I thought that due to the issues in the semi final last year this could no longer happen?

If Chris tops the public vote each week I believe he is guaranteed to be safe even if he comes bottom of the judges leaderboard.

I thought of the different points scenarios and as far as I can see the two most likely is this

chris 1 and 4= 5
laila 2 and 3= 5
ali 3 and 2=5
ricky 4 and 1 =5

It then goes down to the public vote which means Ali and Ricky in the dance off.

Can anyone give me the points scenario where the top places dancer in public vote is in the dance off because I can't think of it

You are correct.Anyone winning the public vote will be safe.This scenario is true for all weeks.

Of course anyone wining the judges votes is not always safe

So the public vote is the ultimate judgement

So if Chris wins the public vote every week then he will be the winner

I also will be richer

I don't think so; the issue last year was that the judge's scoreboard in the semi final meant that Tom could not avoid the dance-off even if he topped the public vote (which he did, as revealed the following week in the final) - there was absolutely no way he could have avoided the dance-off and so anyone voting for him would be wasting their money. The only thing the public vote decided was whether Lisa or Rachel would be joining him. If Lisa and Rachel hadn't tied on judges points there wouldn't have been an issue.

This year, based on the new scoreboard system, there should be no way that could happen.

Usually the public come through in the final and the joke act doesn't win.

The semi is where he can be eliminated even coming top of the public vote:
For eg if the judges order is Ali(3), Ricky(2) and Chris (1) but the public put them C(3) Ali(2) and R(1) both R and C are in the dance off and I think we know who will go.
Is my maths wrong? (it often is)

As I understand it you are incorrect - in the semis if there is no tie, even if Chris is top in the public vote, if he is bottom with the judges and the public reverse the order of the other two he will be in the dance off.

ditto but not to the extent as you will be LOL - I'm poor and only put a tiny tiny bet on

The main problem with a two person final for me.

has it been confirmed that there will be a 2 person final?? God I hope not

Unless hypothetically Ricky and Ali tie on scores, so the final leader board is

Ali - 3

Ricky - 3

Chris - 2

Say Chris tops the public vote, Ali comes 2nd and Ricky 3rd, the scores will be

Ali - 3 + 2 = 5

Ricky - 3 + 1 = 4

Chris - 2 + 3 = 5

Chris and Ali are tied on 5; because Chris scored higher in the public vote the dance-off would be Ali and Ricky.

Which I suppose is more about how the new scoring system won't guarantee anyone ending up in the dance-off rather than answer the point of the thread.......

if the stupid bbc decide on a 2 person final then I hope that this is the outcome - I think the judges would pick Ali over Ricky

I can't see any tied scores occuring after what happened last year tbh and whoever is the public fave is not 'safe' until the final.

You can get the most votes and be eliminated in any week of the competition (as long as there are no ties, if there are ties the person with the most votes cannot be bottom 2).

14 + 2 = 16
13 + 3 = 16
12 + 4 = 16
11 + 5 = 16
10 + 6 = 16
9 + 7 = 16
8 + 8 =16
7 + 9 = 16
6 + 10 = 16
5 + 11 = 16
4 + 12 =16
3 +13 = 16
2 + 1 = 3
1 + 14 = 15

Luckily there's no joke act this year.

The following scenario puts the top placed dancer with the public in the dance-off (I think it may have happened last year with Austin):

Judges

Couple A 4 points
Couple B 3 points
Couple C 2 points
Couple D 1 point

Public

Couple D 4 points + 1 = 5
Couple B 3 points + 3 = 6
Couple A 2 points + 4 = 6
Couple C 1 point + 2 = 3

The couple placed first by the public will then dance off with the couple they placed bottom, but whom the judges placed higher.

Yeah it can definitely happen. The judges tendency to create ties makes it quite hard to work out all the different combos though. If the celeb topping the public vote is near the bottom of the leaderboard, then having 2 couples tie above them is a definite advantage; it used to be a disadvantage under the old system.

Indeed, if there are ties anywhere on the leaderboard the person with the most votes will go through.

So are we pretty clear Chris and Ola are topping the public vote - I am.

They just have so much more likeability than the other 3.

I agree and can still remember holding my breath after watching Natasha & Brendan dancing against Chris and Hanna, waiting to hear that the public chose the dancer and not the joker in the end. He was a nice guy though!

Yeah you are right. There is only one possible combination that would lead to the celeb topping the public vote being in the dance-off - the one explained by La Triviata.