Rays routines are the only ones that i watched over and over again, A maz ING!!!

and me summertime, just amazing

Think its worth pointing out.
Just because Robin thinks these things doesnt mean he's correct.
Theres a level of arrogance showing its a TV show hes not a judge at the Olympics.

I know that has really gotten my goat. Every year the judges have stood for the winner and clapped and looked enthusiastic even if they weren't entirely happy with how it panned out.

I can see nothing that Beth has done to merit this treatment from the judges, she has come in every week and as far as I see worked her socks off, done everything they have asked her to do to try and improve and each week they kept moving the goalposts and it still never seemed to be enough .

She seems a lovely sweet woman who has done her all and is not getting any of the credit she deserves and I feel the continuation of it via Robins tweets are also uncalled for.

Also call me cynical but I am still not believing Jason's story it just doesn't fit and IMO is just an attempt to firefight the situation as people are still obviously commenting on it.

If EVEN the judges are pi55ed off with the show what do they expect of the viewers, WE are not being paid!!!

I was never a Ray fan but would still agree that he was, by far, a much better skater than Matt. Ray had poise , elegance, musicality, and flexibility - things Matt could only aspire to.

Matt could only "do" a poor mans M C Hammer!! He started that way AND finished NO BETTER!!! Shame on Robin for "selling out" his sport, the ONLY attributes Matt has were speed and courage, takes a tad more than that to make a champ i think!!

Yes, I agree about Robin selling out, awful.

I blame the pay cuts why the judges are the way they are. The commitment isn't there and it feels like a show where they are sticking to the rules of the ITV agenda. If I was working as a panelist I would try and at least put my own input to it. Does feel like they have definitely been got at. They including robin are putting up with it for the money.

Shame on them for being doughnuts then and having a plan with what they wanted to suit them and show more dedication to maximising revenue to get us to vote for someone else who got marked up despite him making mistakes. The judges have been so complicit with their bosses, it is unreal this year.

Hope ITV get a new controller and chief executive as its evident that DOI is in a mess and the mess needs cleaning up.

True, he did have those attributes but often looked sloppy - no finesse. If they think that is a worthy winner I'm disappointed. Was watching a clip of Donal earlier and even he looked better than that with some very nifty foot work and speed.

Absolutely, He ONLY had speed and courage, other than that his posture was awful, he thought he could body-pop his way through every routine, he had no finesse, IMO everything about him was a mess!!!

Its even cofusingly phrased. Three of the top performances in any DOI - what? Final? Series? Over the show's history? Top what? Top 3 ? 10? 100? if its top 50 it might be true, but then so did Beth. There's no point in saying top 50, and if its top 10 its ridiculous to say that Matt produced 3 of even the top 10.

Is he really telling us that Ray, Suzanne , Chris, Clare, Hayley, Mathew, Jorgie, Laura, Kyran and Beth didn't all produce better routines than Matt, and that Matt singlehandedly produced 3 routines that were in the same class in one show?

It was robins way of wanting to get more money out of people who supported Matt and it was short term greed to be honest. Then again I think ITV are gonna lose a lot of money through this series as people like country file better. Country file is more about real life whereas DOI now is getting more and more unrealistic really.

Quite!

My theory: the set up for the show was all wrong. They knew the outcome well before the lines closed (I got the feeling they were so relieved that Matt made the final 2 - let's not forget Luke beat him before when he was in the bottom two with Shane) but the build up was assuming that Matt would win when it came to the crunch. There would be a huge surge toward him in the run up as all Luke's fans voted for him. Whoops.
The outcome left the judges looking foolish, the show flat and the series going out on a low note. With no acclamations or glorious comments to bolster Beth she was presented like an undeserved winner. The judges, unable to muster good grace and respect not only for Beth but for the GBP that picked up the phone, voted and funded their paychecks, left a sour and bitter taste only to add to it afterwards not with any comment to make up for their behaviour but excuses and back handed comments. I expected more from them. Torvill and Dean always command a great deal of respect and have respect for others from what they have shown. That was something this show used to be based on and around. Now? I have no idea where it is now. Truly shocking, I expected so much more.
The humour and sassiness of Tony Gubba is sorely missed now more than ever. He'd have a comment or two to balance things out...

What a good post

All of Rays performances beat Matts and I have just watched Ray's flying again and it wins Matts by a mile

He didn't even have speed (never did learn a full knee bend to get the quick and smooth acceleration).


l used to skate a bit (self taught when local rink opened), and I could skate smoother and faster than Matt despite being less tall, and he's had weeks of help from Torvill and Dean - wish I'd had that opportunity!

OOI, I gave up after severe concussion when a double axel went BADLY wrong - decided my brain was more important than skating. Still got my skates, but nearest rink is 50 miles away, and I'm not sure the knee's would stand it now (but at least I believe they wear crash helmets while practicing new moves now )


In summary, a very poor series, with the unquestionable skills of T & D completely wasted. Series format is in need of a serious makeover.

Think the production manual needs altering too as to me the producers acted very selfish this year to with what they wanted and got the hump when they didn't get their ideal result in the final. We all moan about the judges, but their bosses aka the producers are even worse.

That makes me imagine that Robin should've interrupted Beth's moment of glory with "Yo Beth, I’m really happy for you and I’ma let you finish but Matt had one of the best Boleros of all time!".

My Mum (who didn't know who Ray was from Adam, bless her) spent a whole day with him, and watching him with the public, last week at a charity fund-raising event where she works. She asked my children if they had 'ever heard of someone called Ray Quinn' (my parents don't watch DOI) and we said yes, and in my head I was thinking how I hadn't really warmed to his persona, not knowing him in anything else, but always admired his skating. My Mum then went on to describe Ray as 'a lovely young man, very humble, very friendly', said he had time for everyone, that he said no request for an autograph or a photo, especially with children, was too much trouble, and Mum said he didn't once complain about the cold (it was a largely outside event) or being tired of standing up and talking to people.

To my Mum, who's also a great judge of character, that was worth commenting on, and I'm pleased she didn't know who he was because she looked at Ray as a person, not as a 'star' - so not least of which is he is not only a fantastic skater, but a really nice person as well! Matt is not fit to lick his ice skating boots in terms of skill, and although I've tried to find the good in Matt's personality, I didn't like the final insult to Beth of not going to the after-show party to just do that final piece of PR, whether he wanted to or not. If Ray can stand around in the cold making polite chit-chat with people he's never met before, and will never meet again, then surely Matt could have gone to one party, even if only for an hour, and smiled for a photo with Beth? Poor sportsmanship in anyone's book.


I agree with the BIB entirely. The judges' response, their facial expressions, were shocking - there is no other word for it. What a dreadful response to someone whose skating skills had not only been praised by them, as judges, (with marks not that far off Matt's in the final to prove it - it wasn't her skating they marked her down for mostly, but performance) and yet they couldn't find the grace to acknowledge that the public ultimately thought more of Beth's overall performance than Matt's. A very poor show.

And, whilst there is no point in crying over spilled milk and I'm sure Beth would rather just move on and isn't interested in going back over it, I'm also shocked that the judges haven't been made to explain their facial expressions and basic rudeness in not standing up to applaud Beth on the night. The DOI producers must be aware of the backlash on the internet and youtube because the footage of the final few minutes of the show has been ridiculed, and the judges faces discussed, from here to next year on varous fora (and I'm sure ITV have had their fair share of viewer feedback too). Yet all we've had is a back-handed compliment for Beth from Robin which was more insulting than it was generous, and Jason saying he considers Matt the true winner. Ashley, in the jungle anyway, was lovely and I'm guessing she feels awkward, but she hasn't said anything, and Karen hasn't said anything at all (which is usually for the best, but in this case...?). If they aren't brought to account for their poor handling of the final result in public fine - it won't solve anything - but I have to hope that someone with some clout is making them feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves behind a closed door. Beth's half Robin's age, but she has double his humility, courtesy and generosity of spirit.

As for T&D, they surely must realise how bad the footage looks in the cold light of day - they're not daft, and know all about how to make things look 'right', even if they're 'wrong' behind the scenes. Sunday's mess won't have done the public perception of 'their' show any good when they're looking to come back next year - in some ways they are the ones in the best position to do some immediate damage limitation, but whether they want to, or are able to, is debatable. Jayne is, like Ashley seems to be, a basically decent person and is no doubt sensitive enough to realise how bad the footage looks from all angles. Whether Chris would allow any elaboration on events is another matter, though - Karen's views would have an impact on anything Chris might want to say, especially as she's inextricably mixed up in training and judging whilst living with Chris himself!

In essence, though, Sunday was the most disappointing public display of bad grace and bad manners I've ever seen on a show such as this (although admittedly I only watch DOI and IAC, so it's a fairly narrow field of experience!). What's heartening, though, is that the majority (but sadly not quite all...) of the most ardent Matt supporters have also been able to separate their personal, subjective opinions over who may have been 'the best' skater from the fact that there was NO excuse for that disgraceful display of facial expressions and lack of clapping from the judges when Beth's name was called.

I enjoyed reading your post jerseyporter. I really took to Ray on DOI, unlike yourself and I am pleased you and your family found him to be a really likeable young man as I did.

I don't think I will ever forget their display of bad manners on Sunday towards Beth, there was just no excuse.

Brilliant post jerseyporter Thank you

It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall in Chris Dean's house. I hope he gave Karen an absolute gobful when they got back because of her disgusting behaviour. She reflects unfavourably on him.

I agree with you're last point!!! They know it, hence Robins ridiculous claim Matt was "best ever"!!! Complete and utter tosh, just like all these shows, when they try and manipulate the outcome the viewers see through it. On the issue of the judges behaviour at the end!! Says it all really!! If they dont give a sh1t, WHY should WE!!!!