Kara Tointon to follow Alesha route to Strictly Come Dancing panel
Published:With Alesha Dixon jumping ship from the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel to that of Britain’s Got Talent, the BBC has a big decision on its hands on who to name as a replacement.
Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood remain on the judging panel and it is almost guaranteed that a female will be appointed to join them, ruling out the chances of Russell Grant.
The most obvious appointment would be former show dancer Karen Hardy, who certainly has the required knowledge to be an effective judge.
Meanwhile, she was also promoted to the red button for the last Strictly series, providing live commentary for each individual dance.
Karen is 9/4 in the Strictly Come Dancing odds to be named as the successor to Alesha, but there are two big reasons why she may not get the gig.
Firstly, with the entire panel in their mid-40s or older, the BBC is likely to want a younger face present.
Furthermore, Karen is not a particularly big name to fill a huge slot on one of the BBC’s most popular programmes and the provider will want a judge with some pulling power to ensure the show remains competitive later this year with the next series of the X Factor.
Therefore, with the focus more on personality and celebrity status rather than dance credentials and knowledge, Kara Tointon may be a better bet to take over.
Like Alesha, Kara is a former winner of the show and also like Alesha she would be a judge two years after emerging victorious, alongside having no formal choreography background.
She is additionally of the right age and sex to tick the right boxes and would have gained enough knowledge of what to look for in a good dance from her time on the show.
Kara could also gain extra knowledge of what to look for from current boyfriend and professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.
It is 1/1 that Kara is the next permanent judge on Strictly having replaced Alesha.
