Analysis: Strictly entertainment for viewers who don’t ‘do’ reality TV

STRICTLY Come Dancing is a successful brand and in no way has it “had its day” in the world of reality television.

There is a lot of life left in it and it attracts an audience who don’t normally watch reality TV and would be horrified at the suggestion that is exactly what they are doing.

It tends to attract the older, upmarket demographic, but is also very much fighting for the younger, family-orientated Saturday night audience.

Compared with shows such as Big Brother, it is high-end, high-value Saturday night entertainment, put together by some of the best brains in the business to make sure people have “an appointment to view”, to sit down and watch that particular show as a family.

People are consuming about eight hours of media a day, sometimes simultaneously, and the buzz of Strictly is continued on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

It is packaged to be a very “BBC” programme, rooted in public service values – encouraging people to participate and take up dancing.

Its enduring appeal is its innocence and being “fundamentally British”, where the main things are being plucky and doing your best.

The programme’s makers realise the importance of having a good “cast”, who have lots of drama in their lives to feed the newspapers.

Contestants have already achieved fame in some way and may be looking to change their profile or move on.

The public has become much more cynical and rejecting of other reality shows, where unknowns have a tiny opportunity to build some kind of fame for themselves.

l Andrew Jones is head of journalism at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.