Strictly Dance Fever returns to BBC ONE

20 March, 2006 by The_Boss

Starts on BBC1 on the 1st of April 2006.

Graham Norton hosts Strictly Dance Fever as BBC ONE throws the dance floor wide open once again to ten talented couples hoping to shimmy their way through the series into the spectacular dance off for their chance to win £50,000.

The Strictly Dance Fever cameras have been roaming the country in search of amateur dancers with enough raw talent and rhythm to make it onto our TV screens.

During the first two weeks on air, viewers can take a peak behind-the-scenes at the nationwide auditions as thousands of hot-stepping hopefuls do their best to wow the judges in order to make it into the Strictly Dance Fever Mansion.

The judges hand-pick the ten most talented couples who will live together in the Strictly Dance Fever Mansion, learning fantastic new dance routines each week and tutored by the expert Strictly Dance Fever coaches.

Over the remaining eight weeks the ten dazzling dancing duos will strut their stuff on the dance floor, competing live on air every Saturday night hoping to survive another week in the dance extravaganza.

But each week, one couple must take a bow and waltz out of the Strictly Dance Fever Mansion until only three couples remain in the grand finale.

As Strictly Dance Fever steps out for a new series, host Graham Norton has a confession to make when asked about his own dancefloor prowess.

“I can’t dance!” he laughs. “Like anyone, I’ll have a go at the end of the night after a few drinks at a party but I’m not any good.
But that’s the nice thing about Strictly Dance Fever – it’s something we all have in common. Everybody dances, at least everybody dances at some point in their lives, even if it’s just once at their own wedding.”

He may not be Fred Astaire, but Graham has had a great time roaming the country with the Strictly Dance Fever team, auditioning the thousands hoping to make it on to the screen in the new series.

He declares enthusiastically: “I absolutely love it! It’s been fantastic. Some of the dancers have been so determined to get through the auditions that they’ve really affected the judges with their personalities and sheer hard work.”

According to Graham, the recent regional auditions attracted a diverse and often surprising mix of dancers, of all styles, abilities and ages.
“We had a 75-year-old woman who did the splits at one audition; she’d brought her whole family with her and they were all cheering her on with ‘Go on, Nan!’
She did hold out her hand for me to help her back up, but watching a 75-year-old woman do the splits was pretty impressive, I can tell you.”

And Graham admits that wasn’t the only visual feast for him and the team – some of the dancers’ costumes had to be seen to be believed. Graham chuckles:" We did see some great outfits but there were a few tragic ones, too.

There were a few nasty white shiny suits à la John Travolta; and one girl even came along made up as if she were auditioning for Cats, with back-combed hair, whiskers and a fake fur cat suit.”

But while Graham was having fun and enjoying what he does best, interacting with the hopefuls and keeping everyone smiling through long days of auditioning, there was also a serious task at hand and, occasionally, a little sympathy was in order, too.