Angela - that is an excellant idea which means it won't happen - instead we will have Alesha and the BBC pretending that she can act as a judge - whereas they have Lilia , Karen & camila who could judge heaps better

As I sit in a mire of accusations prejudice/racism - which I am neither etcbecause I dared to suggest that Alesha was not a very good judge - and I do think she is making a mistake by returning to SCD - I think it has dented her popularity - but hey ho just my opinion - never thought I would come in for attack - my daughter found this forum and thought it would be fun

Welcome to the forum, softie.

Don't be put off by the 'attackers', just ignore them, they're not worth worrying about.

I totally agree with both you and Angela about Alesha and the judging panel, but there are far too many others who prefer the 'pantomime' caused by Craig, Bruno and Alesha.

Best to try and ignore, you know you aren't any of those things so don't worry about it. Pls come back to post as i only joined this year and so far i am having a great time posting here

[quote=softie;41127771As I sit in a mire of accusations prejudice/racism - which I am neither etcbecause I dared to suggest that Alesha was not a very good judge[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't say Alesha was perfect but I wouldn't say any of them are/were.

And I'd rather have Alesha over either Arlene or Bruno any day - both of whom are appalling judges.

Bruno should be dumped and replaced with Karen/Camilla/Lilya (whoever does the best screen test).

Please don't generalise - not everyone on this thread has made accusations of prejudice and racism, and I take offence at the insinuation that everyone who's disagreed with you on here has, as I certainly have not! If you wish to have a productive discussion it would be nice if you didn't offend those of us who are trying to do so.

What I was trying to say, and have yet to receive a reply to (regardless that I feel there is no counter-point) is why on earth you feel Alesha has made a mistake in returning to SCD when it's not her fault that she's been asked to return - are you suggesting she tun down relative financial security just because you don't like her or think she has no judging talent? If you were in her shoes would you really do it?


I, and I'm sure many others, are perfectly happy to discuss it if you wish to rather than making false accusations against those of us who are trying to debate your points. This forum is usually perfectly civil and a wonderful place to be if you don't offend anyone else or generalise over something that may have been said by a few posters on this thread, but was certainly not by the majority.

The first defence was not accepted in the Nuremburg trials - "just following orders, someone else's fault". It takes two to do a deal.

If the second motivation is P&L pure and simple, well there is the backlash and longterm typecasting to be considered on the losses side.

This debate has never got anywhere. Celebs, dancers, judges, all overshadowed last year. A feelgood show submerged.

I'm not convinced the situation really necessitates a comparison with the Nuremburg Trials!

I've got no opinion of Alesha either way, but I do think there's a valid point there - she was offered what I assume is a well paid job... I don't think many people would turn that down.

Fair point. That was the wellknown precedent. Legal eagles can tell us if the principle stands, or whether it is possible to celebrate when a contract with the BBC works, and blame the BBC when it doesn't.

On the pros and cons of accepting a lucrative offer regardless of consequences, Kelly Brook did exactly that. She then proved to be unsuited to the judges role and was ousted after one show, and Simon Cowell hushed it up. If Kelly was going to be a dreary flop week after week damaging the show, then ££££ per week would not have done Kelly's career and fab image much good, nor to the show. Kelly's true fans would be quietly relieved she was out, no doubt with satisfactory compensation.

I think the difference between Kelly Brook and Alesha's situations is that the shows are set up in different ways. You don't really know whether or not a judge will be good or bad until they start doing it. As Kelly's stint as a judge was done during a pre-recorded part of the show (and so they could introduce her as a "guest judge" when it came down to it), whereas Alesha never had that luxury. If the BBC had wanted to oust Alesha in the same manner that Cowell did Kelly, then it would have been more difficult for them as they couldn't quiet it in the same way. Alesha was never going to be fired during the series run.

Do we definitely know Alesha's back for this series? If she is, then I suggest the BBC were happier with her than this forum was (I'm still not convinced the overall public reaction is as negative as this forum, but I could be wrong).

I totally agree with your comments, but should add that a vast majority of the viewers were not unhappy with Alesha as a judge, only a few on here who have tried rabidly to have their opinions accepted by others, some by fair means or foul. But to even bring in the nuremburg trials just brings this whole debate down to a very low level.
This is a TV show.... This is a young woman taking a job she was offered..... it is not life or death..... if she gets it wrong sometimes.. so bl**dy what, nobody is going to have their lives ruined, their careers in tatters or never work in this town again. It is only entertainment, I bet each and every celeb that enters knows that at some time they will be voted off and most really wont loose much sleep over it, it is a pay day for them.....
The problem lies with those that think it is a serious competition.... it is not .. when will you realise that, it never will be because nobody would watch it... stick to your local amateur competitions if you want real dancers and real judges, but please stop ruining a perfectly good and enjoyable entertainment show by constantly moaning about every decision the BBC Make. It is their show and they can do what they like, for every viewer who is childish enough to " Stop watching" then there is probably a good chance they will be replaced with a new viewer who is happy to start watching. The sooner these moaners understand that they are completely powerless to implement any sackings, replacements or change of dancers , the better for the rest of us who enjoy it for what it is... a good laugh on a saturday night

No, no, Paace,Alesha was never meant to be an expert, just to reflect the opinion of the general public (and occasionally provide a more sympathetic reaction than that of Arlene, Craig or Bruno or Lately Len.)

She often reflected my opinion exactly, so I'd be happy to see her back, but oh that Army of Strictly Female Alesha Haters - couldn't they go on holiday just occasionally and give the rest of us a break?

Or if they absolutely insist on hanging around, could they at least find something new to say each week? the concept of "democracy" meaning "more than one point of view, luvvy" really got trodden into the ground with stilettos last year on the Strictly Boards- let's hope DS stays relatively neutral.

I did not say everyone - but I am horrfied that "predjuice" was brought into the discussion in the first place - I take great offence to that - and I expressed that - you are right the overall majority have been absolutely fine and agreed/disgreed in a perfectly civil way - however the mere mention of prejudice was out of order - I stated why I did not think Alesha was a good judge - I did mention anything about her background or social standing - yet Predjuice reared its head - which is at best insulting to both me and Alesha - I am not - and Alesha and anyone on the tv/radio/media is going to elicit views about their performance

I apologise if you think I was generalising I did not intend to - I want to discuss and debate in an open way - I let the prejudice comment get to me - apologies again

back to your point about her returning to SCD - I do think she is making a mistake - I believe it will have a lasting damage on her pop career and her popularity

I think this whole " Alesha is damaging her pop career" is nonsense" She had a platinum record here in the UK, but she also had a number 1 record in France, Italy and Spain. When i was on holiday last year in Spain, she was playing in nearly every bar and cafe i went into ( and there were a lot LOL)
There is a much bigger world out there than Strictly for her, as i think she said in an interview last year, Strictly is her saturday job for a few months . Not the centre of her universe

Has it done so so far? Ok, she gets slated occasionally by the tabloids, but so does practically everyone! Tabloid praise is no sign of popularity, they praise Big Brother every year yet it has a million viewers at most and has been in terminal decline for years.

And I thought she intended one day to focus her pop career on the USA, where no-one cares about Strictly Come Dancing because DWTS is so big in its own right. No-one's going to care that she was a judge for a couple of autumns, and it has no bearing on whether or not she is offered a record deal after she leaves, which will of course happen at some point in the future.

I still don't see how any concern about that outweighs the financial security she gets from a £75-100k (depending on which report you read of course...) windfall, in fact would it not be more sensible for her to take it seeing as both the television and music industries are so transcient and this could be one of her last opportunities to make a considerable sum of money in either industry, which will no doubt help secure her financially for when her career is over.

Alesha critics are not defined by gender.

She reflected your views and her army of fans would agree with you, but not everyone is of like mind and we have as much right to criticise as you have to approve, without being told to take a holiday.

Perhaps we too would like a break from the Worship of Alesha but to reiterate my point, DS is for all opinions and a bland and boring place it would be were it not so.

As for neutrality - it can be defined as impartiality and insulting those who disagree with you does not come within those parameters.

Or her music career is fading away

Or they are obstinate and will not admit they have made mistakes (SCD and the One Show etc.)

Or maybe the feedback they get from the normal ( not Forum) viewers is good and everybody outside of this little cocoon is happy...
Or it could be that the obstinate ones are those who continually harp on about how things are falling apart, when the reality is that the show did not lose any viewers and the BBC are of the opinion that you can not please all of the people all of the time, so try to please the vast majority who are happy to watch the show without complaint

Personally I think Alesha has a successful music career including outside the UK, but she knows at her age she will never be the next Beyonce, so she will make hay whilst the sun shines.

It makes perfect sense not to put all her eggs in one basket and return to Strictly as a judge. She loved appearing on the show as a contestant and with one series as a judge under her belt, it must have been a very simple decision for her to agree to a second series - especially as it will be under different circumstances than last time with the Arlene/age fracas.

It seems like a no brainer to me - working every Saturday night on a BBC flagship show, surrounded by people she knows and likes (and vice versa).

Sounds to me like virtually everyone has a judge they would like to get rid of and for many but not all on here, that may be Alesha.

I can't see what harm doing another series will do to her career. In fact, surely it could open new doors in the future?

I like Alesha. I supported her last year, thought she did very well considering. However I think it's time she moved on. She's not qualified enough to judge a dancing competition, I'd love Karen or Camilla to have the job.

My first choice would always be Karen (especially as she is a professionally qualified judge) and another judge with that kind of experience would be fantastic (not so keen on Camilla tbh, but could live with her). We didn't get it last year and I can only hope it is in the pipeline for this year - fingers crossed - I'm happy though with Alesha until that happens.

A voice of sanity, as ever, Buddy!

And - without wishing to introduce any more contention into this thread (), the BBC will want to hang on to Alesha if at all possible. It has a diversity policy it monitors quite rigidly and there are very few black women represented in mainstream entertainment shows - so Alesha ticks a big box for them.

This may infuriate some posters who didn't like Alesha as a judge last year - sorry - but this is how BBC management operates.

Having worked for the BBC myself, I can see the logic and also the flaws in this approach: but, this aside, like many viewers, I really don't think Alesha even began to sink to the levels regularly plumbed by Arlene or Bruno. She's certainly better qualified than Bruno (when exactly did he last choreograph anything ) - and he's the one who should be replaced next.

Once again Bonny hits the nail on the head ....perfectly put.
This whole" harm her career nonsense "and "failed popstar "rubbish we hear on here is peddled, usually by people whose taste in music and knowledge of current popular music ended with Joe Loss Orchestra , It may not be everyones cup of tea, but you cant deny the statistics, Platinum albums dont grow on trees

I do not hate Alesha - she is beautiful and a talented singer - IMO she is not a very capable judge -I do not (nor have I stated so) her

Severlan- I agree with you - and I think that this policy approach whatever you want to call it - is extremely patronising to Alesha

I wish it were true - however such was the level of bitching last year that I think you'll find it'll all come back again this year.

If it does, I think those doing it are unintentionally prolonging her stay on SCD. She seems to me like someone who absolutely will not quit when things are going against her. If you really want her off the program, keep quiet. She'll consider that box ticked and move on.