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Strictly wins TV’s battle of the viewers
SUSANNAH Constantine tempted fate about the infamous relationship-wrecking “curse” of Strictly Come Dancing as the launch show hammered rival X Factor in the ratings war.
The 16th series of the contest pulled in 8.5 million viewers at its peak to watch a dazzling mix of dance, sequins and excitement on Saturday night.
In contrast, over on ITV the X Factor, even with new judges Robbie Williams and wife Ayda Field, and One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson joining Simon Cowell, scored an average of only 4.6 million viewers.
Susannah, 56, lived up to her outspoken reputation from her days presenting What Not To Wear, with her daring quip about the “curse” which is rumoured to have triggered a string of break-ups for celebrities and professional dancers.
Louise and Jamie Redknapp, Ben Cohen and Abby Blayney and Rachel Riley and Jamie Gilbert are all said to be victims. Susannah, who has been married to businessman Sten Bertlesen since 1995, boasted: “Bring on the Strictly curse is all I can say now,” as she was teamed with professional dancer Anton Du Beke in the return of the competition to BBC One.
She also revealed to host Tess Daly that while her daughters Esme and CeCe were fans, son Joe is not keen.
“My son is probably on the way to the North Pole now, he’s so embarrassed,” she laughed before nodding at Anton and saying: “I’m with God himself.”
Anton, 52, has been with his wife, marketing officer Hannah Summers, for six years and their twin son and daughter were born last year.
The 15-strong celebrity line up for 2018 has been criticised for not containing A-list names to match those of previous series.
Last month documentary maker Stacey Dooley hit out at being called a D-lister with: “Next time you write about me it’s ‘Stacey Dooley MBE’.”