Murder Off the Dance Floor; It's Not the Fancy Footwork That's Pushing Ballroom Back Into the Spotlight, It's Tales of Backstage Back Stabbing. By Abigail Wild

Summary

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I t's quite amusing, if you're someone who finds themselves tragically absorbed in these things, that Simon Cowell's Saturday night talent show, The X Factor, doesn't actually seem to have, er, the X factor. It is its rival, Strictly Come Dancing, with its cruise-ship fashion, elderly presenters, and unlistable celebrities, that's got that certain winning spark.

For the past two weeks, the live dance competition has captured a bigger audience than The X Factor karaoke/catfight horror, this week peaking with an audience of eight million. The Results Show, during which Esther Rantzen was thrown out of the competition, attracted 8.6 million. Cowell, no doubt, knows when he's been tangoed.

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Murder Off the Dance Floor; It's Not the Fancy Footwork That's Pushing Ballroom Back Into the Spotlight, It's Tales of Backstage Back Stabbing. By Abigail Wild

The secret of Strictly's success, is, the sensible people say, its cross-generational appeal. Executive producer Karen Smith says: "Little girls run upstairs when it comes on and put on their Barbie dresses and dance round the living room like a princess. Teenagers are drawn in by that Heat magazine cele...

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