It's been a crazy few years for Strictly fans, there's been much fun and randomness along the way, but we've also seen beloved pros leaving, a sea of props, horrendous song choices....the DANCE TROUPE...and then all of a sudden, we actually get something we want - who would have thought?!
Claudia, Claudia, we'll have to re-name the Tesspit. Claudia's Cave?
I'm genuinely surprised and happy that they've picked Claudia. Yes, we know she's the best for the job, but this is the year Simon Cowell comes back to X Factor, the year SCD needs to compete in the ratings more than ever and you'd worry they would go for some sort of headline-grabbing, big-money replacement for Bruce. Or, y'know, someone old-school and horrendous like Ronnie Corbett again (otherwise known as the worst EVER episode of SCD that makes me want to claw at my face whenever I think of it).
I'm also delighted that it's the two ladies fronting the show, whilst we all hoped for Claudia, there was a general acceptance it would be a man, and hurrah for the BBC for not going down that road. My you be blessed with many outraged columns in the Daily Mail, that's when you know you've done something right.
And now the time has come to say goodbye to Bruce, as much as there is love for Claudia, I will miss him. No one else had a Bruce. There's something to be said about the specialness of Strictly that came with Bruce, someone who's a kagillion years old and has been dancing around having a whale of a time for longer than we've all been alive. Tap-dancing with woolly mammoths. And despite it being such hard work, he loved how Strictly is live, and thankfully we get Claudia - someone else who could go off in any direction and say anything without warning and chase McFly off stage waving their arms like a lunatic. Once again, hurrah!
Claudia and Bruce, we salute you!
