Yes this is where I see things heading. I'm not necessarily suggesting Sophie's been undermarked lots - or even undermarked at all. But her leaderboard position the past couple of weeks hasn't seemed right to me because others have been marked generously in comparison.

If this trend continues, Sophie's going to find herself in the bottom two very soon because whilst she might be popular, I very much doubt she's the most popular and her combined score won't be enough to prevent her landing in the dance-off and then being booted off.

I almost think there should be a new rule that once someone has been in the bottom two x number, say three, consecutive times, they should automatically go because that is just so obviously saying something. Mark is only still there to be this year's Lisa Riley.

That is assuming that the public don't vote for her - which evidence would indicate that they do. I actually think that Abbey and Patrick who have already been in the DO have far more to worry about on that score.

Do you mean Lisa Snowden? She was in the dance off about 4 times and saved. That was a clear sign nobody wanted her as she always slipped from 2nd or 3rd to the bottom 2. Mark may be getting more votes than some other dancers, we don't know for sure.

If sophie goes up against mark in next weeks dance off she'll still go home no matter if she is perfect and mark all over the place. She's a threat to Natalie, Abbey, Patrick and Susanah places in the final.

Or maybe the audience decides get rid of the dance of again.

I doubt this. Craig will always pick the best dancer even if they forgot their steps in teh DO. Bruno usually saves the best dancer also.

Its only when it goes to Len that you may get a srange result but no way would Len save Mark over Sophie.

What? And here was me thinking it was a dance competition
I would like her to win, but she wont. I really love her dancing, and her face.

That was more Rachel's style - Lisa was bottom 2 with the judges two of the three times she was in the dance-off.

I like Sophie's elegance and coolness, and she's perfectly entitled to her good old-fashioned family values - no business of mine or anyone else's. But I do object to the implication that women have to act like starving pole dancers to be successful on SCD. That's not what the judges mean by "passion" (though unfortunately some are so ridiculously OTT about the raunch factor, they make it easy for people like Sophie, Fiona etc to sniff that it's not their style.)

Apart from all that, it's a bit of an insult to Natalie, Abbey and Susanna. None of them dances 'trashily', just better imo.

I can't even remember the last rumba I would have described as "raunchy" anyway. Maybe Ben's? Before that I'd have to go back to Kara's and that was

a) amazing
b) clearly projected on because it was about then that they admitted that they were doing the do.

I seriously dont think that she will ever find herself in the DO; she seems to have a huge fanbase. She is just like Susanna a dead cert for the finale imo.

I still dont see how anyone thinks that she will find herself in the bottom 2; Even if she is near the bottom in the upcoming weeks, I expect her voting fanbase to overcome that deficit.

Does anyone care to explain why they think that she might find herself in the bottom in the upcoming weeks Just curious Because I would assume that her votes are going to carry her through anyway (even with a low position on the leaderboard )

I think she's a very god bet for the final.

Mark goes next.
That leaves 6.
Patrick and Abbey have been bottom 2 previously so let's say one of them goes next. I'll guess Abbey.
5 left.

I could see Sophie as bottom 2 next week although I don't think it likely. How much do we really know about her votes?

Anything is possible, there is no telling as to how variable her votes are (for example, saturday's votes will probably have been close to the voting figures for week 2; but who is to say that those extra votes will not transfer themselves back to other candidates this weekend and make it a much more even contest?).

I've done some research based on Twitter followers and Facebook likes, that sort of thing, and it's clear to me that Sophie has a MASSIVE fanbase, far bigger than anyone else on the show. Also, the fanbase is pulled from a wide selection of demographics from little kids to pensioners. A family favourite you might say.

http://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/str...favourite.html

Yes, you're right. I was following the comments on the BBC Strictly blog straight after Sophie's dance on Saturday and there was page after page of people who loved the dance and thought it was romantic, tender and classy. They were annoyed at how the judges laid into her and how Bruno said he wanted something raunchy and the majority agreed with Brendan and were glad he spoke up and said it didn't have to be about sex. A lot of people said they had given all their votes to Sophie because they were angry at the judges undermarking (last week as well) and some said they were voting for the first time ever because they were so annoyed.

I'd really love to know how the voting went. If the judges are trying to get rid of her it's backfiring.

Not only that, but Sophie's fans seem to be "fanatical" in the true sense of the word - far more likely to multi-vote to get her the win. I think she's a fantastic bet to win and pay for Christmas.

I wonder how ITT will handle the issue this week (especially the ex-pro's, as I have already seen Nicole Cutler take Brendan's side). Aside from a bunch of people on this forum, who mostly already had not taken to her dance technique, most people agree that is was severely undermarked.

Sophie ought to make the finals but may struggle to catch the final only voters, who tend to vote on the dancing rather than the celebrity.

With THAT Charleston up her sleeve, I think she'll walk it.

It is Brendan's show dance I would be more worried about.

Not if Brendan choreographs another bacofoil showdance!

Craig will probably ignore it like he did last week when he didn't explain why her quickstep only deserved a 7.

Sophie is a lovely lady but she is not much of a dancer. Nobody expects her to act like a pole dancer....but some kind of emotion would be nice. It's get's chilly watching her do the steps and that's it.