[At the end of the day, if Alesha was that disasterous with viewers, the ratings would have dropped. They didn't - and last series were particularly strong. So, even though some people may not have liked her on SCD, she was hardly an unmitigated disaster. The facts just don't support that argument.

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Even if the ratings increased - which they reportedly did - I doubt that it was because of Alesha Dixon - they increased inspite of her not because of her. I would imagine it has got far more to do with the entertainment value, good or bad, provided by the contestants and some of the pro's - like Anton. Anne Widdecombe, Russell Grant, Nancy Delalio etc etc.

Agree. She seems like a nice hard working woman whom all the contestants and dancers (bar Nancy whats her face) really appreciate and like. I wish her all the best.

I agree with that, although there probably is an element of economics about it as well. I don't believe at all that she was pushed by the BBC though, if anything Alesha seemed to me to be more restrained than Bruno last series.

Part of me wonders if she thinks judging BGT could be a potential 'audition' of sorts to put her hat in the ring for a judging slot on the X Factor next year - maybe she thinks it's the right time for it now.

At the end of the day she has to take the money when she can get it, as an entertainment industry career for singers/models/presenters like her isn't going to last forever.

Penelope has it wrapped up. Did she go or was she pushed - at the end of the day who cares - she has gone - whoo hoo, ding dong, yippee. allelujah. I hope that the Producer of Strictly has the wisdom to listen to viewers who want someone who knows ballroom and latin inside out and back to front to be a judge. But if they are going down the "contestant" road - pick someone really good like Kara Tointon - could be quite interesting to see her "judging" Artem!

People act as if SCD is such a cheap, lowly show. I mean she get's 100k for a series for gods sake. The BBC allows her to do CIN as well as documentary's etc...it's not like she is working in a factory. BGT is not that great and bar Divesity and Boyle, who has done well from that show?

No offence but Alesha is 33 now. I can't see her having a great music career by judging on BGT when there are many better, young hungry artists. Unless you established at that age, it's hard to comeback when your album/singes have flopped, when your in your 30's.

The likes of Adele, Jessie J, Gaga, Beyonce etc will continue to dominate.

Couldn't care less whether she jumped or was pushed. She has gone - that's all I care about. Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said nothing of the sort, I'm just going by the talk that BGT judges are more highly paid. It's nothing to do with Strictly!

And I don't think she's using BGT as a vehicle for her singing career, I said she could well be using it as a vehicle for more TV judging work on the X Factor.

So basically she may aim to do well on BGT to land a role on the Xfactor panel.

I guess Kelly may get ditched, but then again i can't see Tulisa and Alesha working.

I am not a fan of Alesha, certainly in her SCD role, but she is not stupid. She is a very beautiful woman with a marketable personality and a very average singing voice. She has the reputation of being hard working and has reasonably broad appeal. But that's it. At her age and with her track record she has virtually no chance of making it as a musical performer. Sorry, but it's a cruel industry and for a woman without stunning musical talent she is past it. I very much doubt that she doesn't realise that, even if some of her fans think otherwise. Hence her angling to get into the variety/chat/light entertainment market. BGT is much more her level. She is well enough qualified to talk about amateur entertainment and canny enough to play along with the Cowell media shows. It will raise and diversify her profile and she gambles that it is more likely to lead to other offers than SCD which has led nowhere beyond being a scripted clothes horse.

Exactly!

As I've said elsewhere.

Some seem to read more into it that there will actually be.

She's gone to another job which undoubtedly pay more money.

Can't blame her.
The only loyalty in the fickle world of showbusiness is hard cash.

Agree with all points Penelope has made. She was certainly a more polished act this year and I thought she had had elocution lessons. That said she is leaving an environment where she was very much the darling to defect to a far more ruthless one. Look at how Kelly Brook Cheryl Cole were feted and then dumped. Look at Christine and Adrian......
I think it may be a good move financially but long term. .... She could end up presenting Dancing on Ice

Alesha Dixon was never a bad speaker. Yes she made grammatical errors but i understood her so never understood the flack she took about the way she speaks.

Do BGT judges get paid that much?

Also if she wanted presenting roles she should have stayed on SCD. I am sure BBC could have fixed something for her. Alesha had that dance show CBBC i remember seeing once.

This move will increase her "market value"

She became "part of the wallpaper" on SCD as she wasn't at all controversially outspoken like the other judges who overshadowed her, apart from her giving out too many 10s and in the end that became commonplace so unremarkable.

If she wasn't let go, she eventually would have been replaced as she no longer added much interest to the programme.

It's a good career move.

This is about dosh and nothing more ! Strictly has had it's best ever season, its like a fine wine, it just gets better each year. She was on a good salary there, but when Cowell gets the cheque book out, its hard to resist.

BGT was very weak last year, both in the quality of the judges and the acts, Jai whatshisname who won virtually vanished from the moment he won, so too did the young fellow all the controversy was about who everyone said Cowell was favouring. Can't even remember his name !!!

The entire Cowell stable of shows have developed green mould and are just about ready for the wheely bin ! Still.... what does that matter when the salary for a year or so is probably three times what she is getting on SCD.

It can't be about career prospects at all............what possible help could be it. It won't help her singing career, which is, if not dead, certainly on life support.

As Cowell juggles the balls for 2012, its interesting that its BGT that Alesha has been slotted into. He could have chosen her for X-factor and yet didn't........... I smell a dramatic Cheryl return there !!!

Simon Cowell for you. He has this all sussed out.

That said, if she is on 100k doing SCD, she could earning 300k plus for the series

If she was pushed, I don't see her complaining too much considering she's now in BGT

As you will read tomorrow, the BBC wanted to keep Alesha. Cowell has been after her for a long time and made an offer too good to refuse.

That's it. Nobody has been pushed or stabbed in the back.

Well, I liked Alesha, her friendly face and encouraging comments - I will miss her. Couldn't stand her predecessor anyway.

Sorry - all what evidence, exactly? A few people complaining on internet forums? Come on ...

Rather like the Doctor Who section of DS, I get the impression that some FMs think they are in tune with the entire SCD audience. They aren't. So Alesha wasn't liked by some viewers - big deal. Nor was Arlene - and they both became as unprofessional as each other by the end of their judging tenures. And how many negative threads has Len generated in his time?

But Alesha was never the kind of liability that Jason Gardiner became on DOI, and a few people moaning about her isn't really a reason to get rid of her - which, along with her ticking a very big diversity box, is why she wasn't taken off the show. No, one judge won't sink a show but, as Gardiner proved, it is possible for one person to create so much negative feedback and publicity that the bosses will step in and take action.

Plus it broadens her judging abilities (don't laugh ... ) more variety acts to judge rather than ANOTHER passo doble ANOTHER American Smooth, it gives her a 'stage' for any new music she produces (Amanda did her 'Shrek' number last year) and the very move raises her profile enormously.

I wondered why she was getting very raunchy on a couple of Alan Carr shows of late - necking a bottle of wine and very very naughty sexy talk (on the NYE show). Not very 'BBC' and 'Strictly' at all.

Exactly. What evidence? A 'few people' complaining?

Still, I'm with you on Jason. I gave up watching that silly programme after he made the ludicrously offensive remark to Sharon Davies. She is a feisty lady and I'm surprised she didn't walk over and deck him. I also can't bear Dolly Willoughby - although I probably liked her more than the tooth woman with the thick accent.

As written by Alesha and Simon Cowell's PR people as a 'leak' I suppose! I am over the moon that she has gone - Yabbadabbadoo - but from her point of view I think she is made to leave a good secure billet....If she did!

It would be silly to want to lose her. She's now getting her comments right, she's been useful this series getting the leaderboard right by counterbalancing Len and Craig, and her mix of comment on effort, entertainment and skill offered, is now spot on where the producers have taken the show. Partly helped by her comments they have also managed to move the show back into a more credible state where the public vote actually follows the judges and the dancing more than it did in a couple of series ago. She's developed a good record of disposing off the hopeless cases by turning on them more nicely when they reach their final use by date and taking the vote along with her.

They now have a big problem how to replace her as they don't really have another winner, apart from possibly Jill, who could do the job. They can't go back to Arlene as her negative comments were a big part of the anti-judge vote and her marking would look even more out of place now the show has moved on further away from dancing technique. They need someone popular, and some past dancers might do, but they would add to the dancing expertise when the show is concentrating less on it. The difficulty in finding someone from music or musical theatre has been shown by Emma and Ruthie on DOI who were both as big and experienced in their field as they could be, and the only trained dancers who have won TV dancing shows of any sort are both DOI winners - Hayley and Suzanne.That just about leaves someone from entertainment generally - a Biggins - or some popular dancer - and Darcey is about all there is.

Its even worse for them if Len is thinking of going, or medically needs to, too - hard enough to find one replacement but not two when using an Ian Waite or Karen Hardy to fill one judging gap would still leave another.

Exactly my view too - fantastic stuff!!

Please reassure me that you're not suggesting the hopelessly bland Hayley Tamasomething? Good on ice, but oh my goodness, such a forgettable personality.