The thing that really spoils SCD for me is the noise from the audience.

I find the never ending and incessant cheering and clapping very distracting. It's like sitting with a bunch of sealions.

You can't hear the music, the judges or guest artists half the time.

I don't know if Take That were any good last night because I could barely hear them. Why the audience had to cheer every few seconds I don't know.

I recently watched the DVD of this year's tour and really enjoyed it; this was partly because you could actually hear the music.

In dance competitions there's often a lot of noise from the audience during the performances, but it is supressed in Strictly, though I did hear a bit a few bars into the start of Kara's dance.

I'm not bothered by the "encouraged hysteria" at the end of each dance, we know it's the work of the floor managers.

As for guest artists, "I'll do anything for love but I can't Take That." I switched over when they came on, there was no point them being there.

Bring back these sort of performances, when the audience really appreciated both singer and dancers and showed far less intrusive appreciation. This was of course before the programme started going downhill, you wouldn't believe it was only three years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haZaoiW3qMA

If I didnt know better I would assume there was too few chairs for the audience as most of them are perpetually on their feet .
What is with the continous standing ovations this year ?

To quote Gilbert and Sulivan - "if everybody's somebody then no-one's anybody". A standing ovation for everybody makes them meaningless. Why doesn't somebody in SCD production TAKE CONTROL and stop this nonsense. Trouble is the competition/mirroring of X Factor has become all important. We'll end up with each judge mentoring couples next!!!!

Someone in Production DID take control - and that's why there are constant standing ovations. They started all the nonsense.

A long report on DS from someone at one of the first shows this series stated quite clearly that everyone was ordered to give standing ovations to all the dances. And to Bruce as well, I believe.

Again I bet the audience were told to make as much noise as possible from those floor managers.

Surely if you loved a singer or group you would not shout over them while they are singing . Totally crazy.

If the noise increases every year, we can dispense with the live band and just have huge disco loudspeakers blaring every 10 feet.

Better, go the other way, sack the floor managers and provide the live audience with edible socks.

If you think the SCD Audience is bad, the DOI lot are horrendas, it's like chucking out time at the Bingo Hall!

Have you ever watched X Factor??? You can't hear the judges half the time. Too many screaming tweenies

We have to steal the floor manager's whistle and coloured ball.

Thats partly why I don't like watching that show I can hardly hear the jugdes comments sometimes, especially when Jason Gardner speaks. And the banners really annoy me too for some reason.

I hate it when the audience starts to clap in time to the music - or at least TRIES to clap in time. It's so offputting and they're always on the wrong beat, and then it all peters out into an embarrassed silence. Plus in the early days, the celebs must be counting in their heads - won't all that clapping on the wrong beat put them off their count? Stop them clapping along please!

If the audience gets much noisier, then the dancers are going to have to wear ear pieces to hear the band - much like singers do!

I opened this thread thinking "I really must re-watch last week's show to see if there were any sea animals in the audience". Oh, it's been a looooong day!

The people in the back rows are told they can stand up to watch the performances because they are not on camera.

I think this weekend was a bit exceptional with it being semi-finals and Take That including Robbie Williams were on twice.

Tickets to the show are already like gold dust and to see a top act perform twice - I think I can forgive the noise this time.

Otherwise, I agree that compared with other shows, SCD is not nearly as bad.

So Gary Barlow's been on the show three times this series and Robbie's been on FOUR!

Exactly. And I must admit I'm not a huge fan of Take That (I can take them or leave them tbh), but last weekend I thought they were the best guests that had been on the show all series!