My alarm has been almost constantly set for 3:30am for seven years now. My body is so attuned to it that I almost always awake before it goes off. It’s now 3:03am on Monday morning and I’m staring at my phone, having just been happily dreaming about glaciers.
It’s September. That means back to school. And not just for the kids.
With Edinburgh hangovers barely forgotten, and TV execs and politicians still reeling from Dorothy Byrne’s outlandishly honest MacTaggart Lecture, conference season gets into full swing.
Not in Bournemouth but in Cambridge, courtesy of ITV, for the RTS biennial convention. There’s no prorogation for us.
Presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman return this September as they announce the new dance pairings.
Former England goalkeeper David James MBE is one of the first celebrities announced joining this year's Strictly line-up.
James began his career at Watford F.C and went on to lift the League Cup for Liverpool and contribute to Portsmouth’s success in the FA Cup.
Mabuse will replace Darcey Bussell, who stepped down from the role earlier this year after seven years on the show.
Motsi Mabuse joins from Let’s Dance, the German version of Strictly, where she has been a judge since 2011, after four years as a professional dancer on the series.
Robert “Judge” Rinder was speaking about his career – from would-be actor to television presenter via the Bar and British Overseas Territories – with Granada Reports presenter Lucy Meacock at an RTS North West event at the Lowry in June. He has fronted the ITV daytime show Judge Rinder, in which he arbitrates over civil cases, since its launch in 2014.
The All New Monty 2019: Who Bares Wins, which follows on from The Real Full Monty, sees eight celebs learning extravagant dance routines, demonstrating the importance of carrying out intimate checks for cancer prevention and being body-positive in the process.
Former Love Island contestant Jack Fincham and Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez are among the familiar faces ‘baring all’ for a cause close to their hearts, alongside Rav Wilding (Crimewatch) and Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher.
Head judge Shirley Ballas, dancer Giovanni Pernice and his celebrity partner from the 2018 series, Faye Tozer, joined the new executive producer, Sarah James and her predecessor, Louise Rainbow, to discuss the work that goes into producing the hit BBC One show.
Rainbow, who has been Strictly’s executive producer for the past six years, explained that pre-production begins in January, when discussions start on securing celebrities before the show’s launch the following September.
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.
The line-up consists of some of the show’s most popular contestants including Anita Rani, Ann Widdecombe, Caroline Flack, Aston Merrygold, Jake Wood and Michael Vaughan.
Based on fairy tales the stars will be performing Christmas-inspired routines to win the Silver Star trophy.
Anita Rani, TV presenter
RTS award-winner Rani is recently known for her presenting segments on The One Show and Countryfile.
Rani competed in the 13th series of the dancing show.
