Hopefully Jade will make a great recovery and back with us next week ...BUT...

if she can't compete because of having to get fit for her Olympic training...

PLEASE!!!!

Can Phil be given a reprieve and be allowed back into the competition as he'd got so far...it was such a close call last night and if Jade couldn't continue without jepodising her athletic career it would be great to have Phil back to fill the breach

Agree 100%

If any celeb has to withdraw from the competition through injury or personal reasons, the couple voted off the weekend before should be invited back.

I hope both Jade and Laila are able to continue, but worry about their injuries and the level of training required.

Disagree 100%. Other people got more votes than him, he was not popular, he should be out.

He was a mediocre dancer, one of the worst remaining, so it's not like a front runner lost out because of Jade's injury.

Completely agree. For me Tuffers was one of the few celebs this year with any personality or charm.

By the looks of things Jade wont be dancing next week(Internet gossip/Guardian...believe what you will)...I`d love Phil to be invited back onto the show....This should`t be a problem with the Tele-vote regulators as the vote is to save on Strictly....Unlike BB...I mention BB because an evicted HM was voted back into the house a few years and C4 were heavilly censored(may have been fined as well) because viewers had voted to evict her.....However I think the BBC will just carry over the judges vote and no one will be eliminated next week......I just hope and pray the BBC show some common sense and ensure we don`t have yet another 2 man/woman final

I really liked Phil and was so sad he got knocked out of the competition, but I don't see how they can reinstate him after the public paid to cast their votes. If no one was eliminated then there was no point in people paying to vote to save anyone.

They could carry the tele-vote over from yesterday.....but someone somewhere will complain and the BBC don`t need another bashing from the Daily Mail....because no doubt they`ll just use any hint of few viewers being a bit miffed as an excuse to give the BBC a bashing....However if Laila looks doubtful the BBC`s hand may be forced and Phil may get a reprieve.....As I`v said in my previous post I just hope they do something to ensure we have 3 finalists.

Such a shame, I thought he danced really well last night, and better than Ricky G.

Me too, and last week he really seemed to be committed for the first time. If laila had not been injured and got the sympathy vote maybe ..... he would have stayed.

No way do i want Tuffers back, he was voted out and the public werent behind him.

No, no. People spent money saving other contestants, which means Phil can't just be invited back.

If they need to take someone back, they need to put all the evicted contestants (who want to return) up for public vote.

I want Tuffers back he was my favourite was totally devested when he left. But its life and he's gone.

Ohh well I guess I'll move on. I've been ill this week so I got a bit over emotional to the amusement of my friends but as long as Natalie is still there I'll get over seeing Phil go.

I'm not particularly wanting Tuffers back as such, I really want the competition to have a final with THREE couples! If Jade has to withdraw, we will have the same situation as we had a few years ago.

People who did not pick up their phones to vote for Phil can hardly complain. People who DID would be thrilled if he was asked back.

The JUDGES were the ones who put him out at the end of the dance off - to keep the numbers up, if someone withdraws, he should be asked back.

(I really, really hope lovely Jade and Ian are able to continue, but somehow I doubt it......poor lass!)

According to the SCD rules, which were posted in another thread, the Beeb can basically do what it likes if Jade drops out. They list reinstating the most recently evicted pair as an example course of action, but leave plenty of leeway to do something different.

They could do a special Saturday, skip the usual filler. All couples voted out so far dance a dance of their choice ... judges vote, public vote, winner combined gets put back in. The combo vote might even see someone like Martina Hingis get given another chance. They probably wouldn't last long afterwards, having already been given the heave-ho once. Not the fairest admittedly, but could make for an interesting show and less of an evil than a two couples final.

I'd put my phone on auto redial all night to get Martina back.

Ydych chi'n Cymraeg?
I would actually like Phil to come back. Someone else mentions the BBC rules allow this, but I wonder whether the BBC would court controversy like that.

I don't see how it could be controversial - the BBC simply need to write it into the rules - if a couple have to drop out for whatever reason, the last couple to be voted off BY THE JUDGES IN THE DANCE OFF get another chance to compete.

I would love to see Kelly Brook and Brendan Cole return - I know they are part of the live tour this year and I think they may well have gone on to win had she not had to step down due to a family bereavement.

But more than anything I want a final with 3 couples - but not as a result of a voting mix up like last year.

Could the judges be given a "joker" to play?

See, I like the idea of a three couple final and that a couple could be brought back. I'm not sure how it would work though. If it was just the last couple knocked out then perhaps (although I'd have hated to see Craig Kelly back!). But I don't like the idea of the judges having a 'joker' - I think they already effectively have this with the dance off where they get to keep the 'better' dancer.

Tufnell did have the public support but he landed in a spot on leaderboard where people perceived him as safe. Also he was first to dance and ended up sandwiched between Jade announcing she wouldn't be able to dance, and then the drama of Laila. Circumstances totally conspired against him and Kat and it was a very unjust elimination - Jade given a bye, and Laila too effectively as she was guaranteed an enormous sympathy vote.
Tuffers has fought through knee surgery to be in comp and had great chemistry with Kat. Anyone who tries to claim Nat or Chris were more deserving to go through is talking out their backside. Nat's foxtrot was very poor, as was Chris's paso. Those 2 should have been the bottom 2 if it wasn't for women sat at home continuing to mysteriously empathise with Nat, who has constantly been over-marked for being a trier, and bafflingly support a man who gurns his way through his dances.
Tufnell was a potential threat to the judges' chosen 2 of Ali and Ricky W, so first chance he got Len booted him out. People need to look closely at Saturday's scoring. It was as contrived as an X Factor episode with Ali and Ricky W unsubtly given joint top marks to ensure they were made as safe as they possibly could be, with no ties beneath them.
Strictly has really gone down in my estimation. If Gethin's exit in the semi was dubious then there needs to be an enquiry into Saturday's judges' votes. A joke.

There were comments from the judges that Phil messed up his routine in the dance off but I didn't see where he messed up - anyone else?

Whilst I would be happy to see him back, I think it sets a dangerous precedent. If this had happened in Blackpool, we might have had the scenario of Craig being let back in under this rule! Better to skip an eviction to have a three person final IMHO.

I was very happy to see this thread, having been a "phil-fan" from the outset, however, I dont think it can or will happen, just imagine the awkwardness/fallout if it was him and ricky in the dance off again next week but phil is much better, it would be a nightmare - the ricky/erin supporters , not to mention ricky & erin themselves, would (probably justifiably) be outraged. I think just crumbled around the beeb on saturday, lalia clearly would have taken her 'injury week' out had jade not been so seriously injured but by apparently encouraging lalia to dance on that brought the sympathy vote very firmly into play and the rest is now history. Well done phil though at least i had a smile on my face all through his dances each week (for various reasons!)

It's not the first time somebody's had to withdraw and it won't be the last. They'll carry on as normal just like they've always done.

I think the issue's more what happens if Jade IS fit to continue rather than if she isn't...

If Jade and Laila couldn't continue, would Tuffers and Craig be reinstated to keep the numbers up?

Apart from being careful what we wish for, unless the decision was made very early in the week, then the reinstated couple(s) would be disadvantaged by not having a full rehearsal period. Would this then give them a sympathy vote?