Strictly Come Dancing Fans Criticize New Format Ahead of Live Shows

Fans of the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" are urging producers to revert to previous formats, citing dissatisfaction with recent changes implemented ahead of the show's first live broadcast. The current season has already introduced alterations to its presenting team and professional dancer roster, and a new method for revealing weekly song and dance assignments has further drawn criticism.

Traditionally, "Strictly Come Dancing" revealed each celebrity-professional pairing's assigned song and dance on a Tuesday through individual video segments. However, for the current season, this announcement was made on a Friday via a group video shared on Instagram. In this new format, the cast gathered to write their names on a sign-up sheet, a departure from the previous approach that left many viewers unimpressed.

Online comments from viewers expressed a desire for the return of the older announcement method. "I hope next week it is back to the nice little video with what dance and song on a Tuesday!! Please!!!," one viewer wrote. Others echoed this sentiment, with comments such as "I miss the old way of announcing the dances" and "From next week could we please go back to the normal way."

This latest format change follows a series of other alterations made for the 2026 season. The show has introduced a new trio of presenters—Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis, and Johannes Radebe—to replace previous hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. The partnering process also saw a change, with pairings revealed during the studio show through a musical chairs-style game.

While the show's launch episode saw a slight increase in its peak viewership to 5.8 million, the average viewership was 5.3 million, a decrease from the previous year's 5.4 million average. This suggests that the changes have not entirely resonated with the show's established audience, leading to viewer calls for a return to more familiar elements of the program.