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In the lead up to the first Strictly Come Dancing live show of the season, there was a huge question mark hanging over the dance competition. How would the show address the months of scandal that have threatened to tarnish Strictly’s primetime sparkle, with allegations of backstage bullying?

Would we see behind the scenes footage of chaperones sitting in on rehearsals (each couple now has a member of staff present during all practices)? Would Tess and Claudia solemnly refer to the new welfare measures, just as they assiduously reminded us about social distancing when the show aired during Covid? Would Shirley Ballas make a speech? In the end, none of that happened. Instead, Strictly returned to doing what it does best – giving us a dose of glitzy, escapist chaos that played out like a surrealist fever dream, but with mahogany fake tans. It was a (slightly unhinged) business as usual approach that paid off.

Host Claudia Winkleman seemed to be channeling Princess Leia as she sauntered onto the ballroom floor wearing a white dress with a high neck and flowing sleeves (although over on Instagram, she hinted that she’d actually been inspired by the Greek crooner and kaftan aficionado Demis Roussos). Her out-there sartorial choices seemed to set the tone for an episode that really leaned into Strictly’s camp, larger-than-life character.

Soon, DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles was prancing around dressed like an intergalactic Bob the Builder, wearing a glitzy hi-vis vest, before he had some cake thrown in his face by pro dancer Carlos Gu. Miranda star Sarah Hadland was trying to teach her dance partner Vito Coppola how to make a decent cup of tea. And Pete Wicks, he of almost every reality show you can name, came down from the ceiling on a rope to perform a stompy Paso Doble. If the producers were hoping to distract viewers from the previous bad PR by just throwing weirder and weirder spectacles in front of us, they succeeded. Do we really need hand wringing when we can have the Dave Arch band gamely trying to cover The Prodigy?

Most baffling of all? Paul Merson and Karen Hauer’s American Smooth routine, performed to, wait for it, “Vindaloo” by Fat Les, a song that doesn’t exactly lend itself to well, smooth moves. Merson, who has been called up to fill the requisite “woefully bad footballer” slot previously occupied by his former Arsenal teammate Tony Adams, stomped around the floor, kicked a massive football and kept jumping up while clutching the air, as if clinging on to an imaginary space hopper. Was it entertaining or just plain stupid? Who knows, but arguing the case either way was pretty fun.

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Even the judges seemed to be embracing the sense of chaos in the air. Head judge Shirley Ballas kept getting up to do miniature performances, showing exactly how each move could be perfected; at one point she kissed a bemused Motsi Mabuse on the lips. The newly bearded Craig Revel Horwood said one dancer looked more like they were strolling round a steelworks than performing (why a steelworks, Craig?) And Anton du Beke said what everyone was thinking when he pointed out that pro dancer Gorka Marquez (who is paired this year with Morning Live GP Dr Punam Krishan) never misses an opportunity to show off his abs. Going a bit off piste like this felt much truer to Strictly spirit than trying to rake over old scandals.

And then, to finish things off? Wynne Evans, aka that singing bloke from the “Go Compare” advert, burst out from under a silver dish wearing a chef’s hat and started singing along to a Tom Jones track (he’s Welsh, don’t you know?) before samba-ing around the floor with his partner, the ever-patient Katya Jones. The biggest surprise of all? For all of the strange buffet-themed props, he was actually quite good – perhaps there’s scope for him to do a Bill Bailey and go from wild card to potential winner.

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There were also moments that remind us of just how powerful Strictly can be, too, like when comedian Chris McCausland, the show’s first ever blind contestant, took to the dance floor to perform a routine to “Twist and Shout” with partner Dianne Buswell. It was a truly impressive feat. And Amy Dowden’s return with new partner JB Gill, after taking a year off from the show to undergo treatment for cancer, received a worthy standing ovation.

Glimmers of emotion like these in amongst the panto-worthy pandemonium made tonight’s show classic Strictly. It was a big, mad sparkly riposte to all the naysayers who said that the show couldn’t go on (and yes, I was among them) – proof that there’s plenty of charm left in this format.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 28 September on BBC One

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Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas surprised viewers when she kissed Motsi Mabuse on the first live show of the 2024 series.

The dancer and TV judge, 63, was giving feedback to the Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova on their tango when the unexpected moment occurred.

Ballas asked Mabuse to stand up behind the judges’ table to demonstrate a tango hold to Dean, telling the sportsman: “It’s all in the posture.”

As Ballas took Mabuse by the hand, Anton Du Beke praised the two women and could be heard repeatedly saying “go on girls”.

In the middle of the demonstration, Ballas pecked Mabuse on the mouth, causing the former Strictly professional dancer to widen her eyes in surprise.

Strictly viewers were quick to comment on the kiss on X/Twitter, with one fan writing: “Motsi and Shirley kissing live on Strictly to give us the same sex representation we’re missing this series lmao [laughing my a** off].”

Meanwhile, another fan joked: “Omg the lesbian Motsi and Shirley. I’m shaking at all this gayness.”

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It comes shortly after Ballas revealed that she has suffered a cancer scare after being encouraged by her Strictly Come Dancing colleague Amy Dowden to attend a routine mammogram.

Ballas explained that doctors discovered lumpy tissue in her left breast after a routine examination, and she has been feeling emotional as she awaits news of the biopsy.

“I’m worried I’ve worked myself to death,” she told The Sun. “It’s been terrifying, to have the needle go in your body to numb it before the biopsy.

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“I feel very emotional. I’m not the same at work at the moment, so I’m teaching, but it’s constantly on my mind.”

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Ballas, who has judged on the hit BBC dance competition since 2017, then noted the impact of professional dancer Amy Dowden on her decision to attend her scheduled mammogram.

Dowden made a triumphant return to Strictly following a mastectomy, chemotherapy, fertility treatment and hospital care for sepsis on Saturday night (21 September).

“You are back home,” Ballas told the professional dancer after she took to the floor.

Dowden later told the show’s presenter Claudia Winkleman: “I’m so happy I could burst.”

Follow the Strictly Come Dancing live blog here.