In Episode 7 of The Keep Dancing Podcast, we work out what Eurovision and the yellow wagtail have to do with Laura and Giovanni’s romantic waltz, get effusive about Ed Ball’s banjography and stand in solidarity with Anastacia. Plus our new regular feature ‘Ten Minutes of Bum Chat’, this week featuring Greg. In our weekly awards ceremony Ellie attempts to award Dress of the Week to a dress which technically doesn’t exist and we ask… why do we call him Judge Rinder anyway?

Contributors: Ellie, Dawn, Emily, Lisa and Michelle

In Episode 6 of the Keep Dancing Podcast we’re still reeling from the back-to-back dazzling danceathon that was the opening weekend of the Strictly season.

We’ve seen 6 cha-chas, 4 waltzes, 2 tangos, 2 jives and a Week One Paso, which we think might be a clever strategic move.

To help make sense of what we’ve just seen, we'll talk it through together. Our podcast team was: Ellie, Lisa, Michelle, Richard and Emily

In our last episode before the live shows start, we're talking to Cassie who turns Strictly into a year-round, multi-generational 360-degree whirlwind of positivity and friendship with her Strictly Support Group.

Follow her at @scd_support to join in!

There’s a long and storied history of people thinking that the success of a TV show is tied to one particular aspect, like the star or the format or the location. But as we’ve found just this week with the news about the Bake Off, the success of a show generally requires the whole package. It’s the difference between buying The Great British Bake Off and spending 25 million on the concept of putting some ovens in a tent.

In this episode I’m talking to Ewan Spence about Strictly as the last big in-house BBC format. We’ll talk about what makes the show we love the show it is.

In the downtime between the launch show and the start of the series proper, we take some time out to talk to some people who enjoy Strictly in different ways. First up, it's Rob Furber of entertainmentodds.com, who tells us about the drama of gambling on reality TV, keeps us informed about the Dark Arts and has some strong views on the X Factor.

Contributors: Ellie, Rob

We're already making adjustments to the spreadsheet as the Launch Show reveals more about our new batch of celebrities. Plus, what on earth is Tess wearing?

Contributors: Ellie, Lisa, Michelle and Richard

It’s the very first episode of our Strictly Podcast and we’re looking over our brand new batch of contestants. Do we think they can dance? Do we think they might be quite short? Do we even really know who they are?

Contributors: Ellie, Lisa and Michelle.