No way did that deserve a 10.

He even did a lot of his dancing off the ice.



Sam's a strong skater and didn't need to 'cheat' in that way, but he did, and the judges let him get away with it.

I actually enjoyed it - and I've never been a Sam fan.

Out of the three routines I thought it was by far and away the most original choreography.

Original compared to what?

There was nothing innovative in it, imo.

And I think he should have lost at least 2 points from each judge for doing so much of it off the ice.

I thought Sam deserved every mark he got - overall, he did more skating than either of the girls who spent a lot of their showdances in lifts.

It would be more of an issue if none of them had ever properly demonstrated they could skate, but that wasn't the case.

Like it or not, ice dancing is also about the tricks and lifts.

Although he did a bit of skating at the start, it was an insignificant part of the routine.

But I wasn't comparing him to the girls anyway.

I was comparing him to what should be required in the final of a show that dares to call itself 'Dancing on Ice'.

So after someone proves they can skate, they're allowed to cheat by going off the ice? I don't think so.


Not like that, it isn't.

Laura and co started off the ice, as did Chloe and co. Though I agree I was surprised how much he did dance off the ice.

It didn't affect anything in the grand scheme of things, I guess, as the judges marks didn't count tonight.

I didn't see it as cheating. I saw his program as quite well balanced. There was enough of everything.

Cheat? How did he cheat? He was superb tonight and deserved his win!

I'm not happy with people starting off the ice either (and I didn't like any of the show routines), but Sam's routine was taking the p. The judges should have put a stop to it after Vanilla Ice when off-ice for some of his dancing.

I expect that sort of nonsense from the likes of Jason and Emma, but Robin? I've lost some respect for Robin over the course of this series, but nothing he did earlier compares to that 10 for Sam.

I explained how it was 'cheating' in my first post. It's supposed to be dancing on ice, not off.

(I didn't (and don't) care who won, btw.)

I didn't find your explanation very convincing.

I don't see how it can be any clearer. They're supposed to be dancing on ice. Going off ice like that is just a way to sneak in moves you couldn't do on the ice.


There wasn't enough skating or time on the ice.

I'd like it if we had a less obvious winner next year as DOI is starting to get a tad predictable with too obvious winners with Sam included. How's about we vote next year celebs who are going more on a journey? just like in SCD. We would like a bit more suspense please.

I guess the thing is the choregraphy was at least assisted if not drawn up by Torvil and Dean, so they couldn't deduct marks from any of the celebrities for what Torvil and Dean drew up, or agreed to.

Suzanne Shaw lost points for a routine that didn't have enough skating, and I think Jennifer Metcalfe did in this series too. In the other direction, Hayley's Jai Ho wouldn't have gotten so many points if it hadn't been for the choreography. There are probably lots of other examples as well.

I'd agree that, in a sense, it's not fair to the contestants to give or take off points for things that aren't down to them, but there isn't much they could mark in DOI if they had to factor out evenything that was due, directly or indirectly, to T&D.

I think I will side with Robin Cousins on this one - unlike the OP he has won an Olympic gold medal. There was loads of skating. complex lifts and steps and all performed at a very hig level.

Cheating? What a load of nonsense. Sam won fair and square -so deal with it.

Tonight was certainly not predictable - no one had any idea who would win as all 3 finalists had been in the skate off and it appears beaten the others in at least one week.

I am all for innovative approaches - but surely people should vote for the person they think is the best skater and performer on the ice. I am not really interested in their journey - whether they came by car, taxi or train to the studio is of little interest to me.

Unlike a lot of other people here, I agree with the OP in that Sam's showdance was overmarked.

You are entitled to your opinion on the judges scoring - that is fine.

However do you not think it is wrong for the OP to claim Sam is a cheat - when there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever for the claim. The routine was clearly approved by Torvill and Dean - are they 'cheats' too?

1. A lot of time was spent off the ice - you can't deny that.
2. Headbanger - Brianne, once again, stuck her hand out.

The headbanger move should've been a 0.5 knocked off his score... Yet, Robin and Emma still gave full 10's? Ok..

You should NOT be marked on any off-ice moves, imo.
If Laura had done the cartwheel off ice in her solo skate last week, would it be fair to mark her on it? Absolutely not.

The fact is a lot of his routine was off the ice and it's a bit unfair to mark him positively on that.

Thank you.


No, I don't think Sam cheated. I don't like the guy, I think he's arrogant and I would have much preferred it if Laura had won, but no, he's not a cheat.

I think if you watched Laura's perfect 10 routine you would also see mistakes too - more in fact based on many posters opinions (and mine) at the time..

So Brianne put her hand out - how is that Sam's fault - and is that even a deductible offence. The fact that a male celeb is doing the headbanger is exceptional. Perhaps you would rather Brianne had cracked her head open on the ice?

Sam won the public vote fair and square and is DoI Champion 2011. If you don't like the judges voting then that's not Sam's fault and it certainly doesn't make him a cheat.

The public voted, Sam got more votes, he won! Simples.

What's Laura's routine got to do with this? We're talking about Sam dancing OFF ice. We're not comparing it to other performances...

She did the headbanger perfectly fine last week but perhaps she didn't care if she cracked her head open last week, though, but did this?

Nobody's arguing about the fact Sam won fair and square or whether he got the most votes - of course, he did.

We're discussing Sam dancing off ice and getting 10's from Robin and Emma. Nothing else, nothing more. The 10's weren't deserved because he danced at least 30% of his routine OFF ICE.

The marking was all pretty dubious as they were determined to give some 10s, and they probably though Laura deserved a 30 if she didn't have the votes to win and once they had splashed votes out on Sam. Sam not only had a dodgy headbanger but his lack of turning speed turned up again in a two person lift that barely lifted the second person and Jason at least noticed. Any other week and we might have seen 8.5s. . i think the judges would have produced the same marks and order if they hadn't watched the skating just based on their most recent marking and comments and what they gave the old routines before.

The choregraphy issue doesn't help Laura and Chloe is also stuck with an older Tand D routine that needed more reworking. Not sure either if Sam's choregraphy has a easier task in the show dance - he has three pro girls who can be lifted to the same standard and are ideally sized - while the type of lift is set by his standard. Chloe and Laura end up in the air being directly compared to the 4 girl pros and its pretty inevitable they won't look as good doing the same moves if they try for anything like what the pro girls produced in Sam's dance. The time off ice seems to be a problem if you let people choregraph themselves and don't lay down rules. Its lthe same issue on SCD when Len penalises it and others don't.