Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has shared the three major changes the BBC show needs to fix ASAP. The 47-year-old ballroom dancer performed in the dance competition for eight years between 2006 and 2014. But it's fair to say plenty has changed since he left the long-running dance competition.

And more changes are on the horizon for the ballroom reality show after hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced that they were leaving the programme after 21 years at the helm. The TV show has suffered its fair share of scandals in recent years, including four stars pulling out of the BBC show due to injury and pro dancers being axed over allegations of bullying.

Axe weekend double-bill

Now, the dad-of-one has shared the three changes he believes bosses need to make to bring the show back with a bang. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk on behalf of Freebets, James argued that one easy change the show could make would be to eliminate the Sunday night results show.

He argued that instead of airing a weekend double bill, they should add the results to the end of the show on Saturday night. The doting dad explained: "I'd prefer to see it all in one night because otherwise you have to put on for the results show and watch a 45-minute show to see who gets eliminated.

"So for me personally, I'd prefer to go back to how it used to be, where they'd do the elimination on Saturday. I can't see why they can't, and it does stop the leak from coming out. It's always a shame that people know who's been eliminated before they even watch the show."

The award-winning dancer went on to share how he would schedule the BBC show instead. He suggested: "When the show started, there were 10 couples each doing a minute-and-a-half dance, so that's 15 minutes. So, if you cut down some of the other stuff to make the show not as long and add the results show at the end, then I don't think it'd be too bad.

"It doesn't need to be two hours long for that, so if they could make it a bit slicker, the VTs not quite as long, and don't let the judges talk quite as long, then it would work. There seems to be a lot of changes happening next year anyway, so they might as well try this one."

100% public vote

Another area of contention for the Strictly star is the increase in contestants with dance experience competing on the dance competition. The week before the Blackpool extravaganza, viewers bid farewell to Vicky Pattison and her dance partner Kai Widdrington in the dreaded dance-off against Balvinder Sopal.

The pro dancer branded the couple the "most improved couple" on the show, leaving him questioning: "What is Strictly now?" after their shocking exit. After watching their shocking exit, he argued that BBC bosses should give the public full control over the contestants' exit.

James explained: "I think the best thing to do would be to say, 'Okay, you can still have the judges and give their scores, but let the public have 100% control of who stays in the competition'. Because the further you are up that leaderboard, the less likely it is that you're going to be able to drop into the bottom two, right?

"But if you give the public 100% of the vote and the judges' scores are there just as a guideline, then you can only blame the public for the eliminations. So, if the public goes, 'Oh, why was she eliminated from the competition?' Well, you have full control.

"I think it would be a good shake-up for next year, because then if the most improved dancer leaves the show, but that's what the public wants to see, then that's okay."

Three-couple final

This year has seen several contestants withdraw from the competition due to injury, leaving fans wondering how many will advance to the live final next month. Earlier this month, Anton Du Beke warned that fans could expect a three-couple final rather than the traditional group of four after four people pulled out, with a fifth star also injured.

But the unexpected changes aren't entirely a disappointment for the pro-dancer, who admitted that a three-couple final is a better format for viewers tuning in at home. James stated: "I prefer a three-couple final to a four-couple final anyway because it's clear who's in gold, silver, and bronze.

"Generally, the person who's in fourth place doesn't do their show dance anyway. I just think the three-couple final is better, it's the only way of doing it." Fans will have to stay tuned to see what changes will be implemented on the BBC show next year.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays from 6.20pm on BBC One, or catch up on BBC iPlayer.