Since her first routine, when she outscored Ray, she has had lack-lustre choreography, which has placed her well behind the overmarked Hayley, who seems to have been promoted to Top Girl and Challenger to Ray.

I genuinely think Suzanne is leading the votes by quite a bit.

Given that they can only display their talents according to the choreography given to them, it certainly does seem that Hayley is being favoured routine wise over Suzanne.

I do wonder if it all comes down to which of them have committed to the tour. It would make sense not to give Suzanne the winning routines if they already know she is not going on the tour.

However if she is going to tour, then she deserves to have better choreography especially next week which I think will be a crucial week for her. The obvious early exit candidates are now all gone, no where to hide.


Its Kyran, Suzanne and Sam who will have to majorly up their game to fight to stay in next week.

I don't think Suzanne even needs to display her talents. She needs an even playing field. There's a strange judges expectation that she ought to do something no other female can weekly - although in week one Robin warned against putting too much in her choregraphy. There's then surprise if she's cautious doing moves no one else is allowed to do. The judges seem to continually mark her choregraphy, as being too dull , or too hard , or too easy, depending on which judge says it, which week. No judge makes the obvious point that its not her choregraphy - probably as that wouldn't go down well. What she needs is some decent choregraphy - like her week one routine - and some of Hayley's dance routines. Hayley's routines would be easier for her - even if she added big lifts, and unless the judges changed their minds completely, would still vaccuum up marks. Otherwise, even she's done new moves, or done other people's best moves, Suzanne's got no credit for it. Meanwhile, Hayley's done nothing, so far, that two or three other female contenders couldn't have done that week. Change the person doing the Hayley routine, and the scoreboard ought to change with it - because Suzanne can dance and act as well as Hayley. Indeed. Bopnnie and Zaraah could probably do Haley's routines too.

I think Suzanne is doing Ok in the vote, but unless they were trying to add drama, tonight suggests going first, having her difficulty ignored , and her choregraphy marked rather than her performance, may knock her vote back. I suspect Beth is carrying over a lot of her vote from last year. Beth also has the positive improvement story this series, and this week got a positive VT - wheras Suzanne seemed to get the Jorgie treatment with a VT questioning her ability.

I just don't get the need for their hype for Hayley. She does what she does well - there's no need to pretend its better than it is. It doesn't matter that much to ITV if a Corrie star does well surely? Suzanne and Beth are the ones who can do moves team Ray can't to make a final at all competitive, and, as far as I know, Suzanne is free for the tour while Hayley has a soap to film?

I'm starting to get really annoyed by this to be quite honest. Every week she's one of the first 2 to perform and her routines are quite lackluster with the choreography which is frustrating because she's capable of so much more but T&D's routines for her are really holding her back but they're pushing Ray, Hayley and Beth and letting them do all their big moves and tricks while giving Suzanne basic routines that would have landed any other person in a skate-off by now.

Part of the problem is that the judges comments are too innane to work out what the story is. There's big clues there, but often no sense.

Take Robin - we had the bizarre comment in week one that Suzanne shouldn't try for too much, and could do well in strong skating routines with just a few big tricks - less is more. Is that a hint to her , and/or criticism of T and D? It seems to have been ignored - she's had junk routines, and big moves looking for a routine, instead.

Then you have Nicky and Jason, who think she's holding back and end up criticising what she's been given to do , not her performance. She's accused of not stretching herself - after doing a routine that contained Beth's two top moves from series 8.

Then there's Karen - who often talks nonsense, and is in overdrive with Suzanne. This week's VT has her criticising Suzanne's ability to exit big lifts. This is dubious - given Ray commented last week how good her tranistions were, her slip last week was agreed to be due to Matt's grip, and when she's added clean standing exits to her floats and headbanger. Its also a ridiculous argument - when she's the only one who has been given those lifts in the first place. You can't go around implying someone is failing - when what they are doing is too difficult to even give to someone else.

There's also the sheer negativity of the VT this week. Suzanne expresses doubts. Karen expresses doubts. The slip last week is revisited - even though Matt has claimed responsibility, and Robin argued the same. . It was the clearest message since Jorgie was elbowed out in week one by her VT. Is it coincidence, that the two females who could challenge on wow factor, and dancing, and acting, ability, get negative VTs while others get the positive ones?

There's a number of possible explanations there. One is that Suzanne is just seen as the person who adds wow factor - and she's just given the big female moves, now and again, to provide that, and not much else. Another is that they have taken this further, and they have lost interest in her because she's hit her limitations, and can't do some moves that they would have put in. Alternatively, they may have just run out of new moves for her. Its also possible that the judges are just lousy at marking, and don't realise that you have to mark the difficulty of the choregraphy and its performance , not mark T and D's lack of imagination, and you can't mark the better students on a harder scale than the less able, while ignoring lack of difficulty elsewhere.

One possible conclusion is that someone wants someone else to reach the last two. Suxanne could do Hayley's high scoring routines. Hayley can't do Suzanne's difficult tricks. If they wanted a level playing field, they would give them both similar dance routines, and Hayley would have to do a simpler big move in hers. The charitable explanation for what is happening is that T and D can't write a good dance routine, in the time, for both of them. As Hayley can't do the big wow factor moves, Hayley gets the best dance routine. The less charitable version is that Hayley gets the best, high scoring, good looking, dance routines in her comfort zone, and no one else gets them - as it would raise questions about Hayley- particularly if the other person added bigger moves too.

I agree that some (most?) of Suzanne's routines have seemed very pedestrian compared to some of the others. I don't know why, because I remember her being very good in 'her' series.

Even so, when she scored higher than Ray in their first week, I think it was as much because Ray skated way below his expected par. He was really nervous, and let it show.

I totally agree about the sidelining, but I'm hoping that this disinterest, or manipulation, of Suzanne is so that they can bring her forward in coming weeks as a 'dark horse' figure, maybe to represent a journey, or something. If no drama exists, create some. They're struggling a bit to show a defined journey this series because of all the good starting points, so they're inventing one.

As I said, I hope so, because I do like Suzanne and feel she's being given a rough deal choreography/costuming-wise.

(I'm a Ray fan, by the way, and no, I didn't think he deserved those 10s this week. )

Pass me one of those tin hats, I need a new plant pot!

No. Jorgie went because she was never going to be as popular as the others, and Suzanne is still there! Nothing more, nothing less...

Jorgie went because someone picked a partner for her knowing it created a story. They then spent her VT focusing on the same negative story. She might, on her voting record, have been in trouble about now with her vote, but there was nothing to suggest she was the obvious candidate to get least votes. Thats what happens when the vote is split 7 ways and people have a reason given to them not to give as many votes, as they otherwise might, to one of the better contestants.

It was a bizarre thing to do - because Jorgie combined the ability to act, dance and to do do difficult moves, and was now the nearest, bar Beth, to the age range of the past female winners winners when they had won. The other top females, bar Beth, are all now considerably older - Jorgie was the one who age now worked for.

That arguably ruined the female competition early on - as at the start she was the second best there. Clare Buckfield not being asked also removed someone who could do more than three females who were there. Given they managed not to have two real contenders there by week two, It just raises more questions why they don't seem that interested in Suzanne, and are on and off on Beth. Its either serial sillyness, or it has reasoning behind it.

Jorgie Porter can dance, yes, but she never showed any ability to act when she was in Hollyoaks.

Got to agree there - I've seen her once or twice in Hollyoaks and wondered what she was doing there. She's dreadful. However, her skating was great during her year, and she flung herself across that ice like I've never seen a celeb do before. She was fearless and did some lovely routines, if I remember correctly, complete with the required acting. I do remember being surprised at how well she did on DOI compared with how wooden she seemed on Hollyoaks.

I can't help feeling that both Suzanne and Beth are not being given the opportunities to shine in terms of choreography.

I think Hayley has always been the weaker skater of the 3, but is getting preferential treatment in terms of choreography that suits her (i.e. jazz hands!)because the producers want an ITV person in the final...

And Hayley has been confirmed for the tour and there's so far no word about Beth or Suzanne.

Suzanne has just said in her weekly blog that while she will miss Gareth, it will be great when they are all back together soon !!! Tour talk ??

Sorry but I don't buy this. Many of us called it that Jorgie would be at risk in week one even before it aired and it was right. There were 7 people and two went home. 3 were former champions and always going to be voted higher so that leaves 4 with one of those going home instantly meaning Jorgie had a 25% of being bottom. Gareth had a fan/underdog vote, Joe had a brief comedy vote, so that left Bonnie.It could have gone either way but Jorgie went and it wasn't a huge shock. The VT wasn't even that bad. There's no conspiracy here and that's without going into a number of other reasons she went.

she suffered because of the lame format in those 2 weeks, the very same could have happened to Clare and Laura and all 3 probably wouldn't have lasted long in this.

It's quite bizarre to think Jorgie was deliberately pushed out and Clare not invited just to boost Hayley which is effectively what you're saying. It's a crackpot theory especially given both Jorgie and Clare would have suffered for votes.

As per usual these arguments seem to boil down to whether you like Hayley or not, which I do, but the onky thing I'll agree on is Suzanne being short changed, I will not take anything away from Hayleys ability.

But why was Clare not invited ?

Like everyone else I have no idea but what are you suggesting, there's a conspiracy to this? Clare, despite being amazing, would never have been a threat, along with Jorgie and Laura, because their votes would have collapsed this series. Of course Clare should have been there instead of Zaraah but I bet she'd still be out by now or at the very least in a Sam position of constant skate offs which ultimately leads to an exit.

I think with 8 series to choose from it was always likely someone was going to be sidelined especially from earlier series

In series 2 Clare was twice in the skate-off but survived each time and got to the final and was runner-up to Kyran. Jorgie, in her series, in the week when she was most endangered, when she was bottom of the leaderboard, this was props week, and she was marked down as she only had one prop, so produced a routine which was a bit tedious compared to the others, got a boost in her vote; I think that was the only week she was actually ahead of Matthew Wolfenden, who beat her in the final.

They might have lasted longer than you might think.

I definitely think Suzanne is being short changed as far as routines are concerned. She's a fantastic skater and clearly wants to push herself as much as possible. It'd be an absolute disgrace if she's not in the final but if T&D don't start to give her better routines she'll be lucky to escape the skate off over the next 2 weeks.

Indeed, but if you want a real competition on merit you don't put Jorgie at such a risk - particularly as soon as you know she's going to be one of your very top female skaters from rehearsals. You would have binned the silly week 1 and 2 format - because, as you say, its lame, and has past history of risking key contenders. You lose nothing by not having the judges votes counting as usual - so why do it? If you stick with it, you arrange the division of contestants so the less popular good candidates have got more chance, if you can. And ,ideally, you limit more how many weaker contestants with a big vote you put in. You then don't give Jorgie alone a negative VT - which only serves to get negative press publicity anyway - because you know that will sap her share of the vote. Jorgie may not have the Emmerdale/Corrie vote, or a winner's folowing , but that doesn't mean she couldn't last as long as Zaraah. And, just as Sam and Kyran seem to have lost their votes, she might have done better, if she was good enough to warrant it.

You either have to believe in serial incompetence at work there, or multiple people working for incompatible purposes - or they didn't care, or think much, about ensuring a real competition. The jury is still out on that - because they have been using all the other silly twists from a normal series too - even though they also distort, and are inappropriate in an allstars competition. That may just be because no one thought about it, and they just got last year's twist list out. But each twist benefits some more than others - by pairings, choregraphy, or team selection. This week, who is team captain, and who is in what team ,very likely decides who is in the bottom two. The show can fix that anyway way they want, to advantage favourites, or advantage someone else for a week. The point is the bottom two shouldn't be fixable by twist, before anyone has skated an inch. They would be better off just letting the competition unfold naturally. They could then spend the time spent on the silly twists, actually writing some more decent choregraphy to share around.

I've sort of given a response to this in the Sam thread why I disagree and don't think they would have lasted. The very fact Clare struggled for votes (when you consider she was one of only 2 potential winners) means she would be lost here. The 3 girl champions are the most popular so no other girl was going to get a leg up, especially Clare who couldn't beat Kyran, who himself here has already landed in a skate off.

Certainly the likes of Clare and Jorgie would have had the chance to be saved in a skate off, but not for long.

networkbabe - not to go into too much detail but obviously I will agree it's a horrible way to get rid of someone and was hugely unfair. No one should have gone like that, least of all a good skater. But I doubt much would have changed in the long run.

of course they should never have someone leave in week one in any show yet they continously do it

I hope her mistreatment backfires. Once she performs Music in the inevitably due Skate Off, the public will be reminded of what's special about Suzanne. Hayley is a weaker skater and actress.

The problem for Suzanne is that she's in a competition where everyone's good.

You have to consider who she'll he up against in a skate-off though.

We know Suzanne will do Music and Hayley will do Jai Ho. Which are the Judges more likely to save?

And have we worked out what Ray and Beth will do in their first Skate-Offs? And Sam and Kyran in any subsequent ones?

Sam and Kyran have already been in the Skate-Off, so unless Suzanne ended up facing one of them I'm not sure she'll go through.