BBC airs first ever episode of Strictly to celebrate show’s 20th anniversary – and fans can’t get over how brutal the judges were
Strictly Come Dancing took viewers back in time on Saturday when the BBC aired the show’s very first episode to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Fans all agree.
Viewers couldn’t believe how much ‘carnage’ they saw and how ruthless the judges were with their comments.
The successful Latin American dance and ballroom show first aired on May 15, 2004 and has come a long way since then.
Familiar faces who appeared in the show’s debut season twenty years ago included David Dickinson, Lesley Garrett, Verona Joseph, Natasha Kaplinsky, Martin Offiah, Erin Boag, Christopher Parker, Claire Sweeney and Jason Wood.
The professional dancers were Camilla Dallerup, Anton Du Beke, Paul Killick, Brendan Cole, Erin Boag, Hanna Karttunen, John Byrnes and Kylie Jones.
Strictly Come Dancing took viewers back in time on Saturday as the BBC aired the show’s very first episode to celebrate its 20th anniversary
Viewers couldn’t get over the ‘carnage’ they saw and how brutal the judges were with their comments
The late Bruce Forsyth hosted, along with Tess Daly, and the late Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli formed the judging panel.
There is a video on social media where EastEnders actor Christopher Parker is being severely criticised by the judges after his first dance.
Arlene said, “Chris, you convince millions of people that you’re Spencer Moon, how about you convince them that you can dance?”
“I know you, you have to be nice to me,” the soap star argued, to which the judge sarcastically shot back, “I have to be nice to you? Am I wrong? Sorry.”
Bruno continued to add to the comments with: ‘Christopher, what was that? That’s not cha cha cha, it’s cheat cheat cheat. There are no splits in cha cha cha, no, sorry.’
As fans watched the historic episode with anticipation, they couldn’t help but point out what has changed in the series. For example, they said:
“It was total carnage. I loved watching it again.”
“I wish modern, strict judges were more like this.”
One particular clip doing the rounds on social media shows EastEnders actor Christopher Parker being bashed by the judges after his first dance
Arlene said, “Chris, you convince millions of people that you’re Spencer Moon, how about you convince them that you can dance?”
“I know you, you have to be nice to me,” the soap star argued, to which the judge sarcastically shot back, “I have to be nice to you? Am I wrong? Sorry.”
As fans eagerly tuned in to the historic episode, they couldn’t help but point out what had changed about the show and plead with BBC bosses to air more old episodes
‘Watching the very first episode of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC 4 and wow, the amount of stuff that just wouldn’t fly these days. Boy, times have changed! #Strictly.’
‘They don’t do it like that anymore these days.’
‘Amazing how the judges really didn’t care about their comments in the first season #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing.’
‘I’m watching the very first episode of #StrictlyComeDancing on BBC4. There are only eight couples and it’s hardly the same show these days, dancing-wise! But it’s entertaining!’
‘Watching the very first episode of #Strictly – so interesting to see how much it has changed. Looks so much more amateur – and that’s all the better for it! And of course the much loved and missed Bruce and Len #Strictly.’
‘They’re showing the very first episode of Strictly on BBC4 and it’s completely different. The main thing is ‘what if all the judges were mean’.
Meanwhile, other hardcore fans loved the old episode so much that they begged the network to air the entire first season. They wrote:
‘Petition to BBC4 to rerun the other episodes of this series #Strictly.’
The Strictly scandal broke in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice (both pictured) of abuse after she unexpectedly quit the programme
Then in July it was revealed that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott
“I want more! One episode just wasn’t enough.”
‘Why can’t they put all the episodes on the BBC website?’
‘They should air all the old classic episodes on iPlayer and BBC Four #Strictly.’
The reminder of the past comes after the BBC dance programme was recently accused of bullying and abuse against its professional dancers, who are said to have bullied and abused their celebrity partners.
The scandal broke in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice of abuse after she unexpectedly quit the programme after just five weeks. He has strongly denied her claims.
In July it was revealed that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.
Twelve celebrities have been confirmed to star in the twenty-second series of Strictly so far, with comedian Chris McCausland and JLS’ JB Gill leading the list, who were announced on Monday.
They were followed by: Toyah Wilcox, GoCompare!’s Wynne Evans, the BBC’s Dr Punam Krishan, Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott’s best friend Pete Wicks, EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick, actress Sarah Hadland, X Factor star Shayne Ward, Olympian Tom Dean and Gladiators star Montell Douglas.