Strictly Come Dancing

Well she'd have to I guess. Being no stranger to unfaithfulness herself.

People in glass houses and all that...

I don’t watch It Takes Two.... what happened?

Thank you @snutte

I just read a report on the It Takes Two interview and I don't think Walsh is being honest. He doesn't address the fact that his "date" with Katya was premeditated. Otherwise, why would he have stayed out with her on his girlfriend's birthday to the extent that it caused an argument with said girlfriend? I haven't been watching this series and had planned to watch on Saturday for fear of missing out on the juicy scandal but I think it's all a bit of a joke now and I won't be watching.

I once bumped into Zoe outside the Malmaison in Manchester.

Striking.

This isn't surprising at all. SCD gets a lot of viewers and most viewers develop some level of interest in the people they are watching dance, the judges, the presenters etc. as people. There's a reason why most years the best dancer doesn't win and instead it tends to be someone that isn't as good but is more likable. It's part dance contest, part popularity contest. We've even had some of the relationships between the pros sold to us when Neil and Katya etc. regularly dance together. 

It'd be one thing if this had been reported to have happened by The Sun but there was no real evidence, as has been the case with previous 'Strictly Curse' affairs. Instead we have full blown photos and a video in newspapers meaning the public are finding out about this at the same time as Seann's (ex) girlfriend is. It's the most dramatic way possible for the news to be revealed and so it results in big reactions. It is being made highly public, so the public feel they have a right to comment and to make judgments. They feel further emboldened to do so when those involved in the situation (Rebecca with her statement and now Seann and Katya in their interview) address the public directly to speak about it. 

Despite the nature of humans and the fact that we are essentially animals (when only around 5% of animal species are monogamous), cheating is a huge taboo in society. Even open relationships where both parties are happy with the arrangement are a taboo and plenty will judge those that partake in them. There are a large amount of people that consider cheating an unforgivable offense. We're only now after how many centuries of civilization starting to get to a point where it's okay for people to not want to get married or to have children, where it's okay for people to not make vows of commitment and monogamy to one other human being during their life.

Most people get either bored or plain unhappy with their lives. Most people feel bad about themselves in some way. Perhaps they think they're unattractive/unsuccessful and so on. It makes people feel good to look at the lives of others and see that things may not be going their way either, especially someone like Katya who on the surface appears to be beautiful, talented, successful and happy. Oh well none of that matters because she has made this one mistake, so let's tear her down and make her feel as bad about herself as I do about myself. When Katya posted her initial apology saying that it was not a reflection on her happy marriage, instead of coming to the reasonable conclusion that one CAN be largely happy with their husband and still have a brief moment of attraction/temptation particularly fueled by alcohol, multiple people replied to her saying that if she was happy then she wouldn't have done it. Do they really believe that or do they just want to believe that she has an unhappy marriage?

In summary the interest in the people featured on SCD combined with the public nature of the reveal combined with society's view on cheating combined with the insecurities that most of us have = an incredible amount of attention and outrage over one kiss. 

Aside from all that now, there have been accusations of emotional abuse which is a far more serious thing and something that a lot of people quite rightly care about. 

For someone who claims not to follow celebrity gossip you seem to know a lot about their private life...!

Ha! Yes, I don't think we can mistake Iain as not being a gayer. He's great though, I love it when he gets all excited about using his special pen to draw arrows all over the screen when he's critiquing the dances.

I actually really like Zoe as it happens, I've met her (very) briefly at a couple of events and she's always been delightful. I also think she's being a little unfairly criticised for not going all 'Emma Willis' on Seann and Katya but I think she's painfully aware that she did much the same thing to her own husband once so didn't want to seem hypocritical. I also think she's a reasonable adult who understands that you don't know what goes on in other people's relationships, isn't prepared to take everything at face value and that she also probably genuinely likes Seann and Katya too so wasn't prepared to hang them out to dry. Every story always has two sides.

I'd imagine Zoe is actually a really good friend who has her own flaws and is prepared to accept them in others. Despite what Twitter and the Daily Hate Mail tell us.

I mean it really would be a waste frankly!

(And yes I adore me some Zoe's Balls, she seems like a top gal one who likes a bevvy but would also keep all your secrets) 

I have met Zoe Ball on several social occasions and can confirm she is lovely - very tall - but lovely!

Just read in this weeks Popbitch that Seann Walsh dropped his PR company on Tuesday and signed up with industry big-hitter Matthew Freud, specialising in “top notch clean-ups”.

Maybe Gethen?

I reckon there's gonna be bumper viewing figures tonight!