'Strictly' is back and as joyful as ever!

After a summer of torrid headlines, and amid a BBC investigation, Strictly Come Dancing (BBC 1) is back for its twentieth year. Our first glimpse of this year's contestants shows people keen to learn more about dancing and more than ready to give us an autumn of entertainment.

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Over eight million of us will watch, as the contestants and their professional partners dance for the prized trophy "glitter ball". Until very recently, all the contestants, even those who were out in the first few rounds, would say how much they enjoyed the experience.

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Although ‘Strictly’ is, strictly speaking, categorised as a reality show, there is no agenda by the producers to set contestants up against one another, as in other shows such as 'Big Brother' and 'Love Island'. Far from it: the togetherness and mutual regard are evident in every episode and most of the surrounding media coverage.

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This year’s contestants include three Olympic medallists, Montell Douglas, Sam Quek and Tom Dean. Footballer Paul Merson will doubtless add to the competitive edge. Toyah Wilcox will give the Brummies someone to cheer on. Sarah Hadland, the supporting actor in 'Miranda' promises to be fun.

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Opera singer Wynne Evans, most famous for telling us to "go compare", will represent Wales. Dr Punam Krishan, the TV doctor, is promising that she will continue her work as a GP during the series. This provoked blind comedian Chris McClausland to comment that they will at least be in the same room as a GP, which few of us are, these days.

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One of the BBC's rivals came up with a party pooper on 'Strictly’s’? opening night. Strictly Come Dancing: Secrets, Sex and Scandals (Channel 5) was long on promise, short on delivery, and only served to why 'Strictly' is in the nation's heart.

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Of course, a series which has run for twenty years has had some behind-the-scenes hiccups, and a few rows, but Channel 5 also reminded us of some of the highlights over the years. Who will ever forget John Sergeant’s ungainly saunter into the role of national treasure? Or the groundbreaking, and glass ceiling smashing, of contestants such as Rose Ayling-Ellis with serious disabilities, which many thought would prevent them from taking part?

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The first few sequences in the programme traced the history of televised ballroom dancing. We saw Vic Sylvester and his dance orchestra in the early days of post-war television. Then came the long-running predecessor show 'Come Dancing' which allowed us, for an hour,? to enter the glamorous world of sequins and tuxedos.

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Britain’s Atomic Bomb Scandal (Channel 4) told the story of those who suffered from Britain's nuclear bomb blasts, despite never being fired in anger.

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Hundreds of British military personnel in the 1950s were just fifteen to twenty miles away from the test explosions on Christmas Island in the Pacific. Most of the servicemen were conscripts. They were simply told to turn away and cover their eyes just before the bomb was due to explode. They could see through their bodies to the bones and those of their comrades.

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However, years later, what had seemed like a dream posting, turned into a nightmare. One after another, they contracted various forms of cancer. There is even concern that their children may face an increased risk. Other nuclear powers have accepted that testing these bombs creates risks and have compensated their veterans.

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The British government still refuses to accept that our veterans may also be suffering. So this scandal joins numerous other long-running campaigns, such as Grenfell, the Post Office, Windrush and all the other scandals that blight people's lives.? When will we get it right?

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The 2018 film Peterloo (Channel 4) will be streamed for the next fortnight. It is worth setting aside two and a half hours to watch. Few films are made about the post-Napoleonic era, and those that are, normally focus on the upper class and the 'Regency'.

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This film painstakingly chronicles the events, people and attitudes that led to the appalling massacre of between eleven and eighteen peaceful demonstrators meeting in St Peter’s Field in Manchester demanding the right to vote.

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The dialogue, not just the accents, has been brilliantly written in the language of the time, often using Biblical phrases.

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?It is well researched, with lots of incidental detail that subsequent checking proved to be correct. The irony of a veteran of Waterloo, who walked home to Manchester, forgotten by the ruling class and murdered that day, showed the Regency at its most degenerate.

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Ah yes, there was even a sneering reference to coded revolutionary messages being passed “at the back of Methodist Sunday Schools and sordid taverns”.

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Hervé’s Way the Story of a One-Legged Pilgrim? (Radio 4) turned out to be a welcome broadcasting tonic. We join Frenchman Hervé de Lantivy as he makes a pilgrimage from Rome to Santiago Compostela in Spain. Herve’ has lost a leg following a car accident. At one point he tried to commit suicide, but ?has now found a new meaning for his life by walking on his prosthetic leg on a two thousand-kilometre ?pilgrimage.

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It is very Catholic, but inspiring nonetheless. He found that people are prepared to speak to pilgrims about many personal things, knowing full well they will never meet again.? He notes that the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference. If you aren't feeling too bright, this is a real pick-me-up.

This article first appeared in the Methodist Recorder, 27 September 2024