So is Strcitly Come Dancing Fixed?

It is a great show and I really don't care if it is fixed. I don't really care who wins. I just want to see good dances and inspire me to exercise and lose weight.

First I voted for the first time this season for Pamela during the finals. The line was engaged 3 times before I finally go through when they auto message said it was too late. Was I charged?

Then I had a look at previous programme and found something puzzling.

See 3:13 of the youtube video http://goo.gl/8uQ35

Here is a screen shot http://goo.gl/b6Gol

Aleesha writes something down on a sheet of paper (which perhaps had been passed to her by Bruno) and passes the note to Len just as the dance finishes.

Do they compare scores before announcing scores.

What was written by Aleesha on that sheet of paper?

'I wish posters on the DS would learn to spell my name correctly'

SCD could not risk it being fixed after the chaos in the last couple of series

Its an audience vote - the judges vote in the final is for entertainment and guidance and is largely irrelevant

When I dialled Kara's number it was engaged a couple of times and I would imagine it would have been the same for those trying to vote for Matt. No indication it's a fix just lots of people dialling at the same time.

I dont think it was fixed but I do think there was alot of bias shown by the judges who favoured Pamela for some reason best known to themselves .

Yes - check out the FAQs on the BBC Strictly page.

The judges have a numerical keypad they have to press with their score BEFORE they show their paddles.These are blow the desk. This is to avoid collusion or bumping-up to compensate, say, Craigs low score.

JJ

It amazes me that people think that the voting is "fixed."
The BBC are "on a final warning" since "Socksgate" and would never dream of fixing a result.

This doesn't mean they can't effect a bit of "manipulation." The "Emma Bunton saga" springs to mind.

The "final throw of the dice" was having "their boy" dance first in the second programme so he'd be on the screen when the lines were opened.

The BBC ain't daft.

It's less likely to be fixed than say the X Factor given that Simon Cowell clearly has a financial motive for ensuring a particular acts reaches the final or wins that show. If Alesha is passing around bits of paper it's probably so she doesn't look stupid with her scoring. The BEEB should seriously consider bringing Arlene back next to beef the judging process up a bit. 5 judges wouldn't hurt the show in terms of the comments and scoring process. The problem would be in terms of time with 5 judges obviously they all wouldn't have time to comment particularly in the first few weeks.

No matter how many times it's repeated, it's not sinking in, but I'll try again.

If the number is engaged, that means the main number, 09015 22 20 is engaged, not the individual contestant's suffix (01, 12, whatever). So if you can't get through to vote for your favourite, it's not necessarily because everybody else is trying to vote for the same person - it could be anybody.

So, no fix on the voting lines, okay?

I'm absolutely sure that there is manipulation going on in the background - that's called marketing - but it is more likely to be manipulating people into watching the show, talking about it, getting it puffed off in the newspapers, in order to improve ratings. Although the inclusion of Ann Widdecombe drove me to distraction, she was a marketing executive's dream, purely for the column inches she generated.

And, baldly, why on earth would the BBC want to fix it so a particular celebrity wins? All the main contestants are taking part in the tour, which will be a sell-out whoever wins, so where's the gain? Does not compute.

This is true, but it doesn't stop them writing stuff on the pads in front of them on the desk, which with their close proximity, any of them can see what has been written.

I don't think it's fixed. The judges do try to influence things but usually fail .

OVERALL

Not shouting 'fix' but what are the odds of the Judges' overall Leaderboard matching exactly the Public Vote positions?

Alesha admitted on ITT that she sometimes overmarks to compensate for Craig's undermarking.

Doesn't this thing about "Judge 1 writing on a piece of paper & passes it to Judge 2" come up at least a few times each year? And isn't the same conspiracy fix theory debunked each time?


Furthermore, the public have the final say and very often overturn the Judges' Leaderboard positions - how else did Ann W progress so far? (Note - a rhetorical question so no further debate required).

The amount of 'is-it-fixed-ness', is directly proportional to how well ones favourite is doing with the judges and how well the judges opinions aligns with ones own.

The judges have one vote each per dance. The public can vote multiple times per dance, and they often do. The public have a disproportionate sway over who goes through compared to the judges.

My personal opinion on the notes passed between Alesha & Bruno is a summary of comments she may make to check with him she is not totally off kilter in her critique. I think it is a confidence thing rather than anything else - actually she has done it slightly less this season.

It always used to be the case with popular phone voting that, in order to ensure that the public phone system did not go into meltdown, and to ensure that other (non-voting) calls could still be made by the public, BT would throttle the call volumes hitting their network switching centre - this would lead to an engaged or dropped call. The remaining voting calls would then connect to the actual voting centre.

Not sure if this is still the case.

Unless you actually know what's written every time.... and you won't, you can't "debunk it."

As she said, Alesha sometimes balances out Craig's low vote. She's been doing it long enough to anticipate what he's likely to score on some occasions.

It aint "rocket salad."

Judges favouring someone rarely does them any good? Look at Lisa Snowden... praised to the hilt- came third. Pamela this year- came third. Ricky last year- came 2nd,

I do think the public can see through this to some extend. We're not sheep..... thats for XFactor viewers!

According to your own figures, they don't.

I felt that Pamela was being favoured from day 1. We shall have to see what transpires, but if the BBC start showing a series, or even one prog. on Billy Connolly & or Pamela Stephenson, then I shall know why.
I felt that there was manipulation to some extent to keep Widdy in long past her sell by date, and one can only assume that the BBC saw her as media gold and didn't want to lose her. All supposition of course.

Aww, I thought this was going to be a response to all the "Is Strictly broken?" threads that crop up around mid-series every year.

I got through for Pamela 6 times in a row last night without any trouble. It's a central line, whether you get an engaged tone has nothing to do with how many people are voting for a particular contestant.

If it was a fix, Pamela would have won as she was the judges' favourite last night. She didn't win, so how is it possibly a fix?!

Except that I don't, but others do (based upon being at the live show, and having seen behind the scenes).


But if it's easier for people to think or imply a fix by collusion, then that's up to them (they do ignore the public vote though).

perhaps it's her half time interval drinks order