Arlene usually gives helpful things for people to work on.

Craig is very critical but, in the last series anyway, tried to end his comments with something positive whenever possible.

Len and Bruno were pointless last series. And when Len lost it one week with Craig, I thought Len going to have a heart attack.

I have to agree with other FMs:

» Keep Arlene and Craig. (Although make it clear to Arlene that she shouldn't keep running her mouth off about the contestants.)

» Replace Len and Bruno with other pro dancers who don't want to compete in SCD any more, eg, Camilla or Karen.

» Replace Brucie and Tess with Anton and Alesha.

A couple quotes from the news report in The Times:

"The BBC show Strictly Come Dancing is to abandon the pretence that it is a dance competition... forced to deny claims that ageism was the motivation for dropping Phillips... The move to “dumb down” the competition..."

There's a space at the bottom of the page for for readers of The Times website to add their own comments. Somewhat like this forum, but these are not SCD fanatics, just typical newspaper readers. Here's a sample...

"If it aint broke then don't fix it!"

"Stupid, arrogant BBC as usual. As if yoof watches X Factor over SCD solely because there's a bit of eye candy on the judging panel!"

"Once AGAIN the BBC demonstrates the Ageist policies that have in recent years become more and more apparent. Instead of appreciating the wealth of experience that older people offer they PENALISE their loyalty and support shamefully!"

"Think the BBC has proved it’s completely ageist. Dressing it up as ‘refreshing the brand’ is hogwash – it’s purely a decision based on age. Shame on you BBC."

"I personally don't rate Alisha as a solo singer never mind dancing judge. Darcy Bussell? Ballet dancer judging Modern and Ballroom. What's that all about? I think the producers have hit a bum note with this one. They should have given the chance to one of the current female dancers."

"Strictly was a very successful format that the BBC couldn't leave alone. They very nearly killed it last year with John Sergeant, and now they want to finish the job."

"Really liked Alesha as a contestant, a winner and a singer, but as a judge, this is a very poor selection. I personally loved the flavour that Arlene brought to the panel, tough when she needed to be and supportive in equal measures, plus she really knows her stuff"

"What does Alesha Dixon know about Latin American & Ballroom dancing!! She may have won a couple of years ago but that doesn't make her an expert. It certainly won't have more young women watching. I really enjoy Strictly but this move is a complete turn off."

It sounds to me as if those The Times readers know what they're talking about!

It seems there are a lot more against the decision of Alesha on the judging panel than there are for it, even from people who like Alesha. They KNOW it is the wrong decision and could badly backfire on Alesha. If I was one of the Pros I would get hopping mad if she dared to criticise my routine or dancing.

I don't know who is responsible for this decision but they should be the one/ones sacked.

Oh no it's official
Why have they done this?

Sacking Arlene is bad but putting ALESHA! in as a judge is ludicrous.

I won't be watching SCD again.

All these comments are spot on. I have been an SCD fanatic since day one but I will NOT be watching it any more on principle. I think everyone on this forum should boycott the new series to show their displeasure.

Stop press: Coleen Nolan to replace Karen Barber as judge on DOI
Last edited by laineythenomad : 09-07-2009 at 23:11

We should all boycott the program.

like thats going to happen
People can rant all they want now but come september time everyone will be glued to the screen as normal. Arlene was never a hugely popular judge and her presence will not be missed. Most people only watch the show to see the pros and watch celebs learn to dance no one really cares what the judges opinions are.

Completely agree the people on here saying they wont b watching SCD again will not last. As soon as they see the line-up 4 SCD7 they'll be just as glued as before. Even if this year its is complete crap, if you have watched previous series and like it come september, it'l b as nothing ever happend

If there are people who feel they can't boycott the program, then don't vote. That should concentrate their minds.

It is going to be one weird series - PM for you Heidi B

They want to attract younger viewers and yet they are alienating older ones.

Experience seems to count for nothing these days.

Arlene knows what she is talking about, Alleisha only has the experience of taking part as a contestant.

As we have debated before this show is not about learning to dance any more, that is now official.

A good show which worked now ruined imo.

I must admit that I would have asked Karen Hardy (who is nearly 40, so clearly close to calling it a day as a professional) to replace Arlene as a judge. Having said that, however, it's possible that having Alesha as a judge might bizarrely help the show as a dance competition. Now bear with me as I go through the logic of what might seem to be a counter-intuitive statement.

Firstly, it's clear that 3 of the 6 series have been spoilt from the perspective of answering the question of who is the best dancer. Chris Parker, John Seargent, Kenny Logan, and Kate Garraway were the clear beneficiaries, while Lesley Garrett, Gabby Logan and Cherie Lunghi were three that perhaps lost out by being eliminated prematurely. And you might even extend that out to looking at how Matt di Angelo got to the final of Series 5 when he should have been eliminated at the quarter final stage when he failed to complete his dance.

In large part, the more popular, entertaining, but weaker dancers have been saved by the TV audience when the judges have been deemed to have been too harsh in their scoring, and of course the two judges who are habitually the harsher in their marking are Craig and Arlene. In getting rid of one of them, and replacing her with a non-dancer in Alesha, it's probably that a weak dancer will not be as harshly criticized, and not receive blatantly humiliating marks. That in turn may well reduce the sympathy factor from the viewers and actually ensure that the weaker dancers are voted out., resulting in a better overall competition. On the other hand, who's to say that the BBC couldn't have found a dancer (and as mentioned there was an obvious choice available) who wouldn't have had the same affect by not marking as harshly nor being as verbally caustic as Arlene.

Add to which Alesha telling you that Emma, Rachel, Kate or Cherie are far better than Matt, Tom, Kenny or John may be designed to undermine the anti-female, anti-judge vote. I don't see it working though.

Ruthie was unpopular because she did what she was paid to and commented on performance how she saw it. She praised those who could act a role on ice and commented on those who ought to be able to do better as actors but didn't. She called the dull as dull and the over achievers as such. As much of the public was voting for the worst skater left in at every stage and the people she didn't like had fans this would make anyone unpopular. She didn't vote high for everyone like Karen or randomly with spurious technical arguments like Nicky or on minor choreograpy issues like Jason - she just voted on overall performance which is subjective, can't be defended by pseudo-objective arguments and may be totally invisible to those who don't look for it or can't see it.

Alesha has the same problem. If she tries to be always nice she will be no use other than to undermine the other judges. If she marks on performance she is far less qualified than Ruthie. She may convince voters to vote more responsibly but they may just dislike and ignore her too if she says someone is really bad or someone unpopular is really good.I don't see her converting the anti-judge voting into something acceptable however hard she tries.

I remember reading that too!!! So thanks for confiming I'm not losing my mind!

I reckon its the BBC stirring up gossip and creating headlines whilst they can...meanwhile Arlene has a perfectly reasonable reason to not be part of it this year. After all if they just announced Alesha was replacing her due to other work commitments it wouldn't have created the same buzz.

C
x

No, the problem with Ruthie was that she never said anything of substance. What is there in "You make me feel," or "You're just not doing it for me," to give the contestants any clues about what they're doing right or what they need to work on? Arlene may not always have been tactful in the way she expresses herself but, when she gave advice, it was always worth listening to, like that of Jason Gardiner on DOI. The contestants who take on board what Arlene and Jason say, and work on the things they recommend, usually improve.

Btw, Karen may have praised more than the other judges when she was asked to comment but her actual scores were far more in line with the other judges than Ruthie's were. Ruthie, on the otherhand, overmarked Zoe who she liked and undermarked Roxy who she didn't like. (Going by the expression on his face, even Matt - Zoe's professional skating partner - didn't think that the 6 Ruthie gave to Zoe was justified.)