I can understand why someone might vote for Jill or Aled/Julian instead of Denise; it could be a granny thing (Aled); it could be an ilikeEastendersandfancythepantsofJill thing; it could be a lackofinterestinathleticspeople thing; it could be a ihateEastendersbutIfancyJillmorethanDenise thing; it could be a chemistry thing (Julian), or it could be a race thing.

I just think people are not putting dancing ability at the top of their reasons for voting list; I think most dance fans (including the judges) want a Jill & Denise final, but it might not happen for numerous reasons (see above).

As for Jill versus Denise...

I think Jill is more precise with her footwork and parallel stuff, but (as the judges said) her posture could be better.

Denise has better posture, but her footwork isn't as good.

As Jill & Denise final would be very interesting from a technical pov; the judges will be splitting hairs.

Absolutelytotallyagreewitheverythingyousay thing!

I cant take to Denise at all. And Jill dances too much like a profesional. Aleds gone from a non-dancer to a dancer. And him and Lilia are fantastic to watch!!

Actually to say Jill's performances are competent is faint praise. Her last two latin dances are, at least in the terms of this competition, perfection. It seems a strange thing to say but 36/40 for the cha cha, was actually undermarked as was the samba last week. Denise was arguably better in the quickstep but her timing was wrong for a few bars in the cha cha and her routine wasn't as technically difficult. As for the racism thing, I find that very hard to believe. The more likely explanation is that the others all have bigger fan bases. Anyway it looks as if the final will have three couples so hopefully the best three dancers will be there.

i loved Denise and Ian tonight and noway should thay have been in the bottom 2.

Pft.. not all grannies vote for Aled.. I'm the same age as him, and, as said before, have followed him since the year dot

He's a great great guy in real life

No, they had Westlife!


That's grannyist!

Forget Racism

Vote For Denise And Ian This Week To Keep Them In Pleaseeeeeeeee

I think the reason why Denise is not getting any votes is bacuase in alot of people eyes their is no improvent and they just expect more form her than other contestants.

Didn`t they win the first week, and i think alot of people though it would be a Denise whitewash. But then suddenly they were out of it. It doesn`t help when even your partner says your not improving, and they showed it on the programme a couple of weeks back.

I think a second reason is expectations. I think alot of people expect an athlete to be able to dance easily, and as i said as she won the first week, just think that everone else has to try harder than she does to be able to dance, when in reality this is not the case (See Roger Black).

As previously said, as a couple they have no chemistry or personality, they come across as too mechanical and serious when they show you the training, where the others are shown (again, could just be editing) to be having more fun and enjoyment in training, and have chemistry.

Lastly popularity. Jill is in Easteneder so gets in built support, as she is seen on tv a couple of times a week by 11 million plus people. Denise was big in 2000 when she won the gold, but since then you had the 2004 olympics and Kelly Holmes, im guessing at first alot of people couldn`t even remember Denise. As outside the olympics Athletics is just not a highly watched sport.

As a non-white woman myself, I suspected that racism may be the culprit for Denise having to fight for her place, week after week in the show, after an unsavoury comment made on ITT a couple of weeks ago by a superfan and I really sympathised with her. I just thought that if someone conventionally beautiful like Sarah Manners had acted in the same way, she would have been seen as 'strong minded' as opposed to 'arrogant'. But now I dont think that's really the case (as least I hope its not!) and I think it has to do with her public persona.

Denise cannot go out, she is the most exciting thing out there, and herself and Ian make a gorgeous couple. I dont care if she wins or not, but I just want her to get to the final and dance the freestyle, so lets make sure she gets to the final PLEASE!! vote vote vote people!

I couldn't believe Denise was in the bottom two last night, her and Ian were superb, by far the best quickstep. She looked really upset at the end, and frankly I couldn't blame her. To be fighting for her place alongside Roger Black who, with the best will in the world, has about as much dancing talent as someone who's been dead for several years, was ridiculous.

Denise may be good, but she and Ian are stuck so far up their own backsides it's a wonder they can perform any kind of dance routine.

In response to what tiger_tiger said:

I think that's taking things way too seriously. To just make that kind of sweeping judgement on every single viewer is unfair and most likely unfounded.

Maybe it's partly to do with the fact Denise and Ian seem to be the most stuck-up twits of the whole show.

They seem far more interested in just winning for winning's sake than they are in enjoying what they are doing, they may well be technically superior in their routines, I am not qualified to tell, but for me there is no spark when I watch them, they appear to be as lifeless as robots and their attitude comes across when they dance.


Sorry but for me the racist argument is also a cop out, they were in second place until the viewer vote, they have always done well before and I simply refuse to believe that the whole of the voting public decided to suddenly become racists this week :sleep:

The arrogance oozes out of them, not very endearing when you need the public to vote.

It has nothing to do with racism.

As Craig said about Erin and Julian they have a natural chemistry, Ian and Denise seem to be competing agianst eachother for the upperhand.

I think that came across in the film before the dancing when Denise was moaning about Ian not doing as much as he should to show her off with lifts etc., and getting her trainer in to build him up, show him up more like.

Totally agree with you. I cant stand how arrogant they are. And have been like that since about the first week!!

I cant quite believe that someone actually came away with racism having anything to do with it. Utter rubbish!!!!

I think part of it is that she doesn't have a particularly "story" or "angle", which you need on top of being a good dancer. Jill doesn't really have the body of a dancer (shortish legs, round hips and ample boobs), she also has the Eastenders thing and the "Northern" lass charm. Julian has the whole "phobia of dancing", moving on in leaps and bounds, camp man trying to do macho dances and wonderful chemistry with Erin. Aled has the whole choirboy doing sexy stuff as well as being pretty funny and having wonderful chesmitry with his Russian mistress!

Denise doesn't really have that underdog or human interest aspects - she's beautiful, an athlete with poise and posture. So i think people find it hard to identify with her, especially when the clips of training seem to always show her arguing with Ian or trying to tell him what to do. I just think it's as simple as that, that people haven't connected to her enough to say they wnat to see her next week. These kind of shows always reveal that the public is not simply interested in talent but talent with a story or human interest or something that makes entertaining viewing.

Also it is true that no black person has won a reality show in this coutnry but black people have won TALENT shows so I really don't think racism can always be blamed.

Denise and Ian did have chemistry a few weeks ago, especially when they did the Rumba and they were just all over each other (a bit OTT!), but now something has just gone. Maybe they're arguing with each other too much and it just seems like they're having no fun at all in training. She does need to stop moaning though!

God, I can't believe anyone has sunk so low as to use the 'race' card. That's so totally pathetic. What next, Julian was in the bottom two lat week because the GBP are all homophobic ? Sarah was voted out last week because the GBP hate blondes ? Dairmund because the GBP are xenophobic ? Urgh.

I think you're exactly right, it's because Denise just hasn't endeared herself to the public. She hasn't with me certainly. I find her dances technically very good but I don't enjoy her performances, I find them strangley boring and her large frame just don't evoke 'ballroom' dancing to me at all. Jill & Darren, Aled & Lillia and Julian & Erin all have exciting relationships with good chemistry; they have a laugh together, and the public warms to that. Watch Ian & Denise train it's like watching some sort of highly competitive stress-fest.

I also totally agree with you that the reason they were in the bottom two this week is because in the pre-dance video Denise came across as more than a tad arrogant with lines like "we deserve to be in the final" and telling her professional dance teacher what to do. Plus, as you say, her reaction to the judges is certainly not modest !

If anything, the GBP doesn't like cockiness and would prefer to vote for Julian who is struggling to overcome his fears or Jill who despite being the bookies favourite always looks nervous before the results are read out.

I agree. The 'race card' issue is thrown about all too easily. If the British public were so shallow they could single out Julian or Diarmuid or anybody for being gay, Irish, blonde, etc. etc.

For me personally, I think Julian, Jill and Aled are much more likeable people in general. Denise and Ian seem to be competing against each other and not just the rival couples.

I agree its silly to start using the race card.

I agree about Julian, Jill and Aled probably being more likeable than the others...

However, I would like to see Denise and Jill in the final..becuase based on their dancing alone they seem to be the best of the lot...However..I do like Julian aaw. and Lilia is so cute! and Aled is trying so hard!

But I hope that Jill wins the series...becuase I feel she is the best dancer there and she seems to be really enjoying herself!

My oh my what is going on here? Isn't this show meant to be about the dancing? I cannot understand the public reaction to Denise and Ian! I think they are FAB! From the beginning they had my attention and they have held it throughout....magnificent performances!

I to have seen the training footage - I don't see what the majority of this forum sees. They are both dedicated and focussed - yes there has been some tension - not surprising with two fiercely competitive people - but there has certainly been footage and coverage showing a good working relationship and a warmth between the two of them. I cannot see what they have done wrong Apart from being very driven and motivated - perhaps at times sounding a little bit too confident, Denise may have alienated a few viewers - but come on folks - remember this is a dancing show - it would be a travesty if they were not in the final. I like all of the finalists - and have not disliked anyone in this competition - but from the point of view of fabulous dance performances Denise and Ian, Darren and Jill and Aled and Lilia deserve to be in the final.

Vote for Ian and Denise - pure magic!!!!

In theory yes, it's about dancing, but someone who couldn't dance got to the final last year, and as these are celebrities it is in many ways a popularity contest. Rightly or wrongly.

I would disagree that their performance was magnificent (and so would the voting public it seems), I
just find them so incredibly dull to watch. Different horses for different courses though, and thank goodness for that eh ?


I don't think anyone's saying they don't get on, clearly they do (unlike Sarah and Brendan) but it's the lack of humility and fun in their relationship and training that I think is alienating the viewer. Denise is almost the one in charge, and for someone who hasn't danced before 6 weeks ago that's a lot to stomach. In fact, Ian even told her so last week and told her to "drop the attitude" and "I'm the dance teacher here, rememeber ?". For the celebrity to be so cocky is not appealing to the viewer. There's non of the sense of "argh, can I do this before Saturday ?" that Aled and Roger have, non of the "but what if this week I'm really bad ?" of Jill, non of the "I think I'm starting ot enjoy this !" of Julian. Every week is the same, there's no struggle, no doubts. It's just, to quote Denise, "We deserve to be in the final !". Show that before the dance and the public put them in the bottom two.


I agree with you here. To have the judges try to decide who is better between Jill and Denise, where Jill has the sparkling pesonality and energy and Denise has the great posture and strength will be great viewing ! It will be a true dance competition then, whereas if it were Julian & Erin or Aled & Lilia, I think it's a foregone conclusion that Jill & Darren would win.

Vote for Jill & Darren - pure magic !!!

I just don't see the sparkle or chemistry in Jill and Darren's performance, Swonky! Sorry! They are magnificent technically and clearly having fun - we will agree to disagree.

With regards to Denise and Ian and Sarah and Brendan - there was some very unfair editing on it takes two, the week before last. Looks like both couples were at logger heads all week - when no doubt it was a very small fraction of one days training! Hardly fair coverage! I know it makes for more interesting TV - but can't help feeling this show is swaying the vote!