Great judging with moderation of nastiness, and a lot of technical help for the dancers. He might become the ideal judge if he continues to minimize any nastiness until it almost disappears.

Craig is my fav, and a natural heir to Len when he quits....

amazingly Len has not annoyed me this series...(...YET)

I'm nit-picking but I do wish Craig would stop saying 'darling' all the time!

Other than that, I agree.

He's impressed me with his comments and scores so far this series.

Craig didn't give Joe much technical help. I think it always helps to find something useful to say, even if you cant think of something positive.
I think Kristina was right to feel offended on Joe's behalf, as happened with Brendan and Jo.

He was a bit mean.

He should have finished off with a couple of tips but I sensed he'd given up on Joe and couldn't be bothered (not the right attitude, I know).

I love Craig!

Phew! I thought from the title that you were talking about Flavia's partner there!

Couldn't agree more. CRH was the only one who sussed that Phil never moved from the knees on down during most of his salsa. As a Phil fan, I hope his complete recovery will be swift.

but 4 though? Most of the judges criticised Natalie for not moving one half of the body whilst moving the other and Craig didn't give her a 4. At least a 5 would have done but 4 was harsh, even from Craig's POV.

I do agree with you on Phil's recovery though. I hope he can go far

I love Craig - just as he is!

He's my favourite and I think he's very similiar in 'real life'!

I cant stand the poncy pretentious accent and the "Dahling " crap he carris on with ,

he's been getting away with it on ITT since the Mark Ramprakash series though and has been slowly been buliding it up more and more as each subsequent series has gone on until it appears in every other utterance he's making now. Slight exaggeration maybe but still ...

I noticed how Craig is less nasty and more analytic and constructive this season.

I don't think there was anything he could have said to Joe - I can't believe what a log that man is. Very sweet, but a log

parthena

Not sure he is less nasty but he does say at least something that he LIKED about MOST couples (I'm referring to his rigor mortis comment here compared to the list he reeled off to Chris for his Quickstep but then said something he actually liked about the dance which then got as big a cheer from the audience as Len would have got from dishing out an undeserved 9).

I don't always agree with his marks, but he is the only judge who calls it honestly as he sees it. I would imagine he is respected for that, an 8 from Craig is worth a 10 from anyone else.
Len does continue to annoy me. I know it's only light entertainment, but his marking reminds me of the general "PC attitude" that prevails in this country..there are no failures, everyone's a winner.
Perhaps that's taking it a bit too seriously..in fact, I know it is. But if Len gives someone his usual s-e-v-e-n, what is it really worth..it's meaningless.

I know how he feels!

I find Craig puts into words what I feel is odd or wrong about a dance and that makes me think I actually know a bit about dancing!

I wouldn't quite put it in the way that he does though - it must be crushing to be on the receiving end so publicly but I am liking his slightly softer and more constructive manner this year - contradicting myself I know but he was brutal in previous years.

I reckon he's the best out of the four judges....Bruno got on my wrong side last year and hasn't regained favour yet

I've always thought Craigs comments reflected what I was thinking and even more so now Arlene has gone - its seems that he has found more of a unique slot on the panel this year (rather than being in cahoots with Arlene) and especially as Alesha and Bruno seem to have a more similar perspective. I am loving Craig this year and think his scores are the most realistic. Head judge in waiting - most definately. Arelen going was the best thing that could happen for him.

Craig is the best judge and has been for some time. I'm glad to see that Len has cheered up this year and no longer shouting over the other judges.

For now..

Agreed he seems more mellow and constructive this year - but he could never be Head judge due to the total lack of any ballroom dancing credentials on his CV

He has a great eye for performance issues and his attention to detail is fabulous (dahling :P ).

I think the other judges refrained from stating the bleedin' obvious about Phil's movement. Having had a similar knee operation not that long ago, he was absolutely amazing to have recovered enough to even train to the level he did in the time available. He needed to have some slack cut for him this week.

There is no helping Joe

He hasn't given me any new words to look up yet!
He's slacking.

Loving his work though

I find that Craig is the judge whose thoughts match mine most often.
Craig's comments are usually quite a lot kinder and much less sweary than mine though!

Realistic and honest marking, and his attention to detail is what makes him interesting to listen to. And we don't mind the "darling" or the accent at all !. Prefer him to Bruno - he seems a bit manic this year, what with the waving arms and getting up out of his chair all the time !

Craig has definitely turned into the favourite judge in our house! He might tend to mark a bit more harshly, but he's consistent.