Former BBC boss who launched Strictly Come Dancing calls for it to be rested next year in a bid to rebuild its reputation
For the last few years, the once squeaky clean Strictly Come Dancing has found itself embroiled in a series of scandals including claims of bullying and drug use.
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By CODIE BULLEN, SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER
Published: 12:17 GMT, 31 December 2025 | Updated: 12:26 GMT, 31 December 2025
For the last few years, the once squeaky clean Strictly Come Dancing has found itself embroiled in a series of scandals including claims of bullying, drug use while one professional even kicked his professional partner.
So much as the drama that there have been calls for the BBC One dance programmed to be axed.
And now even a former BBC boss who worked on the launch of Strictly back in 2004 has told how he believes that it should be rested next year in a bid to rebuild its reputation and not have to rush to fill the shoes of presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
In an astonishing post on LinkedIn, Sam Hodges, who worked as the communications chief at the BBC for more than ten years, also claims that a pause would mean that people would realise what they were missing – and called for a 'fallow year' like Glastonbury in 2026.
Hodges, who also worked at Twitter and Netflix, before moving to PR Agency, The Romans in 2023, also claims that a rest would 'allow new energy to return' to Strictly.
He wrote: 'It's 20+ years since I launched Strictly Come Dancing as an Assistant Publicist at the BBC. A non-priority new show with the working title Pro-Celebrity Come Dancing. No one knew the hit it would become.
A former BBC boss who launched Strictly Come Dancing calls for it to be rested next year in a bid to rebuild its reputation
'For the first time though, I think it's time to take a leaf out of Glastonbury's book and consider a fallow year for 2026.
'This series has clearly been tough on a whole host of fronts, but reputationally its biggest boost might well come from helping people realise what they'd miss, rather than chasing salvation by rushing into immediate contract talks with new producers, presenters, and cast.
'Things rarely finish on a high in TV - more often an exhausted final series or a controversy that brings things to a sudden or crashing end. Glastonbury's fallow years increase demand for tickets rather than opening the door to competitors - they allow new energy to return to both the line-up and the land.