Daily hatemail readers are already jamming the phone lines, trust me.

Oh I do hope so! We simply cannot allow vulnerable viewers to be exposed to such atrocious grammar in this wanton and unforgiveable manner.

I was so pleased to see this thread, just to know that I'm not the only pedant!

Presumably, Alesha has advisors, and 'Strictly' certainly has a whole production team, so I think it would be an act of kindness if someone guided her over her poor grammar.

It's already been mentioned that she is bright, and she's obviously determined to succeed. I would have thought that, if she can learn all those dances, brushing up her speech would be a piece of cake!

I can't remeber who but someone tonight, possibly Tess, said 'should of' instead of 'should have' - another of my pet hates.

I think there's an internet law to the effect that anyone who tries to post a criticism of someone's spelling or grammar will somehow make a mistake themselves in the process

Apparently it is called Muphry's law!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law

My dad pointed that out to me (I think older viewers are more particular about these things and notice them more).

And I do think that if you're in a position like Alesha is in, you need to pay attention to how you speak. It's a bit unprofessional to say 'you was.'

I'm sure it was just a one-off.

Well, even then, she's using the correct verb.

She's not used any malapropisms or defined a word incorrectly (flagellant does not mean "limp", Tess.), is what I meant.

I wish! She has done it consistently since she was a contestant on the show. It always irritated me, although I could live with it before she was a judge.

I've posted about this on another thread, and yes, I agree, her grammar is really bad.

It isn't really acceptable, as it is really poor use of language. It's very distracting and you would have thought, that whilst under so much scrutiny, she could at least get her basic English right.

However, on a brighter note, her cackle was missing tonight and her actual comments were much improved!

I agree Sid. It doesn't look right to have an expert pointing out mistakes whilst making a lot herself in the process.

It wasn't a one-off, she's be saying it since the first week.

Wow, that's a bit of a mangled sentence. (just teasing )

Well, as has been pointed out, it's almost impossible to talk about other people's grammar without messing up yourself!

That's incredibly judgemental.

It's unfortunate, but terrible spelling and grammar together are a cancer for all generations. I know lots of older peoplw who can't spell to save their lives, and can just about grasp how to spell their own names. I cringe when my family talk to me without any sense of grammar. I cringe when I walk into a classroom and the teachers can't spell. I cringe when I get worksheets from university lecturers and they have apostrophes in the wrong places. I also cringe when young people use 'txt tlk' in actual speech or writing.

There are young people who have a fabulous grasp of spelling, punctuation and grammar. I'm a LOT younger than Alesha and I think it's incredibly important to communicate properly. My friends are the same way.

That's because Bruce's catchphrase is like poetry or a song lyric in that there is license to play with the rules of language and grammar to make phrasing work. It's not the same as using poor grammar in general speech.

I noticed it too

I don't mind Alesha but Tess's voice and accent really grate on me, and I come from the same county as she does.

Very good point and I take that on board (that was just the first example that popped into my head, I realise now that I should have given it more thought )

This might just be me, but I think that the constant scrutiny Alesha is under and her nerves have made her grammar worse due to the fact that she's reverted to speaking in the way that is the most familiar to her (and possibly the most comfortable).

*shrug*

On the other hand, the cynic in me wants to attribute the poor grammar to being a construct of the BBC in an attempt to appeal to younger viewers (of the teenage demographic, perhaps? Yes, I know this is a sweeping generalisation, but being a member of this demographic, I find that it does actually work. I know that it shouldn't and that it is simply a ploy, but I find myself being able to relate to Alesha more through her speech and see it as endearing).

*hangs head in shame*

I hope your cynical view isn't right, but since the BBC hired Alesha to appeal to a younger demographic I suppose it cannot be discounted. Even if they haven't encouraged it, maybe they haven't actively discouraged it as they normally would.

I think it is just Alesha being herself though. I hope this doesn't become a big issue though, because then she will find herself in the situation where if her grammar is poor she is criticised, and if it improves then she is accused of reading prepared speeches.

This is what I'd really like to believe as well.


Me too, it seems that she's stuck between a rock and a hard place in many areas of the show; which is a shame because she seems like such a bubbly and charismatic person and I don't think the viewers will be able to see that if she is constantly hyper aware of every 'mistake' she makes.

People are allowed to criticise Alesha on here. You can keep your sarcasm and "wit" to yourself.

It's as bad as the when the Jordan's say "done", when they mean "did."

Except for a total of 30 presses of the button in one night, 15 times off, 15 times back on.

I thought she done a good job.

I think I'd give Ola a little leeway with that, to be fair.

Especially as she probably learned a fair amount of English from James. IIRC, she could barely speak the language at all when she came to England.

Except for a total of 30 presses of the button in one night, 15 times off, 15 times back on.

It exercises the fingers Soulmate 61 - keeps my carpal tunnel syndrome in check