Meet our new Strictly Come Dancing 2021 columnist – professional dancer Ian Waite!

By Grace Henry

Published: Monday, 20 September 2021 at 12:00 am

A brand new series of Strictly Come Dancing has kicked off on BBC One, and we now have the confirmed Strictly Come Dancing 2021 couples.

Ahead of the first live show, airing on Saturday, 25th September, our RadioTimes.com columnist and professional dancer, Ian Waite, gives us his initial thoughts on the launch show – including which couples he thinks could make it all the way to the 2021 final, and which contestants in the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 line-up might need to brush up a little before their first dance.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Ian on the launch show

“I watched the launch show on Saturday! I have friend, Pauline, who is a massive Strictly fan. We actually bought our house off of her, but we’ve remained friends and her husband died a couple of years ago, so she was on her own and we said, ‘Come round to ours and we’ll have a Strictly night in.’ So we had spaghetti Bolognese, and we watched the launch show. It was lovely!

“I think what the BBC does so well is they get such a great variety of different celebrities from all different walks life, backgrounds and all different fan bases. So, they cover kind of all areas, which is brilliant because they get everybody involved and somebody will always have an interest. No matter what they’re interested in, there’s always somebody who they’ll go, ‘I’m really interested in seeing them dance on Strictly.’

“They just seem to get it really right. They always pick really lovely celebrities that people can relate to or fall in love with. And I think that’s really important for the show to be successful.”

The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 pairs: “I think this could be Giovanni’s year!”

• Sara Davies and Aljaz Skorjanec – “I think this couple will be very popular. I can already see lots of beautiful chemistry between them.”
• Greg Wise and Karen Hauer – “I’m on tour at the moment and everywhere I go around the country, I’m asking the audience who they’re most looking forward to. Mostly, the ladies in the audience say they are looking forward to seeing Greg. So, I think he is a bit of a heartthrob, and there’ll be many ladies looking to see how he can dance and they’ll be supporting him, so it’ll be very interesting. He’ll be very popular.”
• Ugo Monye and Oti Mabuse – “With Oti being the Strictly champion the last two years, you can never count her out. She’s a fierce competitor and a super creative choreographer, and she’ll definitely be going for the hat trick. There’s probably a lot of pressure on Ugo, but he seems quite a happy go lucky guy. So, I think he’ll just go along with it, and enjoy himself and I think the most important thing about Strictly is that they just embrace it.”
• Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice – “I’m already pinning these two for the final. I think she can dance, and with Giovanni, they will be a formidable pair! They seem to get along really well. I think this could be Gio’s year!”
• Judi Love and Graziano Di Prima – “I love Judi on Loose Women. In fact, she’s one of my favourite Loose Women. She will definitely bring the fun to the dance floor. Graziano has only competed once before, so he’ll definitely be looking to impress and he’ll be working hard from that point of view. He’s a great Latin dancer. And I think she’ll be more leaning towards the Latin as well, so they’ll be really good in that genre.”

• Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova – “So Dan is the same height as me – he’s 6ft 4in, so it’s not going to be easy to control those limbs, but I’m sure he’ll look very elegant in the ballroom dances. I think as long as he can control them, then it will be fine. The problem is if he makes awkward lines, it will stand out because he’s so big. You can’t cover it up. If you’re smaller you don’t see it so much, but I’m sure he will look gorgeous with Nadia, because she’s lovely and tall as well.”
• Robert Webb and Dianne Buswell – “We’ve seen him dancing on Comic Relief and this man can dance, so I think he’s definitely going to be one to watch. It was a comedy performance, so it’s difficult to compare it to something like an American smooth, let’s say, because there you’ve got to be elegant and you’ve got to have a swing and sway technique. But he’s obviously got rhythm and he obviously can throw himself into a role.”
• Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – “I must say, I’m probably most excited about this couple. He’s got plenty of energy – he’s like a Jack in the Box. And it being Nancy’s first time with a partner, I think she’ll have something to prove. I mean, there’s no limits really for these two, because he looks as though he could do anything you throw at him! And he looks really rhythmical and really talented.”
• Nina Wadia and Neil Jones – “Well I saw her in the group dance on Saturday, and I thought she was amazing. I thought that she could dance, and she looked great in the dress. I think these two could be outsiders for the final.”
• Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden – “If he’s a fraction as good as his bandmate Harry Judd, he’s going to be awesome! He’s got rhythm and seems very likeable, which are important attributes to be the Strictly champion.”
• Katie McGlynn and Gorka Marquez – “A good looking couple together! Gorka has made the final a couple of times, and he will feel that he’s got a chance with Katie, because she’s got everything you would need – she looks quite talented and she’s got an awesome personality. So she has all the right attributes. It’s difficult not actually seeing them dance so you kind of make assumptions on their personalities and how they look together!”

BBC

• Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin – “These guys will be the cute couple of the competition. They’re both really sweet, but don’t underestimate; they’ll be extremely competitive. I don’t know how much she’s going to bring Gordon into the training room, but he already seems to have an influence.”
• Adam Peaty and Katya Jones – “What an amazing signing! Adam hot off the back of winning Olympic golds in Tokyo, will want to win – but will he be able to dance? This is the question! It doesn’t always translate. The last person we had on Strictly who was a swimmer was Mark Foster, and he won’t mind me saying, he didn’t start off very well. I’m a good friend of Mark’s and we have a business together. But, I must say he really improved. And when we went on tour together, he was getting 10s from Len. It’ll be interesting to see if Adam can do that. Katya has really creative choreography as well, so she will bring out the best in Adam, which is exactly what we want to see, but he definitely has the physique for it.”
• John Whaite and Johannes Radebe – I’m looking forward to seeing these two and the creative choreography that same-sex couple can develop, because there are ways of changing the role. So, the leader and the follower can change, so it makes it more creative. But will John have the ingredients needed to win the Strictly trophy?”
• AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington – “She looked absolutely stunning in her Strictly outfit. I literally was gobsmacked! I could not believe how amazing she looked. I would definitely tip these two for the final just on looks, because I think, I think that’s got a lot to do with it. I think he’s a great choreographer, and I think he’ll want to impress, this being his first time. I’ve known him since he was like a young boy, competing  when he was 12/13, coming from Southampton. It’s so lovely to see him there on Strictly now representing England. We do have a lot of foreign professionals, so it’s really good to see him there and I think he’ll do really well.”

Strictly high of The Week

BBC

“When I watched the group dance, Rose stood out the most for me! I just think that she is going to be a really good dancer and we’re going to be shocked at what she can do. Obviously she can’t hear certain things, and I think we’re going to be amazed at how good she is even with that impediment. In terms of my four standout celebs for the finals so far, it would be Rose, Rhys Stephenson, Tom Fletcher, and AJ Odudu.”

Strictly low of The Week

BBC

“I think Dan is going to have to work really hard to control those limbs! I think he might have a challenge in the Latin dances. In ballroom dances, you’ve got be able to hold that pose and look elegant and look beautiful and in the Latin dances, you’ve got to coordinate the arms and the legs, and the hip action – that’s when he’s going to struggle!”

Ian’s Top Tip

“It can be harder for new professional dancers as they have to build up a fan base, but they’re all experienced –  Kai was on the Irish Dancing with The Stars, I think Nikita was on the German DWTS, I think Cameron was on the South African version, so they have experience of being on a show like Strictly, and I think it’s just about making a good impression, working hard, showing your talent off and creativity in your choreography, and that will shine through.”

Ian Answers…

Q: Does having a big fan base matter when it comes to winning Strictly?

“I think it helps. But, we’ve seen in the past, like let’s say Abby Clancy, she wouldn’t have had a fan base and she went on to win Strictly so, it can help, but I don’t think it’s necessarily something you need to win. I think people invest in your journey and they grow to love you and I think most Strictly fans that I speak to, they are open to just embracing whoever is going to be good, and they’re always pretty fair. They won’t be sidetracked – apart from these women that love Greg Wise and obviously want to see him do well! I think you can grow to love a couple, especially some of the celebrities who start off and they’re not very good, and then they start to get better and better and better. I think we all love to see that journey as well. It makes you want to vote for the underdog.”

Q: What do you think of Anton becoming a judge on Strictly 2021?

“I’m absolutely delighted for him, and I think it’s about time a former professional got the job as a judge. He’s been in it since the beginning and he knows exactly what those pros and those celebs are going through from all the experience he’s had. I think he’ll be a really positive voice on the judging panel. He’s got so much knowledge and he’s funny. He’s a massive character on the show and I’d rather him be a judge than us not see him again, because you know maybe he’s stopped dancing or something like that. I’m really excited to see what he brings to the judging panel.”

Waite’s Week

“I’m not off, but I’m at home, because I’ve got a show in Hayes, which isn’t too far from my house. We had a show in Aldershot last night, which is also close to my house, so I’m able to work from home for the next few days. That’s always really nice, rather than being away while I’m on tour. We normally have to be there about four in the afternoon for the soundcheck, and then we do a meet and greet at six so it’s pretty full on once we get there! It’s nice to be at home because I have a couple of dogs – a Labradoodle and a cockapoo, so they’re quite demanding.”

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Strictly Come Dancing is on Saturdays on BBC One. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news. 

Ian Waite is currently on tour. Visit theballroomboys.com for tickets. 

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