Settle down for a bumper edition of Strictly Come Dancing tonight as the show controversially bumps Casualty out of its usual spot and takes over BBC1 for more than two hours. It's yet another example of how the courtly Strictly has overtaken its brash Saturday-night opponent The X Factor when it comes to creating controversy and scandal. Before it even reached our screens, there was public outrage over replacing Arlene Phillips with Alesha Dixon on the Strictly judging panel, as well as fury over its head-to-head scheduling with The X Factor (a close-fought battle the ITV1 show is generally winning with viewing figures often above ten million). Since then, there have been whispers about romance for one couple and reports of an ill-advised remark from Anton Du Beke. Whereas, apart from murmurings about Kandy Rain's past and a rumour that Cheryl Cole had elocution lessons (I'd ask for your money back, love), there's been little controversy to report from The X Factor camp. What can't be denied is that these shows are massive. Tonight the Strictly contestants perform either a jive or a Viennese waltz.
