Hardcore viewers turn off ‘too sweet’ series en masse for failing to address bullying scandals

Strictly Come Dancing viewers have revealed they are turning off the show because it is ‘too cute’ following its abuse scandals.

This past weekend, the dance competition suffered another blow, with ratings for its first live episode falling to its lowest level ever.

Despite the series celebrating the 20th anniversary of the beloved BBC programme, only 6.7 million viewers watched the episode – down from 7.3 million for the same episode last year and 10.2 million in 2020.

The show sparked controversy over how professional dancers train celebrities, with numerous accusations of bullying and abusive behaviour emerging.

Although the BBC introduced new anti-bullying measures, such as a dedicated helpline for stars and chaperones at rehearsals, these were not mentioned during the broadcast.

In the time between the launch show earlier this month and the live show on Saturday, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their disappointment and offer insight into why they weren’t able to tune in this year.

They shared: ‘There’s so much love in the room, almost too sweet, I hope they all get along this year and there’s no drama. #Strictly’; ‘Can we just dance please? I’m not interested in life stories.’; ‘I agree. This isn’t the X Factor and we don’t need sob stories about washed up celebrities. #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly’

‘Every time someone sheds an emotional tear or tells a sad story, 5 points are deducted. Got it? Got it. #Strictly’; ‘God everyone is so nice to Strictly, next year we’re going to start hearing about the horror stories and scandals, #Strictly’; It seems like a lot of effort has been put into this year, maybe because of the scandals #Strictly #BBCStrictly (sic)’

Following the launch last weekend, 15 celebrities and their professional partners took to the dance floor for the first live show, where the pairings were announced for the first time.

A source told The Sun that bosses were already ‘concerned’ after the pre-recorded programme lost nearly a million viewers on the previous year and they were then left worried.

‘The fact that there was a decline in the first live broadcast will worry them, especially if the decline continues into next week, which is the first elimination programme,’ they said.

‘They now face an anxious wait to see if the drop in night-time viewership will be offset by the increasing number of fans watching Strictly on iPlayer, but these figures take days and weeks to compile.

‘These live streaming figures are really important for the BBC because Strictly is still seen as one of the few programmes that provides a shared TV experience where people come together to watch a programme at a set time.’

A BBC The spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Overnights no longer provide an accurate picture of everyone watching in an on-demand world.’

The Strictly scandal broke in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice of harassment after he unexpectedly left the show after five weeks.

Sherlock actress Amanda, 50, has made a series of accusations about Giovanni’s teaching methods, He described the actions as ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and evil’ and he vehemently denies all the allegations.

In July, it was revealed that Graziano Di Prima was sacked from Strictly after ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.

On Saturday, judge Shirley Ballas apologised after shocking viewers by kissing colleague Motsi Mabuse during the first live show on Saturday night.

The 64-year-old dance expert gave an impromptu demonstration while giving advice to Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova on their tango performance.

When asking Motsi to help explain this point, Shirley explained that style is ‘all about posture’.

Anton Du Beke was encouraging them by shouting, ‘Come on girls!’ At that moment, Shirley turned her head in a certain direction and accidentally locked lips with Motsi.

Taking to Instagram after the show on Sunday morning, Shirley joked: ‘Sorry @motsimabuse you moved your head too early! @bbcstrictly how did you find last night’s show?’

Strictly speaking, having recovered from its bullying scandal, Strictly returns for its 20th season with the return of fan favourites Amy Dowden and Aljaz Škorjanec.

The BBC dance show has had a difficult year as several previous contestants claimed they had been abused by professional dancers.

Fans were wowed when Amy returned to the dance floor for a spectacular Waltz with her partner JLS star JB.

Meanwhile, Aljaz gave a fantastic performance alongside his partner Tasha Ghouri, wowing the judges with a joyful Cha Cha.

Surprisingly, one of the stars seen in the audience was Zara, who was at the centre of the scandal, and she had come to the show to support her friend Pete Wicks.

Amy, 34, made a stunning comeback after scoring an impressive 31 points on the dance floor, telling host Claudia: “I’m so happy I’m bursting.”

The fan favourite moved both the judges and fans by performing an emotional Waltz to Leo Sayer’s When I Need You.

Overnight ratings for the show, which aired last week, showed 5.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the show, which pairs celebrities with professional dancers. That number was 6.2 million in 2023.

The BBC avoided addressing a series of scandals surrounding the series in its launch episode.

Presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly excitedly introduced this year’s celebrities and revealed which dancers they would be paired with – but there was no mention of last year’s controversy.