Strictly Come Dancing has been dealt a major blow after the show failed to secure a Bafta TV Awards nominations in the Entertainment category for the first time in over a decade – and one year after it last won.
The popular dancing competition, which has become a mainstay of British television since it first started in 2004, has faced a rocky year of internal investigations and scandal, which threatened to sour its reputation as cosy Saturday night viewing.
It has previously dominated the prestigious Awards ceremony, which aims to celebrate the best in TV, securing wins at either the Bafta TV or Bafta TV Craft Awards in six out of the last 10 ceremonies. The show has been nominated every single year for either Awards ceremony since 2012.
Last year, the BBC competition won Best Entertainment Programme award, having previously won in 2016 and 2020, and has been nominated 13 times in that category. This year, Strictly secured just one nomination – in the Memorable Moments category for Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell’s waltz to “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. The award is voted for by the public.
Nominated in the Entertainment category are The 1% Club, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Taskmaster and Would I Lie to You? .
However, Strictly proved more fortunate in the Craft branch of this year’s awards, receiving two nominations for Best Director: Multi-Camera and Best Entertainment Craft Team.
Meanwhile, controversial Netflix hit Baby Reindeer and ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which brought about change in governmental legislation, received multiple nominations at the Bafta TV Awards, with eight and six respectively.
The show has been plagued by controversy after Sherlock star Amanda Abbington complained about her alleged treatment during rehearsals at the hands of professional dancer Giovanni Pernice. The pair were partnered for the 2023 series of the dance competition, with Abbington dropping out for “medical reasons”.
The BBC issued an apology to the actor after a nine-month investigation upheld some of her complaints and cleared Pernice of the more serious allegations.
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However, the investigation found that another Strictly pro dancer, Graziano Di Prima, had acted inappropriately during rehearsals of the 2023 series with his celebrity dance partner Zara McDermott.
Di Prima, who joined Strictly in 2018, was dropped from the show, and he said that he “deeply regret[s] the events that led to my departure from Strictly”.
The firestorm led to a debate about how seriously the professionals take the show, with the BBC introducing chaperones for the 2024 series in order to monitor all behaviour.
