God, who asked for the ultra cheesy VT's to be played before each dance?!? I cringed every time! Horrendous! So not the way to go if you're wanting to beat X Factor in the ratings.

I totally agree, they were rubbish. I think they should'nt be doing them at all, let us see them practicing their dances.

Sometimes you wonder where they get their ideas from... Even X Factor has footage of proper practicing rather than stupid 'comedy' sketches. Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea??

I don't know a single person who wants to hear Bruce say 'here they are in training' and then not see any training. I fast forwarded most of them tonight (thank god for my freeview recorder!)

Just enter '#strictly' or '#scd' and 'training' on Twitter and its just full of abuse for these stupid VTs. The BBC are truly living on another planet where they think this is what entertainment is.

They're dreadful! Whose idea were they?

Apart from the fact that they add nothing, filming them takes up precious training time. Chelsee and Pasha for example who have limited time to train had to go to wherever their skit was filmed, wash a car or two and paint a section of a wall. Possibly involving more than one take. Hideous waste of time.

Totally agree. And who paid for that helicopter?!!

Maybe it beongs to Holly's boyfriend?

I agree, they are awful. I've now had to add them to the bits I don't watch. Soon there won't be much left of the show that is watchable.

Benny Hill meets Carry on Strictly is what comes to mind , simply dreadful VTs

yup awful and add nothing

Agree with mimi dlc - Holly did appear totally at home with her surroundings. Artem looked less so. (But his teeth in that car ride were outstanding - hope they get their own slot on Len's Lens.)

Sat there thinking - whoops, there goes some of her vote.

If not Friends of Holly and we did pay for it - then even bigger waste of time and money.

They just pad out the show...they are theBBC equivalent of the ad break for making tea/going to the loo/letting the dog out.

Make them dance 30 secs longer or make some use of the eliminated pro dancers

Maybe the BBC have cut costs by reducing the film crews available to do the training VTs so instead of being able to show training over the whole week for each couple they can only do filming for say one morning/afternoon for each couple? That would explain the totally terribly VT sketches instead of showing training as it wouldn't be fair for the couples who have their training filmed earlier in the week against those who had theirs filmed later who would likely look so much better having had more time training?

The helicopter belongs to Holly's boyfriend.

I dislike the 'comedy' VTs more than I can express here but in Chelsee's case I actually think she looks her most attractive in them rather than the way they have her dressed up on the show. She looks very pretty and relaxed. Then on Saturday they have shoved her into some monstrousity and ladled half a ton of slap on her. That wig last night was just horrible.

Unlikely, as the cobbled-together training clips used on ITT to illustrate some garbage (Jason's farts, Alex and James play animal farm, Harry the sloth) suggests that nothing has changed in this regard. Someone in production must feel that training clips are too boring, and that sketches, contrived dialogue and random visits to random places tenuously linked with the dance in question go down better with the viewing public.

We get the same nonsense on ITT. In the past we'd have a couple of minutes showing the couples' interactions and the celeb struggling with the dance, couples falling out etc. Now we get "we've noticed you're both like Morecombe and Wise... take a look at this"

I wonder - if they cut out all of the intro to each couple - Bruce's unfunny anecdotes, the childish VTs, etc., would there be enough time left over for them to transmit the results show on Saturday night?

It might make it a bit late for very young children, but are they the target audience?

I could do without them too.

What was wrong with seeing how dancers had actually got on in the last week, instead of burdening these poor people with these juvenile skits? I feel sorry for them. Instead of following the thread of a reality show, these highly contrived videos make them look bit-players in comedy written for 8 year olds by people who hadn't left school yet. It's all like something from my rare and entirely accidental encounters with CBBC...

They are so bad and super cheesy. I literally feel myself cringing as I watch. Bad, bad, bad Beeb!

Just to be charitable, and play devil's advocate for a moment.
The BBC have placed SCD firmly in the children's slot, starting at 6.25. They know a lot of little kids will be watching with their parents, so perhaps a little panto is justified ?

But I agree, it was cringeworthy.

Agree 100%

Oh I see, BBC = Bad, Bad Comedy...

There was so much to cringe about last night, the VTs, Jennifer Grey and Jason Donovan. It was amazing/horrific television viewing.

It's lazy editing - if the production team did their job properly they'd be able to make a decent little clip of the training, but they waste most of that footage on It Takes Two and then have to contrive some absurd escapade for the Saturday show.

Meanwhile, little kids everywhere ask "Mum, can we switch off this rubbish and watch QI on catchup?"