Remeber the days when getting an 8 would make a couple explode with happiness? Now the excitement of getting a 10 has been ruined after Abbey got a full house for the disco routine.

So sad.

The 10 score has been gradually devalued over the past couple of series. At one time it meant absolute perfection, but now the judges point out some small mistakes and still give a 10, making top marks worthless. If 10 is awarded for a dance with mistakes, what score would they give for a perfect dance?

I think the dancers down to positions 5 and 6 are better now than they used to be. If Mark is counted as a comedy dancer/unlikely dancer then he's also one the best over the years in that category.

I agree I remember in series four - Carole Simile (not the best dancer but one of the best that year and certainly a decent one) working her bum off and getting a bit irrate in the process for the please of getting an 8. These days she'd have got a least one nine from the judges by now.

I loved those days. Series 1 didn't even have a 40, 37 was the highest. Did series 4, come to think of it? Did Matt Dawson get 40 for his Waltz. Think Mark's AT got 39?

The reason nobody got 40 in series 1 was because no one was good enough for them... 8s were a big deal in Series 1 and 2 because there were only two in each of those series who could dance.

Edit: Mark's Salsa was the only 40 is S4.

Jill's Jive only 40 in S2 and no 40s in S3.

Those were the days.

Claire Sweeney and occassionally Natasha and Lesley would have been 40 fodder if they were dancing now. No question.

Alesha Dixon too for that matter.

I have to disagree. None of those three ladies, bar Claire would have had a bat in hell's chance in getting a 40 - Natasha just looked good compared to the others.

I agree that the standard has improved no end over the years, but some of the scores have been ridiculously high this series. Where are the 4s, 5s & 6s that some of the dances have deserved? Have those paddles been lost? Maybe it's something else that's been 'caught' from DWTS where a 7 seems to be regarded as really bad!

Christopher Parker got an 8 once. It was never all that.

Her year was series five, not one or two. I think the only 40 from that year was Matt DA's Waltz - the trend of more than one 40 per year began in series six.

The score inflation is just ridiculous, that's the problem.

The standard this year has for the most part been average at best, and I wouldn't rank anyone from this year in my overall top 10, yet they're scoring 35+ left right and centre.

The fact that someone can score 40 when half their routine was disguised by having other professional dancers on the floor, and for a disco routine at that, shows how laughable the 'judging' has become, and how far away from proper dancing this show has gone.