Searches surge for stars of Strictly

As ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fever grips the nation for the fifth year running, Live Search uncovers that former Misteeq lady Alesha Dixon has already won the competition when it comes to online popularity.

Data from the search engine shows Alesha, who will be competing with fellow contestants Gethin Jones and Matt Di Angelo in the semi-final of Series 5 tonight, has pulled in more than two thirds of all Strictly Come Dancing star searches to date. The data also reveals that Alesha’s dance partner Matthew Cutler has seen his popularity steadily increase to match that of Camilla Dallerup, dance partner of fellow semi-finalist Gethin Jones.

And it’s not just dancing stars that the nation is searching for this festive season! It seems Brits really will be waltzing around the Christmas tree, with searches for ballroom dancing related items skyrocketing throughout the last few months as the Strictly Dance craze captures the nation.

From out of nowhere, ballroom dancing DVDs, the Strictly Come Dancing Feature Book and Bruce Forsyth’s autobiography have danced their way onto MSN Shopping’s most searched for Christmas Gifts list, easily wiping the ‘dance’ floor with other festive favourites such as digital radios, satellite navigation systems and laptops.

The top dance related searches 1 October 2007 until 12 December 2007 were:

1. Strictly Come Dancing (DVD)
2. Strictly Come Dancing (book)
3. Bruce Forsyth autobiography
4. Ballroom dancing beginner’s guide
5. Ballroom dancing shoes

Sarah Bush, UK Content Manager for MSN Shopping, said, “Brits really do seem to be going ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ crazy in the run up to Christmas. Our data suggests that fans won’t be left disappointed by their gifts, with so many show-related stocking fillers being bought online to give them their fancy footwork fix until Series 6 begins!”

For festive treats and services including shopping advice and a gift centre for easy online browsing go to: shopping.msn.co.uk.

Or, for an early Strictly Come Dancing fix, check out the podcast with the show’s Lilia Kopylova at http://feeds.feedburner.com/MsnEntsPodcast where she reveals which A-List movie star she’d most like to Strictly with.