Well said.

What really annoys me is that he has ignored illegal lifts so far and marked on entertainment value when Ann was craned in.
He said they didn't take up hold once, which was not true, what's more their dance was more like a foxtrot than Pamela's which he scored a 9.

His comments are invalid in the circumstances

AS is usually a waltz or a foxtrot based but can be based on quick step or really any of the other ball room dances. the difference being that you allowed to go out of hold and also have a max of two lifts (you may remember Kelly & brendan being marked down because there was 3 lifts in their as), however i think the rules are 60 /40 in hold / out of hold. Kara was definately out of hold far more then she was in hold.

I thought the 6 was harsh but he was right to mark them down.

The pros know the rules and should ensure that he/she doesn't penalise his sleb

Those complaining the loudest are probably those who know the least about Ballroom dancing. I am not an expert or even a good dancer but I did have ballroom dancing lessons in my youth and I was taught that all dances have set steps some of which I can still remember. Most of the dances on Strictly only vaguely resemble the true dances.

I agree that the scoring lacks consistency (from all the judges), and it's something that is really starting to get on my nerves this year. Though Ann did have samba steps in her routine, it was just hard to tell because she didn't do them very well, and looked more like she was walking through it. I agree that it is madness Kara scored only 1 point above Ann. But there was no recognisable American Smooth in it, even though I absolutely loved it.

Anyway, Len has done Kara a favour by undermarking her – she'll get the public vote and probably win more supporters in the process.

To some extent I agree but I know quite a bit about ballroom dancing and as a former British Championship semi finalist I am prepared to complain very loudly. I don't mind so much about Kara getting 6 (for me it would have been 7) but that Len's scoring is just plain daft. There is no comparison between She Who Must Not Be Named, Gavin and Kara so to have She Who Must Not Be Named and Kara separated by just 1 point is ridiculous

len used to be the voice of reason,well respected etc...how times have changed.his double standards and inconsistencies are becoming more frequent and more glaring week by week.sorry old chap,but its time.

Well, speakng as someone who knows very little about ballroom even I know that.

People are complaining because dances prior to tonight have had no relation whatsoever to the actual dance and have received stupidly high marks from Len. It is the fact that all of a sudden, for this dance only, he decides to play by the rules.

I agree 100% with Len. It was a beautiful dance but it didn't look remotely like an American Smooth to me and thus should have been marked down.

Len was in grumpy old git mode tonight. It seems a terrible shame for Kara to have executed the dance she was taught so beautifully, and then to be penalised for Artem's coreography. Poor girl!

It should have been marked down, but by how much?

I thought four points was excessive.

Do you thing the injury to Artem's left shoulder had an impact on the choreography?

He could hardly move his head when they were in the Tessanine at the end so must have been difficult to lift his arm and take a formal dance hold.

I wonder if they had to make some last minute adjustments to the dance

Also fair play to Artem and James for producing the two best dances of the night whist hampered with injury and a rebellious microphone cable!

If Len did this with all of them, I would still disagree with him but I wouldn't be anywhere near as angry. The fact is he doesn't. He chooses when to hide behind the banner of proper dance content and when not to and that is what I am so annoyed about. I just know that if one of the men (correction, one of the sportsmen) had danced that routine as perfectly as Kara did, he would maybe have mentioned that in his view there was a lack of proper content but he certainly wouldn't have penalised them anywhere near as harshly as he did Kara & Artem He's as inconsistent as they come and tonight it may just effect the best dancer we've got this year (maybe ever) and that is making me so mad my eyeballs itch

I've been going to ballroom and latin classes for years actually and I'm mad as hell.

We are all assuming that if they had been in hold len would have given them a 10 by saying he knocked 4 points off.

Ps I was wrong earlier it's 40% in hold but still Kara was no were near 40% in hold.

That is exactly what is annoying me so much.
It is glaringly obvious that the crazy marks (Craig excepted) that the judges are giving this year are an attempt to manipulate the result and IMO the judges are now superfluous.
Their marks should count for nothing.

The BBC should stop wasting the licence fee on them .

Kara really is blossoming into a wonderful dancer, her AT last week was on a par with Scott's Jive and the best AT done by a celeb on Strictly it was wonderful to watch ..... couldn't be topped...well she did do tonight, I would have loved to seen how the dance would have gone if Artem was fit.

But I thing Len' s brain must have been just past Birmingham on the M6 at the start of tonight's show and three quarters of the way to Mars at the end

To give Kara a 6 is THE WORST MARK ever in Strictly history closely followed by the second worst mark by giving Ann a 5!!!!!!!! For christsakes Len all she does is stand thereand waits for Anton to fling her around.

If he continues in this vein sack him and bring back Arlene

Why should it have been marked down at all in this season? It seems any number of couples can get away with anything... unless it suits the judges not to let them.

A few years back, Len's comment would have been the norm.
He is correct.

He is inconsistent.
His marks are inconsistent.

Len should be sad that it has come to that.

Oh for goodness sake , The prinicile is that if he is going to be sniffy over choreography then at least be consisitant , Ann's "dance" bore no realtion to samba and yet it was onlt worth 1 less that karas beautifully danced effort

Well, I'm just taking other people's word for it (people who know more about dance that I do) the dance was lacking in content. Therefore, there is a justifiable reason for deducting some marks.

But I think a spread of 8-9-10, allowing for grumpiness and excessiveness is fair. If Len had given them an 8, fewer people would be complaining.

It's just pantomime to whip the crowds up. Like Giant Haystacks snarling at the crowd as he got into the ring.

(shows age)

That brings back memories... not all good though. And I personally thought Len reacted to the extensive booing with genuine outrage. Mr... forget his last name, thinks very highly of himself.

I liked the dance but thought Len was right. If this had been Brendan arranging the dance this way most people would have agreed with Len. There's been too much ignoring of the rules.