I never post anything on forums, i just usually read what everyone else has to say but from reading some of the things people have to say on here its obvious these shows are basically a popularity and personality contest...

I used to enjoy shows like SCD to watch how celebs progressed throughout the competition as they got to grip with the dancing.

Now people seem to be happy with watching a middle aged woman (Anne) getting dragged around a dance floor! And you call this entertainment? Maybe the first episode...

I wish the producers would leave it down to the judges only and keep the public from voting, as its not really a surprise anymore, being that we all know that the people who shouldnt leave are the ones who are, and the ones that are useless are the ones that will be kept.. all in the name of so called entertainment!

These shows are starting to become tiresome (along with X factor) as we continually see the better ones dropping out. I just dont see why people bother to comment on them anymore..

Agreed. But it seems we're in the minority. Most people watch a dancing show to laugh at incompetents. Only a few of us watch to see people learn to dance.

One word, money, it talks.

Welcome dawhitey since this is your first post. May it be the first of many. Like you many times I have wished that the producers would just leave the decision to the judges alone. However it's probaly the public participation that is such a successful part of the show. However little I may like the outcomes

From day one I've wished there wasn't a public vote. There was once the justification that money was being raised for charity but that has long since ceased to be the case. Unless BT, or whichever phone company is handling the voting lines, is contributing financially to the making of the show there doesn't seem to be a really obvious money motive for it.

I know some, perhaps many, perceive the public vote as a vital ingredient of the show without which it could not continue, but I am certainly not one of them. Indeed I wouldn't have any issue with there not being any eliminations at all. Who is to say that someone booted out on week one wouldn't have turned out to be one of the better dancers by week ten, say? We never get to find out.

Welcome, dawhitey, pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable while I put the kettle on...

I'm not a dance expert, but I do like to see non-dancers learning a new skill and developing that talent throughout the series. I don't know if you saw the show that Brian Fortuna did last year, 'Dancing on Wheels', where slebs were paired with wheelchair users? There was no public vote and the show didn't suffer from the lack of it at all. The judging panel put two contestants in a dance-off and challenged them to up their game. If they did, they were saved for the following week. I really liked that show (saw a quite different side to Brian, who could be Mr Angry on occasion!). Ironically, I'm not convinced that the best wheelchair-user won, although I suppose it was the best partnership. Anyway, I didn't mind in the least not having a say in the matter.