Every year, Strictly Come Dancing is faced with the same criticism that some contestants already have previous dance experience. Pro dancer Kevin Clifton has hit back, responding to one fan who asked what the BBC's logic was in choosing to sign Ashley Roberts – a Pussycat Dolls singer, dancer and choreographer – this year. "Aren't the contestants meant to learn and develop dance genres and techniques over time?" one viewer asked.
Kevin replied on Twitter: "There's always some with dance experience. She will be learning ballroom for the first time. I suck at tap for example. Also @bbcstrictly leaves it to the voter. You vote for your favourite, doesn't have to be the best dancer by the judges." In more tweets, Kevin went on to say he is rubbish at ballet for example.
The rumoured Strictly contestants so far:
When another Twitter user claimed Kevin was being far too defensive of Strictly's 2018 line-up – after some fans claimed they didn't know who any of the celebrities are – Kevin replied: "You just said people have a right to comment.... maybe I'm not a person??" The fan has tweeted: "You're getting very defensive about this. People have a right to comment about whether they feel these so called 'celebs' are actually 'celebs'."
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The confirmed celebrity contestants so far are: Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts, journalist Stacey Dooley, author Katie Piper, This Morning's Dr Ranj Singh, radio presenter Vick Hope, cricketer Graeme Swann, Red Dwarf star Danny John Jules, vlogger Joe Sugg and Steps singer Faye Tozer.
Kevin has hit back on Twitter
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Strictly previously announced that this year 18 celebrities would star in the show, meaning that there are still eight names left to be revealed. Blue singer Lee Ryan, I'm a Celebrity winner Scarlett Moffatt, actress Michelle Keegan and actor Les Dennis are all rumoured to be joining. The show returns to screens at the beginning of September.
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