I think you're overanalysing things. Yes Charlie was less confident than Ashley but that doesn't win huge votes. What wins votes is the fact hat a hell of a lot of casual voters on the night had to make a straight choice between a very familiar and likeable UK tv star and an American pop star - not getting to ever know how well the latter had come across throught out the series.

We wanted David to win. For us there was nothing to choose between the two girls. We watched the whole series and I don't get the outrage that Ashley didn't win over Charlie. Both nice girls, happy for Charlie.

Ashley who? She was in a band with the girl off XFactor, Nicola Shirtliftinger apparently.

This is why she didn't win. The vast majority of viewers will have been completely unaware of her before the show.

Charlie won because she was well know and nice and normal. This applies to every other winner. Ashley was nice and normal but significantly less well known. Why would someone expect otherwise?

BIB

I dont think Biggins or Katona have ever been Nice and Normal so I think that blows that bit of theory away

and I dont think either Matt Willis or Dougie Poynter were that well known outside of boyband fans
even now if you asked the general public outside of forums who they were 75% wouldnt know

Biggins normal? Swash normal? Gin D'Acampo normal?

People are obsessed with the Charlie v Ashley thing. The mystery is (if you ignore the Kiki and EastEnders vote) how Charlie even got in the top 5..


Nice try. That may be stretching credulity a bit too far.

Well I'll have £50 that they'll laugh at your complaint.

Ah, that was well before my DS days, so I didn't really know what other viewers thought of it. It was just an incorrect presumption on my part then! I guess my annoyance should be with the editing team and Pete anyway.

I wish I could say the same. Why is it unbelievable? It seemed to turn almost everybody on here against here.

Oh dear.

Voting results released, worst fears confirmed. Looks like I've got some work to do

I would suggest work over the bookies, tends to be a firmer result.

All those voting stats show is that Charlie picked up alot of votes after peoples faves were evicted.

It really is that simple.

Good luck with that. I am sure the bookies will be most sympathetic to your pleas.

How much did the op bet and at what odds on Ash to win ?

If Ashley had won you could equally start blaming the show for giving her the secret task as it gave her so much screen time and made her much more popular.

Also if I remember rightly ant and dec said the lead had changed in the final show a little after the eating trial. I remember thinking at the time that it must have swung to Charlie as she had been so much more entertaining in the trial than Ashley. I don't think Kiki had the big effect everyone thinks it did.

Yeah I think the eating task swung it to Charlie, however, the voting statistics show that there was something like 0.2% in it so that last 30 seconds where Kiki came on defiently helped her.

That's news to me.

Charlie was never particularly entertaining - even David Haye and Eric Bristow had been far more entertaining than her.

In the last eating trial Charlie was much more animated where as Ashley got on with it with less fuss. I think the eating trial just edged it for her.

I can't see how the last 30 seconds hugging Kiki would have made any difference at all. The amount of votes cast in 30 seconds would be negligible.

I think so. Charlie reacted more during that trial, with more disgust and retching. Viewers would suddenly have seen her as more entertaining. I think that's why Dougie won last year.