The Keep Dancing Podcast

Ellie is joined by Emily and Elliot as we take a look at the State of the Mirrorball at the start of the 2019 Series of Strictly Come Dancing. It’s our fourth series, so we’re knee-deep in in-jokes but we want you in on it too. - Births, couplings, uncouplings and new jobs - Frank assessments of the runners and riders in 2019 - Aljaz is definitely a Hufflepuff, but is Anton a gentleman? - What’s M...

Immediately after the Grand Final, Ellie, Elliot and Meg got together to record some hot takes and immediate reactions to a spectacular Strictly Grand Final. Emily and Anne supply some slightly more…sensible contributions. Thank you to everyone who has listened, chatted and shared this series with us. We’ve loved having you with us on this sparkly rollercoaster journey.

We're getting ready for the Grand Final and chatting with Dave Thorp, who runs the Strictly Spoiler website. We talk about his adventures running an important fan resource, how he's enjoyed the Class of 2018 and take a look at our finalists chances of victory.

Another batch of contextualised grousing from the podcast gang. Ellie is joined by Elliot, Emily and Meg to chew over the semi-final results. Also featuring: - KDP Investigates: Stacey Dooley’s hobbies - Alternating between different pronunciations of Argentine tango - An absolutely astonishing google search - The concept of 3 out of 4 couples lining up for the final in full body paint - Should Co...

Musicals week allows us to feel the full range of emotions: from excitement to disgust, from joy to fear. Join us on a journey into the heart of staginess as we try to work out who is the biggest ham of all. Ellie is joined by Emily, Anne and Meg to put on the old razzle dazzle. - New feature: Johannes Appreciation Corner - What kinds of puppets bother Ellie? - A heartfelt goodbye to Charles, who...

The post Blackpool lull descends into chaos with a lumpy, partial score reset, troubling hair and the regulation shock dance off. Elliot, Emily, Vikki and Anne join Ellie to pick the delicious dance cherries out of the messy trifle. Also in this episode: - Did we get the largest ever shout out? - LED colour selection chat - Huge appreciation for the props folks - Strident demands for male rumbas i...

An Erotic Chicken Dance In A Winnebago We’ve got through another Blackpool week and all the plot elements are starting to slot into place, as is Craig’s 10 paddle. We’ve also definitely had our wow moment. Finally. - How tickled were our Eurovision glands? - We realise that AJ has a huge online fandom and that we probably ought never to tangle with them - An extended extemporisation on the subject...

At the crucial Blackpool phase of this Strictly series, new media storytelling expert Ewan Spence returns to try to make sense of the meta-narrative. Has the narrative collapsed or just fragmented? Is the Destroyer inevitable? Is Strictly more like sport or more like entertainment? What difference does that make? Plus, we answer some of your questions, or at least dodge them in interesting ways.

Everyone wants to go to Blackpool! This series of Strictly continues to be absolutely all over the place. Nothing is certain, everything is topsy-turvy. The only thing that remains constant and reliable is that we’re annoyed by people dancing in inappropriate shoes. This episode also includes: - A real talk serious moment about tabloid racism and diva stereotypes - We reveal the statistically dead...

The Converse Curse Gets Worse We thought we’d seen the last of them, but they won’t go away. Inappropriate footwear is haunting the Strictly Ballroom! This episode also contains: - A conspiracy theory about Avril Lavigne? - All unnecessary props are now ‘of Doom’. Gazebo of Doom, Cube of Doom, Cafe table of Doom - A request to leak the Dress Run footage of Danny’s Quickstep. - Is there too much fa...

The podcast gang review the Halloween episode of our favourite musical soap opera with some nice frocks in it. Be very afraid. This episode also contains: - A canon-compatible Doctor Who combat tango! - The podcasters who don’t have children find out about The Poo Song. - We are pledging to join in with #shakeitwithshirley because she is the Content Queen - Multiple interludes of despondent rage -...

With the scoring set to ‘RANDOM’ and the Couple’s Choice adding an extra level of confusing subjectivity to the proceedings, we find ourselves bereft as Vick falls foul of Shirley’s Serious Glasses of Doom. Also in this episode: - There are now spies in Graeme’s house - Is being weird and yelling JUICY NUGGETS a character? Yes, apparently - How much camp? Keep spooning it on. Keep going. Line up t...

It’s an absolutely normal week for our favourite reality dance show! Do not think about The Event! In this weekend’s episode: - The first rumba of the series leads us to ask ‘What’s the worst possible song for a rumba?’ - A potpourri of laundrette anecdotes in lieu of a review of Charles’ disco salsa - We’re replacing 10 More Minutes of Bum Chat with 20 Minutes of Hubris - Real talk advice on what...

A Stumble Away From Perfection PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded on Sunday evening just after the Results Show, and completed just after Rebecca Humphries released her statement on Monday evening. We haven’t addressed anything in this episode, because the only information available at time of recording was either gossip or in a paper we’re boycotting. We’ve upgraded our recording setup, and n...

Ellie talks to new media storytelling expert Ewan Spence about how to construct a storyline, why planning a series of Strictly is like making an hour of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show and why we’re all in danger of a catastrophic narrative collapse. Plus, we’d love to hear your questions about the over-arching meta narrative of Strictly, whatever that turns out to be.

Anton Du Not Come Beke The combination of a weird atmosphere on the show, a few puzzling dances and a dawning realisation that Joe is probably unstoppable made Week 2 a bit… odd. Are we seeing the first signs of a seismic shift in Strictly voting patterns? For the first time ever, the Antonettes desert their hero at the first hurdle. What does it all mean? In this episode: - Is maroon a legit colo...

No mess, no fuss, just fifteen dances and a whole new fresh series of Strictly stretching out ahead of us. It’s all downhill to Christmas from here. Polish the mirrorball and get your spray tan on. It’s time. In this episode: - We’re angry with Anton, but not all that surprised - Graeme Swann’s surprising pants - Someone needs to explain The Internet to the grownups - Who’s got the biggest voting...

We’re back on Planet Glitterball for another series of Strictly! Ellie, Emily, Elliot, Anne and Lisa cast their eyes over the class of 2018. Who do we think will struggle? Who’ll be on an improvement arc? Who do we think probably meant to go on Celebrity Masterchef?

Hello! It’s the middle of the summer but the dancing never stops. Ellie went to give Oti’s new dance class Shake It a try. We gave everything a good shake for 2 glorious hours, then sat down for a bit of a chat about the joy of teaching, the Strictly year and the importance of a good bra. Oti’s classes are on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/oti-mabuse-16997034174 Keep up with Keep Dancin...

The Chalkley family go to see the Strictly Live tour en masse, and have views on glitter, merchandise and problems distinguishing badgers from badges.

We round off the competitive part of the 2017 Strictly series with some hot takes from the night that Joe’s spirited execution of Katya’s choreography claimed the glitter ball! Featuring Ellie, Emily, Elliot, Ann and an extra special guest.

It’s semi finals week and we’ve got the whole podcast gang on at once. Chaos reigns and hilarity ensues. Which thing is not a thing? Who is launching a range of body washes? Who is wearing the wrong trousers? And have we got the right finalists?

It’s the shortest show of the Strictly year and we’re off to the musicals, darling. We’re also very cross about the animosity towards two of our leading ladies in various dark corners of the internet, so buckle in. Also covered: - Mollie King’s playlist for her crush https://open.spotify.com/user/ellielabelle/playlist/2FdhhgNu5v1i1R4HfzbXny - The difference between a sticky wicket and a shoogly pe...

We pick up the pieces after Susan and Kevin are knocked out of the competition and it looks like we’ve got a new winner elect. Also featuring: - Do you need a risk assessment to go up a girder in culottes? - Who is dressed as Alan Partridge? - Debbie sends Ellie into a polysyllabic meltdown - A dismissal of the ‘thon’, if we must call it that - Blubbing

Blackpool time comes around again and we begin by deconstructing the iconography and symbolism of Northernness as displayed in Strictly. - Which podcast team member hasn’t actually seen Strictly Ballroom? - 90s memories flood back with Debbie’s alleged samba - Deep confusion about Davood’s Paso - An in-depth discussion of acid house fashion - A highly recommended google image search string With El...