Dancing on Ice

Moving on up: the rise of TV dance shows

The Greatest Dancer presenter Jordan Banjo (Credit: BBC/Syco/Thames/David Ellis)

When the BBC spiced up one of TV’s oldest formats to create Strictly Come Dancing, few thought it would create the holy grail of TV – a genuine pop-culture phenomenon that glued all ages to the box.

That was almost 15 years ago. Come Dancing, the show that inspired Strictly, first appeared in 1950, surviving in all its flouncy glory until 1998. It remains to be seen if even Strictly can last that long.

Top TV picks: Christmas Day

Call the Midwife

BBC One, 7.45pm

The much-loved period drama Call the Midwife is back for another well-stuffed Christmas special.

Writer Heidi Thomas provides Christmas cheer, as the sisters at Nonnatus House look after four orphans and a new born baby, and are treated to a baby ballet show.

Torvill & Dean

ITV, 9.15pm

William Ivory’s biographical drama charts the winning careers of young and gifted ice skaters (and future Dancing on Ice judges) Jayne Torvill (Poppy Lee Friar) and Christopher Dean (Will Tudor).

Making Shows Great Again | Highlights

It is one of the greatest dilemmas in popular telly – when to persist with a popular franchise, give it a lick of paint and some new talent, and when to mothball it, only to drag it out of the store cupboard, to enchant a whole new generation of TV viewers. 

In recent years, we have seen such enduring favourites as Blind Date, Top Gear, Dancing on Ice and Robot Wars revamped and returned, with the aim of recapturing loyal audiences and attracting new ones.