Calm After The Storm

Aug 1, 2024 by Rob

It feels like only yesterday that Eurovision traders were left reeling following news of Joost Klein’s expulsion from the 2024 Contest for the Netherlands following an incident with a female camera operator.

It was a Eurovision mired in controversy and now the autumn highlight for the Specials betting community, Strictly Come Dancing, in its upcoming 20th season, is being tarnished by similar backstage turmoil.

Amanda Abbington and Zara McDermott’s bombshell accusations aimed at Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima has seen the two long-standing pros depart the show. There have been mutterings of discontent among other former contestants, and the scandal has resulted in the BBC announcing this year’s contestants will be chaperoned during training sessions.

The EBU was forced to conduct an independent review of this year’s Contest and this took place on the back of a previous media rehearsal blackout due to artists being unhappy dealing with the scrutiny. Welfare concerns are now being expressed over what is supposed to be a BBC light entertainment programme. Apologies, internal reviews, new protocols… Welcome to the snowflake climate of 2024.

In terms of the pro rota, Amy Dowden returns as does the popular Aljaz Skorjanec, while Kai and Nadiya have reportedly split. The launch show, when the pairings are revealed, will be recorded on Wednesday September 4. This should be aired on Saturday September 14 with the first live show the following week.

Halloween Week will be October 26 and Blackpool Week November 16, leading to the grand final on December 14.

The rumour mill is already in overdrive and we should officially discover the 15 contestants taking part over the coming days and weeks. Let’s hope they can all get through the series unscathed.

This year’s autumn subscription is officially open and will remain at the same bargain price of £60. As well as the usual in-depth Strictly coverage across the series, all the other major Specials will be included as part of the subscription in the lead up to Christmas.

And as we find ourselves in the middle of the Summer Olympics, Sports Personality of the Year is already proving a humdinger of a trading platform and will continue to do so with the track & field events commencing tomorrow. Sign up early and hopefully a SPOTY gem can be identified prior to the climax of the Games on August 11.

Grab a piece of the action by clicking on the link below, or top left on the home page, and let’s hope all the controversy can be put to bed and the 20th year of Strictly proves to be a hugely profitable one.