They would have difficulty justifying it over anyone but Susanna though and it would look very off if he stayed over Abbey on tonights dances. Sophie and Ashley would be at clear risk of an unfair judgement though.

100% agree it was terrible bias for sure

That's just what i thought.

Patrick's rumba was actually good, it was better than Ashley's. If there as a long list of great male rumba's on strictly that deserved a 10 and didn't get one then perhaps you could be churlish with Patrick. As it is there haven't been many better male rumbas and if it is amongst the best then it deserves the best score.

Patrick's rumba just bored me, it was wooden, stiff and they looked like they wanted to punch each other rather than it being passionate. Thought Ashley and Ola's was much better mainly because they have a lot of chemistry.

I think it is due to the BBC. They have given up on Susanna because Natalie and Abbey are pretty much a shoo-in for the final and Sophie's profile makes her less vulnerable. They want a man in the final and they want it to be the guy who works for them. It sucks and hopefully the public see through it.

That's not to say Patrick is bad. I have enjoyed a couple of his dances. Seems like a nice guy. I just think he shouldn't be in the final because the BBC stamp their foot.

If Ashley gets to the final he may win - I don't think they want three young males to win in a row; it makes it appear as though no one else has a chance now. As it is they stacked the field so there were a few potential female winners with very few male possibilities.

So because he can act and dance and is older he should be penalized for having some ability to perform??? That one I haven't heard. I don't understand the need to penalize the celebs because they have some ability... None of them are professionals yet people use their ability to pick them apart depending on who they are. Last season DVO and Kimberley got pegged with this. This season the vitriol is even worse and still unfairly doled out.

Doesn't Sophie work in the entertainment business. She's surrounded by music, yet there are no complaints about what she should and shouldn't be able to do.

I so agree.

I so agree again.

Sound of nail being very firmly struck on head. Which also explains why Susanna is looking quite so hurt and bemused as suddenly all those nice comments and marks have suddenly disappeared. And Ashley is just looking seriously peeved as nothing he does in his dancing makes any difference whatsoever because his scores are predetermined to put him down the bottom.

Yes, have no clue why people dislike Patrick so much. He's a lovely man and is certainly not a bad dancer. Being a non biased person without a clear favourite, I don't think he deserves the amount of dislike he is getting, he IS the best male dancer.

Is it strictly speaking 'bias' when the judges mark the better competitors more highly than t'others? I suppose it is a decision to privilege talent, feeling, expression and that stuff over other criteria

Naughty judges

This is my first year watching Strictly, and I think I'm watching a different show to the judges. There's no way Patrick deserved to stay in the swingathon over Sophie, and there's no way he's better than Ashley. I've liked Patrick since the start, and he seems like a decent bloke, but the bias the judges show him is very off-putting. I'll keep watching because it's so far into the series, but I think this'll be my first and last year: it's too uncomfortable watching such obvious manipulation.

We'll done Patrick. Keep up the good work whether you win the popular side or not. Fabulous performances.

I said this on the show thread, but I think Patrick's Rumba might just be one of those dances that come over differently in the studio than on the TV. Posters who have been to the live show often say how different dances look in the studio and I think this is one of those dances.

I agree that Patrick was over-marked tonight (and I say that as one of his fans). However, he's not the only one. Abbey, Natalie and Susanna are also over-marked regularly, so I really don't understand why Patrick's getting so much criticism. I really like him, but it's clear that he doesn't have the public support If we have to have an all female final, my vote will be for Sophie.

Yeah I just watched it again, it isn't half bad.

It's such an insular dance, it isn't great entertainment to watch and I am worried for Patrick getting it at this stage of the competition. However, the fact it ended up my 3rd favourite routine of the night really shows (to me) what a hash Sophie and Susanna made of two visually strong dances.

Maybe I am biased too ...

Have to agree, Patrick has fantastic rhythm and musicality and, while the rumba is my most hated dance, I found his almost hypnotic to watch and thought he presented Anya (which is what it's all supposed to be about) incredibly well.

I enjoyed Ashley's performance but I completely agree with the comments about his hips, he's fine when he's gyrating sideways but his front/back movements are usually too big and lose that latin feel.

Could I just ask all the dance experts.

If Patricks Rumba was so good why was Anya so worried about it on both interviews on ITT & in training vids? She said he wasn't doing well & she was going to pray his acting got them through . Just wondering she is a professional dancer.

That would be true if the competition was Patrick against all other male celeb rumbas, but it isn't. It's against those who were dancing tonight, and it wasn't good.

I'm really fed up with the male celebs being 'brainwashed', by the judges and just about everyone else, into believing the rumba is such a hard dance for male celebs. NO IT ISN'T. It really isn't.

I don't see many people saying they dislike him - I personally think he has a very unassuming personality, which is refreshing.

However, that doesn't excuse the blatant over marking, not for those of us who are genuinely unbiased.

For the same reason that other VTs have had either professional or celebrity saying they're "worried" about whatever dance they're doing that week - media b*llocks.

I'm the polar opposite of an expert. I loved the bit where he just walked alongside Anya while she was spinning / fleeing him. Captured the mood of their argument perfectly. It was that kind of dance. Better than I was expecting from him. It was proper theatre, in my eyes: it told truths, had tension, drew you (or at least, me ) in to the relationship between them. Only Abbey, IMO, had that quality of (different) feeling in her routine

I suppose if it makes you feel a tad uncomfortable it's a good sign (never could look Ramps and Karen in the eye after their AT ). Not that I felt Anya and Patrick were selling sex, I hasten to add. No, it was a different mood altogether as you suggest - it was still private enough to feel we shouldn't be watching though.

I agree 100%. I thought their take on the rumba was really well done. A dance is a set of steps, rhythm and style, no-one says a rumba should be the passionate sex-dance SCD fans seem to think it is. Same with tango - Sophie's tango tonight wasn't the usual SCD tango where they stomp around with "tango-face" locked on their chops. But they still danced a tango. I just wonder why Patrick is seen to be somehow inferior on this show and unworthy of points and high placings, when he's clearly a great dancer with a lot of talent.