Oh, my bad. But Brucie was paid £££ as a host and not a judge, so of course he could be sympathic. That's a given and I wonder how this could in any way be compared to being the judges.

Et Tu, Brute

I thought Alesha was hired (in place of Arlene) to be the voice for the contestants ....since who else would know how these zelebs would feel but none other than Dixon herself who's been there????

And boy, did she keep harping on about it when the furore of her appointment was alive & kicking!

But wait, she did change her tune quickly, didn't she?

Now she is this almighty expert who has no time for bad zeleb dancers and she certainly will LET THEM KNOW right there & then how she feels about their inadequacies!!! How dare these zelebs who can't dance be let loose on the dance floor, eh???

Don't get me wrong, Craig can't dance for toffee & for some bizarre reasons has been kept longer than necessary to stay in the show by the public, remember useless Parker who was a finalist???

But IMO Alesha was way off the mark they way she delivered her judgement.....she forgot she should have been more constructive in her criticisms & but most of all be impartial.

I am quite shocked that there is nothing much in the papers about Alesha's comments.......maybe the beeb are playing it down....

Of course. We are all sitting comfortably behind our computer screens (myself included) and so I guess we can get stroppy.

Look, Alesha's Zoe comment was regrettable, but I still think she did have the courage to give some reality check to the clearly clueless Craig. I found Craig's effort tiresome since week 3 and have to endure his 'journey' and thankfully other viewers agreed and didn't vote for him this time.

I think the comparison was valid as we've been fed the line that Alesha is there as the "contestant's" judge. Ergo she could learn from Bruce that recognising "failure" doesnt have to be done unsympathetically.

You might well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.


When has the media ever allowed the BBC to play it down when there was a chance to have a go (especially when it can compare SCD to the X Factor?

Maybe it wasn't taken as seriously as people on this message board. Maybe some aren't as easily offended as others. Maybe it is the company we keep. Everybody I've spoken to have said words along the lines of 'Thank God she told Craig he isn't a good dancer'.

Or an indication that a mountain is being made out of a mole hill on here. Again.

After all, how long did that thread about Anton and Laila keep alive and kicking?

Hello twin!

I have to respectfully disagree with you. I do agree that Alesha shouldn't bring Zoe into the picture, though. The rest of what she said, like enduring Craig's dance and chiding him for thinking he's actually good was on the money, whatever she was paid to do, being nice or otherwise.

I agree with this. I'm not sure how we know that Zoe & Alesha are friends (I would like to know btw), but if it is true then I wish she hadn't named Zoe and been more general. I don't think there was anything wrong in the rest of what she said or the words she used. I don't think it was humiliating, just straightforward. She then backed up the comment with examples. That's what judges do.

Heehee, someone noticed! My ex-boss used to say that all the time - with great emphasis - seeeeeeeeeeeeee youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu nextbloodyTuesday - and I always creased up.

Although I don't like Alesha's comment or the way she delivered it, I do agree it is hardly newsworthy.

On the otherhand, this is a Strictly specific forum so it is a unfair to compare the level of interest in a topic here to the diluted interest outside of here and then declare it exaggerated.

I dontthink that any one really has an issue with the you cant dance remark
It was the petulant way she flung the pen and had to "endure that" that is the vast majoritys gripe
Having been a big fan of Aleshas and chanting to give her a break , she has shot herself in the foot with this
It wasnt big or clever of her

I think we may actually be triplets. There's an incredible amount of preciousness on these threads, don't you think.

And that's why I love DS so much. It's such a pleasure pricking pompous people's PC bubbles.

(Sorry about the Arleneitis attack. 5 Ps - phew!)

Bruno was critiquing based purely on the dancing he was watching. I disagreed with him and thought he was too harsh, but I felt him within his rights as a judge to say it. I also disagreed with his belief that Craig hadn't progressed, but that's his opinion so fair enough, and I am not defending Bruno out of any support for him or being anti-Alesha as Bruno has long been my least favourite judge.

Just had a look on the BBC boards- there is a petition to have her replaced by Karen Hardy - and also a thread asking should she resign.

And it looks to be 75% in favour of Alesha resigning after her comments to Craig

who's Karen Hardy?

You Sound like the pheasant pluckers mate

Oh she is just some dancer - who happens to be brilliant at making informed judgements without slinging any vitriol

She tapped her pen several times, and it wasn't after she said that 'endure' bit. It was right at the end.

'You looked quite good when you were standing, behind Flavia.' And 'and then the nightmare begins and I don't know when I will get out of that (pointing to his dance).'

I can't see how this is constructive to Craig?

I was brought up to be respectful, as my parents had been brought up before me. Nothing to do with PC - a phrase not even invented at the time - it's just about being decent to others.

If you want to be prickish about my opinion, I guess it's your perogative, but it rather misses the point of a discussion forum and doesnt do anything to persuade me that my stance is wrong and your stance is right.

Oh , so does that make it better !!!

My problem isn't with what she said but rather the way she said it.

At this stage in the competition when a contestant has had opportunity to improve but just hasn't managed to do so, I have no problem with any judge telling said contestant that they can't dance, especially when the contestant won't admit it to themselves. There comes a time when bluntness is required.

However, I can't help but feel that it would have been better if Alesha hadn't mentioned Zoe and if she'd used another word rather than "endure" which was somewhat derogatory in the context in which it was used. She could have made exactly the same point without being quite so forceful.

And before anyone accuses me of being anti-Alesha, please note that I'd be saying exactly the same thing about any judge who had made that comment. I know that neither Craig nor Bruno was particularly mild either but, somehow, their comments came across as more objective.