Thanks for that.

I watched the clip of the interview with Louisa and Lorraine Kelly and Louisa did talk about Arlene, but I don't think Alesha's name was even mentioned, so although you could say Louisa backs Arlene she didn't say if she was for or against Alesha.

Also if people read what Len actually said then I hope they would agree that Len's comments were on a par with Jill's i.e. It is sad Arlene will not be on the show and she will be missed, but maybe Alesha will bring something fresh to the show.

I think people are assuming that people like Louisa and Rachel etc, saying they disagree with the decision not to renew Arlene's contract are automatically against the decision to appoint Alehsa. As far as I can see that isn't what they have said.

That isn't quite how I read this Buddy.

http://uk.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9mSvdy...n-Goodman.html

Perhaps Louisa and Rachel et al might have accepted Alesha as a 5th judge, but reading between the lines I don't think they consider her a qualified replacement.

Having said that, who knows what they mean or what they think.

The controversy has started early this year hasn't it? If it was the beeb's intention to drum up argument and altercation, they have probably succeeded in the short term, but they are taking a risk.Their manipulation might have misfired and by the time SCD restarts we could all be so tired of the furure we may simply pay a passing interest in the programme.

Esther Rantzen, Roger Black and Claire King are latest contestants to speak out over Arlene being replaced-

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/...5875-21538834/

Ah, Esther's on the case, good. All we need now is Joanna Lumley, and Arlene will be back in a flash !! lol

That's actually a good read yenston, thanks Interesting.
I'm glad to see that Arlene's fate is sparking discussion over the way women are being treated when they start to need an extra ten minutes in make-up About time that changed.

Talk about reading between the lines, all the x contestants who have so far commented have restricted the comments to the fact they are sympathetic that Arlene is leaving , but not one of them has said they think Alesha is the wrong choice.

I also have to laugh when i read all the so called TV personalities who think it is an outrage Arlene has not had her contracrt renewed, lets look at who is commenting, Esther Rantzen, Valerie Singleton, Richard Stilgoe, Claire King !, Vanessa Feltz, and what do they all have in common, yep they are all old ( over 60) they have no TV careers left, and they are bitter and twisted, hardly an unbiased view on the ageism argument is it?

I think you'll find it's called an informed view

And where exactly do you see Louisa, Rachel and Jill in this view? They're hardly at death's door!

Vanessa Feltz is OVER SIXTY?! She (and this is the only time I'll ever say this about Vanessa Feltz) looks good on it.

LOL! Vanessa Feltz is only 47 and Claire King is only 46!

I must be at death's door!

Ah, but they have ages, and therefore are biased on the subject of ageism. We need to find a celebrity who is ageless to comment. Maybe Buddha?

As I'm in my twenties, does that mean I can have an unbiased opinion on this? Goody!

I think Alesha replacing Arlene is ridiculous

LOL! You are really out on a limb with this!

How about Brucie or Cliff Richard

Yep Esther seems to think Alesha AND Arlene should be there.
I think the issue some of the pros or celebs might have is that Arlene was sacked not that Alesha has joined.
Most the pros and celebs always spoke fondly of Alesha on ITT (and im sure Craig said she was his favourite dancer thats been on the show) so although she might not be everyones choice as a judge over Arlene she was certainly a very popular person on strictly with ALL the pros... not just Matt. Also i dont think Alesha would necessarily be biased towards Matt i remember last year she said she wanted Tom and Camilla to win (and that was whilst christine and Matt were still in the comp).

To be honest i think as long as they have some good celebs and pro/celeb partnership people will watch and be entertained by the show, IMO people watch the show more to see celebs learning to dance then the judges.

I guess that would be in the x contestants comment...

Talk about reading between the lines, all the x contestants who have so far commented have restricted the comments to the fact they are sympathetic that Arlene is leaving , but not one of them has said they think Alesha is the wrong choice.

x contestants= ex-contestants?

I honestly had no idea what you meant by that!

If you did mean ex-contestants- you do realise that Esther and Claire are both ex-contestants! You have put them in your second category (although as pointed out, Claire is also not over 60!).

Aled (ex-contestant: series two) has said he thought it was a mistake. He is male and 38, with a prospering career, so I'm assuming we are not going to put this down to bitterness!

It may be reading between the lines, but I think it's a logical interpretation of what has been said. I think very few people in the public eye are going to come out and say they think it's ridiculous, whether or not they think that privately. The fact they are coming out in support of Arlene, generally with little positive to say about Alesha being chosen, is a pretty good indicator of what the general mood is.

The fact of the matter is that these people can't afford to fall out with the BBC. In my opinion they ARE saying that they feel, as many people do, that they prefer Arlene, with all her dance experience, to be on the judging panel but are obviously hedging their bets.

Judith Chalmers has also now spoken out about Arlene being replaced by Alesha.

I do think it is significant that several of those who have spoken out have been treated in a similar way (as was Judith).

I'm beginning to think this might not all go away for the BBC, whether Arlene's age was behind the decision or not. There have been too many cases recently like the three Country File female presenter and Jo Whiley on Radio 1. The subject has gone on far longer than any of the other high profile cases (e.g. Moira Stuart). I can see the BBC asking Arlene back and keeping Alesha next series if not this one. Stranger things have happened.

Of course you can imagine that they are saying they prefer arlene to alesha, only problem is that that is NOT what they said, it's just your imagination.

After all these years it has become apparent to me this is first & foremost a Sat night entertainment, showbiz winter spectacular. It is not a serious competion imo at all. However I do think it has started to become a bit tired & formulaic but that did not stop me watching & looking forward to it every year.
I personally felt it needed a bit of a shake-up last season & choosing Alesha is a very clever move imo as she was soooo loved on the show when she won. Her celeb' "personality" still is very, very popular & unfortunately Arlene's isn't (allegedly).
It all comes down to viewing figures, Alesha I expect will pull in more or stop the rot. (I was thinking of giving it a miss this year but with new hopefully younger/fresher dancers & a new judge I'll be tuning in again). I would have prefered for them to have got rid of one of the men tbh, Bruno is my bug-bare as he's become a caricature of himself & I just fast-forwarded his incoherant ramblings last year but everyone probably has different "hates".
I'm not bothered either way about Arlene, she had a good run & can retire if she wants now; with a lot more money in the bank than most people will have at 65 I'm sure! (Unless of course she invested unwisely).

Has anyone considered that with Alesha on the panel there might be a lot less shouting between the judges this year? If nothing else she'll be a nice buffer between Len and Craig.

There is a difference between imagination and interpretation.

It is perfectly plausible to suggest that entertainers like Louisa and Jill are not going to risk alientating the BBC by coming out too strongly in criticism. I seem to remember a few years ago Jack Ryder made criticisms of Eastenders and the papers said he had pretty much ruled out any prospect of working for the BBC again by doing so.

It follows on from this that someone who might wish to work for the BBC in the future is unlikely to be too strong in criticising BBC decisions.

As a result, although we can't say for certain that these ex-contestants are completely against the decision, when they make a strong statement of support for Arlene coupled with a very weak support that Alesha "might" be better than people expect, it isn't unreasonable to think that maybe they don't think the decision is a good one.

It isn't imagination, and it isn't fact. It's an interpretation with a pretty strong basic assumption.

And another one: Selina Scott: "Strictly revamp is illegal"

I must say I never expected anyone to describe Arlene as articulate!

Whether or not Alesha is a good singer is not relevant. She has no credentials in dance, the other judges - and Arlene - are very experienced.

It is a ridiculous idea to make Alesha a judge. She would be a great presenter if any presenter were leaving but not a judge. She is a lovely girl and was a terrific winner of SCD but she is not a professional or trained dancer so the decision makes a mockery of the programme. She also laughs at nothing. Lovely laugh maybe but laughing in inappropriate places is - well - inappropriate. I wish she had not accepted this offer!!!

you seem to miss the point, you can interpret it any way YOU want, but the fact remains that none of them have actually said they think Alesha is a bad decision, it has nothing to do with being scared of biting the hand that feeds, other wise they would not have criticised the decision to not renew arlene's contract.

Maybe the reason Alesha was chosen was because she was not a trained dancer, after all 50% ( the celebs) are not trained dancers, so why do they need a trained judge, neither Craig or Bruno have any ballroom or latin training, but Alesha does have the advantage of actually having experience of performance on the show, which none of the judges had