I am not the only one who thinks the BBC has missed a trick hiring Darcey Bussell to replace Alesha Dixon as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

I have never made a secret of the fact I am a big Strictly fan and that I thought it was wrong for the Beeb to replace Arlene Phillips with Alesha Dixon back in 2009.

Regardless of the ageism claims, the show lost one of the most respected figures in the world of dance and replaced her with a young, beautiful but largely clueless ex-contestant.

No one can deny that Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha is the show’s best female champion ever but there is a huge leap between doing what you’re told and spotting flaws and strengths in other people’s efforts.

Now, to say Darcey Bussell is a step back in the right direction is an understatement but hiring the former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet misses one vital point.

Ballet is not a category of dance performed on Strictly Come Dancing.

Now hold your horses. I remember just as much as you the lovely jive Darcey did with professional Ian Waite when she guest-judged on the series in 2009. It was very nice.

But sitting her alongside Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli when the show returns in the autumn does not add a relevant string to the judging panel’s bow.

I was chatting to the lovely, if not a little ditsy, Ali Bastian about this, for an interview about her starring role in the UK tour of Chicago, which you can read about in next week’s What’s On (out from Wednesday, May 2).

Aside from her appalling lack of current affairs knowledge – when asked who should replace Alesha she replied “What? I didn’t even know. I had no idea. What is going on? I have not seen the news or a TV,” – she actually made some very valid points.

“It’s important to get someone from a ballroom and Latin background. When you are waiting for the judgements with Len you know it has technically got to be good and Craig is from a massive showbiz background and is a choreographer.

“So maybe someone like Karen Hardy would be good. She would have my vote. She is amazing and a leading voice in ballroom and Latin.

“She is so well respected in the industry. People travel the world to have lessons with her when it is competition time.”

OK, Ali is biased because she is a regular visitor to former Strictly professional Karen’s dance studio in Chelsea. But Karen was the force behind the show’s greatest ever champion, Mark Ramprakash, and its best ever moment, when the pair performed their Argentine Tango to Tina Turner’s GoldenEye theme.

If they wanted someone who was respected in the industry, still young, and someone with previous on the show, surely Karen should have been the BBC's choice.

(Karen Hardy, pictured hosting a summer school at Maidstone's Margaret Preedy Dance Studio last year)

Playing it safe will be the order of the day for this year's music festivals, underlined by today's announcement of the Hop Farm's line up this year.

Bob Dylan will headline for the second time at the event near Paddock Wood, with other headline sets coming from Peter Gabriel (and the New Blood Orchestra) and Suede.

Fair play - all three are UK festival exclusive shows, with a fourth exclusive over the three-day event coming from Cannonball singer-songwriter Damien Rice.

And another good move from the organisers is the method of announcing all the big names now, rather than dragging out the process like last year, when Prince was sensationally announced as headliner of a third day just over two months before the festival.

Head honcho Vince Power must have one eye on making sure he gets decent ticket sales in the bag as the inevitably momumental summer of 2012 arrives.

The London Olympic Games, Euro 2012 and Diamond Jubilee are all set to divert public attention - and cash - away from annual events this year.

This is not withstanding the money people have already spent on Sport Relief, Titanic's 100th anniversary and Charles Dickens' bicentenary among other things.

To be fair, it was always going to be difficult to top last year's bill - the Eagles and Morrissey topped off with two and a half hours of the incomparable Prince was always going to be something of a one off.

That is not to say anyone is outrageously disappointed with this year's line up. As well as Dylan, pictured above at Hop Farm in 2010, there will be Primal Scream, Billy Ocean, Patti Smith (a favourite of mine from last year) and Joan Armatrading. These are all acts with top music pedigree.

In its bid to put on real music for proper music fans, the Hop Farm has not forgotten the younger generation too, with Slow Club, Tom Vek, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Maximo Park all certain to ensure the weekend is not a complete senior-fest.

It made good business sense to secure Dylan, Gabriel and Suede for this year, who will all bring hugely loyal and hugely huge followings to the Hop Farm. They will all spend their money at the soonest possible opportunity to make sure they can see their heroes in their only festival show on these shores this year.

Crucially they will all spend their money before they realise what they will need to fork out for a burger inside the Olympic stadium, a plane ticket to Ukraine or a buffet for their jubilee street party.

Of course, some quarters will cry that this chat flies in the face of what has happened with Kent's other notable music festival, Lounge On The Farm, which is still to announce its final headliner.

Yet I am sure we won't have to wait too long before we find out who will be joining Emili Sande and the Charlatans as bill toppers at Merton Farm, Canterbury.

When my best mate called me with the offer of a free ticket to a James Morrison gig this week, I did what all bros should do: I said yes.

Fans of How I Met Your Mother will understand this eternally relevant maxim from the Bro Code set out by the show’s lothario Barney Stinson.

And when my pal found himself without a date to take to this questionable choice of concert, I did what I thought any good bro should do: I took pity on him, took in a deep breathe and said of course I’d ensure his £30 ticket didn’t go to waste.

I’ll level with you. I didn’t hold out high hopes for James Morrison’s show at the Hammersmith Apollo on Thursday evening.

The images which came to my mind were ones of being surrounded by mums who had dragged along their begrudging husbands in an evening of polite head bobbing and the occasional sing-a-long.

These images, of course, all came true but far from being dismayed at my faithful adherence of the Bro Code, I came out of the gig uplifted and thoroughly glad I’d gone. First off we had a cracking opening act in Rainy Boy Sleep, whose handy guitar work and distinctive voice set the tone for a night of top-draw musicianship. His stand out track was set finisher Ambulance. Definitely check this lad out.

Then when James Morrison came out to a chorus of screams of the slightly more mature kind, he positively owned the crowd, rather than being the wishy washy hey-thanks-for-coming mush monger I had expected him to be.

It just goes to show that a gig with a genuinely talented singer and band will always be worth watching. In this age of false celebrity, it was nice to see someone on stage with real songwriting pedigree rather than the flash-in-the-pan garbage we hear is going to be the next big thing on the radio every week.

It was easy to get wrapped up in the arm-swaying mood of tracks like In My Dreams, I Won’t Let You Go and Broken Strings. I am not ashamed to say I was a bona fide James Morrison fan by the time he rounded off the night with You Give Me Something before a huge encore finishing on Wonderful World.

And before anyone says Hammersmith Apollo is a mission to get to, the journey was easy. The high speed rail line to St Pancras from Gravesend got me to London in 23 minutes before a half hour trip along the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith. It cost £14.80 for the travelcard. Simples.

In summary, it was a night where I learnt two things. The first was that my friend is a secret James Morrison fan, no matter how much he said he had got the tickets to try and attract a date.

The second was that a bro, should indeed, always says yes to help out a fellow bro. No matter how lame saying yes might seem at first, you will always be rewarded with a cracking night out.

As I stood interviewing Stephen Mulhern at last year’s Marlowe Theatre pantomime launch, the TV presenter began to cough and splutter mid sentence.

“I know you can’t see him but I’m laughing because Dave is at the side copying what I’m doing” he apologised to the camera, as Dave Lee mimicked his hand gestures.

That was the Dave Lee many reporters and panto fans alike will remember, after the sad news the comedian died on Monday after a short illness, aged 64.

A joker to the last, his death seems all the more cruel because he was unable to appear in the first pantomime at the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, forced to pull out following his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer late last year.

I remember on the launch day back in July how his comical voice continued to distract Stephen throughout the interview from out of shot, prompting giggles from the Britain’s Got More Talent star and myself as we in turns tried to promote the show and ask questions about it.

In any other situation, a journalist might be forgiven for putting down his mic and politely inviting the offender to Foxtrot Oscar for the intrusion. But you couldn’t do that to Dave Lee. You cannot do that to a legend.

“I think it’s my 16th year and I only popped out for a can of peas” he said with his trademark ear to ear grin as we spoke that day.

The comic, who lived in Herne, was a picture of enthusiasm as he talked about how the Marlowe had assembled “the strongest panto cast in the country” and how they would be “a small family for Christmas.”

I am not going to make out I was big mates with Dave. We met a few times for interviews over the years and I always found him likeable and fun. A stalwart of the city’s pantomime for 16 festive seasons, children grew up watching him on stage. There was a deluge of emotion as news of his passing spread on Twitter last night. It is easy to see why the show’s producer Paul Hendy described him today as “Kent’s best mate.”

As well as being likeable and a pro (he never missed a show over 16 years), Dave was also a charitable man, raising more than £2 million since 1994 for sick and disabled children through his Happy Holidays charity. His efforts earned him an MBE in 2003.

I remember asking him what he thought about the new Marlowe Theatre and his response was littered with his typical court jester banter. It feels all the more touching now.

“I haven’t been inside” he said. “Health and safety have said they are concerned a girder is going to fall on me and bend the girder.

“I’ve spoken to the architect and asked if he would build a self-contained flat for me above the water tank in the roof but he couldn’t do that so I will have to make do with my dressing room.

“It’s going home. It really is. The Marlowe Theatre is my favourite theatre in the whole country and it is just 10 minutes from where I live which is brilliant.”

Yet as I listen back to that interview from last summer, one moment hits home more than ever. Midway through my chat with Dave, Stephen Mulhern mischievously decided to return the interrupting favour.

“He is Dave Lee and he is the best in the business” said Stephen as he wrapped his arm around the comedian. Dave just smiled at the camera and said “that’s my son Stephen Merchant. He has always been the son I never wanted.”

The man was supposed to be promoting the pantomime but made the effort to show his affection for his cast mate on tape.

That was Dave. And we will all miss him.

They say when a man gets to a certain stage in life, he wants a new flash car, can't help but ogle young beautiful women and flirts with the idea of a tattoo.

Well, proving he has not suffered the same fate as many geezers hitting their mid-life crisis is Chatham panto star Vanilla Ice, who has bypassed the flirting with the tattoo idea and gone the full monty with a design inspired by - you guessed it - his Medway pantomime appearance in Peter Pan.

The Ice Ice Baby rapper's fetching Captain Hook bodywork raised - shall we say - a mixed response when his picture dropped into the What's On office over the festive period.

It took Rochester-based Diablo Tattoo three hours to complete and shows the dastardly pirate in all his swashbuckling glory against a map of the Florida Keys.

Ice, 44, who finished his run at the Central Theatre on Saturday, December 31, said: “I wanted it done as a way of marking my experience here. It’s been terrific fun to play Captain Hook and the audiences have been really great.”

Whatever your thoughts, I'd love it if he inspired Ann Widdecombe to get her own Craig Revel Horwood/Sleeping Beauty tatt.

****

Pub rock has its good points (banter/plenty of beer) and bad points (dodgy band names/obvious covers.)

One such band doing pub rock the right way are The Grandads (I know - dodgy name alert but hear me out.) They celebrated their first birthday on New Year's Eve and have brought out a new CD to celebrate, Takin' The Peas (PLEASE BEAR WITH ME!)

The three-piece have a combined 118 years of live stage experience, which is where their quality comes from. Drummer Chris Jarvis once supported The Beatles in his 1960s band The Hustlers back in 1963. Guitarist and vocalist Neil Foreman made his name during 14 years in comedy band Funfayre and bassist John Simpson won Battle of the Bands in 1988 with his band Sketch.

All three began playing their instruments in their teens and all describe themselves as having been reborn when they formed The Grandads a year ago, all having retired from regular gigging at least 10 years ago.

Their tight harmonies and big tunes make them sound more like a five piece and their collection of tracks from the Eagles, Thin Lizzie, Bruce Springsteen and even Take That make them a good crack.

Guitarist Neil said "We are having a fantastic time, finally having the freedom to play the music we love at the gigs we choose after 40 years on the club and cabaret circuit."

Their next gig is not until Saturday, February 18 at the Fox in Maidstone but in the meantime, check out their CD at www.thegrandads.co.uk.

Craig Revel Horwood and Ann Widdecombe are certainties to be the panto hit of the year.

Not a soul in the audience of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Dartford's Orchard Theatre last night would disagree.

After Craig's brutal judgements of Ann's exploits as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing last year, the pairing had already prompted sales of 25,000 tickets before a single "oh no it's not" had even been uttered.

As a result the run was extended by a week to Saturday, January 7, a triumph for panto-lovers everywhere as this is a show you should really take the time to see.

Without giving away any of the script, Ann's political quips and Craig's Strictly-themed banter was superb. Both were more than willing to send themselves up to the highest degree and the absence of a traditional dame and gunging was of no consequence.

Undoubtedly they are most unexpected panto duo of the year but that is a big part of their charm. It made me wonder which duos could inspire next year's pantomime line ups.

After a very strange morning of conversation in the What's On office, here is what we came up with:

--- Fatima Whitbread and Antony Cotton - their barneys over the cooking, tasks and just about everything on this year's I'm A Celebrity were legendary and made the show essential viewing. Plus I think Fatima would make a fearsome Abanazar in Aladdin.

--- Katie Waissel and Frankie Cocozza - they say the success of a pantomime is judged by the loudness of the boos and these two could certainly break some records in that department.

--- Smokey Robinson and Richard Bacon - The partnership's gags might dry up after the first minute but they could make for some very interesting promotional posters.

--- Alex Reid and Paddy Doherty - one would love dressing in his ugly sister's outfit, the other would punch the other one's lights out... but who is who?

--- Pippa Middleton and "Monkey" - Not my choice but one of my esteemed What's On colleagues insists the combination of the perfect rear and an irritating puppet has a certain poetry to it that could inspire comedy genius. Riiiigghhhtt...

--- Ant and Dec - come on.... they would be awesome.

--- Harry Derbidge from TOWIE and Polar Bear from Frozen Planet - come on Polar Bear, do us all a favour.

****

Little Mix won the X Factor, saving us from the blandness of Marcus sneaking to victory.

It would have been a bit rubbish if someone had won the show because they fitted the bill for the floating mum and nan voters.

However, I'm not blown away by the choice of song for Little Mix's inevitable Christmas No1 single. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Damien Rice's Cannonball but I groaned at the girl group's generic pop treatment of such a tender song.

Had my preferred choice of X Factor victor, Kitty Brucknell, not been voted off weeks ago I think we would have had a much more authentic treatment of the track. But people don't vote for talent on X Factor. They vote for sweet, inoffensive, pretty faces and banish anyone with even a hint of edge to turning on Christmas lights at Bluewater.

Something which Kitty did a very good job of last month, ACTUALLY!

Whatever your opinion of Example, no one can deny he knows how to get a room pumping.

He kicked off his headline UK tour at Margate Winter Gardens on Monday, November 21, and stayed 100% true to his words in this week’s What’s On.

“I’m not in the top 10 rappers or the top 10 singers in the country, but I'm a good songwriter and a good performer.

"My live show is full-on all the way through and the last 20 minutes is a relentless rave.”

Enough said. From the moment he came out the whole room was jumping. The man behind the year's two biggest summer tunes, Changed the Way You Kissed Me and Stay Awake, can come across as a little arrogant but far from playing it cool he was not afraid to engage with the crowd, egging them on between and during every song.

"Everyone shout 'Hey, good morning,'" he called out mid set, prompting universal arm raising to Watch the Sun Come Up.

It was the first single he played, about five songs in, but already the crowd had been throwing themselves around for a solid 20 minutes or so.

As he moved into Kickstarts, he prompted everyone to grab their mate as they jumped around. Inspiring that camaraderie is definitely Example’s biggest talent and he received cries of adulation one after another as he rifled through Playing in the Shadows and Shot Myself in the Foot Again.

The only downside of the gig was the Winter Gardens’ stifling, sweaty heat. The 29-year-old rapper commented on it a few times through the night and the heat certainly contributes to a mid-gig lull in energy, even if your entertainment is world class. It is a shame because the venue is a perfect size for gigs like this and the room’s opulent chandeliers give every show a glamorously decadent vibe. If there is something they can do about it, organisers there need to get on top of the issue.

Still nothing was going to get in the way of Example’s promised final 20 minute rave. Microphone slapped on the bass thicker than the fog which had afflicted everyone’s journey to the gig.

When it came to the chorus of Stay Awake, anyone who had resisted the solicitations of the surging crowd gave in to their inhibitions and flung themselves about like lunatics. It was the song everyone had been waiting to hear. 

Like the master of showmanship he is, Example then built to the show’s crescendo with the Faithless produced The Way and his hit with Laidback Luke, Natural Disaster.

The whole room was shaking by the time he hit the chorus of Changed the Way You Kissed Me and it didn’t stop for another five minutes.

Margate got its rave all right. And Example will be rubbing his hands if the rest of his tour is even half as good.

As he prepared for his role in the Madness of George III, David Haig was all too aware of the brilliant performance by Nigel Hawthorne in the original production and film.

"I cannot hope to better it but I can hope to match it" he told me. Yet as he proclaimed, scorned and writhed as the King who loses his faculties, David put in a performance worthy of royalty at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre.

Of course, David has a lot to work with. He described his part in Alan Bennett's play as "one of the greatest roles ever written" but it takes a commanding figure to do justice to it and Haig was captivating throughout.

In the opening scene, the clemency shown by the King to his attacker Margaret Nicholson instantly warms the audience to the protagonist, while Haig's comic timing lets the audience know they are in for as many laughs as tears (she cries "Give me my property, or England will be drenched in blood" and the King responds "Will it, indeed, madam? Well, not with this. It's a fruit knife. Wouldn't cut a cabbage.")

As the first signs of his madness appear, the audience has already fallen hook, line and sinker for this twittering but noble monarch who knows his kingdom well. It makes the bumbling of his hapless council of doctors all the more heart-wrenching.

It adds to the drama to know that the King is now widely accepted to have suffered from Porphyria, a rare blood disorder which can be treated with modern medicine but is uncurable. Thus as the king is scolded, separated from his loving wife Queen Charlotte and cut off from society, it is all the more tragic to know that everything his team of doctors tried was futile and experimental. Even the tough love administered by Dr Francis Willis, played by Clive Francis, is not thought to have had any real effect on the King's brief recovery.

Although the scene is set very quickly, a quick glance through the programme beforehand helps to contextualise some of the politics going on in the play. Nicholas Rowe plays a stern William Pitt, portraying the Prime Minister as a wooden, businessman-like figure who only becomes animated when his position of power comes under threat. By contrast Gary Oliver's Charles James Fox cuts a flamboyant figure in opposition, adding to the amusing supporting role which comes from Christopher Keegan as the Prince of Wales. Here, the heir to the throne is a bumbling, whining, scheming playboy villain.

The heightened production values which the Marlowe Theatre can afford this kind of show is highlighted quickly with the fast-moving scene changes and elaborate props. Indeed the grandeur of the play is all the more affecting in the shiny surroundings of the new theatre. As soon as you turn into the Friars on arriving, you are met with this towering new force of Kent stage, lit with purple spotlights. You instantly feel you are in for a night to remember.

Thanks to David Haig and co, no one was let down.

The Madness of George III runs at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre until Saturday, October 29.

One gig definitely worth watching out for this weekend is Switch On The Music at Maidstone’s Whatman Park.

Headliners Standing On Giants gave us an interview for What’s On this week ahead of the six hour mini-festival on Saturday, September 10.

Their cool indie-rock sound leads the way for a group of bands performing regularly in the town, who are earning more and more column inches in music magazines with every passing week.

“There are a lot of good guitar bands out there and it can be hard to stand out from the crowd” their bassist Alex Gettinby told me.

“I think that our chemistry onstage has a really good energy and we engage with the crowd. The songs are very catchy and radio friendly.”

This last bit is the key part. The songs are incredibly catchy as anyone heading along to Switch On The Music will find out. Take a listen to their debut single The Signs here.

One of the acts supporting them will be Fred Clark, a fresh-faced 19-year-old who is promoting his third album in two years.

The mature voice that comes out of his youthful face on Good Morning Sunshine doesn’t fit the Maidstone singer-songwriter, much like The Calling vocalist Alex Band (remember them?) His music isn’t far off their post-grunge romantic sound either, except he substitutes acoustic strumming for their electric guitar riffs.

You can hear the pop sensibilities on the album, which is in part down to Pink being counted as one of his inspirations. That teenage yearning for someone on track Superhero never loses its appeal.

The only thing he lacks is a decent riff to hook listeners in on some of his chorus’ but for an indicator of the sounds coming out of Maidstone at the moment, Fred’s record is a good listen.

Decide what you think for yourself by listening to Superhero here.

Finally I have to say something about White Bone Rattle.

These guys are much more psychedelic and if the acoustic stuff is not your thing, the Soundgarden-like vocals and more-than-a-touch of Rage Against The Machine in the guitar department make these a good band to rock out to. Dare we say there is a hint of Jim Morrison in there too?

Take a listen to their track Rise With The Morning here.

*****

I’m absolutely delighted PJ Harvey made history and became the first person to win the Barclaycard Mercury Prize twice last night.

Let England Shake is an album that really does say something serious about the make up of this country but wrapped up in gorgeous echoing guitars and piano.

Some will say it is a shame that some of the other acts didn’t get the leg up that the Mercury Music Prize often gives to up-and-coming talent.

On this occasion I think all will acknowledge it was a rare year when pretty much anyone could have won from the shortlist.

But when Polly won the prize 10 years ago, she had to give her acceptance speech over the phone as she was stuck in Washington DC on September 11, the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon.

On a day when winning the prize must have seemed so microscopically important compared to what else was going on at the time, it seems right that she finally got her chance to say thanks in person in the 20th year of the prize.

What is more, Polly’s album teaches a great lesson for musical talent of the future and present.

The album was written over a period of two-and-a-half years and recorded in a five-week period at a church in Dorset in April and May last year.

She made a great album on her own terms, which proves that if you make no commercial sacrifices and create something purely for art’s sake, then you can get recognition no matter what stage of your career you are at.