I can't blame Len for his choice here. There's not really a massive gap in skill between Ricky and Phil overall, although Phil is slightly better. Basing it on the dance off, it was the right choice.

How come that the reaction of the professionals showed that they thought that Ricky should have gone.
I'm sure they knew who was the better dancer.

Did anyone else notice a huge error in Phil's routine? It is not a crime to go wrong, it is how you cope with it that matters. A routine is a personal thing, not like a sequence dance that is laid down.

I missed Phil's mistake, but on overall execution of the routines I thought Ricky G was too much on tippy toes which made it a bit skippy and there was loss of body contact, I don't think that makes for a good routine.

Len knows far more about dancing than we do and he is in a far better position to watch and see everything - unlike the viewers who are distracted and don't keep a clear line of vision of the WHOLE couple for the WHOLE dance.

So as far as I am concerned he is always right. I might not like what he decides but I bow to his expertise.

Surely not when it comes to Natalie?

I did`t see the show last night and somehow I`v managed to avoid stumbling upon the result on the Internet.I`v just watched the show on the i-player....Firstly I was a bit shocked that Phil found himself in the Dance off.As others have said there was`t that much between them but I was still very surprised Phil was voted off....I did`t notice the error that Graig pointed out....Anyway I`am a little sad that Phil was given the boot as I felt his Charm added a little something extra to both his own performances and the show in general......Obviously I`am disappointed Len did`t save him but I`v posted in this thread because I think this weeks Dance off has highlighted the injustice of Len having 2 votes(not his fault off course).......It was one of those too close to call Dance-offs that divided the panel....It would have been much fairer to give the public vote precedence over Lens casting vote....I`ll never understand why the BBC have given Len the privilege of deciding who goes....if it`s too close to call then the public vote should decide.....and I`v thought that from the day the Judges were given a vote 2yrs ago.

I like Natalie - she brings a lt of enthusiasm to the programme - and Len likes that and so do a lot of viewers.

We aren't at a proper dancing competition where judging is absolutely strict and by the book - SCD is an entertainment programme aimed at all sorts of people who are not dance teachers or experts but just want something entertaining to watch and who like all the razzmatazz of dancing.

This I know upsets the purists on the forum, but they are small minortity of the 9+ million who watched this week.

Natalie is one of my favourites because she has tried very hard each week and is improving. She is an astoundingly good role model for the much younger viewers of whom there are many.

imo.

Len is a dance school owner. He is not rated that highly as a judge in the world of ballroom dancing although he is a good compère. His forte is actually teaching disco and children I believe, but he hasn't done much of that in recent years.

There must be quite a few more qualified people than Len who use this forum?

Looking at the celebs in the immediate aftermath of the results, you'd have thought Tuffers was through and Ricky out. The pro body language told a different story, however!

I voted for Tuffers, but his DO performance was not his best, whereas I thought Ricky was slightly undermarked to start with and did his stuff when it mattered. Overall, a fair DO result.

But since Skippygate, the use of the word Skippy has been banned, and skippiness must not be mentioned...

OK then lol.

JERKY....how's that?

katya herself did say that the mistake wouldn't have been visible on camera. so Len obviously saw something we didn't.

but yes, ricky was verrry skippy, which only Craig alluded to (on the first attempt), saying there was rise and fall and it needed to be more on one level. I felt he was desperate to say skippy but had to think of another way of saying it!

I was surprised Len didn't mention it, as he is the stickler for footwork

Well there are probably people as qualified as Len for sure. Coming from a family of dance teachers and judges (i DONT judge in latin and ballroom) but my brother sister inlaw and mum and dad do /did and have loads of friends who are and they ring me up in a steady stream on a Saturday to complain about Len he seems to have lost the plot this season more so than others.

My dad's opinion of his judging on SCD and dWTS this year is unprintable

Len said on ITT yesterday that Ricky made no mistakes in the dance off - but frankly his action in the VW which was skippy is surely a mistake in itself?

Dunno about Skippy, but during his performance I was reminded of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HCuxLoERH0

SO irreverent but so very funny

Was a good job they did seeing as Erin saw the mistakes Phil made from the stage where she was waiting. Their VW was a bit boring though, and I liked Phil's dance more. What a pity.