I tried to record it (Freeview BBC1 HD), but found that permission was denied (copy protection). Tried it on another box - same thing. It worked OK on BBC1, but by then I was so bloody irritated by the BBC I gave up watching.

Anybody else with the same problem?

It's for the kids...bless 'em.

Yes, understand that - but it's more than annoying for one of your favourite shows to be hijacked in favour of a different audience.

Agreed.

My 6 year old loved them, so lighten up a bit

The problem is that the target audience used not be 6 year olds and now the whole production has changed and some of us feel our show has been taken over .
I love Strictly , the majority of viewers are not 6 years old, yet they cater for a minority and the majority are miffed .
I detest the VTs and so do all my friends who watch it , hardly anyone watches it live any more so they can FF the VTs .

Bruce Forsyth always welcomes "ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls" - the whole family, whoever they are.

You are mixing up Strictly with the original Come Dancing which IIRC was on a schoolnight and, in the 70s, past my bedtime!

Don't mind being shown trips out to acting or ballet class Etc. Though.

I agree with everything you say Pink Petunia. They are trying to compete with X factor and doing our beloved show no favours at all. It won't compete soon if they lose their core audience !!

PS I've written to Points of View today, something I've never done in my life before. I did that because the BBC never responds during the week, to criticism. Zoe battles on in constant optimistic mood, which is fine, except there are minuses to be discussed !!

I agree. Absolutely awful.

But they never used to do these moronic VTs that are boring and embarrassing. A complete waste of the couple's time and it would have been nice to have seen something of the hard slog that Michael and Natalie must have done during the week to get to the finished product. How can you relate to a couple if you can't get to know them as they are and how well or badly they work together?

It's a show at prime time aimed at the whole family.

I suspect if you looked at the age range of the regular viewers it ranges from 6 to 100.

I doubt there's a single other show on TV pulls in that breadth of ages.

And part of that is having the "something that appeals to everyone" approach to the content.

Yes, forget the kids they can watch cbbees. Get back to how it used to be, proper dances, no VTs but instead more looking at their training and not running out of time so they have to cut out judges giving their opinion. The thing is in the beginning the judges judged on the dance, now they just give marks for comedy and parodies of the dances.

I have no axe to grind about Brucie, but he really is past it and I worry that he will collapse during the performance. Besides he has been good and should quit while ahead and not become an old has been.

And the VTs are useless because most of the people in them aren't comedians so they are just not funny. Unless you are 6 perhaps and should be in bed?

That lets me out, because they don't appeal to me, or anyone with a smidgen of intelligence.

BIB Dr Who????

Then I guess you have the same option as everyone else...don't watch or quit complaining the BBC is not producing the show to suit precisely your preferences and those of a few thousand people who think exactly the same as you.

While millions who don't start to switch off...meaning btw you would end up with nothing to watch either

Me too, and that's why I've just written to Points of View about it. I love the show and am a complete addict, but these ghastly VTs and themed nights are dumbing down the show and ruining it for me.Children aren't morons either, they like fun not idiocy - or maybe they do, these days?? !! Anyway the BBC needs to take heed of what the majority are saying this week on so many of the threads.

I suspect despite the age range that the majority viewers are not 6- 12 but a more adult viewer .Which is why it annoys the majority that the VTs are aimed at a minority .

TBF you and I have no idea what the "majority" of ten million viewers want or enjoy...only what the majority of a few hundred viewers on DS want or enjoy.

Yes , fair enough .But going by DS posts and my family and friends and in work the vast majority I know hate the VTs .

I agree, the VTs are awful and I want to see them train, not mess about doing unfunny sketches. Dumbing the show down is not the way to go. If kids do watch it, then surely they watched it back when the VTs used to be actual 'training' videos instead of odd acting videos, too, so I can't see many kids being bothered if they went back to showing us the couples training.

Sorry, are you saying that the show was far worse when they showed nothing but training VTs?

Hate them

I did think that they were made for children's TV but then I realised that children are too sophisticated for such pointless drivel.

Mind you, a good time to read the paper, get a drink, have a conversation, surf another channel.