so if front of queue is in balcony, who are all those who sit on the floor level?

Guests of dancers and BBC and production staff - I went the year Mark Ramprakash was in it and then they didn't put the public upstairs. You couldn't get anywhere near the dance floor as it is all "invited guests" etc - we were quite miffed coz we were told to "dress up" definitely NO jeans and lo and behold there on the front row be "production guests" wearing jeans - when me and mine (and everyone else in the public queue) had made a real effort to dress up

Love or Loath him,but Simon Cowell has put an end to the celeb love in at the x-factor....Virtually every ticket goes to a member of the public.....Obviously a few are reserved for family members and the odd celeb.....but he has insisted that the public now have priority when it comes to allocating tickets.

I also went the year Mark Ramprakash was in it, and had no problems walking onto the dancefloor (went twice, once the week of the salsa, and again in the final). There were security men but I just walked past them. I was seated on the ground floor, but some of the people in the queue were on the balcony. In fact, that year, it helped not to be front of the queue as the first lot were put on the balcony, and the middle of the queue on the ground floor. Now I think no member of the public gets onto the ground floor (I could be wrong) due to the increase in production guests/celebs.

The only negative about sitting on the ground floor is that sometimes your view is obscured by the huge cameras running along around the dancefloor.

It's true about "strutting around like you belong there" really works! That's how I worked my way onto the dance floor quite a few times. They realise eventually but by then I'd got my photo's and signatures so my work was done, the suckers!

Chris little meet and greet with the audience explains why he got such an amazing reception Bruce & Tess introduced him before his Charleston.

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There are far to many of the best seats given to 'invited guests' who don't even have to queue. Also past celeb participants and their friends should only be allowed one visit per series because it is a very small theatre.

The first time I went we were allowed to wander on to the dance floor and mingle and chat, but ever since the security has been much tighter and they simply don't allow anyone from the balcony on to the dance floor. There are some members of the public seated at ground floor level and I guess they might be able to get on to the dance floor at the end, but it's all got very strict these days. Not that I managed to get there at all last year, and it doesn't look as if I'm going to get there this year either.

One advantage of being able to phone up was that if you just kept hitting redial for a couple of hours, eventually you could get through but with the lottery system it seems to be impossible. And yet I have seen the occasional poster who went last year and again this year. It makes no sense.

I liked the phoning up system better as I kind of felt that only the very devoted would spend two hours ringing up. Nowadays, even people who aren't that big a fan can exert the little effort it takes to email for a place in the ballot. People can even use multiple addresses/names if they want.

Where's the blood , sweat and tears in that?

I agree SO much!

I was so mad when, I think last year they kept advertising on Radio 1 for people to go to the website and apply for tickets if they wanted "a good night out". STRICTLY IS MORE THAN THAT TO SO MANY PEOPLE!!! Gahhh.

I felt dead hardcore being addicted to my redial button.

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