If the rumour about an injury to Ali is right then it will affect her performance. If it does and she is 3rd on the judges leaderboard because she is clearly restricted then she shouldnt get the sympathy vote. Not in the semi final where so much is at stake. Laila got it a few weeks ago after her injury but back then there were more couples so it was fine but to give her a free pass through to the final at either Chris or Ricky's expense would be wrong.

I think we should all realise that this is a dancing competition and vote properly tomorrow night. If Ali's injury is just another ploy by her and Brian to get votes like last time (i believe she was injured but not as badly as made out) then she has no right to be in the final because she is playing on the symapthy vote. But if she is fine and has a good night then she deserves her place in the final alongside the other good dancer of the night. I think common sense needs to prevail though and it should be Ricky versus Ali (barring injury or a bad dance and subsequent low postion in the leaderboard) in the final.

If Laila comes into the competition at Ali's expense it would be wrong for us to vote her into the final as she was voted out last week and is clearly not good enough for the semi let alone the final. She should just be there to make up the numbers unless a dance she does deserves her place in the final.

Im not trying to tell you who to vote for so dont shout me down but i think this is a dancing competition and common sense needs to prevail and it needs to be Ali versus Ricky for it to be worthy competition. If Ricky tops tomorrow night can you justify putting him out of the competition? Like wise if it is Chris or Ali that tops then they deserve to be in the final not matter if you think they connect with you or not. If Ricky bottoms out in the leaderboard then he deserves to go out. Likewise if its Chris or Ali. Common sense MUST prevail.

I think the above post may have quite the opposite effect to the one intended!

Ali has not once mentioned her injury in the past two weeks except when questionned directly about it. I do not think anyone can accuse her of playing the sympathy card!

She hasn't said a word about this supposed injury as far as I know. The only thing I've seen about it is something in The Sun, which is about a legitimate a source for a story as reading it in tea leaves.

and a story which Brian has said is news to him (and he presumably knows exactly how severely Ali's injury has affected/is affecting her).

I do too!

How annoying is it for someone to metaphorically pat you on the head and behave like you are a simpleton?! I, like everyone else, will vote for who I want to thanks!

Regarding the injury- Ali has not mentioned any injuries to gain either sympathy or votes- if you look she is dancing in lower heels and just getting on with it!

Why don't you praise the couple you support, rather than trying to insult other couples? Not once has Ali played up the injury, in fact she has always said that it's part of the competition and that she just has to get on with it, which is an admirable attitude to take, and goes completely against what the OP thinks.

I havent said she is injured. It is just a rumour. I know it mightnt be true. Ali HAS mentioned her injury and the judges gave her dispensation for it 2 weeks ago but not Laila but that's another story. Plus Ricky missed a days training last week through illness but never mentioned it on his VT on Saturday to play the symathy card but it was alluded to constantly on Ali's VT 2 weeks ago. I know we needed to see her injury happen and the fallout but did we need to be reminded of it so much. Plus Brian goes on ITT and nearly cries which in turn had everyone on here saying 'oh poor Ali'. Tell me how this isnt playing the symapthy card. If you can give me a reasonable explanation for this then i will apologise.

All i am saying is that it is a dancing competition and it should be Ali v Ricky. I havent once in my post said we must all vote for them to be in the final have i? All i said was that common sense needs to prevail. If Chris and Ali are the top 2 couples then they deserve their postion in the final. All i want is that the 2 best couples on the night get though. If Chris or Ali or Ricky is bad tomorrow night then they need to go and the 2 best couples go through.

If all you are saying is common sense needs to prevail and the best two couples on the night should go through, why the lengthy diatribe about how Ali's injury isn't as bad as it's made out to be and how they're playing the sympathy card? That's completely irrelevant to the point you expect everyone to believe you're making.

on ITT last night she had done 7 hours less training than the others but thats no proof that she has an injury. She was wearing high heeled shoes on breakfast this morning and Brian said on twitter its a load of rubbish.

I dont think she is injured

Very patronising - some of us have brains and can make our own decisions.

Ali h an injury but has danced through it. On her reported worst week she danced her heart out and deservedly came top.

The three couples in the semi final are there because they have given this series their all, not because of sob stories or manipulating the public.

As for the comment about Laila, please remember nobdy gets 'voted out' of this show, it's a positive vote not a negative one. And breath

"I am not telling you who to vote for" but

"Common sense needs to prevail and it needs to be Ali versus Ricky for it to be a worthy competition."

So, yes guys, vote for who you like but remember that if you go a certain way, you are thicker than rhino skin boxer shorts with reinforced armour plating .

I don't know what the OP was intending with this thread, but to be fair there is a tendency for voters to cut extra slack to any injured celebs and to vote in a slightly more favourable way than they would based on the performance alone.
I know quite a few people who have admitted they voted for Laila when Anton carried her off stage because they thought it was "sweet" seeing him act such a gentleman.

I haven't heard any rumours of injuries this week, but I do think it's a reasonable suggestion to make that if injuries are discussed on the live show, that "floating" voters who may be tempted to vote based on "what might have been without the injury" think seriously about whether that is really what they want to do so close to the final.

All of which is true, and none of which has anything to do with the point the OP claims to be making. Which was my point.

I'm not sure the heels thing holds water anyway, because Ali has always danced better when wearing lower heels than higher ones.

I wasn't disagreeing with you....I've no idea what the OP intended. I was simply offering a suggestion about how the thread could lead to a valid discussion about injuries and voting behaviour, rather than it being regarded as just another negative argument.

We dont mind......Colaholic Thickos celebrate being as thick as pig **** (see appropriate titled thread)

I have done.

To be fair there's also an equally prevailing trend in the other direction to whinge every time somebody has an injury that they're faking it, milking it, playing for the sympathy vote, a big girly wuss who needs to just get on with it, etc etc. I think they more or less balance each other out.

Equally re : Laila, there's plenty of celebrities who've survived being bottom of the leaderboard without an injury.
And Ali was plunged there with one. Just because one follows the other doesn't mean it's a result of it.

I think the story is a clear case of part truth and part embellishment. It wouldn't surprise me if they had had Laila and Anton in secret training just in case - they can't afford to lose another couple and, as we've seen too often this series, injuries can and do happen.

On the other hand the papers are likely picking up on Ali being a concern simply because she was the one who has suffered from an earlier injury.

I agree. As others have said, the low hours, particularly relative to their usual uber-conscientious training, put in in the training room this week suggests that Ali and Brian are cautious about her injuries. But I would be surprised if they didn't perform.

sorry if ali is hurt but i dont want laila back

she was voted out fair and square and she shouldnt return to get another chance

that means its all a farce and they could pick anyone to return maynnbe jade will come back or even martina!

if ali does pull out it should just be a cancelled vote off not bringing people back

Agreed.

The second thread started in as many days with exactly the same anti-Ali agenda and exactly the same "let me tell you how to think" methodology. It's SO counterproductive - you simply remind people of the reason they have chosen for themselves their own personal favourites. Why you assume that putting an ill thought out and wholly inaccurate argument would persuade anybody of anything is the only thing your threads leave me questioning - they certainly don't make me question my choice of Ali to win!

Teletext are currently running a story that Laila and Anton are in training as contingency, and give the impression that the a BBC spokesperson has confirmed this is the case. I did notice Brian and Ali's training hours seemed low, but I exoect they will be out there on Saturday with Ricky and Chris.