Thank you! I definitely thought he was the better dancer in the final. Alesha looked tired and jaded but, her fanbase got her through.

There have been enough finals where the better dancer has missed out. Heck, there have been series where the best dancers don't even make the final. However, I don't think there has been a series where someone as good as Ricky has looked so genuinely hurt and disappointed at being in the DO. My heart went to him and I sincerely hope he comes back fighting next week.

Mmmm... it was close, but I think Alesha was a bit better.

The main point is, she wasn't miles worse than the competition. So if she wasn't the best, she was pretty darn close to it.

Correct and next week he will get loads of support from the BBC.

All I can say is 'giddeyup'.

No he wont. He's only ever on in the mornings.

I'm sure Chris will win, he's like Tom Chambers all over again. Nice couple, grandmas will be voting for him, and the blokes will vote for Ola. You can see already that even they're starting to believe it too !

Really agree with you there Laura I was so happy for Ricky that he did so well after last week and was top he so deserved it. It was horrible to see him look so upset as you say I hope he just goes for it next week.

I wondered if the public thought he was safe as he was at the top so did not vote for him!!

People watch BBC in the mornings.

I don't.

I hadn't a clue who Chris was pre-Strictly.

But he won me over with his charm and his cute little partnership with Ola.

The pair are hugely popular. Have been for weeks.

It's not down to the BBC campaigning for them or any other far-fetched conspiracy theory.

It's down to likability factor and the ability to entertain. Something the other couples lack even though they may be technically superior.

People do watch BBC in the morning otherwise they would not make shows.

Answer me this please, who is the weakest Dancer left?.

GMTV gets about a million more viewers than BBC Breakfast. So your comments are innacurate. Its not like he has millions of people voting for him, his personality has won people over.

Well if she can beat Ricky dancing and in the public vote she will deserve to be in the final. Its a tough demand though

If Ricky beats her at the dancing total it will be down to one dance (or should be) That will be the dancing final but decided by one dance not 3 and by the judges not the public..

If Chris can't beat either he only has to turn up and hope the strongest dancer on the night gets fewer votes than the next strongest. .

There's a big danger though that you end up with the weakest by a long way in the final with the biggest vote by a long way up against the strongest by a small margin and the least popular. Difficult to make it look more mismatched.

But Bill Turnball held a similar (and actually more prominent) post on BBC Breakfast and he didn't get to the final of Strictly.

Neither did any of the GMTV presenters.

Neither did Christine Bleakly who presents an evening show for the Beeb or Gabby Logan who presents sports shows.

So why is it suddenly an advantage for Chris?

And no one is disputing that he's the weakest dancer. But he's the strongest performer and entertainer and like it or not, those are equally important factors in this game.

How do you work out my comments are innacurate are you saying that no one watches BBC in the mornings.

It won't be the 1st time (Darren Gough) ..or even the 2nd (Tom Chambers)

I respect the points you made it comes down to one thing I want the best Dancer to win and you want the best entertainer to win.

It would be a damn shame if Ricky wasn't in the final but it's a popularity contest.

Stavrosian summed exactly how I feel though over at the bbc boards:

"Message 16. Posted by Stavrosian on Saturday, 5th December 2009
My calmer response:

I accept that in a public vote people are going to vote for whomsoever they please for whatever reason they wish. Every single year, though, I can only think of things from the contestants' perspective. Ricky Whittle is apparently working 14 hour days shooting Hollyoaks at the other end of the country, then when any normal person should want to just go home and crash straight into bed, he's off to do gruelling training sessions which end past midnight (before being up at some ridiculously early hour to start work again). Trying to nail a routine and get it perfect for the weekend and our entertainment.

If you are him, and you see how unimportant it seems to be to a lot of voters that any actual effort is put into the dance...why bother? Just milk a silly catchphrase, wear it on a T-Shirt and go to bed at a reasonable hour. No need to slog your guts out in the training room trying to impress a public who clearly don't care, right?

If people start realising that, then the show will die for viewers like me who simply want to see people putting in great dances. When I look back on great strictly moments, it's all about the dances - Mark and Karen's Argentine Tango, Alesha and Matt's Cha Cha Cha, Matt and Flavia's Waltz. The rest of it is incidental. If those performances, which take talent and dedication to produce, start disappearing then Strictly is pointless."

Absolutely!

Some years I find myself supporting the most talented celebrity (like Rachel Stevens), other years I find I'm attracted to the entertainer.

There's no right or wrong.

There is only difference of opinion.

Ultimately, the public will decide and who are we to argue with democracy?

I think Stavrosian expresses the point very well

Man, that's a good post.

I'm almost tempted to check out the BBC boards now.

It's not democracy.

It's mob rule.

There's a difference.

I took part in a SCD event at school. It was great fun and the students enjoyed seeing their teachers make fools of themselves.

SCD is not a dance competition. It used to be, when it was on at 10.30pm on a Thursday. It is an entertainment show and I for one enjoy watching a less talented dancer do their best and succeed than watching somebody who is blessed with some skills and who just meanders through the competition.

Fact 1. Chris is not as good a dancer as Ali and Ricky
Fact 2. Ali attended stage school and already arrived at the show as a reasonable dancer.
Fact 4. Due to his job and lifestyle Ricky is more athletic than Chris.
Fact 3. The GBP love tryers.
Opinion 1. Ricky and Ali are decent enough dancers but they lack a certain je ne sais quoi

Opinion 2. Ola is balls hot. As is Ali.

Dream 1. Me, Ola and Ali engaging in more horizontal physical exercise.

If the is no public vote in the final Chris will NOT win.

If there IS a public vote then you have yourselves to blame.

That's unfair by the OP - it's like saying Chris does nothing but try on T-shirts and try out catchphrases all week . It also makes it sound like Ricky's the only one who works which again, isn't the case.

X Factor is quite different, there it is unknowns trying to earn a record deal, so the singing is fairly important. I think Jedward will do well out of it nevertheless. In SCD they are celebrities, and it is as much an entertainment show as it is a dancing competition. Popularity does count. Chris is not like John Sargaent, who couldn't dance a step. He and Ola have the best chemistry of the remaining couples, he is warm, and has a good connection with the audience. All of which makes him worthy of his place. I hope to see him in the final.