I take your point - but this was a direct response to a comment about the suitability of forum members to perform on the SCD panel - not the inadequacy of fat cats of industry and/or commerce.

And I don't think saying "Alesha is bad at her job, but others are worse in their field" justifies her presence on the panel.

I'm not being personal to you - I appreciate that you hold Alesha in higher regard than me and that's fair enough.

I don't agree with this at all and seems a bit of an over reaction to say the least.

I am first and foremost an avid SCD fan, I am also an admirer of Alesha, loved her as a contestant, loved her as a judge and simply love her as a person. So having her on the show, in whatever capacity, is a great big added bonus for me.

If she chooses to accept the offer of a return, who the heck are we to say differently? No one is going to tell me whether I can accept a job or not I'm sure.

Those of us who have a problem with her being on the show, then all you need do is watch something else. Those of you who watch for the dancing then it shouldn't really bother you that much.

I do feel that so many of the negative, nay, nasty, comments are driven by prejudice, its quite sad.

What I also find sad is someone joining the SCD forum with the sole intention, it seems, of starting a slagging thread about one of the judges.

I am a critic of Alesha's judging credentials - but have never advanced the view that she turn the job down (though I confess that would please me mightily.)

I watched SCD last year despite her presence - the mute button came in handy and will do so again this series should I decide to watch.

What sort of prejudice are you implying - racism? This allegation cannot stick - after all she won as a competitor.

Personally I find it rather sad that any criticism of Alesha is ascribed to prejudice - can't you just accept that some of us find her judging and communication skills less than able.

Nobody mentioned racism.. prejudice comes in many forms... like being prejudiced against someone because they don't talk the way YOU think they should talk
and why cant you accept that some of us find her judging and communication skills perfectly adequate ....
We dont all speak the queens english, and i for one have never had any problems trying to understand what Alesha is " communicating"

I merely questioned the form of prejudice to which the poster referred - and asked not stated whether racism was implied.

Moreover my question was addressed to the poster in question - and I'm sure he/she will in time respond to my query.

When I post the following (as I did in a response to Servalan) I'm at a loss to understand why you accuse me of intolerance of other views.

Perhaps you should look to yourself - and allow those who do not worship Alesha to hold an opinion different to your own without pouncing everytime you see the slightest criticism.

Oh take a chill pill!!!

I'm far from a 'old fuddy duddy' and retain the right to query her use of grammar ....with an a

I'd get used to it if I were you, if Alesha's back.. there will be a whole lot more lot criticism of her appalling use of 'grammer'.

Here we go again...

Firstly, how dare you suggest that I am prejudice - you no nothing of my ethnic background- being critical of someone's performance is not being prejudice - I take great exception to that comment

secondly please re read my thread - as I said I have gone full circle adored Alesha before - as a judge she annoyed me

I started the thread (if you read my post) as a result of newspaper reports of the changes to the dancer lineup and the reports that Alesha is returning to SCD - I and it is up to you to disagree - but I cannot believe that she is returning as a judge - I think she is making a mistake I DID NOT start it for people to slag her off - I wondered what others thought - is she making a mistake

I take exception to your response - I am not prejudice and I would guess that neither of those who cricitise Alesha as a judge on SCD thinking someone is pants (to quote my daughter about Alesha) is not being prejudice - if you criticise Arlene does that make you anti-Jewish?

Of course not. It makes you someone who doesn't like blatant favouritism, inappropriate personal comments, superiority complexes and downright lying. Nothing to do with Arlene's heritage ...

Prejudice doesn't always mean racism - there are many different forms of prejudice, some of which could apply to Alesha just as much as racism (not to mention the other meaning of the word, which is just "judgement without facts"). That's not to say I think any of the complaints regarding Alesha necessarily *are* prejudiced, just that I'm not sure anyone is accusing anyone of racism...

Of course prejudice comes in many forms - and it's possible that the preconception referred to by Vincy might apply to Alesha's working class background, her grammatical inadequacies etc.

I asked if it was racism because last year this forum was littered with posts accusing Alesha's critics of just that.

imo it was a legitimate question, asked with civility.

It was, it was.

I was just pointing it out in case people thought they were being accused of something they might not be - although I'll cheerfully shut up if that is what was meant!

Sorry if I sounded sharp zan - it was unintentional, but the bickering seems to have started extra early this year.

Doesn't bode well for the autumn - or maybe I'm just being a grouch.

I'll return to my usual sunny self.

Not at all.

It does seem that the pro shake-up has opened old wounds as well - I was rather hoping we'd done Alesha last year, but obviously it's ongoing.

Never mind - hopefully with it starting so early people will have calmed down by the time the series begins..? Well, I can hope, anyway.

Thing is, I'm sure I've heard of there being a revamp this year... in which case I rather suspect there is more to come. I don't think the BBC is as inept as people seem to claim, but I don't see (m)any changes being received very well. We could well be looking at a very bickery series regardless of how good the programme is!

Given the bickering that has arisen from Alesha signing for a second series and the fracas over the new and existing pros, I'd say this series might be the worst ever for bickering. Zan the shake up isn't over from from what I've heard too.

And it is still only June!

Hi Bud, Looking forward to a good old bicker to pass the winter .

Me too Abba - that's why I've never been a big poster on the ATs!

ATs frighten the living daylights out of me ,I never got this adoration / admiration mallarkey at all .From 14 year old maybe but adults who idolise a celeb scare me .
Now Mathew Cutler is a man to be admired but there it remains and I am almost sure he has some flaws too .

Me, I'm just fickle! My crushes change every series!

Does anyone else agree that, now Lilia Kopylova has been dropped as one of the competing professional dancers from the next series, she should join the judging panel instead of Alesha, bearing in mind that she is better qualified?

Seeing as the producers haven't yet had the wisdom to ask Karen to judge, I doubt they'd ever ask Lilia, or Camilla, or in fact any past competitor. They should though, plenty of people have been saying that for the past couple of years!

Sorry if i'm being thick but what does that mean?

No but he won't let anyone give an opinion that's different to his, which is usually Craig, most annoying when he starts having a go

OMG wasn't she!!



Well i loved Alesha as a contestant, love her as a person (saw her in something recently and she was a hoot as usual) but so far i haven't enjoyed her on the panel, i usually mute her, but i feel i'm missing out if i do that as i do like to know everything thats been said, so i'm gonna try not to do that this year. I can't say her grammar bothered me, nor her comment to Craig (as nasty as it was) i think it's cos she was a contestant that bothers me, i can't explain why as i don't know myself


Oh and another thing am i the only one who likes Bruno?? i seriously didn't realise so many people didn't like him That time he lifted his leg right up showing Christine his leg extension was hilarious!!

Oh God - that really, really winds me up. Len is actually my least favourite member of the panel by far - but I know his judging credentials mean he's justified being there. I'd much sooner lose Len than Alesha - purely because I lose my temper with him far sooner than I do with her! (Actually, Bruno irritates me nearly as much as Len, so...)

I think Len is just showing his frustration because although Len is the person who has the better credentials, and in a dispute around technique is almost certainly going to be right, many people take Craig's comments more seriously. I think Len has to consider why that is the case. On the one hand I can see that he wants to keep things light (for what is an entertainment show) but he does also have to tell us a bit more about why he has decided on a certain score. The pro dancers' reviews of the show on ITT are much more informative and give a better overview of the technical shortcomings/strengths of the celebs. Ok that is aimed at the more avid fans and I'm not expecting anything as in depth as that for the main show, but a bit more of the rationale might help,

One week Erin spoke back to Alesha, but I can't remember what it was about.

I think Len is quite good at explaining his marking most of the time, but then sometimes he does something daft like saying he knows a routine wasn't perfect (i.e. even a pleb like me spotted at least one mistake), but still gives a 10. He certainly knows what he expects to see in any given dance.

Personally I prefer how Craig scores, as he marks a couple based on seeing improvement across the series, so his marks gradually rise (or don't in some cases!). The others mark by comparing the performances of couples on the night. I think all the judges should at least mark on the same basis, instead of one doing it one way and all the others doing it another.