Its not the world ballroom dancing championships - its an entertainment show where its about performance, entertainment and likeability!

Do you know, comments like that really aren't relevant. Just because you and the majority of people on here treat SCD as Strictly Come Entertainment doesn't mean that those who treat it as a veritable smorgasbord of dance aren't allowed a voice and opinion.
Noone on here is claiming this competition is the world championships, but I am allowed to enjoy the dance tecnique and comment in here if I wish. I love ballroom and Latin, I learnt it as a teen and I love the amazing routines that we see. I don't think it is unreasonable for some people to appreciate Strictly Come Dancing as literally a Dancing competition and I do think it is unreasonable to be mocked for appreciating technical excellence.

But that works both ways - I think it's unreasonable to be mocked simply because I support a different couple to you, and that's what's happening on here more and more. It's the same every year I guess - indeed I'm getting a massive sensation of deja vu as we had the same arguments aired last year, and Tom's fans were vilified because we dared to support someone else other than Rachel.

I think it's fair enough for people to support different couples for different reasons - but one reason shouldn't be ellivated above the other as the only good reason for supporting someone.

love this answer as its exactly how i feel when i watch!

chris does my head in! he nice enough but so what?

'A large majority of the voting public' means he polled significantly more than 50% of the votes cast and we have no way of knowing that.

All we know for sure is that he polled more votes than Ricky and Laila. It could be that Ali got 94%, Chris 3%, Laila 2% and Ricky 1% and the outcome would've been what we saw, with Ricky and Laila in the DO. Now, I know that it is highly likely that Cola were in 1st place with the public, I just wanted to demonstrate that you can't with certainty claim that Chris was backed by a large majority of the voting public.

So...people like him because he brings personality onto the dancefloor.

Christ, Ricky and Natalie's and Ali and Brain's supporters don't generally get questioned on why they support them, but Chris' fans are being ridiculed and looked down upon from every spot.

You know what - let's axe Strictly Come Dancing this year. The public obviously can't get it right, so bring back Come Dancing where only the judge's get a say.

Oh, and no point launching a vote on So You Think You Can Dance because us thickos will get it wrong as well there.

Sorry, didn't mean to be so grumpy but I'm getting fed up at all of the 'Ricky and Natalie - you should be voting for them, why aren't you?' posts and threads flying around, treating people like imbeciles.

I just wonder which member of BBC breakfast they'll have next year, I might start a pre-emptive campaign for Susanna Reid, she'd be great or Sian Williams.

I think barring a complete meltdown in his support Chris has this year in the bag, can't see it being anything but an Ali/Ricky DO next week and even if they all go through he'll win the public vote easily.

Sorry folks but you won't get rid of him and this comes from someone completely impartial who doesn't care who wins anymore.

Agree completely. I find him intensely irritating and I believe he's being edited in a positive light by the Beeb. On one of the BBC2 shows this week, they showed him having a bit of a strop and walking out of the room, presumably to 'cool off', which just confirmed what a petulant little boy he is.

I also don't believe the relationship between him and Ola is genuine, you can see in her face how annoyed she gets with him. The rest is window dressing.

But hey ho, the great british public will decide.

I'm loathe to respond to this but hey ho...

you could argue about 'editing' for all the couples. We only see a fraction of what is filmed and there will inevitably be a 'story line' that is followed in the main edits and perhaps some of the 'drama' that involves learning a new dance/struggling with routines/trying to hold down other jobs whilst keeping one eye on the Saturday show.

How do you 'really' know that Ola is annoyed?

Did it mean the end of the 'magic' with Karen and Mark because of the the rumba training meltdown?

Anyone else's 'tantrum' across all series that signalled petulance?

I enjoy dancing, and I like to see technical precision even from the celebs at this stage but I also like to be entertained, and I know who is providing the latter for me this series. I like to witness joy when people achieve success against the odds/predictions/prejudices of others, especially if others seem to think they hold 'all the cards'.

I think they have pretty much all exhibited moments of petulance or annoyance (actually Ricky is one of the few that I can't recall seeing strop off...someone will invariably correct me if I'm wrong). Even Ali who seems very even tempered has walked off in the VT's. Laila has always been shown to be quite stroppy with Anton but more at her own lack of ability than anything. I think when they act like this it's driven by frustration more than personality.

I'm just glad I'm not on the show as toys would be flung out of my pram left right and centre. I hate not being able to do or understand something and worse still not do it well.

That has to work both ways then and you hav eto allow the fact that some people dont see it your way .
You are allowed a voice and an opinion that you see it as a dance show and are rooting for the best dancer , in your eyes
Others are not and such is life ,. some watch it for the sheer entertainment .I for one would not even know if they made mistakes, but I dont care .
I am entitled to my opinion too and to see it any which way I please with someone telling me I am seeing it all wrong and I need glasses

chris has improved more than ricky or ali who were good from the start.

Ali hasn't yet produced a stand out latin

Ricky is good but makes a lot of mistakes

so I don't think there's an inevitable winner, and I'll vote for who I want (Chris)

Unfortunately I don't think that's going to happen. All of the judges except Bruno gave him an 8 for that awful Samba he did last night.

Why cheated and ripped off? We all know the rules when we pick up our phone to vote. The judges pick who they think is the better dancer, and the public pick their favourite. Are you saying that the judges should change their judging criteria and choose the least able dancer?

Absolutely, the clear implication being that the interests of SCD would best be served by the ultimate winner having the appropriate level of dancefloor ability, rather than that of joke-contestants like Hollins.

Throughout the series Ali and Ricky have consistently demonstrated levels of performance, to often complex choreographical routines that have clearly marked them as the `class acts` of this series.

The Hollins routines by contrast, have with the odd exception, generally subsided into crude , unedifying affairs more akin to that of a country bumpkin running amok on the dancefoor.

I don't think that is what is being said.

There is a scenario where, if the public vote in the same way they did this week, and if Ali tops the judges' leader board, then Chris cannot be saved.

This directly conflicts with Tess' 'Vote to save your favourite from the dreaded dance-off'.

This is an alternative that should be covered by the new voting rules - but does not appear to be.

The only fair option is to make it a public-only vote - or to scrap the vote next week and make it a three-person final.

If the BBC fail to address this, it will end up in a massive amount of political hot water, and not with a daytime series most people never watch, but with one of its flagship shows. The media will have a field day and Strictly's reputation will take a massive battering - again.

I'll be voting for Chris. If due to the scheming of the judges he is voted off (because he won't be voted off by the public) I will probably vote for Ricky as I believe Ali winning would be bad for next years show. However some of the stick Chris is getting from Ricky's supporters is putting me off this.

Clearly you are entitled to your opinion but your analysis feels a little black-and-white.

I would guess that the vast majority of people don't watch Strictly to see complex levels of performance. They watch it because they want to be entertained by the celebrities learning to dance. Celebs who struggle to engage with the audience as characters in a television show automatically place themselves at a disadvantage - however technically adept they my be.

Chris is not a 'joke contestant'. He puts in as many hours as everyone else and is not mocking the show or the judges (unlike some notorious contestants I could name ... ).

If he's not your cup of tea, fine - don't vote for him. But there's no need to be quite so dismissive of the pleasure other people derive from his dancing ... which has nothing to do with your critique of his abilities.

Which is why I agree with the posters who have said that there will be a bye for all three dancers next week. I really can't believe that the Beeb would be so silly as to make the same mistake as last year.

I would love to agree with you - but judging by the PR dis-arster they've turned this series into already, I'll only believe it when it happens!

F'tang! (Trying to make a whipcrack sound)
Excellent riposte! (And I agree)

(my emphasis)

I have no argument whatsoever with people who vote for a different concept of 'entertainment' than mine ~ my 'entertainment' in this context is good dancing, not improved-but-not-very-good dancing+face pulling but happy for chacun to have son gout. Last year Tom Chambers drove me insane every week and I was totally captivated by the final dance.

It's words like 'scheming' that make me cross on threads - scheming? why? As I understand it, the judges are called on to comment on the dances, technique as well as performance but, I would have thought, with more emphasis on the technique, any of us could comment on how the performance made us feel, doesn't take an expert; and, having commented on the technique, to vote on it. If the judges vote for the one with the best technique, and that is not your choice or my choice, how can that be 'scheming?'

How wrong you are!

The best interests of the show would be served by having the most popular contestant in the final. Winning is neither here nor there, but a Ricky and Ali final simply won't attract as much public interest.

The show hasn't done that great in the ratings as it is and last night's results show was an unimpressed 7.3million. Getting rid of the clear public favourite would be commercial suicide.

Actually, based upon the clear audience reaction last night, there'll all but be a riot in the studio next week if the judges toss Chris out!

If the judges are as smart as we are, they'll be able to work out that placing Ali first and Ricky second next week would most likely see them get the final they want.

That's not to say they will do that on purpose it's just many people wouldn't put it past them...

I agree.........they got by far the biggest audience reaction even heard someone call out his name when they were waiting for who had been saved from the dance off by the public vote....and boos for Bruno for his 7 when everyone else gave an 8 for the Samba........I think there could actually be booing for the first time as a dance off result is announced if it goes against Chris. Surely the BBC cant be that stupid can they.