I used to enjoy the judges' comments and the arguiments that jason Gardiner caused (even though he overstepped the mark a few times) I thought Louie Spence might have been a good replacement but he takes it all so seriously. There are no laughs this year and the judges are a bit po faced. It's not the Olympics after all.

Katrina is the new Jason.

I prefer it without Jason, I found him nasty for the sake of it, and it became uncomfortable. I did think sometimes the arguments were quite entertaining but I thought he was horrible and he put me off watching.

I do know what you mean, I didn't really like Jason, but he did make it more interesting. But I don't think these three judges work very well together. They are way too serious.

I agree , I'm finding it hard to pay attention this year. A little bland.

But Jason made NASTY COMMENTS all the time until about the quarter-finals, when the general standard was too high to be nasty about.

I agree but Jason was a little too cruel, maybe someone a little critical but less cruel would do...Louie is only ok but he is doing his best

No I prefer it now. There's less contrived drama and a nicer atmosphere. Plus, it's more about the skaters than the judges, which is how it should be.

I've never bought into the idea that being nasty equates to being entertaining.

The judges are a good mix this year, and they really know what they're talking about - can we really not have intelligence on prime time TV? I prefer it to the pantomime play acting you get on some programmes.

to be honest I now record it and FF through everything but the performances

I have watched them all since CTM finished

I see no reson to watch the judges now as there are no 'shocking' comments
The judges are boring

so glad others feel the same.
I switched off most of the comments this evening.
Since Jason Has gone I find Robin more and more pretentious by the week.

The marks are making no sense either from the 'pros'

Yeah, I recorded it tonight and FF'd through the comments. At least it doesn't take up the whole evening anymore

The judges are far more interesting without Jason.

Because he isn't there being hypercritical of performances and giving a low (or occasionally high)mark to ensure that he was always asked to comment to the exclusion of the REAL judges - it means that we can listen to proper criticism.

I actually find what Robin and Katarina have to say about the skating fascinating - and love that they say what is good and what needs work to get higher marks in a way that we can understand. Louie is doing a ggreat job on the performance side of it - and isn't making the mistake of critiquing the skating which he knows nothing about.

Totally agree. Well said.

Agree with this.

ohhh its MUCH better without Jason's nastiness and Emma's ... well what did emma bring?

even if Katarina seems to have had a bit of an off night

That would be great if you were watching a professional contest, but it's supposed to be an entertainment programme and Jason is a big loss on that side of it.

His absence is definitely a big part of the reason ratings are falling at the moment, imo.

I think the whole programme is incredibly boring now. It's just past it's sell by date. A bit like Robin's brown ensemble.

I think it was his nonsense over the past two series which is why a lot of people have stayed away. Added to that Midwives is very popular and I would wager that after Jason's vitriol towards contestants people decided to give the new series a miss and watch the other side.

I don't miss Jason at all but, funnily enough I do miss Holly.

Although I didn't like Jason I find the judging panel and the whole programme even a bit bland now. How many times have we seen the crucifix lift? It's getting a bit meh.

I do enjoy listening to the comments of the judges who are far better informed in general than last year and like the quirkiness of Katerina but as far as entertainment goes I'm losing interest. So for technical merit I score them highly but for artistic impression I am not impressed!

I think they need an fourth judge to balance things out and add extra interest.

I also agree with this and I like Louis drama queen campness too. In fact this year I am listening more to what the judges have to say because it is far more accurate than previous years esp where E Bunton.was concerned.

Jason was far more interesting a judge than Louis........trouble is he just took that bit too far and paid the price. I have nothing against Louis, he is fun, but he is not on a par with Jason and I find it hard to listen to that lisp over the course of an entire programme.

I'm with those who prefer the judging panel without Jason - I'd rather do without nasty personal comments & contrived judges spats.

I like Louis but his problem as a judge is that he concentrates on the dancing and performance and dos'nt seem to know anything about ice skating.

But does that really equate: minus Jason = minus 1.5 million viewers ? Are there not other reasons the ratings might be down ?