Strictly's James Jordan says show has become 'a woke panto' because it's so 'filtered and scripted' - as he doubles down on criticism of  three 'unnecessary' presenters

James Jordan has blasted Strictly as 'too woke', claiming the BBC show has become 'a little bit of a panto' because it is so 'filtered and scripted'.

The 48-year-old dancer competed on the Saturday night show for eight years, from 2006 to 2013, alongside his ex-wife Ola, 44, who left in 2015.

Having been a pro during what he considers the show's 'golden era', James has never been one to hold back his thoughts on Strictly's major format overhaul, including the introduction of three new presenters: Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.

As the show prepares to enter its fifth week, James remains unconvinced that the new format is working, particularly for its older audience, as he pointed to the show's 'low ratings'.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: 'They're all going out, doing silly VTs. I want to see them in the training room. I want to see the arguments.

'I want to see the tantrums. I want to see people struggling with the routines. I want to see the ones that find easy; I want to see all that stuff.

'All one big, happy family. I know that that isn't reality. The reality is there are people in the training room now struggling and getting upset and being anxious and doubting themselves.

'Are they gonna get that lift that hasn't been working in the training room or do you know that there's a bit of friction between them too? How are they going to get on?

'It's all a little bit Panto for me. It's all a little bit scripted. I want to see them being a bit more honest.

'Like Craig, he was always one of my favourite judges, because he was so brutally honest. But now, he's always really positive.

'I don't know, are gonna have mental breakdowns, because they've told their cha cha, isn't good? It's weird for me.

'The judges are not trying to be too woke and not upset people. Yeah, I just think it's all become a little bit too fluffy for me.

'The world's gone a little bit woke. The younger generation, a little bit precious, I don't know.

'I feel that possibly they're trying to adhere to the younger generations instead of keeping the generation that has watched it for the last 20 years, which is the older generation.'

Despite his reservations, James insisted that his love for the show remained, adding: 'The show's still amazing, and I love the show. I just feel they need to take a step back a little bit.'

Emma, Josh and Johannes have received mixed reactions since taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who departed the BBC show at the end of the 2025 series.

James also doubled down on his criticism of the decision to have three presenters, describing the new line-up as having 'unnecessary' hosts. 

While he praised Emma's presenting skills, he admitted that the other two were 'not working' for him.

He said: 'When you look at Emma in comparison to the other two hosts, you can see that she is a presenter, not saying that people shouldn't be given a chance, because I believe they should.

'And in time, maybe it's going to be better and it's gonna work right at this moment in time, I don't think the whole three hosts are working.

'For me personally, I think is that it's not really working, and you can really feel a difference in Emma's hosting skills compared to the other two.'

The pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year's peak of 5.6 million.

However, the episode averaged at 5.3 million viewers, down from 5.4 million in 2025.

While the peak figure represents a small rise on last year, it remains well below the figures recorded before the programme was hit by a series of controversies.

This includes allegations about the treatment of celebrity contestants and the culture behind the scenes, leading to the departure of professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima and prompting the BBC to introduce tougher welfare measures.

Before the string of scandals, the Strictly launch peaked at 6.7 million viewers and averaged 6.3 million in 2023.

A Strictly spokesman said: 'Strictly was the most watched programme of the night, with a peak of 5 million viewers. As ever, overnight ratings do not give the full picture of all those who watch in an on-demand world.'