COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli have claimed that the format of Strictly Come Dancing needs to be tweaked next year.


The duo agreed that the show had been too long at the start of the series, the Daily Mail reports.

"Bruno and I both agree that having 16 couples was too much," Goodman said. "At the beginning, people had to sit through two and a half hours. Most shows and series that run for several years have ups and downs. I think the BBC is right in trying to tweak it. It's like a plant - it needs to be pruned occasionally."

However, the pair concurred that the programme's producers had done well with a small budget compared to ITV rival The X Factor.

Tonioli claimed that the BBC had done an "incredible amount of work". Goodman added: "The costumes are far less expensive on The X Factor. You don't have to buy suits for the men and gorgeous frocks for the women. We have a 20-piece orchestra and singers. But I'm sure if the BBC really did pull out all the stops, they would be criticised."

Goodman and Tonioli, who reportedly saw their fees drop by 20% this year, also admitted that they would accept further pay cuts to keep the show going.

"We understood that we had to take a pay cut," Tonioli explained. "Everyone did. Everyone is suffering. It was never a question. We just said, 'Of course we will do it'. We could have said no, but we wanted to keep doing the show.

"We are definitely not doing it for the money, not even close. We just love it and feel very loyal to the show. If we hadn't done Strictly we wouldn't have been doing the American version, Dancing With The Stars. I would have just continued to choreograph films, and Len would have been doing his dance school.

"Strictly has changed our lives. And we are very grateful for it. At the end of the day, if it wasn't for this, we wouldn't be here."

Earlier tonight, television presenter Chris Hollins won this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing.