The BBC have expanded the Strictly empire with their new show that has just started on BBC3 (Tuesdays 9pm).  Dancing on Wheels follows a similar format to Strictly, but this time the hunt is on for a couple to represent the UK at the European Wheelchair DanceSport Championships.

The show started with six couples, 3 women and 3 men in wheelchairs who have been paired with 'celebrities' with either experience of Strictly or some dance background.  All the routines on this show are choregraphed by Brian Fortuna, who has eight years experience in this style of dance, and who's mother wrote the syllabus for Wheelchair DanceSport in the USA.

The show is filmed in a specially designed studio in Pinewood rather than at the BBC in Shephards Bush, and the whole show has a more documentary feel than the Strictly series.  However, pains have been taken to ensure that the audience doesn't feel pity for the wheelchair users and I think that the show will change the perceptions of those who bother to watch the show on the capabilities of wheelchairs and their users.  I say 'those who bother to watch' as BBC3 on a Tuesday evening is hardly primetime viewing and therefore will reach a limited audience (just over 2.2% or 1/2 million people according to the BARB figures).

Wheelchair dancing has been around since the 1960's, but is barely acknowledged in the UK, the home of Ballroom Dancing.  The international competitions have been going for nearly 20 years but the UK have never been represented. It's great that there is a move to make it a more apparent sport and raise the public awareness - and given Strictly's success at raising the profile of partner dancing generally I guess using a similar format is the way to go.

There are other changes than just the set though.  The judging panel consists of James and Ola Jordan and Ade Adepitan (who starred a while back in the basketball ident on the BBC).  There isn't a public vote, and the show is going out far from live as the winning couple have already represented the UK in the European Championships.

However, I'm not sure I want to see failed Strictly wannabe's have a second shot at the expense of wheelchair users.  Heather Smalls for example is just as bad as she was the first time around, and despite being kept by the judges in week 1 I thinking being consistently off-time is reason to go home.  Mark Foster on the other hand is almost unrecognisable and really come into his own as a dancer in the first show.

From a dance point of view it's great to have a show where both sides of the couple are rank amateurs at this style of dance - rather than having the opportunity to be corrected and 'carried' around the floor by the professional partner.  It's also interesting to witness the skill and control of the wheelchair users and how to incorporate those unique movements into a dance routine.  I have never worked with a wheelchair user, but I have worked with limited mobility, deaf, blind, amputees and physiotherapy students.  All of whom cemented my belief that genuinely anyone can dance given the right support and techniques.

I'll be honest, initally I was highly sceptical about the BBC 'milking' their success with one show, but having watched episode 1 on iPlayer the Dancing on Wheels show is much less about the stars and more about the achievements.  It's also less glamourous in the sense that while we have the costumes, the set is less 'glittery' and the presenters not quite so gushy!  We're also lacking the 'in training this week' and 'green room' chats which adds to the more documentary feel of the show.

I probably won't watch the whole series, but may well catch up towards the end to see who wins and who represents the UK.  if you have any interest at all - even if just to see how you dance a Modern Tango or Cha cha in a wheelchair - then pop along to iPlayer and catch an episode.  Let me know what you think!