Just wondering with Nicky and Karen why Craig (I presume) knocked off marks but Len (presumably) did not.

It was clearly scripted so that the new girl would make an impression - a bit too X factor or me.

He possibly thought Criag took enough off for all of them

I am glad Craig said it though, it's not fair on Nicky so i hope she takes it on board.

Methinks Karen knew exactly what she was doing.

Yes, from various tweets, Karen was quite aware of the rule about lifts, so she knew exactly what she was doing.

The whole thing was so staged and corny.

To be honest, I was more concerned by the fact that there was hardly any waltzing in their waltz....lots of faffing, but not much waltzing. That is usually a sign either that the celeb isn't very good at dancing, or that the pro isn't very good at choreographing or both

I don't remember a lift in their dance.

I am not sure if it was staged but I have a feeling Karen might have wanted to make an impression. She wants to win and knows the best possible way is to have like an "X Factor" Journey.

Me too. Must have been a very small lift!

well it was pointless un necessary and that last back bend was just ugly

I dunno what to make of it. I know she was told by a good few people on twitter that it wasn't allowed, but I can't decide if she was pushing her luck or if it was a production decision. I'm edging towards production decision, since it would frame the new stricter theme they're going for this year quite nicely.

Because Len has openly said that you get a 5 just for turning up - and it takes an absolute disaster for him to go below that. He didn't have anywhere lower to go.

What a lot of over the top complaining Craig made about a lift which was incredibly small. I loved Karen for not caring at all about what he had to say, she was obviously expecting it!

I think the producers put the lift in.

I'm starting to get the feeling that they think the show will be better if they stage-manage everything. Big mistake if they do.

It doesn't really matter about being "incredibly small" - the point was that both of her feet left the floor and she choreographed that. That's a bit like a burglar pleading guilty to breaking and entering, then saying he was only in the house for two minutes and the judge should let him off.


All the people who come up with this "scripted" nonsense do realise how ridiculous it is? Why on Earth would the producers do that at the risk of being outed in a huge 'BBC fakery' scandal?

Because it generates interest in the show.

Ridiculous statement.

It might have been accidental and one foot was supposed to stay on the floor. Either way, judging by her comment about doing what it takes to win, I agree with you.

It might back fire on her though.

Definitely don't think the producers had anything to do with it.

Am not keen on her. I feel sorry for Nicky.

It looked very deliberate to me. Add to that the fact that she didn't deny it.

Not a ridiculous statement. Ater all the producer said to Russell "Next week I want to fire you out of a cannon"

She couldn't deny it because she knew it happened, but I'll need to watch it again to get a better feel for how deliberate it was.

No way will she get away with it again now though.

It also crossed my mind that she's not been welcomed by the other pros. Maybe she genuinely didn't know and nobody likes her enough to tell her. I'd have thought she'd have been told by the producers during the rehearsal if that was the case though.

Sorry, I meant that she could have denied putting a lift in and said that it was an accident.

Sorry, got you now. Yes, that's true. Pros do usually say something when that happens and instead she made her "What ever it takes to win" comment. Not a great start and I feel sorry for Nicky in the same way as I did for Harry with Aliona last year.