I don't agree. I could write like that, for example, and I don't specialise in writing. There are better examples than me in this forum too.

Perhaps. Most people go on to higher education whether that is A levels or up to graduate level. I may be presuming a lot here but if Sharron has dedicated her life to sport and been an Olympian since the age of fourteen then I'm guessing she hasn't received any higher education.

Feel free to call me out on this, it is a pretty big presumption.

I don't agree with the theory that the truth is somewhere in the middle or somewhere in between. Sharron's account rings true, and it's been clear for a long time that the show spins with what it puts in the VTs.

That is not to say the truth must be exactly as Sharron's blog says, but it is going to be a lot closer to her account than to the way the show presented it.

I don't know what he education was, but it's not necessary to have A-levels in order to write that well. Many athletes continue their education even though they are also training and competing.

But even if it is written by someone else based on her account, that's not a reason to disbelieve it.

I did say it was a presumption and nothing more. I just felt it was a little too professional, that's just my opinion though.

I don't disbelieve her story though. I made my position clear on an earlier post, or at least I hope it made it clear. Sharron's blog may well be a tad glossy but I am more inclined to believe her then ITV, who's level of manipulation is well documented. She has definitely been singled out by a media corporation to boost the ratings of the show. Pavel is backing her story and I have no reason to disbelieve either of them, despite my original knee-jerk reaction on Sunday night which I have already apologised for.

Sorry I couldn't read the whole on-going saga on the blog - just too boring!

The fact remains regarding the change of music: if Sharron was truly experiencing problems with her shoulder, and felt she couldn't cope with a fast routine, she should have told Jayne and Chris at the very beginning of the week before they started training. And what's more told them in a tactfully, not the "change it or I leave" sort of attitude that seemed to come across from her.

It might have been better had she simply asked them to change - or leave out - certain moves that were causing her problems, the actual speed she was moving wouldn't make that much difference.

The other fact is, Sharron never did a fast routine - whatever she might have thought about the Valentine's Day routine - it was not fast!!

Perhaps you should have read the blog in full ?

`When we met for choreography on Monday it was with the intention of trying to do the number we had been given but I was very worried about the shoulder which was getting worse. I took Chris aside and told him this and asked if we could have the Doc’s song as I knew it was a slow one and on the Friday show Chris had mentioned he could move music around once someone left. `

Agree, the account rang true for me too.

I really dislike the way Phil continued to have digs at Sharon on This Morning on the 2 occasions I've seen it this week.

I am wondering if there will be any follow up with Ben and Colleen on the Friday show.

Anybody remember the documentory on Torvill and Dean many years ago now?

Jayne spent a lot of that programme in tears because Chris was pushing her all of the time. Ooh that makes him sound like a monster - he wasn't / isn't. I think he brings the "wow" to the performance while Jayne brings the "polish" - the two of them together bring gold medals to the country. Their partnership is the important bit - I think neither could have done it on their own.

But Chris, like any other top sportsman / sportswoman, pushes himself to the limit to be the best and expects the same from those in his charge. If T&D didn't push the celebrities then they wouldn't progress and we would have them skating in a circle for the final.

Perhaps he thought he could push Sharron further / harder than the others because of her sporting background? And things just got a bit disconnected / misunderstood and whatnot?

As others have said I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle

I found the tears documentary - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248793/ The reviewer (at the bottom of the page) mentions the tears

And some. . Olympic Champions just aren't normal people - even giggly Amy Williams on her skeleton bob could only have got to her level of attainment through absolute commitment, we never hear about the 999 who can't match that.

I was there at the old Nottingham Ice Rink in the mid 1970s when Chris began his partnership with Jane. He was incredibly intense and exacting - in Jane he found the perfect partner, extremely quick and eager learner, fearless and exceptionally strong for a female skater. The rest as they say....

DOI, Jason and the rest is really a bit of froth and sometimes I wonder why T&D keep on. I can only think that Chris assumed the same intensity was in Sharron - maybe the key is she never got the gold, and just isn 't made of the same stuff.

OK, clearly I should have read the whole blog, but to be honest the music was incidental. Sharron never did any fast routines - what she called fast was really slow.

And I still feel that instead of worrying about the music, she should have just asked for the movements that aggravated her shoulder to be modified slightly. Other celebs on all series have risen above their injuries, and just got on with it.

I agree - but then, it's obvious that the Production Team would've had to agree to change the music. If they hadn't, then Sharron would've had to quit/stick to the music that was initially placed before them. It shouldn't be something that needed to be spelt out on the show, or by Sharron.

The fact is that Sharron did go over Chris and Jayne's heads to get the music changed. That is what the VTs portrayed, and Sharron does not deny it in the blog. The reason she used was the same in the show as it is in the blog.

Chris was portrayed as disappointed in her changing the routine/music in the VT; Sharron portrayed him as disappointed in the blog. Maybe he thought he could take more liberties and push her more as they were friends?

I don't know what all the debate is about this. The only issue is that talentless prat Jason mouthing off. I'm hoping they're going to get rid of him after his childish attitude, but I'm not holding my breath.

DOI, Jason and the rest is really a bit of froth and sometimes I wonder why T&D keep on. I can only think that Chris assumed the same intensity was in Sharron - maybe the key is she never got the gold, and just isn 't made of the same stuff.[/quote]


My opinion is that Chris has that intensity about Ice dancing but Sharron had hers in the past about swimming. Different games probably same intensity you do not get silver in the olympics without intensity. Sharron is 47 now and a mother, she has other concerns and I am afraid that lasting a couple more weeks in the show is not worth continuing health issues. It is a lot more different if it is your livelyhood.

BTW Phil Schofield should dance the ice before he talks a load of tosh. Emma Bunton talks that it is a team thing and that sports folk don't work as a team (sour grapes there me thinks). Don't think Geri Halliwell worked well in a team either .

I think the reasons given for Chris's inflexibility are quite plausible; he has been shown to be a perfectionist in the past and he possibly did think that Sharron, having had a similar background in top level sport, would be as keen as he was to push herself to the limit and achieve the best level of skill/performance she was capable of.

However, to say that the reason she didn't is because she didn't win gold and so maybe "isn't made of the same stuff" is harsh and seems somewhat strange. To get anywhere near the top at international sporting level, a person must surely have to have that dedication and intensity that will push them to the apex of their achievement. I'm pretty sure that Sharron won silver not gold because her rival (partly, at least, by virtue of performance enhancing drugs) was better on the day, not because she didn't have the intensity to drive her upwards to that final level.

A more likely reason is that Sharron has, as she has said herself, mellowed over the years and no longer feels that excessive competitve instinct to be the best at every physical activity she tries, particularly when she can see that that activity isn't overly suited to her.

A normal person doesn't have such an acid tongue nor delight in posting poisonous comments on Twitter about a work colleague. A normal person does not smirk and preen or think themselves all things wonderful. A normal person does not revel in sniping, sneering, being catty, pontificating and being over critical when they cannot do what they are criticising to the standard of the person being criticised. Freak is the word that springs to mind when thinking about Gardiner. We have had this conversation before and will just have to agree to disagree. Nothing you say will make me alter my opinion about that poisonous little worm. His behaviour does not dignify his position on the ice panel and he has ruined the show by making it all about him. Attention seeking freak!!!!!

My guess would be that you don`t think much of Mr Gardiner

Agree with those who think the truth lies somewhere in between. There was clearly a communications breakdown and mistakes were probably made by all parties.

Should Chris have been more sympathetic to Sharron? Yes
Should Sharron have told Chris & Jayne that she was going to speak to production team if he insisted on her continuing with same routine (thus avoiding the going behind people's back scenario? Yes
Should the producers have just got everyone together and thrashed it out instead of playing silly games & than stitching up Sharron with a poor VT, whipping up controversy in a bid to boost ratings? Almost certainly yes.

Where's the continued training/teaching support? It looks like T and D issue some choregraphy and some music (which seems to have been thrown together quickly) and then vanish off to wherever the next celeb is. They don't seem to have actually been there after to debate anything. There also doesn't seem to be anyone to make the call they can't do that instead of them. Thats the job for a coach if T and D are not there constantly. There seems to be just the production team there who somehow can't summon a T or a D either? If thats right it explains the lack of great routines and why people have routines and moves, like Sinnita, they can't do. Don't know what the answer is as multiple choregraphers would mean marking the choregrapher rather than who got the good bit of work by T and D that week, and its not clear if the pros could choregraph as on SCD. Something needs changing though.

Did anyone else pick up that after Pav and Sharron had danced T & D backpedalled a bit in their comments - JT said something like 'Of course seeing the injury problems she's dealing with, changing the music is understandable' or something like that and CD said 'yes' - I can't remember the exact words.

In any case i find her blog completely plausible, she did not threaten to leave she said that she could not do another routine that was going to strain her body and if that was the only way she could stay in she would have to leave - rather than having to pull out later in the week.

She was quite willing to withdraw from the competition through injury. But this gave them the required drama and conflict.

Cut back the number of celebs and ensure that everyone gets a fair crack of the whip. No more age-long shows and no more rubbish from T&D. The show's size is making its quality suffer, because of the single point for choreography, unlike on SCD where everyone sorts out their own routines.

Thinking back, I also wonder if Chris Dean's reaction was something to do with Sharron having been rather irritating during her sessions in the past. She was certainly portrayed as bossy and nagging enough - perhaps Chris just thought 'oh, it's Sharron being over-dramatic again' and decided to put his foot down and show he wouldn't stand for it.

Yes, I hope that T&D, or at least Chris, realised the error of their ways in trying to push Sharron into doing something she couldn't do, and then playing along with that over-dramatised VT car crash. If not, shame on them! I thought I remembered seeing something on telly about CD being a bit of an unrelenting task-master and then someone posted that vid further up the thread. Hmmm. I don't think he's the kind / cheeky chappy he's portrayed as on the show.

Saying that, I love watching T & D. Although this business has soured my opinion of them somewhat, I'm still a hooj fan

To be fair, I don't think Jayne is quite to blame (love her, but she seems to just go along with what Chris says), so her making that remark might be related to what she thought all along. I love them as well, but being a great athlete or competitor does not make you a good person. What disappoints me is that they have never stood up for any of the celebrities (e.g. against someone like Jason), but they were quite happy to be complicent in this anti-Sharron VT.

Yes indeed Either fight both sides or say nothing at all, it's unfair to suddenly get vocal just because your ego's taken a bashing.

Agree with your point about Jayne too actually

Yes, I agree with that. By the way, have you undusted your sword yet.
Last edited by lach doch mal : 25-02-2010 at 11:02