Cheap tv. Simples

And surprise, surprise the whole of the Saturday show isn't live. The professional dancers routines are recorded before the live show - how would the professionals change so quickly? And Caig would have had to do a super quick change this Saturday after getting pied in the opening number to get back to his judging seat.

Guest singers are sometimes recorded a week before the broadcast show.

The actual celeb dances and judges are live, but the rest is filmed and broadcast "as live".

My MIL thinks she's a bloody genius for working out that the Sunday show is filmed on Saturday night and she tells me every time as if I don't know about it. Get over it and just enjoy it.

OMG I cannot believe that you are still withering on about something that must have happening for about 5 years.

I think they do a good job smoothing over the time difference. If people want to believe it's filmed on Sunday, that's fine. Nobody is being duped as EVERYBODY knows it's filmed on Saturday night. The result is still the same.

And of course the actual "live" Saturday show has a delay on it just in case FF drops dead in the middle of it so they can cut transmission to avoid another death being seen by viewers as happened to Tommy Cooper. It's broadcast "as live".

What I don't understand is why people get so wound up by it

Neither do I

It doesn't matter one bit.

And the singing acts may also have been recorded on a previous, completely different Saturday, and the Group dances are recorded before the live show is broadcast

Several episodes of Countdown/ Pointless/ Deal or No Deal are all recorded on the same day.

The Apprentice does not do one task per week over 12 weeks, they do it in much less.

Come Dine with me Celeb editions are not filmed at the Celebs houses (shock Horror !!)

I went to see Weakest Link being filmed - that took nearly 3 hours as Anne Robinson went off after every round of questions to write the "ad libs" with her team of writers whilst the Celebrity contestants had to stand there like lemons.

The live show does not have a delay on the broadcast, I went to see it last year

I think people get so worked up about it because there are an awful lot of people who don't believe it's filmed on a Saturday night. In my experience, even when you tell them, they don't believe you. They are convinced it's filmed on the Sunday it's shown on. Which is why others get irritated by it.

Why do others get irritated on behalf of someone else?

And if some people are convinced that it's filmed on a Sunday, then the magic of TV had done its job. And if it does not affect those viewers in any way, why would they or anyone else be annoyed or irritated.

How would you know unless you were in the audience and watching the broadcast reception at the same time?

OK, so I got the time wrong - it seems it's actually about 7 seconds, which would be unnoticeable.

"In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air."

Don't Songs of Praise record the Christmas and Easter services on the same or consecutive days. In the days before 24 hr TV, the late night news and weather were recorded earlier in the evening. A major live OB used my workplace as a base years ago, we were joking with the production staff about how much of the 'live' parts was pre-recorded.

Many years ago I worked with someone who had worked in TV Centre. He reckoned most of TV Centre was drunk once the Queen's Christmas Day broadcast was completed so it would be risky to have too much live! One year they ran one reel of a film twice.

Funny - I said to my husband only yesterday that I was expecting to see a thread to this effect soon, and Hey Presto

Don't understand why they don't show the results show on Saturday.

As it's common knowledge that the show is recorded straight after the main show, (that makes economic and logistical sense), I can't see the point of the BBC pretending the Sunday show is anything other than what it is. If they refrained from using the unnecessary reference, "in last night's show" which can only be because they are still trying to create that perception, then there wouldn't be any complaints.

I'm very annoyed by the smug smart arsedness of the people on here who seem to want not only stifle the discussion about the 'pretending its Sunday argument' but also take on a superior 'what is all the fuss about' manner in their posts.

There is no fuss it is a discussion,the OP was making a comment that no matter what your opinion is valid because it is a fact that the Sunday show does attempt to decieve viewers in albeit a subtle way...........

X Factor is the holy shrine of TV cynicism and taking its viewers for idiots don't let Strictly go even one step further towards becoming anything like it..........Tess! :keep the same dress on and make no mention of Sunday from now on !

In the list of things that keep me awake at night, it's not exactly up there....

Or perhaps they're merely pointing out the absurdity of worrying about something so trivial? Come Christmas Day, when all the celebs are strutting their stuff for the festive edition, I'm not sure I'll be crushed to discover they didn't all give up their Christmas to entertain me, but pre-recorded it.

And of course, everyone should be allowed to post an opinion, even if it is one that goes against the run of the thread, or points out such perceived absurdities.

Everyone's opinion is, of course, valid. And if the OP feels cheated, that is a matter for him/her. Though as far as I'm aware press gangs aren't roaming the streets forcing anyone to watch if they find the time of broadcast of a show to be so offensive to them....

Can anyone tell me how long the "lines are open" for on Saturday night, and also what is the length of time between the "live" Saturday show and the "recorded" Sunday show.

This is the bit I don't understand, I get that it's recorded on Saturday for broadcast on Sunday but.. the lines open when the live show finishes, and by the time they record the results show everyone has voted, the votes have been counted, added to the judges scores and on a card for Tess to read out, doesn't leave a lot of time for voting or the audience would be there all night!

It's silly of the BBC but it's hardly a crime. I guess they feel that what's more important is when the show actually airs, not when it's filmed. However, even if the results show were filmed on Sunday, the celebs and pros would have to be in the same costumes, in case they're in the dance off and need to dance again.

I would imagine it's far more expensive to film the results show on a different day. This way, they do it all at once, while the studio is set, the technical crews, hair and makeup people, floor managers and studio staff, etc - even the judges (after all, Bruno and Len have to get to LA in time for DWTS on Monday nights) - are all already there. Having to pull everyone back on Sunday would surely add to the cost of making the show.


I believe the lines are open for an hour. That gives time to film Len's Lens (*shudders*), interviews and reactions from the couples etc. The very last bit they shoot is probably the actual results; as it's prerecorded, they don't need to film each segment chronologically.

Memmh - thanks for that