from the judges, or from the captains.

Three episodes of this proved enough. It made "receptionist" Amelia famous for fifteen minutes, and it introduced us to the real stars of the show. We also saw the dancers who would feature in the live shows.

Live like no-one's watching

One episode of "callbacks" made up the cull section. Every act who had passed the audience check came back, and performed again. After they'd seen the talent, the captains chose which acts they'd mentor through the live shows.

This "callbacks" section is the one and only time where the captains get to shape the show. The initial selection of who would audition, that had been done by the production company, so as to ensure a good quality. The auditions were judged by the public,so only acts who made an instant emotional connection would progress in the contest. We knew the act was technically good, but could they hit people's hearts? Callbacks was the one time where technical quality counted for as much as emotional heft.

Jordan and Ashley in the auditorium, during the heats.

Up to this point, The Greatest Dancer could almost have run on autopilot. We had hosts – Alesha Dixon and Jordan Banjo – but could have replaced them with voiceovers and a taped explanation of the 75% requirement. The hosts came into their own on the live performance shows, Alesha worked well with the critics, and Jordan gelled with all in the green room backstage.

The format was the usual repeated voting, bottom two (or one, in the first episode)