[Nicky91]

soooooo here we goooo? if i were to be the casting director for strictly come dancing, these would be my 15 hopefuls competing for the glitterball

first of all my pro line up

- Dianne Buswell
- Jowita Przystal
- Ekaterina Leonova
- Nancy Xu
- Nadiya Bychkova
- Michelle Tsiakkas
- Karen Hauer
- Katya Jones
---------------------------------
- Nikita Kuzmin
- Carlos Gu
- Kai Widdrington
- Johannes Radebe
- Vito Coppola
- Giovanni Pernice
- Gorka Marquez
- Anton Du Beke

now lemme introduce you guys to my celebrity cast

[Nicky91]

He has received nominations for three British Independent Film Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and three Young Artist Awards.

Butterfield played the lead role in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

At age 13, Butterfield played the main and title character in Martin Scorsese's Hugo, adapted from the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo was released on 23 November 2011, and achieved critical success. Butterfield played the title role of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin in the film adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novel Ender's Game. The film was released in 2013.

In 2015, Butterfield appeared in a film adaptation of Ten Thousand Saints.[16] In 2016, he portrayed Jacob Portman in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He also starred as Gardner Elliot in the film The Space Between Us and as Sebastian in The House of Tomorrow in 2017. In 2018, Butterfield was cast in the main role of Otis Milburn on the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. The series was released on 11 January 2019 to critical acclaim. The second season was released on 17 January 2020 and the third on 17 September 2021.

In 2023, Butterfield played in the annual Soccer Aid charity football match, raising money for UNICEF. Butterfield, a lifelong Arsenal fan, scored England's opening goal assisted by former Arsenal player Jack Wilshere

.

[Nicky91]

He was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 for his work in media and advertising.

and best known for being former Strictly runner up Joe Sugg his best friend

Lee played Garlic in the 2014 comedy movie, Spud 3: Learning to Fly, with John Cleese and Troye Sivan

In August 2017, Lee was named "Chief Visionary Officer" of Influencer Ltd, a British influencer marketing agency.

In 2022, Lee launched Creator Ventures with cousin Sasha Kaletsky. Their creator-backed venture capital fund invests globally — mainly on behalf of creators, media stars and other celebrities. Creator Ventures raised $20m to finance early-stage, consumer-internet startups.


Subscribers 6.83 million
Total views 781 million

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[Nicky91]

She played Lily Chao in the British BBC medical drama Casualty from 2013 to 2017.

Yu, born in Hong Kong, came to London at the age of 11 when she was offered a place at the Elmhurst School of Dance and Performing Arts (formerly known as Elmhurst Ballet School).


As well as acting in theatre, films and TV, she gives up her spare time to work closely with The Royal Academy of Dance and The Jack Petchey Foundation, bringing dance programmes to secondary schools, Special Educational Needs schools and Pupil Referral Units. Yu is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English


she recently starred in a Doctor Who special ''Legend of the Sea Devils''

as well as another fantasy drama series The Sandman

.

[Nicky91]

He is known for Coop in the animated show Megas XLR and Jerry Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place.

being the son of late very famous comedy actor Dom DeLuise and late actress Carol Arthur

In February 2023 he started the podcast Wizards of Waverly Pod with Jennifer Stone, where both talk about their experience on the show Wizards of Waverly Place.

In 2005, he starred opposite Maggie Wheeler on the NBC pilot The Sperm Donor. In 2012, he had a guest role on Rizzoli & Isles as Dominic.

He has since directed episodes of How to Rock, See Dad Run, Lab Rats, and The Thundermans.

.

[Nicky91]

this athletic girl got her eyes on the prize, She is the fastest British woman on record. She won a gold medal in the 200 metres, silver in the 100 metres and another silver in the 4×100 m relay at the 2019 World Championships, breaking her own British records with further records which still stand. Aged 24, Asher-Smith was the first Briton to win three medals at a World Championships. She earned a bronze in the 200 m at the 2022 World Championships. As part of 4×100 m relay teams, she won medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and also at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships.

She is the British record holder for the 100 m and 200 m and the British indoor record holder for the 60 m. Asher-Smith has been listed in the Powerlist as one of the UK's most influential people of African-Caribbean descent, most recently in the 2021 edition.

Asher-Smith has modelled for Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Off-White, and in 2019 had a Barbie created in her likeness. The same year, she made a cameo appearance in the music video for the single "Black" by Dave.

In 2021, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent.

.

[Nicky91]

two more reveals to go for the day, and then we are halfway through

[Nicky91]

and that's that, all 16 celebrities revealed

What Do You Think of this Line Up?
How Many do you know of these stars?
Favourite Male?
Favourite Female?
First Out prediction?
Top 3 prediction?
most dance offs prediction?

.

[Nicky91]

and yes you've noticed it but yes in my fantasy game, Anton Du Beke is back among the pro line up but for whom, that we will keep a secret a bit longer for now


the judges are
Craig Revel Horwood
Motsi Mabuse
Shirley Ballas
AJ Pritchard

[Kate!]

I think it's a pretty good line up except Phillip.

[Nicky91]

Originally Posted by Kate!

I think it's a pretty good line up except Phillip.

Phillip is a little bit the ''Sean Spicer'' type of casting for my line up

+ he might not be half that bad a dancer, in latins idk, but ballrooms he could do well

[Nicky91]

Nicky: first up it is these 3 gorgeous guys, Asa Butterfield, Luke Black and David DeLuise

alright

Asa Butterfield, the lucky girl you will be dancing with is............

Spoiler:

Katya Jones

Luke Black, i can now reveal to you, your dance partner is.........

Spoiler:

Jowita Przystal

David DeLuise, i reckon any of these ladies will be lucky to be paired up with a sympathetic bloke as yourself, but you are dancing with.......

Spoiler:

Dianne Buswell

-----------
Nicky: alright time now for some more of our males, please can i have a applause for Caspar Lee, Jack Dee and Owen Warner


Caspar Lee, the girl who's gonna hope ur as good as a dancer as you are as a businessman, you are dancing with.......

Spoiler:

Nancy Xu

Jack Dee, this years funny man of the show, well you will be having lots of laughs with this charming lady, you're dancing with.........

Spoiler:

Nadiya Bychkova

Owen Warner, you're dancing with and i can tell you, that you are in for a treat

Spoiler:

lets dance triple champion Ekaterina Leonova

---------------------
Nicky: two more to go, who will dance with Phillip Schofield and Sir Steve Redgrave

Phillip Schofield, the ''Holly'' to your dance journey is.............

Spoiler:

Michelle Tsiakkas

and finally

Sir Steve Redgrave, what an honour it is to have a ''Sir'' on our show and we have the perfect partner for you, you're dancing with.........

Spoiler:

Karen Hauer

so that completes our male pairings

[Nicky91]

Nicky: some fabulous pairings over with the boys, now lets see if we can have some superb pairings with this years ladies too, and first to get paired up are Vanessa White, Crystal Yu, Ella Toone


Vanessa White, well hopefully you'll only be dancing on saturdays as sundays are never a good thing the dance off you're dancing with this hunk

Spoiler:

Kai Widdrington

Crystal Yu, our ''villain'' with quite the dance background, but who can bring some good contrast to this couple, you're dancing with........

Spoiler:

Nikita Kuzmin

Ella Toone, the one who you're hoping to score hattricks with on the dancefloor is..........

Spoiler:

Vito Coppola

----------------------
Nicky: next up to get paired up are Lorraine Stanley, Scarlett Moffatt, Dina Asher-Smith

Lorraine Stanley, you are a powerhouse in terms of personality, but who can match such a powerhouse in best possible way, you're dancing with....

Spoiler:

Johannes Radebe

Scarlett Moffatt, I'm a Celeb, Gogglebox Queen, meet your king i mean dance partner........

Spoiler:

Carlos Gu

Dina Asher-Smith, ur used to sprints, but this is a marathon and the one who will help you through that and learning you how to dance is.......

Spoiler:

Gorka Marquez

------------------------------
Nicky: two more to go, Mehreen Baig, Sian Welby

Mehreen Baig, the one who hopes to make a ballroom and latin princess out of you is.......

Spoiler:

Giovanni Pernice

and finally

Sian Welby, last but certainly not least, you're set to be dancing with a national treasure, an icon to many, well it is......

Spoiler:

the King of Ballroom Anton Du Beke

and that completes all of our pairings now

[Nicky91]

Hello and welcome to the Launch Show, who gets to dance with whom




now we know who our class of 2023 are, time for them to meet their professional partners


and first up it is time for the boys

[Nicky91]

here you have them all in a row in alphabetical order

Asa Butterfield & Katya Jones

Caspar Lee & Nancy Xu

Crystal Yu & Nikita Kuzmin

David DeLuise & Dianne Buswell

Dina Asher-Smith & Gorka Marquez

Ella Toone & Vito Coppola

Jack Dee & Nadiya Bychkova

Lorraine Stanley & Johannes Radebe

Luke Black & Jowita Przystal

Mehreen Baig & Giovanni Pernice

Owen Warner & Ekaterina Leonova

Philip Schofield & Michelle Tsiakkas

Scarlett Moffatt & Carlos Gu

Sian Welby & Anton Du Beke

Steve Redgrave & Karen Hauer

Vanessa White & Kai Widdrington

.

[Nicky91]

Week 1 Songs and Dances

Lorraine Stanley & Johannes Radebe Samba to Higher Love by Alex Wilson

Scarlett Moffatt & Carlos Gu Waltz to Consequences by Camila Cabello

Vanessa White & Kai Widdrington Cha Cha Cha to Dancing Queen by ABBA

Dina Asher-Smith & Gorka Marquez Tango to Senorita by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

Crystal Yu & Nikita Kuzmin Cha Cha Cha to SloMo by Chanel

Sian Welby & Anton Du Beke Viennese Waltz to California Dreaming by Sia

Mehreen Baig & Giovanni Pernice Jive to As It Was by Harry Styles

Ella Toone & Vito Coppola Foxtrot to Fall On Me by Andrea Bocelli & Matteo Bocelli

Jack Dee & Nadiya Bychkova Cha Cha Cha to Know How by Young MC

Luke Black & Jowita Przystal Tango to Samo Mi Se Spava by Luke Black

Caspar Lee & Nancy Xu Salsa to Safe and Sound by Capital Cities

Asa Butterfield & Katya Jones Waltz to Complicated by Lorent Berisha

Steve Redgrave & Karen Hauer Cha Cha Cha to Love Changes Everything by Climie Fisher

Owen Warner & Ekaterina Leonova Foxtrot to Eyes Closed by Ed Sheeran

David DeLuise & Dianne Buswell Paso Doble to Uccen by Taalbi Brothers

Philip Schofield & Michelle Tsiakkas Waltz to They Can't Take That Away from Me by Frank Sinatra

[Kate!]

Some really great choices. X

[Nicky91]

i might do the first show this afternoon splitting them into two sections

this afternoon will be Boys First Dances, tomorrow will be Ladies First Dances

[Nicky91]

alright the moment we all been waiting for, time now for part 1 of live show 1, first performances of the boys

but first lemme introduce you these 4, our judges

Craig Revel Horwood

Shirley Ballas

Motsi Mabuse

and introducing our newest addition to the panel, former pro dancer AJ Pritchard

-------------
and kicking us off is no one other than David DeLuise and Dianne Buswell

Youtube video

Craig: i'm sure you gave it a good go but some places it looked really awkward, although it came across better than i was expecting, at least it wasn't a dance disaster, 6

Shirley: you got up on the wrong foot after the knee slide, although a very romantic take on the wild paso, with the acoustic guitar bit in the beginning of the performance, all in all, a nice start 7

Motsi: i tell you what, you guys have the makings of a great partnership on this show, you are exactly what Dianne needs right now, i'm impressed, keep up the good work 8

AJ: when ur taking on traditional music in dances like Paso's, Tango's everything just has to be super solid, not much room for mistakes, for week 1 this is amazing, if we were at a later stage in the competition i would've downmarked you guys a bit more however this is a pretty good start of your journey, well done 8

total: 29


excellent paso from David & Dianne

[Nicky91]

dancing next are Caspar Lee & Nancy Xu and they take on a Salsa

Youtube video

Craig: your hip rotation is pretty slick, however everything from the top was a disaster, darling, you were constantly singing along to the music NO LIP SYNC ALLOWED darling, this was like watching two different performances, lame 3

Shirley: don't listen to what big meanie Craig says, you got plenty of charisma, Nancy put in more than enough salsa content between all the streetdancey artsy fun moves, this was fun 8

Motsi: great energy, great chemistry, although work on selling the dance a bit more, but great start 8

AJ: Craig talks a lot of nonsense all the time, don't mind his critique, you did well for a first time, this was a really nice uplifting modern take on the salsa, good work 8

total: 27

what the **** at Craig's 3, it was good fun

[Nicky91]

up next are Sir Steve Redgrave and Elstree's own national treasure Karen Hauer with a Cha Cha Cha

Youtube video

Craig: thank god you aren't James Cracknell 2.0, love this disco nightclub inspired cha cha cha, and yes there was a lot of CHA CHA CHA content in this routine, for a non-musician, your sense of musicality is also quite admirable 5

Shirley: that was brave of Karen to let you begin the routine on your own, those cuban breaks were quite decent for a novice like yourself, your legs were very straightened as they should be, not perfect but great for a week 1, fun performance too 6

Motsi: my fave part of the routine is actually you including some disco moves of your own Steve, you got a good sense of rhythm for your age, wow am impressed 7

AJ: i thought here we go, we would get another hopeless case a la John Sergeant, Greg Wise, James Cracknell, but you can be competitive on the dancefloor as well, in olympic terms speaking ''one step closer to the medals'' well done 6

total 24

complete shocker, Steve turning out not to be a too much of a duffer as we first thought he would be

[Nicky91]

time now for our most controversial contestant of the year, no not you donald trump its Philip Schofield and newbie Michelle Tsiakkas with a Waltz

Youtube video

Craig: repetitive, dull, forgettable and very little difficult technical skills shown from you, this was bad 2

Shirley: not great, not bad but just a middle of the road basic performance, not a too bad start from you, next week we wanna see a slightly more challenging routine for you in the latins 4

Motsi: could've been a lot worse, also you did decent despite struggling with the nerves, next week we want improvements 4

AJ: not a fan of this routine, boring and quite stiff 1

total: 11

quite a bad and snoozefest of a waltz

[Nicky91]

alright, next up are Owen Warner and Ekaterina Leonova with a foxtrot

Youtube video

Craig: have to say, am really loving this contemporary fusion foxtrot, it has enough swing and sway for foxtrot elements but the contemporary bits give it such a modern twist, really great performance 7

Shirley: no dance background, well kudos to your dance partner Ekat for bringing this out of you, well done 8

Motsi: fabulous performance, this is a dance which could be also a routine in a semi final, wow 9

AJ: love the literal eyes closed dancing bits in the beginning, a very lyrical, meaningful and very modern foxtrot, i love it 9

total: 33

wow, first 9's of the series a fact, and two of them as well! gorgeous foxtrot

[Nicky91]

dancing next it's Luke Black and our reigning glitterball champion Jowita Przystal with a tango

Youtube video

Craig: sharp, tight, smooth technique, also somehow very elegant and feminine, good performance 8

Shirley: this felt like a performance perfect for the West End, amazing musicality, a really nice sciencefiction vibe all over in the performance, lovely tango content too, well its never too early for that 10 from Shirley

Motsi: my fave part is the voguing bit in the middle of the ''hello, game over'' bit, we love a bit of voguing in anything don't we, very great performance, you guys have potential 9

AJ: love how cheerful our two ladies are in terms of scores and critiques but i am more cautiously optimistic, you have potential but i'm not sure yet if you can keep performing well under pressure, this was good 8

total: 35

our first 10 of the series! good tango

[Nicky91]

and last up for today, its hollywood actor Asa Butterfield and Katya Jones with a Waltz

Youtube video

Craig: sophisticated, very neat footwork, good amount of storytelling, this is a promising start from you 8

Shirley: your ballroom hold can be a lot better, think the flower in a vase shape for your next ballroom in few weeks from now if you're still in the competition, this was decent but you have potential to be a prince of ballroom 7

Motsi: agree with Craig on the storytelling, very dramatic yet very emotional and classy, quite neat footwork, this was a good routine 8

AJ: we can compare you to Philip earlier on, whereas Philip's was very dull, this felt very disney like, very enchanting, yes i enjoyed this a lot 8

total: 31

good waltz