‘Going on Strictly with dance experience is unfair but it doesn’t mean they’ll win’

Do Strictly Come Dancing stars who have previous dance experience have an unfair advantage? We ask this question every year and the 2024 line-up is no different.

Strictly’s glittering start may be weeks away but JLS star JB Gill and Tasha Ghouri’s signings have already reignited that row thanks to their dance backgrounds. So let’s be honest: previous dance experience almost always gives contestants an unfair advantage on the BBC show, even if it doesn't always lead to them winning the series.

Love Island star Ghouri is trained in commercial street style and she has loved dancing since she was a little girl. She said: "My passion for dance started when I could feel the bass and vibrations through my body by the huge floor standing speakers in our family home. Hearing the lyrics was down to lip reading the videos on the TV or going on Google and learning them which I still do now and still get them wrong!"

While she's a trained dancer, Ghouri hasn’t had experience with Ballroom and Latin dances which much of Strictly focuses on. "I've never learned or been taught any of the styles on Strictly," she added. Plus, the Love Islander didn't mind admitting she was bad at ballet. (Something we have in common. I was thrown out my class aged two for admiring my tutu in the mirror).

Then there's JB Gill, who has danced on stage while performing as part of boyband JLS. Also, he is married to professional dancer Chloe and together they came third on British reality show Dance Dance Dance hosted by Alesha Dixon in 2017.

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If that wasn’t enough to convince you Gill has an advantage, then the fact he won the Strictly Christmas special in 2012 thanks to the extra help from his dancer wife may sway you. He previously said: "She wants me to do well, and she's very much in my corner. I remember when I did the Christmas special, she was great in rehearsals because she was really championing me and helping me to work out little bits that I didn't find natural. It's good to have that support."

But if you think about it, the athletes, sports stars and Olympic champions all have an advantage of sorts on Strictly too. Olympic swimmer Tom Dean helped Team GB get their men’s 4x200m freestyle title at the Paris Olympics earlier this month. Now we're weeks away from seeing him star on Strictly in 2024. No-one trains harder than an Olympian. Sporting stars have increased levels of fitness on their side too.

And what about the actors? You hear week on week from the Strictly judges talking about the importance of storytelling and being in the character while dancing. The actors taking part on the BBC show get into different characters as part of their day job and are used to performing in front of the camera. So surely, that’s an advantage too?

Naturally some people have more rhythm when it comes to dance. Unfortunately — or fortunately depending on how you look at it — there is always at least one star every year who cannot master the moves, no matter how hard they try. Every single celebrity competing in the 2024 series will be hoping they don't make a fool of themselves on the BBC's most popular Saturday night show.

So it's true, when it comes to a dancing background, there is an element of an unfair advantage but there always will be. That doesn't mean the BBC should start vetting the stars based on their history with dancing.

Throughout the last series, Layton Williams was trolled for his previous dance experience in the West End and it was relentless. He wasn't afraid to address it on social media and hats off to him for speaking up. In the end, he made the final with his dance partner Nikita Kumzin and narrowly missed out on the Glitter Ball trophy after dazzling us for weeks on end.

Sure, I understand the fury from some fans but Williams should not have been trolled for his dance background while competing on the BBC show. Don't we want to see our favourite actors and singers on Strictly, regardless of their previous experience or dance school history?

Strictly is a show we all love and the competition is getting more fierce as the years go on. Fast forward 20 years after the first series in 2004, the teaching methods scandal is engulfing Strictly but the show must go on and it's just weeks away. Former judge Arlene Phillips said it herself that the pressure is higher than ever on those taking part for both the celebrities and their professional dance partners.

So I say, each of the celebrities should use any advantage they have — whether it's their dancing background or sports or natural rhythm — to the best of their ability... And may the best dancer win the envy-inducing Glitter Ball trophy.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this autumn.