‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ – the same celebrity fixer rulebook?

A conveniently timed announcement from ABC confirms the celebrity contestants in the US version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ which is also scheduled to start within a week of the UK series.

Personally I’ve never watched the US version (even the presence of Scary Spice in the last series wasn’t enough to convince me!), but I was keen to see if I even recognised the names in the US version… I guess it’s not hugely surprising to discover that I don’t!

However, the celebrity-fixer in the US obviously has the same rulebook as the UK fixed, judging by the picks, which don’t appear so different…

The recipe for a good set of celebrity contestants appears to necessitate the inclusion of the following 11 people:

• 3x sportsmen
• 2x popstars, including 1 boyband/girlband member
• 1x celebrity chef 
• 1x socialite model with some controversary in personal life
• 1x model turned TV presenter
• 1x (ageing) film & TV actress
• 1x (ageing) soap actress
• 1x actor made famous by 70s or 80s TV sitcom

 

Check out the evidence if you’re not sure!

3 sportsmen:

• UK: Andrew Castle (tennis); Austin Healey (rugby) and Mark Foster (swimmer)
• USA: Maurice Greene (athlete), Misty May-Treanor (beach volleyball) and Warren Sapp (american football)

2 popstars, including 1 boyband/girlband member:

• UK: Rachel Stevens (formerly in S Club 7) and Heather Small (M People lead singer)
• USA: Lance Bass (formerly in *NSYNC) and Toni Braxton (sang ‘Unbreak your Heart’)

1 celebrity chef:

• UK: Gary Rhodes
• USA: Rocco DiSpirito

 1 socialite model with some controversary in personal life:

• UK: Jodie Kidd (cocaine sting)
• USA: Kim Kardashian (sex tape)

 1 model turned TV presenter:

• UK: Lisa Snowdon (hosten ‘Britain’s Next Top Model’)
• USA: Brooke Burke (hosted ‘Rock Star’)

1 (ageing) film & TV actress:

UK: Cherie Lunghi (56 years old British actress)

USA: Cloris Leachman (82 years old, 8-time Emmy winner)

1 (ageing) soap actress:

1. UK: Gillian Taylforth (years in soaps – ‘Eastenders’ followed by ‘The Bill’)
2. USA: Susan Lucci (nearly 40 years on ABC soap ‘All My Children’

1 actor made famous by 70s or 80s TV sitcom:

1. UK: Don Warrington (‘Rising Damp’ in the late 70s)
2. USA: Ted McGinley (‘Happy Days’ in the 80s)

 

At that point there are some local differences, which might even provide some inspiration for next year’s choices:

• The UK clearly loves its soap stars, with 3 further celebrities from this category. (Jessie Wallace, Phil Daniels and Tom Chambers).
• The UK series also has a TV presenter (Christine Bleakley) and a Political Correspondant (John Sergeant) – getting someone like Jay Leno in the US might tick both boxes!
• The USA has a young actor (Cody Linley from Disney show ‘Hannah Montana’) – I guess Christopher Parker in series 1 was the closest equivalent in appealing to a younger audience, but there’s no-one this time around.
• The USA appreciates comedians, with Jeffrey Ross signed up for the show. Perhaps UK producers could get Jimmy Carr or Ross Noble on the next series of Strictly?

 

Anyway – observations complete, I’m not off to do some work! Have a good day.