Is Strictly Come Dancing Getting a Gen Z Makeover

When the days get colder and the nights get darker, Strictly Come Dancing has always provided warmth. For years it was the juggernaut of Saturday night telly, until accusations and scandal rocked the show in 2024. SCD made it out of troubled waters, but the surprise departures of hosts Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman left the show at a crossroads. At a time where the BBC lacks identity and has to fight for public acceptance, Strictly is a key program to keep the public on side. That’s why this year’s line up has come as a complete shock. 

The show first had to recruit new hosts, ultimately settling on Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe. I’m not really sure how the three of them will gel, but I’m going into it with an open mind. There was also disappointment among some viewers at many of the professional dancers departing to make way for a new cast, but to be fair there is normally a cull to make way for new every few years. It’s sad but it’s showbiz. 

Every year the Strictly line up is called the worst ever, but to be honest this year that is actually true. In previous years the ‘who brigade’ have come out in force, commenting on each post claiming not to know who well known public figures are. While the social media comments are unnecessary, this year I’ve had to google who multiple cast members even are despite being a pretty avid follower of all forms of popular culture. The thing that strikes me this year in particular is how young the cast is, and how so many of them could be labeled an influencer or content creator (even if that’s alongside other ventures). To me, it seems that Strictly thinks it’s going Gen Z and has totally missed the mark. 

It’s nasty to single out any individual contestant and say ‘you don’t belong here’. People could point to the influencers and ex-Love Islanders straight away as part of the problem, despite contestants  like Tasha Ghouri and George Clarke proving popular with viewers and subsequently entering the BBC TV circuit (your House of Games and Weakest Link types). I think what’s ‘gone wrong’ here is that they’re making up the vast bulk of this year’s show. At the moment there are 5 actors, 3 sports people, 2 TV presenters, 1 singer, and 4 people who you could deem ‘internet personalities’. Any single one of them would be a fair addition to the show, but the sum total of them leads the line up feeling lacklustre. 

The contestant’s ages are particularly concentrated between 25 and 45, with the exception of Melanie Walters. It’s another suggestion that the BBC thinks that they need to pack the show full of young people to make young people watch it, but in the process almost entirely alienates their older viewership who are the lifeblood of the show. I also don’t particularly think these ‘young’ bookings will actually translate into engagement in the same way that contestants like Joe Sugg or Amber Davies have in the past. I don’t mean that these people don’t have their fans, but rather that fanbase isn’t the sort that are going to sit through a 3 hour program (and Sunday results show which has already been spoiled on Social Media) for the sake of watching an influencer they like do a Pasodoble. 

Another perceived miss here is trying to go for big ‘International’ stars in a show that isn’t available to view abroad without a VPN. There are big shiny names in this year’s line up, but I’m not sure if that really has a benefit to Strictly or the BBC trying to retain its charter. What I think the fundamental error is this series is not fishing from the BBC’s own pool of talent. Lacey Turner is repping Eastenders, but she is the only contestant associated with a flagship BBC show. Where’s the Saturday Kitchen Chef? The Morning Live expert? The BBC newsreader? The antiques expert? The quiz show host? I don’t think it would be hard to find at least a few willing participants from the vast group of people that covers. I can think of dozens of big ‘BBC celebrities’ who’ve not done Strictly, and at least some of them must be willing. Strictly Come Dancing is a TV show, watched by people who watch telly. They want to see faces from the TV that they recognise, and that’s one of the crucial absences this year. 

One of the questions I do ask is if Strictly has been a victim of The Celebrity Traitor’s success. The casts for series one and two have been unbelievably star studded, and featured dozens of names that I can see working perfectly on Strictly. But imagine you’re a celebrity: would you rather spend 4 months putting yourself through a physically intensive process that overtakes almost all aspects of your working life, or spend a few weeks playing a game in the Scottish highlands. I have no idea how comparable the fees are for the two shows, but if you’re a celebrity that no longer needs to think about the money there’s seemingly an obvious choice. I also wonder if the departure of Tess and Claud has made celebrities cautious to be in the first series with new hosts. I think the BBC should have tried to do an all stars or redemption series this year. Pair the celebrities you already know with the hosts you don’t.

As a member of Gen Z, I think the BBC has fundamentally misunderstood why we watch Strictly. It’s nostalgic. I remember Saturdays watching the now iconic moments, dancing along and feeling like I was getting a glimpse into the grown up world (unfortunately I’m now 20 and still haven’t done an Argentine Tango). It’s tied to the seasonal experience of Autumn and Winter, and I like having it as a TV advent calendar. I’m currently at Uni, and I’ve found Strictly has become a nice way for lots of people to be connected to home and make new friends. I text my Mum about Strictly while watching it with friends.

If Strictly wants to connect to a younger audience, then I think it’s misunderstanding why the bulk of Gen Z watch the show. We don’t need to be swamped with people from TikTok, we just want a touch of cosiness to have in the background while cooking dinner or getting ready for a night out. The core Strictly audience is older, and in appealing to them you won’t entirely cut off a younger generation watching for the feeling rather than the content. A few well cast ‘Gen Z celebrities’ (like Charley Marlowe or GK Barry) will hook young people without alienating the bulk of your audience. 

This series is make or break for the BBC’s former jewel in the crown. I truly don’t wish for it to fail, but the odds seem stacked against this series. It might be time to retire a show that seemingly can no longer keep audiences happy. I will be watching at first, but if it doesn’t provide me with the joy of the previous series then I won’t waste my time on it. I’m far more excited for the return of SNL UK, proof of the old guard changing to the new.

Written by, Eleanor Patamia