Chuffed you've told me this Tangerine_82. Otherwise I wouldn't have known. However I agree with you 110% on this one.

Thank you

I preferred Mark to Emma, but she and possibly even Louisa were better dancers than Mark.

It just annoys me that some people choose the prime reason for voting for someone is because they think they're cute or fit, or funny when they are not dancing. I don't mind people voting for people because the dance was entertaining (anne being the big exception because she does not dance at all) because they are voting based upon the dance. But in my personal opinion i would support the best dancer, which this year i think is kara.

AW to win solves this thread

Yes, they were both better than Mark.

^^^^^ That would be outrageously stupid if she were to win. ^^^^^

I actually voted for Mark that series, also I'm a bit of a cricket fan myself.

Women, like men, due to evolutionary preconditioning, pay more attention to the opposite sex. If more time is lavished on a subject, naturally there will be a better chance to discover something likeable.

Apart from same-sex rivalry, could there be same-sex indifference?

To be honest, I didn't hotly contest the fact that Mark won that year. I contested that Matt made the final over Emma but eh, what can you do? The reason I didn't mind that Mark and Tom won their respective series was because they at least were very good (especially Tom) and the distance between the best technical dancers and Tom and Mark in their years wasn't very far. In all fairness, Emma and Rachel should have won but I could always understand why they didn't. What I always object to though is when not the first, not the second, not even the third best dancer wins a series - Darren Gough, Chris Hollins - because that is very unfair and goes against the point of Strictly, in my opinion.

I think because I don't see the world that way, I find it very difficult to understand it when others do. It's not intolerance so much as just not understanding how or why people let themselves be so biased But it could play a part, unfortunately.

At the end of the day mate it's down to whom is the most popular and whom is pulling the most votes in. Mark obviously had the most votes from the 'ockey of the tournament.

I was delighted when Mark won, although I never voted for him. I actually expected to loathe him given he's a cricketer.

Of course but winning the public vote doesn't make him the best dancer, which is what I really value.

I loved Mark's dancing, you can tell he had the journey and in the end looked like a professional. The showdance he did was amazing and you could tell he had strength in his arms in abundance.

Value it too mate.

Truly objective benchmarking can only take place in the laboratory holding all conditions constant for all candidates. In a law court elaborate rules of evidence ensure that nobody enjoys unfair presentation.

In Strictly it is suggested that genuinely inexperienced women have a headstart have their male counterparts because of their prior interest in dance and colourful display. If this were so, then men catching up in the later rounds impress viewers, because of their visible journey. If comparison were fair it would only be approximate, in spirit. There would have to be a grey area of personal preference.

ooooh, I can taste the bitterness.

Its probably a bit more complex. There are probably a variety of male types and stories that can win including the dynamic hunk, the journey towards something more gentle and artistic, the lethario, whatever the opposite of a lethario is called, the schoolboy and the comic.There's probably a few other biases in play too. Gavin to me seems charmless and hopeless as you say, but he's not in the same category as a Darren (who got near to the standard of the best in his year) or Chris who fits two or three of those categories or even Matt who could do at least some things well. The problem is that in recent years the need to be able to dance well on top of the story has declined and as it has the top girls have got fewer votes.

On the opposite side of the equation there's an awful lot of things that seem (pretty randomly) to turn female voters off female dancers and probably some similarities between the females who can win any reality show.

Not sure about this series. Matt seems to have support beyond his marks, but we don't know about Pamela or Kara - or how a 2 top male v 2 top female vote will play out and whether being the only female in the final would help a female win. Its probably going to produce a controversial final regardless as someone very good won't make the final anyway and that may be because of the bias in the vote or varied performances.

If Ann or Gavin knock Pamela Scott or Kara out before the final we will be into a different ballgame - Strictly Come Fooling About.

I hope you are joking - 'fancy' in the same paragraph as Chris, Darren and Matt D?

Seriously though, from what I've seen posted, there is a strong possibility that those who voted for the likes of Zoe Ball and Alesha were in fact voting for Matt C and Ian.

In series 6, I started off wanting Cherie, Rachel and Jodie to do well until Tom and Austin took to the floor, although I still supported Jodie and Cherie until they went.
I didn't find Tom or Austin fanciable but I loved Austin's showmanship, and the 2 partnerships plus they could dance and draw me in with their performances, something that the 2 female finalists never did.

In series 7, I was in Jade's camp until she had to withdraw and then had the luxury of having no favourite (believe me it was bliss!! )

In the lead up to this series, I wanted Kara and Scott to do well and Scott has overtaken Kara but she is still my 2nd choice.
I do like both the pros in the partnerships for their talent as choreographers and Natalie's partnership with Scott.
As in series 6, these 2 couples have the ability to draw me in

So from my own inexperienced (in dance!) perspective, I would say that there is every chance of a female winner again.

Not really. I was the biggest Alesha and Mattesha fan, still am and I can assure you that I don't need a hot or funny man to be in the picture to make me want to vote for a woman to win. I could say that from all I've seen from Austin fans, they all seemed to be fans of Erin that just leaped at the chance to get her in the final, couldn't I?

See, I just dont think you can ever assume anything or generalise re sexes with SCD. Its about the whole package: personality, likeability, partnership, dances, costumues, 'journey' and skill.

If Jill competed again now even against Ramps, Jackson, Hollins, Chambers, Gethin etc etc, she'd still win...hands down. She just had everything going for her, nothing to do with gender.

I don't think so, somehow.

I don't either.

Alesha's jive was only her second dance, and for a second dance, it was pretty darn good. In the grand scheme of Strictly jives, it was decent.

She only ended up in the bottom two that week because they were down to 4 couples and Matt di Angelo forgot his dances and got mega sympathy votes. Otherwise it would have been a Matt/Letitia bottom two.

As we're guaranteed a three-couple final, and I can't believe Gavin will be there, we'll definitely have at least one female celeb left. Let's hope it isn't Ann...