After more than 20 years on our screens, BBC bosses can be forgiven for thinking that Strictly Come Dancing needed a bit of a shake up at the start of this series. Nothing huge, of course, this is an award-winning show with a format that has lasted for 23 sparkling series.
But just a little something to excite viewers. That’s where the weekly change to the head judge idea came in. Surely this is the shakeup we have all been waiting for? Sadly, not so much. But, fear not – there’s still hope!
In previous years the show has seen head judge Shirley Ballas always having the final say in the dance off, so if the other three judges failed to come to a unanimous decision between them, Shirley would have the deciding vote.
This year the vote changes each week, and at the end of each Saturday night episode, Claudia and Tess excitedly announce who is going to have the casting vote like it really means something big. Unfortunately, so far the format tweak hasn’t had much impact and fans have been left underwhelmed.
While many viewers were happy to see Craig, Anton and Motsi have more of a say in who goes home this year, we are yet to see the change bring the drama to a Sunday night.
Over the last six weeks of dance offs, only once has that week's head judge had to use their new-found power and make a decision. That lucky judge was Craig, who voted to save Balvinder and Julian after they faced Chris and Nadiya in the dance off.
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But could this weekend see that all change with Motsi back in the hot seat?
Motsi handed out plenty of 10s last night, awarding Vicky and Kai the top score for their Tango, Amber and Nikita full marks for their Salsa, and Karen and Carlos the same for their Charleston.
But if Alex and Johannes, Karen and Harry, George and Alexis or La Voix and Aljaz find themselves in the dance off, they could be in trouble after Motsi gave them all an 8, the lowest mark she awarded on Saturday night.
Could Motsi having the casting vote this weekend finally bring the excitement we have all been waiting for? Fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the new way of doing things, and some aren’t happy…
“The head judge thing is so pointless... Like so pointless. Just use the public vote if there's a tie!” said one frustrated fan.
Another was annoyed earlier in the series that being head judge doesn’t mean you get to have your say… “Motsi is the head judge and she didn’t even get a vote…!”
While others were more supportive of the change: “I’m glad they’ve taken the heat off head judge Shirley and are swapping the casting vote around each week,” said one viewer.
Another added: “Oooh I like that, a new head judge final vote off choice each week, that’ll be interesting!”
Someone else agreed: “I'm glad the judges are taking it in turn each week to be head judge. It must be hard to make the final decision during the dance off.”
One fan joked that their opinion of the new format changes depending on who the head judge is that week: “Me before the results show: This new head judge thing is pointless! Me during the results show: THANK GOD IT'S CRAIG!!!!”
With the competition now at the halfway mark and the standard getting better every week, the decision about who leaves the show each weekend is going to get tougher and tougher. Perhaps this second half of the series is where the rotating head-judge tweak might come into its own.
As all Strictly fans know, the celebrities who find themselves in the dance off aren't always the ones who were at the bottom of the leaderboard on a Saturday night. All we need is a week where two of the top scorers are pitted against one another on a Sunday night to really test out this change.
Here come the fireworks… we hope!
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are also available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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