No - I vote only rarely in these sort of programmes and then only if its free (or for a good cause like when the money went to Children in Need a few years back). That said - I DID vote for Tom Chambers and Austin Healy in their year as I was sick of the judges blatant favouritism towards the mediocre Lisa Snowdon!

These days I don't particularly care who gets voted out in the early stages, its rare for the best dancers not to get to the final stages, but if another Tom/Austin scenario comes up again, I'd probably register and use free ones.

I find the outrage against Judy absolutely hilarious - all these people asking why she is still there - when she is there simply because the Great British Public are voting for her.... if all the outraged ones are so concerned they should vote for their own favourites to ensure their safety!

I only use my free online votes.

I was burnt years ago voting for Big Brother on my mobile (voting to keep Alex over Spencer) - they obviously flogged off my number, because I started getting loads of spam texts after that, and I'd never had any previously.

I know that the regulations have tightened since then, but I don't want to risk it. Only time I've done it since was when I bought a new mobile and got a free £10 credit on a SIM for a network & number I was never going to use.

I only vote online - last years SCD was the first time i'd voted in any TV show

I allow myself 4 votes every week (3 free + 1 phone), although last week I used two extra phone votes for Frankie.

BiB Ah,I remember that year
Only used free online votes since they become available.
Prior to that some votes for Chelsee in her final and an odd couple for Laila Rouass when she hurt her foot.

I use my free votes every week and for the final I usually do a few phone votes

I always vote - for my favourite until eliminated and then tactically.

I'd never knowingly vote for a ringer.

This might seem a little radical, but I vote - online only - for the couple that I believe has danced best. I do have my favourites, but Sunetra aside, I will vote for the couple that do the best job, particularly in terms of musicality and interpretation.

The poster may be referring to the emotional investment that usually comes with being a fan.

It's the reason people take it personally when their favourite celeb is criticized, or when the football team they support is mocked.

Alternatively, he/she likes a bet

I do!

I use my online vote (it's free and I'm stingy!).

This week I voted for Simon, Steve and Jake...realised afterwards they were all male but Jake was my Dad's vote so don't feel too sexist!

As long as I've been able to watch it live, yes I generally vote. This year I've used the three website votes for my top 3 and then voted on the phone for my favourite or top 2. I rationalise the money as buying a cheap ticket to a show I want to see next week. I mainly vote because I feel slightly better if my favourite goes out if I did at least vote for them.

There doesn't seem much middle ground for me. Either I get involved, and then I usually want to vote, or I don't care about anyone and then I often stop watching before the final.

And generally I really enjoy the beginning of the series, when it's all possibilities and about people learning, and don't enjoy it by the end, when it often feels competitive and manipulative. So I often vote a lot at the beginning, for several people, and some years I have stopped voting by the end.

I used to telephone votes until I discovered that my non-BT land-line was charging me a fortune for each call.

Then I started using the free on-line voting, but have to admit I haven't done so this year. Partly I think because although I like watching Pixie and Frankie, it doesn't bother me very much which of the others stays or goes.

Before the free vote I had only voted one time before. That was for Tom Chambers and was motivated by my extreme ire at NotClooney reaching the final and still being overmarked by the judges. I voted for him 5 times. Now that we have the free votes online I vote every week.

I enjoy watching the show but live in Bonn so I cannot vote. Personally I have never voted for these reality shows as I think it is fun to watch the show but do not really care who wins! It is not going to change my life, is it??? Half the people on SCD this year I have never heard of, I seem to know the pro-dancers more than the so-called celebs!!

Do viewers really get "outraged" about the celebs being voted off the show? It seems a bit daft to get so upset about people you do not even know!! The whole thing is pure showbiz, from the so-called romances between the pro dancers and celebs, to the fights and disagreements etc. Same with X Factor, Simon is holding open auditions, the public are spending a fortune on voting for singers etc, and THEN Simon gets the popular singer under contract and makes a fortune!! Hilarious and the public fall for it, time and time again!!!!!!!!

I don't know if you can compare SCD to XFactor, they're different animals. Whilst the basic premise is similar, there is no one person I.e Cowell, who will benefit from the winner. I'm sure the BBC benefit from the a Strictly tour but not in any way to the same extent.
Also, the sheer hard work and effort put in by the celebrities to transform themselves into credible dancers is fantastic, no comparison to the XFactor lot who, yes they have to learn a few dance steps and brush up their technique but I don't think they're in the same league.

I watch every week, but never vote.

Oh they definitely do get outraged at the outcome of the vote when the duffer gets through week after week and someone perceived as a "better" dancer goes home - just look at all the anti Judy threads on page one at the moment, and the anti Scott/ gregg/ alison ones as well! The only "unfair" elimination so far has been Tom, and he was hardly the next Fred Astaire, and likely to progress to the final stages, he went a couple of weeks earlier than his talent warranted, but he was never getting anywhere near the final, and nor was anyone else who has gone!

Long and short of it - on strictly people need to realise that without votes, all the dancers on the show are at risk, especially as the numbers drop. At the moment the top couple of the leaderboard are safe, as their high judges points protect them from a low public one. We know that last week Judy polled high with the public to avoid the dance off, and forcing someone at the top of the Middle of the board into it - who knows - she may well get through on that basis this week, especially as Craig was so adamant that she would go this week in Blackpool!

How is Judy getting the votes? Well there are many reasons examples being....

the Scottish vote,
The anti judge/ panel were horrible vote
Anton's fan club vote
The tennis fan vote
The enjoying it vote (viewers love to see a celeb enjoying the experience)
The entertainment factor vote....

pixie and Frankie (and maybe Caroline) probably split the good girl dancer vote, and Mark and Simon split the male vote..... Steve and Jake have their own fan groups, the Eastenders and CBBC vote, but probably pick up a few from some of the groups above - trying hard and enjoying it votes.

At the end of the day Judy is there because enough people vote for her to keep her safe, and she will probably stay until there is a real shock elimination of one of the real favourites..... With the evidence of last week's dance off, she could yet see of most of those in the middle of the board - and the fact that the judges having tied scores higher up the board gives her more than the 1 point she should have helps her stay when the public vote goes from X down to 1

In fact - if the judges really want her in the dance off, they need to set up a leaderboard with no tied scores...... Something that's difficult to do as most refuse to go less than a 7 for most of the dances. Craig is often the only one to actually split what could be tied scores - the actual score doesn't matter as the judges score only tends to rank the leaderboard - Judy was 7 points behind Alison last Saurday on the scores, but only one behind on the rankings, so a spread leaderboard is what is needed to mitigate the high public vote.

I think we will lose the likes of Sunetra (flying a bit below the radar), and those who have been in the dance off before (and therefore probably don't have the public support) before Judy will go - a bit like Ann Widdicombe!

I have rarely voted by phone but always use my free online votes. I normally vote at least once for Jake (although if he doesn't impresss me this Saturday, that may change) and my other two votes go to the couple who entertained me most. Sometimes this might be Jake again but last week I threw a couple to Steve - loved his fierce Paso!

No, not every week. I vote for the most improved, and if there isn't one, I don't vote.

Thank you Rosie Primrose for another interesting thread. I have voted in the past, but not as yet this series, and this has set me wondering why not. I think it is because, as yet, I do not have a real, stand out favourite. Perhaps as the weeks go by I will make up my mind! Certainly I think that if I do not vote, I have no right to complain about the results. When I was canvassing in an election some years ago, a woman said to me on the doorstep: "I don't vote for any of you, and then I can complain about everyone!" Rather odd logic, I thought. Last year I remember voting for Abbey very enthusiastically, as I thought she was lovely, and in previous years for Phil Tuffnell (but only because I love cricket) and Austin Healey, who I still think should have won. On reflection, I think Abbey is the only winner I have voted for - so perhaps I bring bad luck to my favourites! But I will probably begin to vote soon.

I used to vote - don't anymore

That's interesting. I find that I find myself favouring the females in nearly every series .. Mark Ramprakash was an understandable exception

I have watched Strictly since the first series and never voted until the free online votes started. I usually give one vote to Brendan and the other 2 to the ones I enjoyed most after him.