ჰმ, ქამბექი არა მიურეი
Martina on BBC Dancing show
The former Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis, who is currently banned from tennis for cocaine abuse, was today named as one of the contestants in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation in 2008 after testing positive for the drug during the 2007 Wimbledon tournament, Hingis is the most controversial contender in a field otherwise dominated by young soap stars.
Representing the world of professional sport are former jockey Richard Dunwoody, retired boxer Joe Calzaghe, Olympic long jumper Jade Johnson and the ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell.
Among the older contestants, on a show that has faced accusations of ageism, are the former model Jo Wood, estranged wife of Ronnie Wood, and the actress Lynda Bellingham, 61, who despite a long and varied career, is perhaps best known as the calm gravy-making mother from Oxo adverts of the 1980s.
Last year’s contest was won by the actor Tom Chambers, though this achievement was largely overshadowed by the comic performances of veteran BBC journalist John Sergeant, who eventually resigned from the show fearing that his popularity was getting out of hand.
This year’s field presents no obvious candidates for the John Sergeant position – an inelegant dancer who delights the public and annoys the judges. The oldest in the field, Bellingham, said her only previous experience of ballroom was when she attended a ball at the age of 13. But she is also a keen horsewoman. "I’m proud that I’m in (the show)," she said. "I’m flattered that I have been asked. If anything I feel a lot of responsibility to make good. If you look at the people who have won, they have been fabulous dancers.”
Though many are placing their hopes in Phil Tufnell, the show has previously proven that footwork and balance are essential elements of the professional cricketer. Fellow cricketers Mark Ramprakash and Darren Gough have both won the show in previous years.
Even Chris Hollins, 38, a presenter of BBC Breakfast, who is also preparing to paso doble, has a history in sport, being an ex-Charlton Athletic reserve-team player and a former first-class cricketer with Kent and Oxford University. Another presenter, Rav Wilding, who now appears on Crimewatch, is a buff former police officer whose dancing abilities are not currently a matter of public record.
Bookies looking to pick the worst of the bunch may be forced to examine the past movements of the array of soap actors who make up the rest of the field. From Eastenders comes Natalie Cassidy and Ricky Groves, from Coronation Street, Craig Kelly and from Hollyoaks, Ricky Whittle.
Ali Bastian, formerly of Hollyoaks, now appearing as the smouldering PC Sally Armstrong in The Bill, is in too, besides Zoe Lucker and Laila Ross of the ITV show Footballers Wives.
In Hingis, 29, the show’s producers have chosen a controversial but popular player who won five grand slam titles during her career. After testing positive for cocaine in 2007, Hingis declared she was “100% innocent”, but the International Tennis Federation ruled against her and ordered her to repay nearly £80,000 in prize money.
Hingis said: “It’s behind me, this is a new challenge.” She added: “I want people to see a different side to me than the person running round the tennis court." However, she promised to apply the same gritty approach to the dance show that had taken her to five grand slams on the tennis court. “Everything I do I do to win. I am very competitive.”
The producers have already faced criticism for axing the veteran choreographer Arlene Phillips, 66, from the judging panel, after six series, replacing her with the pop star Alesha Dixon, 30, who won the show in 2007.
Phillips has been moved to The One Show where she will appear as a Strictly “expert”. Len Goodman, 65, and Bruno Tonioli, 53, will return as judges this autumn, alongside Craig Revel Horwood, 44. Darcy Bussell, 40, the former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, will also appear as a judge later in the series.
Mr Revel Horwood recently appeared to criticise the decision to “change the flavour of” the judging panel, saying that “a celebrity contestant can never match someone who has been dancing their entire lives, who has been competitive and in professional competitions”.
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Tennis / ჩოგბურთი, საშემოდგომო სეზონი ჰარდზე (Vol VI)
