December 13, 2006 – 1:49 pm
It has been announced that ‘Strictly Dance Fever’ has been axed by the BBC after just two series.
TV bosses decided to drop the show after it failed to meet the ratings of the BBC’s ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria’
BBC bosses now want Graham Norton, who hosted both reality shows, to focus on the follow-up of ‘Maria’, which is expected to look for the next star of West End productions ‘Joseph’ or ‘Grease’.
A source said: “‘Dance Fever’ was great but ‘Maria’ proved audiences have a real passion for those types of shows.”
The BBC reports
This week Mark and Jennifer left the competition.
After the Line Dance routine, the vote was closed and Graham announced the couples going through to week seven of the competition.
This left Mark & Jennifer and Ben & Stephannie standing as the couples with the lowest scores this week.
All the judges thought that despite their efforts Mark and Jennifer were not as good as the other couples left in the competition, with Stacey Haynes saying, “I’m sorry, you’re not ready to join a professional dance company, you’re just not ready!”
While the pair were gutted to have to pack their bags and gracefully bow out of the competition, Mark thanked everyone for watching and said, “This has been the best thing that’s happened in my life… Let’s hope for a future career in dance.”
For more information on the judges comments and scores see this article.
If you fancy a flutter on the winner of Strictly Dance Fever, Paddy Power is offering a free £10 bet to all Unreality TV readers. Just click on the Paddy Power link/logo below!
On a night when most people expected to see the back of JP and Stacey, shock rippled around the studio as Graham revealed that Paul MaGuire and Pamela Smith would be the couple leaving the competition on Saturday night.
No one was more shocked by the result than Jp and Stacey themselves.
“I was completely shocked when they read out Paul and Pam’s names,” said Stacey. “I thought oh another week another week of criticism. I feel that all I do is apologise. I feel like I am apologising for being here.”
JP however is feeling much more confident about their future in the competition
“I never thought I could look like Fred Astaire,” he said, referring to Arlene’s praise. “I feel I’ve got my confidence back.”
“I think the judges do believe in us. We’ve been given a chance to be here and we want to work for it.”
The BBC website is now taking votes for who you think will be leaving Strictly Dance Fever 2006 this week.
Will it be
Darrien and Hollie
Darren and Lana
Ben and Stephannie
JP and Stacey
Paul and Pamela
Mark and Jennifer
jump over to the BBC website and cast your vote now!
April 26, 2006 – 10:03 pm
Strictly Dance Fever contestants Darrien Wright and Hollie Robertson are worried that an injury could cause them to under peform and therefore be voted off the show this Saturday.
Hollie is said to have injured a rib during rehearsals this week.
The dancer said: “Last week we got bad scores, this week we have to better our Rock and Roll, but we are already loosing rehearsal time. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. ”
In an interview yesterday Strictly Dance Fever judge Arlene Phillips slated some of the wannabes that auditioned for this series of the competition.
She said “There’s nothing bad about doing the show… except some of the sights we see.
“I can’t tell you the number of people who really feel the show is their only chance to be a dancer and yet who are so far away from being one.
“I wonder how they can be so blind. What do they think they are actually watching when they see dancers on stage or on TV?
“What’s really remarkable is the number of people who put music on and then dance to something completely different.
“It bears no relation to the music they are playing. They could have a dentist / drill going on there. It doesn’t add up.
“And if I see one more girl wearing baggy khaki trousers with blonde streaks in her hair who claims to be a ’street dancer’ I’ll scream. I don’t try to be nasty but when you’ve been working since 7am by the time you’ve seen the 67th person you tell the truth.”
April 22, 2006 – 10:25 pm
Another week, another shock exit.
After tonights performances, particularly the group ‘Street Dance’ most of us here at home would not have been at all surprised to be waving goodbye as Paul and Aravon left the Strictly Dance Fever competition. However tonight saw Robb Glover and Dawn Nelson dancing their last dance.
When the public’s votes and the judges scores were combined, the two couples with the lowest points were JP and Stacey and Robb and Dawn. From the moment it was announced who they were up against I’m sure that Dawn and Robb knew it was their time to go.
As they danced their final dance Robb lifted Dawn off her feet and almost cradled her in his arms. She was obviously crying and extremely upset, so much so that everyone stopped dancing and crowded around the pair to offer hugs and support.
A rare moment of unity in Reality TV land!
After coming very close to leaving the show last week, Mark and Jennfier are determined to put on a better performance this week.
Tyrone Today reports
Mark told the TIMES he hopes to be better tomorrow (Saturday, April 22).
“I felt very disappointed to be one of the last couples. I surely never expected to go this far but now I really want to stay in the dance mansion up until the end of the programme.”
Waiting for the final results, Mark’s mother Linda Williamson, who was in the audience, told the TIMES how nervous she was.
“I was covering my face with my hands, I didn’t want to watch what was coming next. I think they danced very well but while part of me knew they were going to stay in the mansion, another part of me was thinking what if they get evicted.”
Thanks to the public’s vote, the Fivemiletown man and his partner are now rehearsing for Saturday’s programme.
“For this week’s performance we are learning the tango and it is very difficult but my partner is great,” said Mark.
He added: “We have very busy days, starting at 9am with ballet. Then we have directed time with the choreographer and we prepare the routines for the weekend. Usually we work up until 10 or 11pm.”
Supports
Mark admitted it is a very difficult experience but he is delighted to be in the mansion.
“There is a great atmosphere. It is a very hard and nerve-breaking competition but we all get on very well.
“We support each other and there is no nastiness.”
The Fivemiletown dancer hopes that this experience will help him in his career.
“Being part of the programme is such an achievement for me. Hopefully this will help me in my career because I am determined to be a professional dancer.”
Last Saturday Mark and Jennifer were the second couple to rock. The babies in the Mansion, as they are now known, jived on McFly’s hit, Five Colours in Her Hair and got a final score of 24.
“I think the judges were helpful. They told them what is going wrong and what to improve,” said Linda.
She added: “They obviously know what they are talking about and the best thing Jennifer and Mark have to do is to follow their advice.”
On the BBC website, however, the public’s views on the different performances are mixed.
Some viewers think the public made a big mistake in sending Clive and Helga home.
“They better performed than JP and Stacey, Paul and Aravon and Mark and Jenny,” said one email.
Another comment said: “Helga and Clive did not deserve to go. What is wrong with the British public? Mark and Jennifer were far worse as were JP and Stacey.”
A great future
However the couple also have a lot of supporters. Some of them described Mark as ” a brilliant dancer as well as a singer”.
Some fans are amazed at the couple’s level of dancing, considering they are the youngest couple in the mansion.
As for others, Mark is definitely the best-looking dancer of the competition.
“Mark is actually the only reason I watch this programme. Yummy, yummy, yummy!”
Mark was selected for the TV programme at the end of January when he melted one of the judges’ hearts at the Belfast audition. Former Hot Gossip dancer and choreographer Arlene Phillips said Mark was “an amazing dancer” and she thinks he has “a great future in dance”.
“I hadn’t planned on auditioning,” said Mark.
“I was going with a friend and I decided to try it on the day.”
Particularly interested in ballet, hip hop and cha cha, Mark has been dancing for ten years and he is currently undertaking a BTEC National Diploma in Dance at Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education.
On Saturday, the judges’ decisions will make 50 per cent of the final score while viewers will make up for the other half of the voting.
Mark would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who “kept (him] in”.
He added: “It’s hard-work but I have a great time and I want to prove people they were right to vote for me and Jennifer.”
The number to phone to vote for Mark and Jennifer is 0901 121 2402, call costs 25p.
April 15, 2006 – 10:13 pm
Clive Uter and Helga Helgdottier tonight made their first and last appearance on BBC1’s Strictly Dance Fever. When the public vote was counted and combined with the judges scores they joined Mark Williamson and Jennifer Mistry in the bottom two couples. Graham Norton just minutes ago revealed that Clive and Helga are the first couple to leave.the show
Their exit was something of a shock for viewers, contestants and the judges alike. The judges comments about Clive and Helga’s first two performances were less than impressive.
“I saw great spins , I saw a lousy lift, but I saw something that was catastrophically boring,” said Arlene. “It was very clean very precise but very boring,” agreed Stacey. “There was no heat together,” added Ben
But during the group routine the pair seemed to realise what was at stake and danced amazingly. Both Stacey and Arlene chose them as the pair that most stood out from the rest of the group.
But it wasn’t enough. The public had already decided. For Clive Uter and Helga Helgdottier their first night was their final night.
