"You mean the judges"?

No.

"They aren't the BBC".

I know.

They use more subtle ways, TV is "all smoke and mirrors" so they can project any image of any person they want by what they include in any VT or any live transmission. They've projected him as the loveable " boy next door" throughout this series.We only got a glimpse of Matt's reaction last night and it was in no way like "the boy next door."


My point exactly....

It was the same with Emma Bunton. The BBC desperately wanted her to stay in until after she'd sung the charity single on CIN with the pro dancers, they'd have looked real chumps if she was already out. All the training footage was very positive. Her attitude was always shown as "sweetness and light" and they even dragged in French and Saunders to one of her training sessions to support her. We were calling her "Saintly Spice" in our house.

Then immediately after CIN they stopped the preferential treatment and she soon went out.

The BBC are many things, but they ain't daft.

Why shouldn't he look "almost in tears"? If you'd been dancing your bullocks off, having been under pressure for weeks to compete with insufficient practice time, had just finished a very energetic, complex routine and were met by that hateful sneer from Len, how would you feel? It wasn't merely the words, it was the horrible tone in which they were delivered. I think Matt was totally shocked by such rudeness because that sort of behaviour is so far from anything he would stoop to. Then to have a flibbertigibbet like Alesha talking down at you

See how you, and Doghouse of all people fell for that manipulative VT of Matt rushing like mad (and not in the same direction as Aliona cos they don't change together) to get changed for the energetic thingython in 3 minutes' time. I've just stumbled upon a few naive, impressionable voters in here, think how that adds up in the country at large in today's red-top culture, from which the BBC now wishes to claw in viewers

No-one is more frustrated than I am that we've never been allowed to see the best of Matt because of substandard routines and insufficient practice - he looks stressed and sweaty because it's a battle to get through the routine with the right technique and without major errors - if he'd had simpler, more appropriate choreography he might have been able to relax into the dances. Even with a half-decent tango last night they put Aliona in a dress that cluttered the lines (admittedly The Hair was out of the way).

Almost from the start Matt was pushed and pushed to say he wanted tens, and that started the rot and it's been spreading ever since.

Matt is a superb example of young manhood in every way. He throws himself into whatever task is presented to him and we end up benefiting; he's a very personable, intelligent and skillful TV presenter - many Strictly viewers won't know that because his type of muck-raking isn't shown on tabloid TV.

I must add, just so you know where I'm coming from - I could cut my throat with these hot flushes so the fuse is very short, and I'm sincerely upset to see this type of thread here because I think it's based on false premises.

Wow Parthena!!!

Standing ovation from me.

Fantastic post - I totally agree with every word! (Apart from the hot flushes but I suspect I'll be there soon!) You have put a very articulate argument forward!

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

The VT of Matt rushing out wasn't manipulative as it was very short, if the BBC really had it in for him they'd have shown more. It was an attempt by them to show they weren't complete biased in his favour.

They really do want "one of their own" to win each year, so it's only natural they will for the most part try to help them and hopefully stay the "right side" of obvious bias.

Gavin each week has received much harsher criticism, taken it in his stride and isn't a seasoned presenter as is Matt who is used to being on TV and should be able to cope with it.

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking the show seriously and really wanting to win it. It's this sort of attitude that motivates you to train harder.

It becomes a problem when you want it so much that an element of desperation creeps into your dancing. And I think it has a bit with Matt. He tries too hard when he dances, it all feels a bit frantic and forced to me. I can't quite relax when I watch him.

((Hugs)) Parthena - that was a heartfelt post and I admire you for defending Matt. I totally take your point about his insane schedule and insufficient practice and it's a shame, because it was obvious from week one that he is a gifted dancer.

It's rare for all four judges to be in agreement, and Matt has never experienced block criticism like that before from them, so it must have been a horrible shock. But, watching it again, the remarks they made weren't particularly unfair or rude (others have received worse) - they were just unexpected. We've seen plenty of sub-standard dances (from Pamela and Scott, in particular) praised to the hilt, so for him to receive such a barrage after a so-so salsa must have been a terrific blow.

And that's the dilemma, I think. Aliona is pretty universally slated on this forum for her choreography, which has either been too tricksy, too modern or has strayed from the dance itself into performance (the Austin Powers jive). With that appalling work schedule of Matt's, the dancing needed to be more simple - but when she did deliver a simple salsa (and, I'm sorry, but it was full of simple back and forth basics), she complicated it with unnecessary non-salsa moves and lifts, so detracting from the dance rather than adding to it. If she'd taught him some more technical steps, he is more than capable of learning them and delivering them - but he can only deliver what he's given to do.

His frustration is palpable - he said something along the lines of 'I'm doing all I can', so I wonder if he is not frustrated with Aliona for not guiding him more carefully.

PS - totally with you on the hot flushes thing - I blame everything on my steaming head!

Not fair to say that was the only negative vt we had them saying they got on well and were in tune with each other cut with bits implying the opposite. There was the bit where he got annoyed with Aliona for swearing. Then last week I feel [my opinion I know] they encouraged him to talk about the Alesha comments and yes he was a bit miffed but not overly so [again IMHO]. We also had ten-gate where everyone kept hounding him about did he want a ten then cut bits out of context to appear that he was complaining which didn't really seem the case.
All of these not going with the "boy next door" bit.
Also although in the Crbs ITT bit we saw the family he hasn't had the big family supporting vts that others have!
My biased opinion but I think it does counteract the BBC having been ultra good to Matt in promotion terms.

BTW I don't know him personally but a friend who lives near the family farm does and says that he has never been less than polite, friendly and charming so that coupled with what I [and many others] see makes me believe that he is a likeable but determined young man.

Best post in the whole series!!!!

Gosh, Parthena, if this is what hot flushes do for you then the world needs more of them, and a little less cynicism. Thank you for expressing in such a forthright way what I feel and couldn't put into words nearly as well as you do.

I don't want to turn this into a contestant v contestant comparison because everyone is different but when Len was shouting at Kara and Artem in Blackpool, not only was he more animated and loud in addressing them, he also scored them lower, her dance was much better than Matt's salsa and therefore less deserving of rudeness and it was on top of a very emotional injury sustained only hours before performing. I didn't see tears or strops or irritation. They just smiled and said they were disappointed Len didn't like it. Now I know Matt received four bad comments from all the judges on Friday but their comments were all correct - it's just that yes, they were slightly standoffish in their delivery I grant you. I thought his reaction was OTT but I didn't come away from it thinking less of him. I understand that he had high hopes and they were dashed and that feels crap when it happens but I also think it's slightly his own (and Aliona's) fault for building himself up too much. Look at Gavin, who goes out every week trying his heart out and getting crushed and I've never seen him on the verge of a strop or tears. Again, not saying Matt is evil or a dick, his reaction just let me know for sure that he thinks he's better than the judges think he is. Nothing bad about it, it's just an observation.

As for the VT thing, I drew my own conclusions but again, didn't come away from it thinking 'my what an arse' or anything so dramatic.

As for the young manhood thing .. well, we all have different opinions. I'm not a big fan of TV presenters - Chris, Gethin, Matt, Rav. They always come across as very well trained to say absolutely nothing while appearing to be personable and it's not a trait I like. I do admit that in this regard, Matt offends me least. Gethin and especially Chris Hollins really rubbed me up the wrong way because of this very thing but Matt doesn't actually.

All in all, no Matt isn't thought of as a bad person by me because of what happened at the weekend. He comes across as a very hard working celeb who's trying very hard to win. It's just that what he thinks of his abilities isn't really what I think and you can draw your own conclusions from that (I'm sure you will lol).

Of them all Matt is the one most used to being on TV, he's a professional presenter and has been for a very long time.
His reaction though in some would be understandable, but for him it was completely unprofessional.

I LIKE seeing someone care about the show, when there are others who seemed not to give a crap.

My only criticism of your post Tangerine 82 is that Kara had three judges raving while Len, rightly, pointed out that the dance contravened the rules. Much easier to take I would imagine than all four having a go.

That said I still think Matt was more upset with himself, brushed himself off and performed well for the swingathon.

Of course all of this is our own personal take, I think he is talented in ballroom and latin, I don't think he over rates himself. Gavin on a few occasions said he thought the judges were wrong, Scott has implied that iirc. Kara doesn't and fair play to her. However I find the Kartem combination lacking in warmth, which has far more to do with Artem than Kara. Just a personal view.

Trying not be late for a number is unprofessional? Gosh!

No, I definitely understand that. I don't think I made it clear enough in my post but I do see the difference between having one judge criticise you and having all four do it one after the other. I just think if he didn't have expectations of high scores after he dances, he wouldn't have that reaction and that says a lot to me about his view of his abilities.

I don't think Matt would've been AT ALL bothered if they had smiled, congratulated him on his effort, and pointed out the flaws in his technique and that they thought the choreography letting him down.

I rather suspect that it's the utter CONTEMPT with which he was treated, and the disrespectful way his efforts were completely disregarded and mocked, that upset him.

Not only that, but I suspect that the fact that he was only treated that way BECAUSE IT WAS HIM, and not because of his performance, was the main problem.

The scores, I feel, are rather irrelevant to his reaction.

But that's why I was baffled about his reaction. Apart from Len's expression, I didn't see anything rude in the way they spoke to him They were matter of fact. They even said he'd been so good in the competition before that night. I didn't get the awkward feeling until I saw Matt's face. Len was certainly a lot ruder to Kara and Artem in Blackpool - he was shouting and banging the desk and they just smiled and looked slightly embarrassed. It was Matt's OTT reaction to the comments that I found uncomfortable, not the way the judges spoke to him at all. I understand it must have been crap to hear that you weren't that good from four people one after the other but it wasn't because the judges were rude, more that they didn't think he was good and that hurt/annoyed him.

I think it is the judges fault. Not for what they said on Friday - I think their comments were fair - but for encouraging Matt to feel like the 'contender' from day one. Time after time in these sort of shows you see one contestant wow the judges and get too much praise. I think Matt became the 'one to beat' far too soon and everyone in the media - typically - jumped on the bandwagon. I think this noodled with his expectations.

The earnest, somewhat wet, schoolboy though is what he is. Its the same persona he had on Blue Peter where he was the image of John Noakes - down to the obligatory dog-man relationship - while the BP girls actually got on with the impressive daring do stunts. Its the same serious, determined perspective he brings to the mind numbingly dull/trivial topics on the One Show or the rural affairs programmes. He will try hard at anything and satisfy himself that he is doing so. Here he even looks like the upset schoolboy when Len tells him he's got his homework wrong. That criticism is worse for him because he's not only very keen to win, but he's struggling doing more than one job and putting more effort in. Len is in effect telling him all his commitment isn't enough so he's upset and sees nowhere else to go. He's also looking trapped by his gymastics background and the idea that that is a way to win - he seems to think that a back flip here or there will make people notice him and still hasn't worked out that dancing is more about good interpretation than male gymastics. If he realised how silly his acting looks sometimes or what a terrible first routine he had on Friday he wouldn't do things that way.

The show's problem is that the SCD audience probably overlaps significantly with Blue Peter, where the same style of male presenter is still in vogue, and Countryfile, Sheep Dog of The Week and the One Show that share the same timeslots as well as possibly the same audience. Many people who like those shows may well be expected to like who presents them. Those audiences are seeing Matt do something more exciting and new and even the (far from new) gymastics may look like a dynamic side of someone they liked anyway. It would be good for the BBC if yet a nother presenter won, so I doubt if they are concerned - its probably less good for SCD if the better dancers don't win yet again.

I think Matt is a good dancer onthe whole, and has been since the beginning of the show, but, and this might come across wrong, he doesn't seem to be IN the dance, as it were. Whether this is because of other commitments and he has to 'think' through the routine, I don't know. He is usually technically great (yes, maybe the odd time when he has made a mistake), but of late, he just isn't there. More like a job that has to be done, if that makes sense to anyone. However, I do think he has earned his place.

thenetworksbabe - I've never encountered Matt before. Past my time for Blue Peter and I don't watch The One Show or Countryfiles.

If someone is wet for trying hard, being polite, being GOOD, and all round pleasant, then that just re-confirms Parthena's post. We truly are becoming a nation of red tops.

I don't actually believe that but that is what I gleaned from your post.

Tangerine 82, I get it!

Absolutely

And he is very hard working away from this particular television programme, too.

... In all fairness to the guy, hissy fit or no, when you see the blatent overmarking for some of the other contestants* it must be like a slap in the face. One contestant can forget 3/4 of the routine and be dragged around by the neck only to get 9's. Another is not exactly light on their feet and their timing is so questionable even I am noticing they're off the beat. We have illegal choreo (albeit unintentional) and also we have the un-gifted at the darrrrrrhhhhnce.

To get some sort of shadenfreude** from what happened to Matt is a bit low, imo. Also, it's a bit opprtunistic to declare him a 'tosser' from a few selected nanoseconds of VT.

I think he reacted the way that he did because the judges are not consistent with their scoring during a programme and between contestants. The poor chap must be thinking "What the f*** do I have to do?". He must look around him and come to the conclusion that he has no choice but to take it personally. Yes I know other people have had insulting things said to them from the 'judges', but surely not all 4 at once and also in the manner in which they did it.

* to the extent that a 'Full Snowdon' has been declared for one contestant (on another thread, by another member).

** to no-one in particular so wind your neck in if you're going to get all indignant...