Thanks for the explanation I clearly belong in this group of people!

totally agree - isn't this what Ian and Zoe did? (at least the "Elimination - but the eliminated couple get the chance to their showdance
Showdance right at the end" bit!?)

they certainly did the show dance, i feel sure Bruce and TEss said "now go and do your final dance"??

agree agree agree, except its not the audience's fault, its the moronic warm up people that make them clap, stand up after every dance etc

Actually liked the judges/couples choice of dance. there shouldn't ba any "new" dances in the final and the show dance should be an "entertainment" only dance while the votes are counted verified.
And we NEED another week of post final It takes two to do all the interviews that are being crammed into the end of the show!

I would like to see all three finalists dance all the prepared dances in the final, possibly with the showdance at the end, and then have the winner declared out of the three, with the other two as runners up. Presumably jason also invested time in learning a dance he never got to perform...Let them all do the whole last show I say

everyone complains about the VT links, Do you wonder why they use them?
How long does it take to set up the scenery and props?

It wouldn't take any time at all if they went back to the good old days of not using them!

What did Nicole Cutler say?

Please don't copy the American format! Seems we are already doing this but it has to stop NOW Please keep the show dance in the first half of the show. In fact don't kick anyone out until they have completed all their dances. seems a shame for one act to lose out after all their hard work.

I liked seeing the show dances this year and thought it a shame in previous years that we never got to see all the finalists do theirs. Loved Jason's more old fashioned performance over Harry's more modern constant 'throwing his partner around his head' effort; plus Jason was more relaxed than he'd ever been. It left me unable to decide who should win so yes having the show dance swayed my vote....Ultimately the right person won. Harry was better overall.

I didn't vote for Chelsee but wasn't impressed by how she was shoved off in about two seconds. Would also like the winners to be able to speak rather than being given about eight seconds of airtime. Speed is the essence it seems as if we all have the attention spans of goldfish.

I would like them to make sure everyone dances every dance - no-one gets to the final having missed out a particular dance. And have a 'required element' thing, like in competitive ice skating; if you don't get all the elements, you lose points and can't get a perfect mark. And I'd like a bit more order to the dances - week one, half do, for example, a waltz,half do a salsa, so we get proper comparisions as to each dance.

Changes I would make are:
1. Ensure the 2 dance stage starts early enough in the series to ensure all the finalists have danced all the dances prior to the final. That way the final can be about recapping favourite dances, judges choice etc and focussing on learning the one new routine in the show dance.

2. Get rid of the props, gimmicks and new rules on breaking hold etc. The show is about learning to dance, and managing that 1 minute 30 second routine. Not faffing around for half of it with people bursting out of shells, puddings etc etc.

3. Save the showdance to be the final dance - not for any voting reasons, but because the showdance should be about the culmination of everything learnt over the course of the show and the final highlight of the series....but let all 3 couples dance it. Why not have the whole final be between the final 3.

4. Go back to leaving the showdance unscored by the judges (sort of linked to point 3).

5. Stop using other dance styles for the showdance. It used to be about showcasing the styles of dance done over the series with a few lifts thrown in for effect. Now they seem to use disco, hip hop, street, gymnastics and whatever else, and it shows that the pros too are not necessarily experts in that style of dance. (think Bacofoilgate)

6. Don't get celebrities who are just there to mess around. At least most of the duffers prior to series 7 were trying hard to learn to dance and wanted to learn to dance. They were bad but didn't resort to silly [unfunny] comedy routines. Ann Widdecombe was a step too far given her refusal to learn certain dances/steps and the endless promotion of her afterwards was tedious. I'd probably put Russell Grant in the same category - whilst he wanted to learn and was trying, (sort of trying), he did far too much camping up and messing around. Again the promotion of him is tedious.

7. Get rid of those flippin' VTs! I just want to see them in the training rooms with a bit of chatting about how the week is going. Not trying assualt courses, abseiling off buildings, messing around on fairground rides and generally hamming it up. It also wastes precious rehearsal time!

8. Stop pushing the line that the latin dances are just about sex. They really aren't.

9. More pro dances showcasing ballroom and latin, choreographed by the pros (as opposed to external choreographers). Not random other dance styles.

Ooops despite my criticisms I still watch SCD with all it's faults every autumn!

One week before the start of SCD7, NOTW published a long "behind the scenes" insider exposé article on Strictly, putting Nicole's name under it as byline. Among other inaccuracies ("Strictly dancers changed naked into costumes in BBC corridors") Bruce was described as "doddery". Nicole without a right of reply denied she penned this and other inaccuracies. Many weeks afterwards NOTW published an inconspicuous retraction confirming Nicole did not. Stunned by NOTW practice of writing fiction then undersigning as Nicole, she immediately withdrew from a prior agreement to write a weekly Strictly piece for NOTW.

The damage has been done and seemingly cannot be undone. BBC looks unlikely to make peace with Nicole who never made war. Nevertheless, for the rest of SCD7 season, Brucie started every Saturday by leading the audience in a defensive chorus: "I am not doddery, doddery I am not."

Those close to Nicole could clarify and confirm, that NOTW (with time to spare after hacking mobile phones) wrote "doddery". Nicole did not.

So that's where the 'doddery' thing came from. I did wonder.

Poor Nicole - surely the BBC should have apologised and make amends, or am I being naive here?

1. Like just about everyone else in this thread, please get rid of those silly VT's. I really have no desire to see contestants dressing up as Robin Hood for instance.

2. Please stop the audience giving standing ovations. It was getting to the point where just about every dance was getting one. I started to feel very uncomfortable when someone didn't get one! At the very least stop Bruce from his "look at this, look at this" as if no-one had noticed!

3. Get rid of Bruce, I have never been a fan. Someone needs to pull him to one side and let him know that he is past it. Tripping over his lines and jokes that stopped being funny 30 years ago make him look foolish at times and I don't like that.

4. Let all the finalist dance all the dances that they had been working so hard on all week. It feels mean that one of them misses out.

5. I know the show dance doesn't have any rules, but so many get them wrong because there are so many lifts, please limit them.

6. A final hour long ITT on Sunday so we can speak to the finalists and say goodbye to everyone. I felt deflated once the final credits rolled. Hardly anything from Harry and nothing from Chelsea.

7. Please, please, please sign Pasha up for the next series!

Bruce did not explicitly say Nicole wrote it (if I remember right, Bruce said "some people", so Bruce has nothing to retract.

There was a programme on Channel 4 last night on the News International fiasco. Scores of famous persons who had their phones hacked by NOTW launched legal action against NOTW, who settled privately by paying HUGE compensation. Apparently this was made possible because one multimillionaire had previously been libelled by NOTW printing fictional scandal about him. He won in court and received substantial damages.

So incensed was he that he offered to back all other celebs such as Hugh Grant who had their mobile phones hacked, for them to sue NOTW, and if unsuccessful the multimillionaire would pay their entire legal bills. Although dozens of celebs did not have technical evidence of hacking, apparently the police did. Anyone else who has been hacked, feel free to join the band wagon.

VTs change back to actual training please - gimmicks rationed strictly

As very few people like the scenery and props either, I should have thought the remedy was obvious

Dear BBC, please ignore this OP plea. It makes no sense.
Thank you.

Please please please no more stupid VTs! I would actually plead to the beeb if I thought it would get me anywhere.

It's quite simple - why put a cameraman in the training room all day if you're only going to use about 5 seconds of footage? And why replace training with some of the most cringeworthy segments seen on TV? Personal lowlights for me include 'The Lost Glitterball', Robin Hood (which they actually went on location to some woods to film! ) and Donovon in Tescos doing an extremely politically incorrect impression of a Mexican. Oh and of course the Star Wars sketch with Robbie for movie week. If I had time I would do my own version of the Razzies for worst VTs - there are certainly plenty of contenders.

I agree with that. Chelsee was left high and dry thanks to time problems and the pop band lot.

and have you forgotten James and the one whose name I've forgotten abseiling down Nelson's Column?