A question to anyone who has been in the audience for any of this series: are the audience being prompted to give standing ovations?

In previous series ovations only seemed to happen in the final, so the frequency of them this year seems very suspect!

Tbh, I am imagining the floor manager stood just of of shot with a botton wired to all the chairs giving everyone electric shocks!

Also noticed in a couple of ovations for Ann, some people in the front row behind Bruce didn't get up (can't imagine why )

Bruce said on Saturday night that they are asked to stand. He made a joke of it, but considering all the changes, I don't doubt it's true.

The BBC offer each spectator £10 for a standing ovation. That's why there were so many.

Ah, his doderry-ness is letting it out the bag!

Some people are so easily bought aren't they!!

I think that they are timed ejector seats.

Last night they only stayed seated for one of the routines! I couldn't believe it. I was shouting at the TV for them to stop doing it! I think it might have been Ann they didn't stand up for but not sure.

Like it! Maybe they should have that anyway... catapult some hapless front-rower at Bruce at random moments

I dont think they'ed deem it environmentally friendly enough...Bruce's jokes have been dire this year - some people I know would be presseing the eject button throughout the whole show.

Gotta save it for the worst or you'll break it!

I watched the audience sector next to the judges very carefully after Ann's dance. Spectators stood up in the rear rows, but the entire front row resolutely stayed in their seats. Evidently the seat ejectors did not work that time. These machines, tut tut.

Must be a technical fault...

Will be interested to see if they are switched on next week now that Ann has gone...

I'm sick of the standing ovations! They're meaningless now as they're happening for almost every dance it seems. Perhaps if Brucie didn't keep saying "look at them, they're on their feet!" I might not mind it so much. All his comment does is remind me that they're on their feet for everyone and everything. It makes me cringe.

I think he's as confused about it as we are!

I remember the semi final last year when Ricky & Natalie got one after their AT. They seemed to be resigned to leaving as they had been in bottom 2 the previous 2 weeks but still threw everything into the dances. They did a brilliant AT, Natalie noticed it first of all and looked really touched and then showed Ricky how everyone was standing up and he looked really moved too. It was a lovely moment but because of the frequency of them now you wont get those moments again.

When Dancing Cake went last week (week 9), she said the warm up man did NOT tell the members of the audience they HAD to give everyone a standing ovation (as previously reported on here), but certainly encouraged them to. They were told to give James Blunt a standing ovation though. Perhaps it depends on who the warm up man is on the night.

I went to the taping of the Xmas special and the warm up guy 'encourages' the audience to get up if they feel like it, and also to cheer on any lifts and turns. But those sitting upstairs are asked not to give standing ovations, not sure why.

I was sat in the back row behind Len and Alesha and if the back row are standing it's because they can't see the dancers from behind the judges.

I think the only thing Bruce enjoys about this show now, is the money.

With what they pay him, I guess they think they can't afford decent script-writers, to provide better jokes than the dire ones he's given.
He doesn't write them..... unless he tells you!

I agree. It used to be reserved for something really special, and viewers would share the excitement at home,
Now it's become so commonplace, I find myself noticing when the audience DO NOT give a standing ovation.

As meaningless as the marking of Len, Alesha and Bruno.

I bet the ten from Craig meant more to Pamela and James than the other three put together.

Standing ovations and tens should be reserved for truly special moments, not ordinary dances. Or even worse pathetic dances by a duffer, no matter how entertaining.

I would guess that these standing ovations have something to do with the "americanisation" of the programme,

because on DWTS, they never seem to sit down

Oh well, at least we arent complaining about the audience clapping and whooping during the routines as used to happen in previous years

I don't mind the standing ovations too much. It is easy to tell the spontaneous ones apart from the "just a small section of die-hard fans" ones.

It's the same stand up guy every week (with the same jokes!) and he tells everyone to do a standing ovation for Bruce when he first comes on, but otherwise he leaves it up to the audience although they are encouraged to stand if they think it was a great dance. People sitting at the very back behind the judges are told they can stand during the dances to be able to see better so that definitely wasn't a standing ovation for Ann this time, they were already standing.

youcandoit, the reason why those sitting upstairs are told not to stand is for safety reasons.

I think so too. It was interesting to hear Bruce say that the judges got a standing ovation for the first time on Saturday for giving 40 points. Just goes to show something new can still happen.

Moira has fundamentally misunderstood why the UK public want to watch reality programmes like a fly on the wall. If they want to watch Moira's airbrushed fantasy they would have switched to Harry Potter.

I agree they are meaningless because there are so many now .................and you forgot what else Brucie says bunny,'look, look what you've done!'..... Argh.... it drives me crazy!!!!..........