communities discussing the show on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The Strictly blog and its comment section will soon be closing in line with other blogs across the BBC, with content no longer being published or updated."
The statement went on to express gratitude to fans for their contributions over the years, and expressed hope that they would continue to engage with them on social media. Despite this, the official Twitter/X has not been updated with any information about this year's show or contestants, leaving some fans heartbroken, reports the Mirror.
One user vented in the blog's comments section: "Shame on you, BBC. We don't all use social media and even if we did I don't think it would replace our blog family."
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Another fan expressed confusion at the decision, stating they couldn't understand the comment about "comment 'the changing audience behaviour". They argued: "This suggests a lack of numbers contributing to the blog. Yet on 30/09/23 there were 1644 comments, on 28/10/23 there were 2175 comments and on 25/11/23 , 2496 comments this hardly suggests a lack of traffic through the blog. There is much more to this than the beeb is prepared to say....or admit to."
Other fans said the announcement left them "full of questions," and felt like "death by a thousand cuts", accusing it of showing a "smacks of a disregard" for loyal blog users over the years. This year's competition features Paul Merson and Tasha Ghouri among others, and within minutes of the new series starting, fans were already criticising the "cringy" opening segment, where the dancers displayed their skills while travelling on a party bus.
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