If we're only going to consider the marks the judges have allocated, and ignore the quality of the performances - doesn't Jake also belong in the Final?

Also she was on first, pretty much the yardstick for everyhting that follows. TWAS A GOOD PERFORMANCE, AS WAS LAST WEEK, even allowing for a couple of errors( it was miles better than sunetra's effort last night).

Do agree that simon (mainly his attitude) and mark are the most improved...but look at the starting points...MOST of the ones left have SOME dancing experience of some sort.

I agree that Jake hasn't lived up to his Salsa (and to a lesser extent, his Tango and Jive) promise. Whether that's because Eastenders is 4 episodes a week and he hasn't got the time to train, or because he's just not as good as his Salsa suggested (when he was out of hold in the AS there was no musicality to his movements) is hard to tell, And having backing dancers at Blackpool who were making beautiful lines with their bodies really highlighted that he wasn't, even though that should be the easy bit. But he still seems to have the interest of the public because of that salsa.

I'd now like to see Simon in the final, but I wonder if he's left his noticeable improvement until too late for there to be enough of the public to start voting for someone who is relatively quiet and more below the radar of the voters?

As for Frankie, even when she's coasting, she's still in the top 4 in terms of ability.

Only if we're going to play along with the judges, and pretend that Caroline's Samba wasn't outstanding

LOL you know what they say about great minds?!!! But then I think we both appreciate decent dancing over and above just crowd-pleasing tricks that are frequently used to cover up a contestants lack of real dance ability. But to be fair, it isn't only in SCD - it happens in the "real" danceworld as well.

Actualy, I disagree, I thought Jake's dance was excellent last night - full of character and slick. I voted for him. I agree he's had a few poor weeks in the run up to Blackpool however.

Frankie I'm not sure about - she can be wonderful (Paso), but sometimes the choreography lets her down (the Wicked tango which didn't look like a tango).

I think they'll both be in the last four along with Caroline and Pixie although Mark might replace Frankie but I hope not.

There's no point in referring to what the judges have liked in the past as they blow with the wind. When was a foxtrot ever charming?

we are not alone Kaycee many of our fellow professionals on twitter agree herre is what Camilla Dallerup posted last night


Camilla Dallerup @CamillaDallerup · 20h 20 hours ago

FRANKIE has just danced her way right into the final with that, lovely frame & connection #scd gr8 production 9 even a 10 brave dress fab

When I write 'as far as I'm concerned' that means ignoring what anyone else (including the judges) thinks.

In truth I wouldn't have a problem with any of those left (except Judy) making the final but for me Jake's claims aren't as strong as Frankie's.

I don't agree with Frankie (if we're talking comparison of all dances danced so far).
As for Blackpool, she danced first so didn't benefit from the over inflated judges scores plenty of the others got.

The only person who definitely 'belongs' in the final is Pixie. There is so much space between her and the other celebs when it comes to dancing ability that it's almost embarrassing and she seems popular, too - no appearances in the bottom two.

Based on popularity I can't see both Mark and Simon reaching the final. Caroline might struggle, too.

Based on their performances at Blackpool, Sunetra and Steve looking like promising candidates for early doors either before or after Judy.

All in all this suggests that Frankie and Jake have at least as good a chance as anyone else in making the final!

It got 37, there's not much further you can inflate without popping.

It was sadly overlooked by most, but Caroline's paso was stunning and far better than that so called paso from Pixie yesterday. I do feel she has been let down by her music and costume choices (if indeed she had any choice). I still maintain that Caroline is the most natural dancer in the competition and would be very happy if she won. I still think she could.

It seems as if Jake and Frankie will both be in the final, this thread is just the place for us to vent and spend some more time of our miserable lives on this forum.

The reason Frankie is better than the rest is because she had more dance experience before the programme. So had Pixie. Pixie has improved and so have the others who started of with less dancing experience. I don't think Frankie deserves to win. It is like she expects to win without working hard or taking criticism

I'd say Frankie's dancing is coming along very nicely. Kevin can sometimes go a little overboard with the choreography but I think he gets it right more than he doesn't. As a couple they have a neat compact look about them which is pleasing to the eye. Their Viennese Waltz and American Smooth should be gorgeous. Of the Latin dances they have left, I'd rather see a Jive than a Salsa (the shorter couples usually do great Jives). I can't imagine the final without these two.

Jake's appeal isn't as strong as it was at the start I agree. He seems to have one default demeanour in Ballroom and so his performances are sort of merging together in my mind. I was looking forward to his Argentine Tango but am now thinking it won't have huge impact (a) because the mood will be so similar to other dances he's already done and (b) Simon's will be a tough act to follow. I can envisage Jake pulling off a decent Charleston though (less technical, more character-driven, freer). I feel he needs to get to the final on popularity alone, I don't fancy his chances in a dance-off.

My impression of Caroline hasn't changed over the weeks. I see her as solid, consistent but not remarkable. And that's nothing to do with the judge's scores, I'm not influenced by them, it's my own personal response to her performances. I thought she'd win at the start but I'm much less certain of that now. I don't think any of her routines have had enough wow factor to stand out in a final and win her the trophy. She does have a strong likeability factor going for her but I doubt it'll be enough.

Very curious to know how Pixie is doing in the public vote.

I'm speaking of inflated marks in relation to hers. She got normal marks (for her), but others got inflated marks after her performance which, imo, didn't match their talent or match the overall outlook of who is good, not good and actually improving. As the show has gone on and particularly with yest's marks inflation of others, it looks like others are performing up and drastically improving and that Frankie (and even others on the level around her) with the lesser shift in marking is not changing, plateuing as is being said or even going down. The OP is basically saying she's started well but now basically going down, but overall she is still consistent in her performances (as one of the better dancers) and just because she can't benifit from the drastic mark change from week to week like others can, it doesn't mean she has suddenly gone down or even become stagnant. Others can go one week from 4 or 5 to 7s, 8s and 9s other weeks even when they're still more realistically imo just still 5s and 6s week to week and actually the ones plateuing more at times or just not improving despite their generous markups. Because there is the bigger change from a 5 to say an 8, it looks like some are improving at an enormous rate when it's more just they're getting generous gifts of scores and other better dancers being restricted on their upward marking because judges are "being picky becasue they're good". They should be picky with rubbish dancers too, and then the gap of good and bad wouldn't look so morphed.

No one has to agree with me, most people don't and I'm happy for people not to agree. My own opinion is that Frankie hasn't gone down in performance just because the marking of others over weeks looks like the gap is closing when imo it's not (or be it not to the extent, as obvs some are improving but it's the extent of change that doesn't match, imo).

But you weren't talking about week-on-week improvement - you were saying that she didn't get her score inflated because she was on first. Given that she got 37 I don't see how it could have been much inflated by being on at the end. Where would it go? I could see it maybe scraping a 38 I guess...

Precious little evidence last night to support your view.

Why did Pixie and Trent come out and deliver a Paso that looked more like a Quickstep? I saw nothing in that routine evocative of the tense duel between matador and bull. No light and shade whatsoever.

And what on earth happened at the end, when Trent skipped daintily over her while she was crawling? It was almost as though they missed a move and had to improvise.

It's going to be an interesting final few weeks, and no guarantee that the "best" dancers (or even "dancers") will reach the final

I would agree, although I think the blame lies squarely with Pasha. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with her dancing, her acting or her commitment to the dance. The routines and staging themselves have been pedestrian.

I can understand that some people are a bit disappointed that Jake may not be as promising as was first thought. But to imagine that somehow Janette is a crap dancer..... words fail me

So regarding yesterday, considering that Mark got 9s for an easy scoring Charleston (which imo was a 7 dance), Sunetra got 8s for that Samba (which imo should have been 4s across the board), Steve got some 8s (for what imo it was a 5-6 dance), Jakes got some 9s (when imo it was a 7 dance), Judy got some flipping 7s (for what imo was a 3 dance at best if being generous, prob a 2 when I think about it now) then Frankie should have likewise been marked up across the board and got inflated number of 10s. Considering Craig gave her an 8 but Mark a 9 for a less technically involved dance seems a missmatch for me and that's what I mean by inflation of others marks in comparison to hers. She was personally an 8 for me, which, by my scoring of others in relation to some of the judges top scores given meant she should have got 2 up from her 8 which would have then been 10s all round. Of course Frankie getting 10s all round would have been inflated, but it would then have been a likewise inflation of some of the 9s and 8s for yesterdays which were, imo, 2 marks (on generous lines) of inflation, and then what Judy, Steve and Sunetra got made me wonder how much sugar rock and candy had been dished out to the judges beforehand.

This is just how I see it, I can see from others' scores that they agree more with the judges lines, but I am hard to please so I view things very differently. Agree or disagree as you like.

I think it's too early to call. The programs also about learning to dance so half the show is about whether those with not as strong background in dance manage to overtake or match those with more training. It looks to me as if Mark, Simon and Jake are visibly improving each week. I doubt whether either has the chance to add polish and minor details that the women are working in but it's still open.

Frankie was ONE point below the top two. This is VERY close and anything might happen.

Len was really furious with Craig's when eight was shown. He is a respected judge unlike Craig who seems to put on pantomimes.