i don't believe there's any gagging order in place. It's not that serious an issue with the BBC. It probably makes people feel better to think that other contestants dislike her as much as they do but i think fans take the show much more seriously than the contestants. They see it for what it is, an entertainment show. Of course they want to do well but anyone with any real talent who wants to use dance in their future career will be spotted regardless of whether they win or not.

Well said you.

It's sheep mentality. That's all, really.

I doubt there's a physical bit of paper saying "gagging order", no.

But I'm very sure there's "media handling guidelines", and I'm also very sure that various media management people have had various quiet words with people, something on the lines of "Team players should XYZ, especially if they want to be on the team next year" - something like that I imagine.



Ratings for an expensive, primetime Saturday show are very much a serious issue for the BBC.


Probably true.

Oh, I think some of the celebs take it very seriously indeed. It gives them the kind of PR their agent dreams about - and for the already BBC employed contestants it is very much a stall setting out exercise.

Are they going to jepordise oodles of positive PR, possible future work and possibly get a reputation of being hard to work with just for the short term satisfaction of having a bit of a go at the people still in the competition? Look at James Jordan - an ill judged interview after John Sargent left and it took an entire series of ITT to not even fully rehabilitate him.

This has been pretty much my feeling from the beginning, and the longer she stays in the more likely a scenario it seems.

As a matter of interest, did other weak contenders go the week after a 'shock' exit? I seem to remember there appeared to be a pattern of them going the week after a 'breakthrough' - Georgina whatsit springs to mind - but what about Fiona Phillips, Kate Garraway et al? I'm sure monkseal has a spreadsheet which will have all the relevant info!

But that was the viewers wasn't it? Nothing happened to him from the BBC did it?

Worn
Oh God yes.....
Seven bob for Doris Karloff? Bit on the pricey side I would have thought.


Didn't he invent Cream Crackers?


I don't agree it's cynicism, I think it's arrogance.



She's never seen Anton dance Latin then, has she?

t
11/8
Matt Baker

9/4
Scott Maslen
4/1
Kara Tointon

6/1
Ann Widdecombe
14/1
Pamela Stephenson

25/1
Gavin Henson
50/1
Patsy Kensit

That shows AW to be 6/1 at William Hill

So 3 below her

Simple stuff, then

It's a sniper's bullet each for Matt & Scott.

Bingo! Kara gets the Glitter Ball.

A small point but one I feel negates that whole argument is that the Latin dances were developed by and large in Catholic countries

Not all Catholics are as biggoted and prudish as Ann in fact I think she is probably a whole subsect by herself , even the nuns at my school had a better sense of humour and certainly more compassion and general human kindness than Ann

Georgina Bouzova was the first naff dancer to be eliminated the week after a shock exit, in her case DJ Spoony was the shock exit (series 4).

Series 5, Kate Garraway left the week after Penny Lancaster was eliminated. Although some didn't consider Pennys exit as much of a shocker, the fact that Matt Di Angelo was in the bottom 2 with her did suprise most and may have contributed to her loss of support.

In series 6 John withdrew a few days after Cheries shock exit so we'll never know if he would have gone. A couple of newspapers at the time suggested he had lost a fair bit of public support and this combined with his upcoming cruise deal prompted his decision but as this was tabloid gossip who knows if there was a grain of truth in it or not*.

Finally, last year Craig Kelly left the week after the shock exit of Zoe Lucker (although again what shocked people more was that Ali Bastian was in the bottom 2 with her).

EDIT* I meant the public support, we know the cruise deal was true

I was hoping there'd be a backlash against that, but sadly in vain.

we can but live in hope

Georgina went the week after Spoony, but she was bottom two with him, and had been bottom two the week before. Her vote was barely enough just to keep her in as it was, so I don't know that that could be counted as the public turning on her in revenge for Spoony. Craig also had bobbled down into the bottom two a couple of times and had the comparatively worse Joe Squared shoring him up for a while as well.

Tina & Jimi's consecutive eliminations seem to have had no effect on the public vote, Claire was clearly the second best dancer at least in Series 1 and her elimination had no effect on the Parker juggernaut. Gabby's elimination was followed by Dominic committing tv Hari-kari, so that's no real guide either.

Personally, I don't think single "shock" eliminations have much effect, as they tend to (necessarily by their nature) be of people with no or little public support so "the public" don't really care, as a body. The joke contestants I just think wear out their welcome with time, and the passage of said time also takes out all the people they can beat until there aren't any left.

Then a good leaderboard combo takes them out - for instance in the case of Kate : Gethin (probably the top vote-getter) scored low, a couple of perhaps vulnerable people (Kelly, Letitia) scored high, there was a tie, and Matt was on a Bottom Two Bounce (which I think is clearly something that does happen). Even then, if we were on Today's Rules, I wouldn't bet against John leaving over her that week given his obvious lack of support.

(Fiona's exit was just part of the mass Vagina Cull that was the start of Series 3 : three crap women and one mediocre one with potential taken out more or less in random order, because the public weren't at all interested in women that year, let alone rubbish ones)

Crikey.

Are you sober.?

Well we all have access to wikipedia...And spreadsheets obviously. Spreadsheets of Fun!

I would say the pro's (bar Anton) take the show just as seriously as some of the fans. And, the deeper into the series they get, the celebs will be taking it more seriously too. Sure, it's a Saturday night entertainment show. It's also demanding a huge amount of physical and emotional commitment to go out and do the kind of performances we've seen everyone except Ann turn out. Especially if either you or your pro partner is ill/exhausted. So I don't think it's quite as light and fluffy as you would like to believe - not at this stage of the game. Ask Artem - I don't think he danced his way through some excruciating pain last Saturday for 'fun'.

I'd also point out that standard BBC contracts automatically include clauses about what employees are and aren't allowed to say to the press - I know, I've worked there. So a gagging order of some sort exists already. Add to that Moira Ross' very obvious desire to promote Ann over the other contestants, and the celebs and pro's are very much restricted about what they can and can't say. They all work in the entertainment industry and don't want the BBC's door to be closed to them.

And it doesn't make me 'feel better' to think that the other celebs 'dislike' Ann. My point was simply that everyone else works hard to do their best, and when the other celebs are repeatedly left standing in the shadows while Ann takes centre-stage amid claims of her 'popularity', I would find it hard to imagine that, privately, they aren't at least a bit frustrated.

Of course, you won't hear any disquiet aired in public. But I bet if you took James Jordan out and plied him with a few drinks, you might get closer to the truth ...

I'd imagine it's called "press handling guidelines" or some such?


It seems exteremely difficult to believe that there's no resentment of Ann at all. The very consistency of message received makes it suspect, you know?

'gagging orders'? 'press handling gidelines'?? You mean what the pros and celebs say in public isn't what they really think????? Outrageous! I shall send a complaint to the Beeb.

I'm sure the BBC stop people talking about what goes on backstage etc but I doubt they have a clause in their contract specifically about Anne Widecome. You may be right that some celebs & pros are worried and fed up with her but the reason they don't say so is more to with them being worried it would lose them votes and make them less popular. James suffered from his outburst against John Sargent in that respect.
I expect the producers would like nothing better than an outburst from someone about Anne because this would cause controversy and increase the no of viewers as with Wagner next door. No doubt if James gets knocked out before Anne we will hear all about it.

One thing we can agree on is the wish for Anne to go this week.

Moira Ross seems to not have a clue, doesn't give a damn about dancing, but ratings instead. This marketting that they are trying to do is putting scd into disrepute. A small consolation of Ann staying in is bbc hike up revenue. Don't think bbc are that badly off as they percieve.

SCD can survive, just need to make sure they don't have a joke type of contestant like Ann. I'd rather bbc pick a z-lister than someone like her to balance out the group of celebrities. Hopefully the producers should take note of what we are saying as we are the customers and are always right.

Reckon the format of booking celebrities should change too and perhaps go through an audition process. This is so that things can flow a biit more and there isn't any itchy heads that the wrong person stays in. Now it's up to the bosses to change things.

Why would there be a backlash against Ann and Anton, they brighten up our Saturday nights.

Yet another *bump*.

I fear the FM is playing deliberately obtuse. We, as in a fellow FM and myself, were referring to Miss Widdicome's aversion to the physical content of the Latin dances when given the Roman Catholic... Do you know what? I can't be bothered.

Thread bump achieved. Good work, ace.

Still doesn't change the facts.

Goodnight.
Last edited by JukeJive : 02-12-2010 at 00:20