Anton Du Beke has called on Strictly Come Dancing producers to overhaul the BBC show’s controversial voting format.
Typically, viewers are given a brief chance to vote for their preferred contestant over the phone but this year’s series, which starts on Saturday (20 September), will switch this to online instead.
Regardless, judge Du Beke doest not approve of the small voting window, calling it a shame as many viewers are not be able to watch the show live. This means they lose the chance to save their favourite.
Du Beke suggested that fans should have the chance to vote all week long, considering many stream episodes on iPlayer after it has been aired live on BBC One.
“I remember when we started the show, you could vote all week,” he told the Daily Mirror. “So for 13 weeks, it was open for the whole week.
“Now you have a little window, and I think that is a shame, because some people can’t watch it on a Saturday night. They might be working or may go out.”
He said: “I would like people to be able to vote during the week, as everyone is invested, even if they watch it on catch-up, so give them the opportunity to vote.”
Celebrity contestants, including Dani Dyer, Alex Kingston and YouTube star George Clarke, will be paired up with their professional dance partners during the launch episode on Saturday. They will also show off their moves in a group dance ahead of their first official routine.
Saturday live shows will kick off a week later, and the first Sunday results programme will air on 5 October, when the first celebrity to leave the show will be announced.
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The BBC has also revealed that the Strictly Come Dancing final will take place a few days before Christmas on Saturday 20 December.
Other stars set to appear on the show include Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison, rugby player Chris Robshaw, and Dutch footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
One 2025 celebrity who has sparked an online backlash ahead of the new series is former The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner, who recently met US vice-president JD Vance for a barbecue and drinks.
The social media personality befriended US president Donald Trump’s No 2 on X/Twitter after claiming he had received “death threats” following a series of posts about the state of the UK.
Skinner said on social media that it’s “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complained that “it ain’t safe out there anymore” in London, saying that the city feels “hostile” and “tense”.
The Independent’s Rachel McGrath wrote that Skinner’s casting “doesn’t feel right” and questioned the BBC’s decision to “intentionally sign someone so divisive”.
