Have just rang the Beeb - and explained that the system is skewed against the public favourite who we all know is

That when Jade left we were a couple down - and the sensible option of a rollover was ignored

That the scoring of the judges in the VW was wrong- Ali and Brian should have been penalised a point for barging into two couples - and pointed out in the regular world of dancing that would be the case

Also mentioned that the points system is now allows the judges to pick the two finalists- wrong

And that the dance off should be abandoned when it reachres the semi final stage

And said a three couple final was what should happen

Was told my comments would be passed on to the SCD production team.

Come on everyone where is your fighting spirit

I try not to put store by conspiracy theories although there was the one where they got rid of Gethin to ensure Alesha won, oh and the one where they got rid of Austin to ensure that Lisa and Rachel went further.

However it is now time I think for the BBC to accept that at least in the latter stages of the competition that the dance off is just unfair. It is patently wrong to have a situation where someone got the top public vote and still went home. I understand the difference between the semi final last year and now, Tom could not be saved from the dance off so voting for him was a waste. Now people MIGHT be saved by the dance off but the top public vote it NOT a guarantee and thats just plain wrong really.

Are you going to contact the Beeb Jan

The public favourite is not safe from elimination at any stage. If you're advocating getting rid of the dance-off because of that, you have to advocate getting rid of it at all stages (a move I would get behind)

This week onwards it should just be the couple with the lowest combined score is out- no dance off.

Where are the maths gurus with the four people permutations?? Is it possible to be in last place with the judges and still be in the dance off- in which case they can get rid of the people's favourite this week peeps

Seconded.

Will the BBC do anything?

On past performance, I wouldn't hold my breath ...

The judges wont wear that - but there has to be a compromise reached - say last five the dance off is finished then

Guys ring the Beeb - point out the points that I made - if enough people kick up a stink then it just might work

Haven't had a reply to my message yet, footygirl

Give them a ring - if they wont bend to scrapping the dance off next week or this week we may contact the newspapers and OFCOM

Can anyone active on the bbc forum spread the message there?

I'll do it

In Communist China, maybe not ... but even then, these days, that would be doubtful. To think a scenario where a totally lop-sided public vote occurs and the public favourite potentially goes out can pass blissfully by with little fuss is living in cloud-cuckoo-land tbh. As discussed in some earlier posts, you can get away with it from a production side in a close run thing. The Alesha/Matt Di/Gethin semi may stir a few internet storms, but they're only really taking place in a small teacup. The wider public doesn't really get stirred about it. Your ratings/public credibility aren't gonna get harmed much if it turns out Gethin had 40% of the public vote and Alesha/Matt 30% each, but Gethin still went out. That situation isn't right IMO, but it's 'get-away-withable' from the production side.

midflight took the argument numbers to its logical extreme to emphasise the inherent flaw in the system. You're never gonna get those numbers in practice, but if you did get them and everybody in the UK voted for one contestant except two people who voted one each for the other two, the point is the 50 million vote contestant could still be going home. Forget what any rules might say, that's just plain common sense madness.

If you're playing with public involvement TV (=punters parting with their cash to vote), it's not good enough to rely on a system that will see you through without problems in MOST situations. You have to design a system that starts by looking at the worst case scenario and makes sure that your system looks credible in ALL possible situations. The current system simply doesn't if you run up against a bad set of circumstances where one contestant is taking a huge proportion of the public vote.

I don't know if that disaster year for the system production have in place is this year or not. But the potential is there for it to emerge some year ... when someone gets 80%+ of the public vote and still goes home in the semi.

You hopefully suggest nobody will ever know that it happened, if that did. I promise you they will. The scenario will run a little something like this as Strictly's head honcho gets called upstairs to the D-G's office:

"Ah, Dogbert - come in, sit down. Strrrrrrictly - yes, now let me see ... they tell me our phone lines are so hot right now that they keep setting off the sprinkler alarms. I hear the Post Office has scheduled extra vans to deliver our complaint mail ... and now our Auntie-loving friends in the press have been kind enough to get on the case and got the full numbers ... Beeb Phone Vote Fiasco ... 80% Of Joe Public Vote For Miss X And Judges Send Her Packing ... Strictly Come Duncing: BBC Phone Vote Balls Up ... I needn't go on. I'm sure you've seen them? Yes, yes, thought you might ...

I'd just like to read you one very touching letter of the gazillion we're going through downstairs that happened to cross my desk this morning.

Dear Director-General ... actually, no - forget the 'dear' part. I'm a devoted Strictly fan. I've watched every episode there's ever been and I love the show so much I made a replica copy of the winner's trophy weaved out of Anton's discarded chest hairs which a girl I know in wardrobe collects for me after every show. It used to sit pride of place on my mantlepiece ... but now, after last Saturday, I've burnt it!

Usually I seem to support someone on the show who nobody else much likes. I vote as much as I can and am upset when they go out. But I always keep on watching, cos that's just the way it goes. This year I absolutely loved Miss X and was amazed to find for the first time that everybody else I spoke to felt the same way. Then I went online round a friend's house and was stunned to see she was leading polls everywhere by 80% of the vote. Since she's never been in a dance-off the whole series, despite the judges seeming to hate her, I've saved up most of my votes this year for the semi-final. I actually sold a kidney for £13.50 and two vintage copies of Razzle to make sure I could deliver her as much votes as possible in the semi. I let her have the full £13.50 in votes. I'm keeping the copies of Razzle - it's only fair I get something out of the deal too.

I was stunned, shocked and appalled when the places were announced and Miss X ended up in the dance-off and the judges kicked her out. I thought it can't be possible. Then finally that maybe she just wasn't as popular as she seemed. But no .... now I read in the papers that everybody did feel like me and loved and voted for Miss X, but it still didn't make no difference. Them stinking judges whose wages we pay handsomely with our bleeding licence fee still got the chance to kick her out. We were told our vote means something ... and it actually means nothing! We all voted for one person and it didn't make a blind bit of difference. You can call in as many PR spin types paid with my licence fee as you like to justify it and assure it will never happen again, but it won't make no difference to me. See how you like it. I'm never voting on Strictly again. I'm never watching Strictly again ... and I'm never trusting a word the BBC says about anything again!

Yours disrespectfully,
Yada-yada

PS - I don't fancy that Claudia Winkleperson anymore either and I'm not watching any more ITT either, not even if she does that Winkleperson Look thing before she says goodbye every night with the cute fringe and the puppy eyes and the coquettish wisp of a smile thing.

PPS - If I find out where you live, I'm gonna pee on your rose bushs. Up yours!

Not the most eloquent of the missives of the gazillions we've received over this whole fiasco, but I think you'd agree it cuts to the issues at point with a certain down-to-earth acuity, would you not? Good, good, thought you might. Now, Dogbert, kindly tell me in 200 words or less, how this farce was allowed to happen and why you shouldn't be leaving this office with your P45 and my made-to-measure boot up your Ariss ..."

Leaderboard = LB
If there are ties on the leaderboard:

Double post.

Seems to me that what most are saying here is that the judges want who they regard to be the best 2 dancers in the final?
Do you know how much influence the judges have over the production of SCD?
Have you worked at the BBC!
Having the most popular person in the final is much more important to the producers.
So by your reckoning it will be 'fixed' so the most popular guy, and im guessing it is Chris although I havent given it much thought, will make the final.
But really, and I mean really, they don't sit around a table working all this out. Trust me.

Well azurro9, if you and gig-ge-dy are correct, we should see just how much of a lead Chris has had in the polls over the next couple of weeks. If he is well ahead, we can expect him to be saved, if his lead is much closer, we can expect no such thing and, of course, he may not be ahead at all...

By the way, does anyone know how much of a lead someone would need to have for it to be deemed "essential" for them to make the final? Would they need to have more than 50% for example? Or at least approaching the 50% mark?

Speaking someone who HAS worked at the BBC - several times - I can confirm that senior management is capable of making some pretty clueless decisions. We've seen this already this series in the way Arlene's exit was mismanaged, and in the aggressive scheduling, both of which have damaged the Strictly brand no end.

And we saw very clearly last year that the judges and producers were hell bent on promoting two contestants who were less popular with the audience. They were only thwarted when they screwed up the voting and the public's preferred contestant went through to the final and, unsurprisingly, won.

And really, and I mean really, there will be people on the production team working out the voting permutations. Or looking at the threads on here where people have done it for them already.

Have you signed the petition Servalan- take a look at the thread petion for a 3 couple final