The Strictly Curse, doping allegations, disgruntled dancers and pubic call-outs, Strictly Come Dancing’s dramas make up just as much excitement as the actual show itself. We love to see the exciting announcements, heated arguments and the behind-the-scenes chatter, it’s what makes it such an engaging and relatable show. This week Strictly Come Dancing line up for the first time includes a same-sex couple with Olympic women's boxing gold medalist Nicola Adams. This is a huge moment for the show, who in response to calls for a same-sex couple in previous years, decided to instead do same-sex pairing for the group dance. They will also have the talented and personable Clara Amfo on the show, someone who resonates with younger audiences in such a unique way. Hearing the news of these two contestants felt electric but also very worrying given the history of racism on that show.
In 2018, Len Goodman former head Judge of Strictly Come Dancing was worried about the show’s lack of ‘Britishness’. In an interview with The Daily Mail, he flippantly commented: ‘You don’t want to end up with a load of people from, you know, as good as they are. It’s nice to have some British dancers in there.’ This is a strange thing to say given that there is very little about Strictly Come Dancing that is innately British. Putting it frankly, Strictly Come Dancing as a show would not exist without Black people. From the African American Jive to the Afro-Cuban roots of Salsa, Strictly owes it’s existence to Black dancers from the continent. Yet, despite this, the show routinely erases those roots and marginalises Black contestants. Aston Merrygold, Chizzy Akudolu, Melvin Odoom, Tameka Empson, are all Black contestants who had their time cut short despite being incredibly talented. As long as racism is endemic in society it will be endemic in the show.
White fans are incredibly protective over this sparkly show, whenever you bring up the early departure of Black contestants and their experiences on Strictly, you’re met with a swift response that the wins of mixed-race Alesha Dixon and Mark Ramprakash somehow prove that the show is welcoming of Black contestants but the data says otherwise. A 2016 Guardian study, found that Ethnic Minority contestants were 71 per cent more likely to be in the bottom two compared to their white counterparts and 83 per cent if they were a Black woman. After her departure from the show, Jamelia along with other contestants accused the show of favouring Peter Andre over her despite her talent and likeability.
They cannot rely on the pull that young Black dancers bring without respecting them and their experience on the show.
The exhausting notion that Black people have to work twice as hard to be seen as equal rings true here. Previous shows have seen pretty lacklustre contestants such as John Sergeant - who ended up quitting the show before being kicked out - come back week after week despite robotic performances due to being saved by the public. Whereas, other contestants with actual rhythm and potential are dropped rather abruptly.
Though the racism on the show is in part a by-product of how racist Britain is as a society, that hasn’t stopped actual racism from contestants judges. British Asian actress Laila Rouass was described as a ‘P*ki’ by pro dancer Anton Du Beke, off-air. When this happened, former host, Bruce Forsyth jumped to his defence insisting that people need to ‘have a sense of humour about this.’ It is in these small ways that racism is allowed to thrive in workplaces and normalise a toxic culture of abuse that creates more racism. When the show introduced the vibrant Motis Mabuse as a judge on the show she was met with trolling and abuse so concerning they had to up their security to ensure that Motsi and her sister felt safe on set.
The entire industry around the show is toxic and the press plays a huge role in implicating those racist stereotypes that overwhelmingly affect Black dancers. Alexandra Burke was bravely dealing with the death of her mother during Strictly while the press brandished her as a ‘diva.’ Journalist Dan Wooton bullied Alexandra Burke both on Twitter and in the press writing stories that painted her as the stereotypical angry Black woman and called her ‘cocky’. Danny John-Jules was met with the same treatment, despite breezing through the show news reports suggested that he had been bullying his dance partner Amy Dowden. The pair came out to deny this but the damage had already been done.
As Strictly begins to rely on younger audiences and needs to compete in a streaming-industry where competition shows are on tap, they are reaching out to diverse and interesting contestants to keep the spirit alive. However, they cannot rely on the pull that young Black dancers bring without respecting them and their experience on the show. If Strictly want to provide a fair platform for Black dancers, as difficult as it may be, they need to re-think what it means to have public involvement and mitigate the racism that plagues society. They also need to do more to protect Black dancers on the show and in the press and be bold in defending them from the inevitable backlash that comes with being a Black person in the public eye.
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