BBC issues statement over Strictly Come Dancing phone voting fury

The BBC has finally addressed some of the big changes they’ve made to Strictly Come Dancing following Thomas Skinner’s elimination

The BBC has addressed the voting changes after sparking backlash from fans (Image: PA)

The BBC recently introduced a wave of changes to Strictly Come Dancing, which hasn’t gone down well with fans online. On Sunday (October 5), viewers tuned in for the results show, which noticeably featured a new voting system. Rather than calling up to vote for their favourite couple, viewers can now scan a QR code on the screen to place their votes online.

Viewers will need to sign up to their BBC account or create one online for free to place their votes. It’s fair to say the end of premium-rate phone lines hasn’t gone down well with fans, with many furious that it’s cutting off a large portion of the audience watching at home.

Now, the flagship channel has released a statement following the wave of complaints it has received about the discontinuation of the reality show’s call lines.

They wrote: “We understand that the changes to the premium-rate phone vote are disappointing for some viewers. We know fans of Strictly who like to vote by phone will be impacted, and it’s not something we would have chosen.

“The decision to discontinue such services was made by BT, who previously supplied this to service providers working with the BBC and other broadcasters. We have carefully explored phone voting alternatives that would be in line with Ofcom regulations, including ensuring that the Strictly vote is timely and reliable.

“Unfortunately, no viable replacement is available, and so voting will now take place online for all BBC programmes. Online voting is already the most popular method on BBC show,s with the majority of votes in the last series of Strictly cast this way.”

They continued: “To support those new to online voting, clear instructions will be provided during the show. All you need to cast a vote is a free BBC account, which is quick and easy to set up. Full details are available on our ‘Get the Best out of the BBC’ page.”

Fans are no longer able to vote by phone, instead placing their votes online (Image: PA)

After Strictly shared a step-by-step guide on how to vote under the new system on Instagram, many took to the comments to express their disappointment for those unable to vote online. One user wrote: “My nan has been a fan of Strictly for years and is not online at all. It’s really upset her as she loves to support her favourite couples each year.”

Another fumed: “Not everyone has internet access or the computer skills for this, particularly the older fans, of which I am sure that there are many. For a show that’s seemingly doing its best to promote inclusion, this makes that gesture feel quite performative.”

A third echoed: “This is a ridiculous change. Some people have been watching for 20 years and have no idea how to do anything online. You’re excluding a large amount of your audience for no reason.”

Meanwhile, others argued that this change was bound to happen and that many elderly viewers are very up to date with the times. One user pointed out: “Every family member I have in that generation uses Facebook and WhatsApp to contact family and is a competent smartphone user; this tech has existed for nearly two decades now.”

Another agreed: “People moaning about elderly people not being able to vote – my grandparents all use the internet over the age of 80 and 90 and no issues. Don’t understand the panic.”

Viewers argued the decision will isolate a large portion of their fanbase (Image: PA)

But that wasn’t the only change to the results show, after they debuted a brand-new order of play on the evening show. Last year, the professional dancers opened the show with a group dance before delivering half of the results.

Before the final round of the cast results, Claudia hosted the judges’ critiques and the musical act before closing the show with the dreaded dance-off and eliminating one couple from the competition.

But this year, producers shook up the format, instead opening the show with a reflection of last night’s show, pushing the group dance to halfway through the show, and splitting up the results segment into three sections instead of two.

It didn’t take long before viewers flocked to social media to voice their frustrations online, as one fumed: “Now they don’t announce the first bottom two couples at the start? Can they stop changing the format please, I don’t like it.”

Another agreed, “I hate the new results show format. It’s so weird. I preferred it before.” A third chimed in, “Dear Strictly producers, The new Results show format is terrible—please change it back as a matter of urgency. By next week at the latest—ideally partway through this show.”

A fourth chimed in: “The new results format made me feel like I just watched it on 1.5x speed.” A fifth pointed out, “I don’t like the new format where the last four couples discover if they’re in the dance off.”