The BBC's sequin-encrusted jewel in its light entertainment crown returned last Saturday. Not to be outdone, the USA's answer, Dancing with the Stars, is back this week on UKTV Gold. Like all successful reality formats, Strictly Come Dancing has been exported all over the world, but does its American counterpart come up to snuff?
1) Hosts. A male of senior years and an attractive younger lady? Check. Where we have the erratic and embarrassing but still endearing Bruce Forsyth, accompanied by the solicitous Tess Daly and her ever-increasing wardrobe of ugly dresses, DwtS has Tom Bergeron, who once hosted Hollywood Squares (like Celebrity Squares, but in Hollywood), and E! reporter Samantha Harris, who has a tendency to shout into the microphone like she's on a red carpet somewhere.
Victor: Strictly Come Dancing
2) Judges. Strictly's head judge Len Goodman appears on DwtS and has transported his own special brand of nonsensical scoring and fondness for macho sportsmen and their incredible dancing journeys over the Atlantic. Bruno Tonioli joins him on the judging panel, all mixed metaphors and flirtatious banter. Sadly, on DwtS, Len and Bruno's relentless positivity isn't kept in check by the pragmatic Arlene Phillips or Craig Revel-Horwood. They're alongside Carrie-Ann Inaba, choreographer and actress, who may be nice, but three judges being nice does not make good television.
Victor: Strictly Come Dancing
3) Celebrities of dubious fame. Well, perhaps my assessment of someone's celebrity on DwtS is harsh, but I can say that I've heard of five of this season's stars, and would recognise maybe two of them if they walked past me in the street. Having said that, there are two of Strictly's celebrities that I didn't recognise either, so perhaps this is a moot point.
Victor: A tie
4) Professional dancers with complicated family ties. Dancing is an incestuous business, apparently. On Strictly, we've had the happily married Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova and James and Ola Jordan, the once-engaged Camilla Dallerup and Brendan Cole and the divorced Matthew and Nicole Cutler. That's straightforward enough. On DwtS, we've got a married couple, a brother and sister and now even a father and son. It's reassuring that the producers on both series like to encourage inter-family wars by bringing in celebrity couples to compete – Gabby and Kenny Logan faced off against each other in Strictly and Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna have done the same on DwtS.
Victor: Dancing with the Stars
5) Highlight of the viewing year. DwtS? Not so much. Like so many popular American series, it suffers from overkill with two series every year. Strictly, on the other hand, benefits from the anticipation and its pre-Christmas climax.
Victor: Strictly Come Dancing
Not to disparage DwtS, Strictly Come Dancing is the original and the best. May its glitterball never fade.
