Me too. But if you count 'speaking' on these boards, some people seem to find the joke funny.

That may be so 3 weeks ago, but Ann voters have tasted blood, they can collectively sense their power to make or break at the press of a button.

She may have polled third highest before, but there is no guarantee this will not rise as supporters sense the kill and hold the bit between their teeth resisting all restraint.
Several signs all pointed to John Sergeant polling more votes than Tom and Austin put together in week 8 (his cha cha cha).

I hate to say but I don't see any way she won't be in the semi-final. I don't think she tops the public vote, I think Matt does and will win this competition, but there's a good chance she wont be in the final too.

Propose:

The order of the dancers on the judges leaderboard (assuming and hoping! there are no silly ties) is:

Kara/Artem= 4
Scott/Natalie= 3
Matt/Aliona= 2
Ann/Anton= 1

Ann would then need to either a) top the public vote (which if she does she's won anyways) or b) hope that Kara (whom I'm assuming would be last in the public vote) doesn't finish with the highest judges score. In the example above, if the public vote is:

Matt/Aliona= 4
Ann/Anton= 3
Scott/Natalie= 2
Kara/Artem= 1

then Matt would have 6 combined, Scott/Kara both 5 and Ann 4, thus eliminated. I also think this is what will happen too.

Thoughts?

Wouldn't surprise me.

Between Ann, Wagner on X factor and Gillian on I'm a Celeb it's like the unholy trinity.

I think a lot of support for Patsy and Gavin is due to people liking seeing people getting better. And, although I'm not a fan of either, Patsy's confidence and commitment to the performance has improved and Gavin has shown occasional flickers of personality in the last couple of weeks. As I said, not a fan, but I did find myself urging them on to achieve these things - it's less interesting to watch over a couple of months if people are so good from the off that nobody seems to actually learn to dance (and to love to dance) over the course of it. Not saying I'm not supporting any of the Big Four this year, though!

Good point about Scott - I'm off to get my calculator out as that week is probably the best way to predict the stats

There are 5 in the semi this year which will make it more difficult for her to survive if she gets that far.

The longer the competition goes on, the harder it is for the bottom placed couple to stay in because there is fewer combinations that can save them.

We pretty much know that Patsy is less popular than Ann so it seems likely she'll go first. Gavin may prove to be Ann's stumbling block because unless one of the others has an off week, presumably they'll be bottom and second from bottom on the leaderboard and then she'll have to get more votes than him to stay in. He's proved to have a decent fanbase so far.

Of course it does depend upon where the votes for the eliminated contests end up.

There will be 5 couples in the semi final over 2 nights with a double elimination (providing we have had not withdrawral for any reason) I think this will be the night she will go if she hasnt already by then.....I dont know how the double elimination will work e.g. one on friday and one on saturday or both together and I would imagine there will be more than one dance per couple then aswell so I think she will find it hard to survive a double vote when the fans of the other dancers will be desperate to get their favourites to the final.

Don't think so. Ann's fans will be on overdrive to ensure she gets to the final. As it's a POSITIVE vote, (i.e. not a vote to kick someone out), it'll need a miracle for her not to be in the final.

Ah, OK, apologies.

Yes but even if she tops the vote there are many combinations of votes amongst the others that would see the bottom placed couple out, especially if the 4th AND 5th placed couples are going.

As it seems so important to you then I wish you luck with that....and hope you enjoy Strictly next year with no decent dancers in it.

Personally I dont think she will get past the semi final but obviously thats only my opinion.

Those who stand to collect on bets with bookies or on Betfair at monster odds cannot care less what happens to SCD9, if there is one.

Hahahaha!! That made me laugh!!!

I wonder if you've hit the nail on the head - financial gain would account for their continued support.

I cannot believe that anybody that cares about the programme's future wants them there or actually finds them funny or entertaining.

It really depends. If you think the GBP are capable of deep stupidity then yes, she could win. If you have a smidgeon of faith left in people's common sense then no, she can't win. Personally I waver from week to week.

If she tops the public vote there's only one combination that sees her out. If she's second from top there's a few, and if she's third there's only one combination where she doesn't leave. Anything lower than that she's out for sure.

This is presuming she'll be bottom with the judges obviously.

Some people are taking this far too seriously. It's an entertainment show and nothing more. None of the contestants are seriously considering becoming professional dancers. The public gets what the public wants.

If the unthinkable happens and Ann actually wins SCD the beeb will have finally killed the goose that lays the golden egg.

I love the maths stuff : )

I was just thinking about this. The judges can easily get rid of her at the semis, if they know who's getting the most votes and it's followed the supposed leaked totals, and the top four are Matt, Scott, Pamela and Kara:

So...

Matt 5 + 3 = 8
Scott 4 + 2 = 6
Ann 3 + 1 = 4
Kara 2 + 5 = 7
Pamela 1 + 4 = 5

The first number being the public vote and the second number their judges points.

I know that assumes a lot

The contestants take it very seriously (well, most of them ). Why shouldn't the public?

Ann voters are taking this dreadfully seriously. Supporters for other candidates switch sides from week to week, it is Ann supporters who vote fanatically whatever she does in the show. If voting opended at 4pm they would have started dialing at 4.

I couldn't agree more. You've saved me a lot of typing, thanks!!

I agree with all of that too, thankyou.

This

Particularly in terms of Pamela and James being there over Matt and Aliona - I would rather watch them any day.