WHEN Alex Kingston this week confirmed she’d become the latest Strictly star to suffer a serious injury, producers were in a state of despair.
The actress is the fourth contestant to badly hurt themselves this series and, if she had to withdraw, would have been the fifth to drop out.
That’s almost a third of all the competitors gone, and all at a time when the BBC One show is facing endless problems — and firefighting on virtually a weekly basis.
Strictly may have weathered a string of scandals over the years, but insiders say the current series is facing a perfect storm that threatens its future like never before.
Alex has said she will dance on tonight’s programme — but that doesn’t mean she might not injure herself further and be forced to quit.
Even if she does continue, it’s the latest bombshell to rock the show since the line-up was first unveiled in August — and was seen as so poor that bookies were offering odds on the contest not returning.
The realisation of how everything can so easily unravel has now left a massive question mark over whether Strictly should, or could, return next year.
I understand that showrunners are in almost constant meetings trying to juggle the endless stream of unpredictable problems.
Alex’s injury, in particular, has brought into sharp focus the precariousness of the learning process the show depends on.
Already, four contestants – Kristian Nairn, Dani Dyer, Stefan Dennis and La Voix – have had to pull out of the competition, which created a major headache.
Last week saw the show return to Blackpool — one of the centrepiece moments of a Strictly run — but no celebrities were sent home due to La Voix’s withdrawal.
The show was therefore robbed of one of its most exciting elements.
Execs are now panicking about the prospect of having to do the same again if Alex is forced to leave.
Those on the inside tell me that part of the problem is just how overblown the show has become after 21 years on our screens.
The show was therefore robbed of one of its most exciting elements.
Execs are now panicking about the prospect of having to do the same again if Alex is forced to leave.
Those on the inside tell me that part of the problem is just how overblown the show has become after 21 years on our screens.
In the first series, back in 2004, which was hosted by Tess Daly and Sir Bruce Forsyth, there were just eight celebrities taking part.
The expectations of what they could deliver on the dancefloor were pretty low too, because they were a gaggle of newsreaders, singers, actors and ex-rugby players.
Now there are a dozen celebrities taking part, with more on stand-by, and the quality of routine they are expected to deliver is so much higher — making training injuries all the more likely.
This all comes after the viewing figures have dropped over the past five years.
And in October, The Celebrity Traitors overtook Strictly to become Britain’s most-watched entertainment show.
Ironically, it was fronted by Claudia Winkleman, who co-hosts Strictly with Tess.
Last month, they revealed they would be leaving at the end of this series.
It was another blow the execs could well do without, not least because the bombshell had some speculating that the Beeb could “rest” the show for a year and put some space between its past woes and a fresh future.
That seems even more likely if the show’s current executive producer, Sarah James, follows Tess and Claudia out of the door at the end of this year.
Social media backlash
She was believed to be considering quitting last year, but didn’t want it to appear like she was “abandoning ship” when the show was still having problems.
First, there was the investigation into pro dancer Giovanni Pernice, who was accused of inappropriate behaviour by his celeb partner Amanda Abbington.
Then video footage of Graziano di Prima kicking and spitting on his dance partner Zara McDermott emerged, which got him fired.
And while the show was still reeling from both scandals, Wynne Evans sparked “Gropegate” with his pro partner Katya Jones, and was sacked from the Strictly tour after making a lewd remark at the launch event.
Two Strictly stars have also been arrested in connection with alleged rapes.
And the Beeb even had to collaborate with police on an investigation into allegations of drug-taking by two stars on set.
And that’s before they had to consider the thorny topic of “professional dancers” signing up for a show that is supposed to be about amateur celebrities going on “a journey”.
Earlier this year, Game Of Thrones actor Kristian and reality star Dani dropped out of the contest and were replaced by Lewis Cope and Amber Davies.
Both of them have varying degrees of “professional” dance experience, which has seen them face a backlash on social media.
It’s obvious that, for the past 21 years, show bosses have cleverly managed to carry out a highly delicate balancing act.
We’re not just talking about having some equality in terms of contestants’ ages, sexualities, heritage and gender — although that is still important.
They can’t just have a dozen dancers who have waltzed straight off a West End stage and are less likely to injure themselves. But nor can they just hire 12 try-hards who aren’t going to deliver dazzling routines from week one.
So they try to find the right mix and hope for the best — a triumph of wishful thinking over practicality which, up until now, has been enough for the show to survive.
But the long line of injured stars might just turn out to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Will the experience of Strictly Come Dancing 2025 convince the BBC that the show is now too big, too hazardous and too delicate to continue in its current form?
An overhaul might be a solution — or it could be tinkering that alienates the show’s core audience.
Perhaps, in this case, a rest really is as good as a change.
