Err, I seem to remember masses of coverage about Matthew and Ian and Darren and Lilia - and even Brian who was a relative newcomer. The only unlamented one was the woeful Jared Murillo, a Moira Ross import

Alesha grasp on the English language is stronger than Len Goodman's

I would have said they were about equal but she is louder. Can't abide the woman

And Bruno? Bruno's much louder than Alesha? What about his grasp of the English language?

Bruno's English is excellent. For one, his a vocabulary is far superior to Alesha's.

Having said that, the BBC have helped Alesha and she is much better this series. Her comments are scripted with pleasing soundbites and her duck-snorting laughter has been eliminated, all courtesy of the BBC. So she really doesn't add much to the show by herself.

I like Alesha and think she is a good addition the the judging panel. She was very well known as a singer, and comes across well as a judge albeit from the contestant/public view.

You must read different papers, apart from on here, their departures caused hardly a ripple.
"The Arlene Saga" went on for days.

I haven't noticed Alesha using "them" instead "those" so much, maybe she's had an English Grammar coach?

Oh really?? And just how is she responsible for the BBC's ageism?

very well-known as a singer? Really?

And exactly how does that qualify her to be a judge on a dance contest?

Agree, she is much better this series. But, for £100,000 per year, wouldn't you expect to buy the ready-made thing, rather than have to make the cake yourself? And as for Bruno, dare I point out the obvious that he is Italian?

Certainly doesn't represent this viewers view! And why would I want it? I have a vote if I care to use it. 'You woz nervous' gets tedious, followed by much waving of 10 paddle

That is my beef with her- she just doesn't know how to mark. I suspect she has favourites, namely Harry and Holly- hence her chronic overmarking of them all the time

I would much rather have someone who is going to be objective and constructive. Not the darling you were fantastic twaddle week in week out. Someone like Camilla or Lilia, who I suspect would be far tougher as judges than Ms Dixon. That is when a mark of 9 or even 10 would really mean something.

Dixon is not the only offender as far as overmarking her favs is concerned but for me she is the worst. She would have been much more suited to a recurring panelist role on ITT which would give her much more freedom to be herself

.....it's also superior to Len's.

Ewoodie, my question was to penelopesimpson who stated that Alesha is a


I then pointed out that Len Goodman's grasp of the English language is no better than Alesha's - to which she replied


Is Bruno not the loudest judge on the panel?

I have nothing against any of the judges, in fact Bruno is my favourite, I'm just trying to understand why Alesha's being called out for being loud and 'having a poor grasp of the English language' when these accusations are valid if not more so for other judges on the panel

Totally agree

Fair point but we are straying off-piste. My main gripe with Alesha is not her voice or laugh or general vapidness, it is the fact that she is presented as an expert on something she knows little about. Then you add in the other bits and vapid turns to irritating. Funnily enough, saw her on Alan Carr and quite liked her - much more relaxed and quite funny - it is the judging role that doesn't suit her. Then you add in the vanquishing of Arlene which I abhorred and it adds up to an 'I hate Alesha' package for me. Probably unfair, but for me she represents everything that's wrong with the show and she has unbalanced the judging panel. The rot all started when she appeared as far as I'm concerned so I am probably not as objective about her as I should be.

I have nothing against any of the judges, in fact Bruno is my favourite, I'm just trying to understand why Alesha's being called out for being loud and 'having a poor grasp of the English language' when these accusations are valid if not more so for other judges on the panel[/quote]

Now that DOI has finally binned Emma Bunton and replaced her with Katarina Witt- someone who knows a thing or two about figure skating- that would appear to be a sign they are moving the emphasis back to skating rather than being a circus act.

Would it be too much to hope that SCD will follow suit by replacing Alesha with a pro dancer. It needs someone who understands the technique and the performance aspects.

Karen is my first choice, but I would be equally happy if they could snag Camilla or Lilia

Agreed.

No kidding!

19 posts today and 15 of them having a pop at her. You need to get out more.

The point was made earlier by Doghouse Riley - she was brought in to appeal to a wider audience and, I suspect, to attract some viewers from 'the other side'. Seems to be working.

Stop taking it so seriously! It's entertainment.

PS - when you get to my age, you really will be ancient.

RB if you read my post I was making a constructive point about her favouritism and overmarking

You counted the posts. So who really needs to get out more?

As for Doghouse Riley's post, does that mean DR is right and we should stop posting?

Alesha's English has been polished up, so it's not really an issue now. As for Len, he knows about dancing. Alesha doesn't.

Harry and Chelsee are the two best dancers on the show! How strange that Alesha marks them above other dancers... must be favouritism!


I partially agree with this. After seeing her on Alan Carr I really want her to be more involved on ITT, or just get more time to be herself on SCD. She seems much more fun than this role she's currently playing on SCD.

Alesha certainly has her favourites. How else can you give the "perfect" 10, as she has, when there have been admitted errors in the dancers programme.

I always thought that the 10 was only awarded for a fault free performance

From what I read in the papers (and we know we shouldn't believe what the papers say), she was well p***ed on Alan Carrs show

Agreed, the ruination of these shows starts when the producers jazz up the judging panel, where the show starts to become more about them than the contestants.

I never saw what was wrong with Arlene, she had knowledge about the subject which is how I prefer it.
Last year they took Karen Barber from the judging panel of DOI, never understood why at all and though i like Emma Bunton why should we be listening to what she says when she knows nothing of the subject.

Its exactly the same with Alesha, I have nothing against her but she is a liability to the other contestants when she favours certain ones by giving them overmarked scores just because she likes them, she never gives any technical dance reasons for marking people the way she does, or not often anyhow.I dont care wwhether it be an ex pro or someone else as long as they have knowledge and can be reasonably unbiased.

She brings a different viewpoint to the table and is the judge most viewers at home can relate to the most. She's a breath of fresh air and she deserves every single penny.