The couples - part 1

There has been a fair bit of criticism of this year’s set of contestants, along the lines of “boo, hiss, they not famous enough”. Of course, this is the reaction from sections of the media every year, and I always think that it misses the point somewhat. The likes of Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley, David Beckham et al are going to be far too busy to commit a potential 16 weeks to a reality TV show (and are not going to be at all interested in the Beeb’s going rate for such appearances anyway).

The only winner that I had heard of prior to her appearance on Strictly was Jill Halfpenny. I became a dedicated fan of Mark Ramprakash, Alesha Dixon and Austen Healey never having heard mention of their names before. To me, that is the magic of Strictly – watching two strangers form a bond and a working partnership. And it is the partnership that interests me most, not the previous achievements of the celebrity half of the team.

We have barely seen any training footage of this season’s couples so the remarks below are based largely on existing profiles, media interest and internet buzz.

Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff

On paper, this couple already looks very promising. There are all the ingredients of a “sportsman on a journey”, and having a boxer in this role instead of a cricketer or rugby player will be a refreshing change. I assume that he brings fitness, agility and lightness of feet to this new challenge, and having won BBC Sportsperson of the Year in 2008, he also has an obvious phone-voting fan base. Kristina was savvy enough last series to build up her fan base via social networking sites. She also choreographed some memorable routines, and won a great deal of good will by taking the role as the “selfless dancer”. This pair look strong, but could yet be derailed by overly high expectations, and a media-led backlash. It seems that the red tops are already scenting their Strictly Scandal Story for 2009, and it would be all too easy for them to turn the public against this partnership.

Richard Dunwoody and Lilia Kopylova

Could be a dark horse (pardon the pun). As a former sportsman, he will be driven and can be expected to cope well with the training, although he may initially be too reserved to make a great impression. The former jockey’s huge advantage is his professional partner, Lilia, who has proved a great teacher and choreographer, able to showcase each of her celebrities brilliantly. She has taken previous partners far further than originally thought possible. Darren Gough, under her tutelage, was the original sportsman on a journey, and together they won their series, Christmas specials and many dates on the first Strictly tour. Hugely popular in her own right, Lilia has had disappointing runs the last two years, so her fans will be keeping their fingers crossed and poised to dial for better luck this time. Lilia is arguably a great secret weapon for any male celebrity.

Ricky Groves and Erin Boag

Ricky could be another dark horse. He has a substantial (and recent) Eastenders fan base to draw upon, comes across as a likeable chappie, and most importantly, appears to be taking the dancing seriously, but not himself. Erin is one of my favourite female pros, and I particularly admire the way that she has changed the whole psychology of her teaching approach to suit each celebrity. She is a ballroom pro through and through though, and the public tend to vote for flashier Latin than Erin usually presents. Having drawn a place in the first group (which looks slightly stronger than the second group), they will have to get past the danger zone of the first Latin dance. But if the huge Erin and Austen fan base, still chafing from last year’s defeat in the quarter final dance off, turn into an Erin and Ricky fanbase and protect them through the first weeks, these two could be a couple to watch.

Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan

I had never heard of Chris but apparently he is the face of sport on BBC Breakfast TV, so should have a reasonably high level of recognition. Partnered with Ola, her costumes could guarantee the Dad vote on their first outing. My thoughts on Ola are mixed. On the one hand, the VT footage of her partnership with Kenny Logan in Series 5 was sweet and a genuine highlight, and she seemed to grow in confidence with Kenny’s encouragement. On the other hand, I have yet to see her come up with innovative choreography to suit her celebrity’s needs, preferring instead the “Park and Dance approach”, whereby she sticks a dance-challenged celebrity in the middle of the floor, and lets her outfits do the talking. There doesn’t seem to be any buzz building out there on the internet, nor any media interest, so this couple may not be long for the competition. Having just found out that their Saturday night dance is the notoriously low-scoring (with public and judges alike) rumba….I think they may be doomed.

Craig Kelly and Flavia Caccace

Hadn’t heard of Craig Kelly either, but he seems to come across as a thoroughly nice chap, and in it for the experience of learning to dance, rather than raising his profile. Flavia is without doubt the most versatile female pro on Strictly, and is a stunning dancer. She strikes me as someone who is very shy though, and neither a natural at talking in front of the cameras, nor a natural at “taking the lead” with her celebrity partner. Flavia is very good with a gifted celebrity dancer, less so with the rhythmically challenged. She pushed Matt di Angelo with some of the most complicated choreography we have seen on Strictly, and together they took second place in Series 5. But her other two appearances have seen her and her partner leaving after just one dance (although Jimmy Tarbuck’s withdrawal was due to health problems). Hard to predict whether this could be an early exit, or a lucky run.

Phil Tufnell and Katya Virshilas

I watched the film “Take the Lead” last night and, boy, is Katya, one of this season’s new pros, a formidable presence. From dancing in a Hollywood movie with Antonio Banderas, to tackling Strictly with Phil Tufnell, Katya could be forgiven for thinking that her career has peaked and is now rushing downhill. I like Tuffers – I like his laconic charm and his sense of humour. He is likely to have a substantial fan base from his days as a cricketer, his appearances on I Am a Celebrity, Question of Sport, and on the One Show, so the votes could come trundling in, regardless of whether he can deliver the goods. But Katya is already said to be frustrated with the Cat’s easy come, easy go attitude, so they may not quite have that magic factor that saw John and Kristina last for many weeks last year. I kind of hope that they stay until at least mid-series, because I think he is going to be a hoot!

Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe

Another male celeb that is off my radar, and this time the pro dancer is as well. Natalie is joining the show from the Australian version, and I have no inkling of her ability, achievements, personality - not a clue. Ricky is apparently ex Hollyoaks, and already has a “storyline” courtesy of a “snub” from with Zoe Lucker. But will the Hollyoaks fan base translate into votes on Strictly? There seems to be absolutely no buzz about this couple on any of the forums, and no appreciation threads, which is not a good sign. They need to start tweeting or Facebooking, because if you are the lowest profile couple in the competition, you can’t rely on just the dancing to do the talking. They won’t dance until next weekend but could be the first shock exit of 2009.

Rav Wilding and Aliona Vilani

Aliona is another new pro, the last to be signed, and there were no leaks to the media in advance of the signing, no gossip about her joining the show. Rav seems to be an unlikely candidate for Strictly – not high profile enough to come with a pre-existing fanbase, not likely to be bad enough to catch the sympathy vote. However Rav has a healthy internet fan base, and a Twitter following, with Aliona working Facebook and visiting the BBC forums. They could create just enough interest to last beyond those first tricky weeks.