How big a margin do you think Caroline won by?
Who came second??

I would really like it if they released the voting percentages for the final as Mark already knows he came last so there is no hard feelings!

What do you guys think?

The BBC should DEFINITELY reveal who came 2nd…people are spending their money voting and all that jazz…

Maybe the fact they went to Frankie first to talk to her after they announced the winner means she came 3rd and Simon 2nd?

legally, do they not have to announce the voting figures?

I really don't know what sense it makes not to have a 3rd, 2nd and 1st. We have all been voting so they should show how close our choices came to winning. Also for the contestants I'm sure they would want to know how close they were as well.

I'd say for exactly the same reason they never reveal voting percentages - they don't want to agitate egos by revealing just how popular or unpopular the contestants are.

It isn't unknown to have only 'runners-up' in a contest anyway. Myself, I can't understand the need some people have to know exact placings...would it make you feel better or worse if you knew your 'favourite' who didn't win came only a percent or so behind the winner?

I like that we never get to know, that way people can pretend, for example, that Natalie not Susanna Reid came second last year

ETA: Sorry OP, to answer your question. I reckon Caroline took over 50% of the total votes on the night and Frankie came in second place, despite a late flurry for Simon. We'll never know, but that's what I like to think

We go through this every year. They will never reveal the figures like ITV do. I tried so hard to find out if Kimberley or Denise was 2nd and there is no way of knowing. I am pretty sure someone tried to get them earlier this year with Freedom of Information or something and it seemed that BBC was well in their rights to choose not reveal it.

The whole point is they want to have Frankie and Simon as joint runner ups. If they reveal who was 2nd and 3rd then it will make one of them look bad. It is the same as why we never find out who was second for winning an Oscar for example.

I am pretty confident however that Simon was 2nd. I assume Caroline won by a fair margain similar to the Digital Spy pole, he did have some buzz tonight as well. I do think Frankie was 3rd 100%

My prediction is
Caroline 48%
Simon 28%
Frankie 16%
Mark 10%

I preferred there only being 3 couples in the final where third place was announced and then the winner so we all knew who had finished where.

I dont think its about the time to announce things rather that they want both Frankie and Simon to be able to say they were runner up on the show. It acknowledges more people and i guess there is not much harm in that.

No.

From the BBC Strictly page......

Although the BBC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, information which is closely connected to our programme-making is not covered by the Act. The Information Commissioner, who regulates the Act, has confirmed that information about Strictly Come Dancing voting is not covered. We are therefore not required to disclose the voting figures under the Act.

Frankie and Simon are in second place. As soon as they reveal the result they will be demoting one of them to third. That's why there is no reason to do it.

Can you provide some evidence to support this statement please.

I think Monkseal expressed it best why they don't release the figures:

"I like transparency, and would be interested in the numbers, but I can see why they don't do it. Some of the things you'd find out (ie x was romping home from wk 1, Y beat Z in the dance-off despite being much much less popular with the public, Q got to the final on a 1% share of the vote week after week) would make people feel disconnected. It's different on something like X Factor or I'm A Celeb where the only real direct producer intereference is via the sing-off - here the judges leaderboard by itself massively influences the results, and lessens the impact of the public vote, let alone the dance-off. If it was made clear to the public how little say they actually have, they might start drifting away. It's only one piece of evidence, and obviously there were other factors, but Dancing On Ice increased its viewership year-on-year...until they started releasing the public vote figures, at which point they started dropping like a stone until cancellation.

I do think there's no excuse though for not revealing 2nd and 3rd. That's just rude."

There is every reason for them to withhold the figures while the contest is running because it could influence future votes unfairly. Why keep them secret after it is finished, though? To protect those who received the fewest votes? The fact that they were in dance-offs and eliminated rather suggests that people weren't voting for them in any great numbers.

I know for a fact, those figures are wrong

So what are the correct figures?

I agree.

I read somewhere that many journalists have tried to obtain the voting percentages under the freedom of information act but there was some sort of a loophole that means the BBC do not have to release them.

Why not? ... Unless you have something to hide?

My husband just said to me that it's probably a ploy to keep people voting, as they want to make the voting 'exciting'. The whole voting rests on the public being told the voting is very tight... too close to call... every vote counts... etc etc.... and if we were to find out that Caroline actually won by a landslide the public might decide it's not worth voting in the future for the underdog.

Don't agree with that at all - it seems just the opposite to me, a mildly kind gesture, to allow the non winnning finalists both to assume second place.

That's how I look at it, now. I think that all the finalists were so happy to be in top 4, that they already felt like they had won.

I think it is really mean to kick someone out in 4th place. It serves no purpose. We should get to see all of them do all the dances - it is pointless and mean.

Matter of opinion obviously, but if I was a contestant in that grey zone I would absolutely hate not knowing whether I came 2nd or 3rd. Loathe it. Four months of training and no closure. And I wouldn't have the ego to assume "oh let's just say I finished 2nd, I deserve it".

I think Frankie probably came second but it would have been close. Simon's Argentine Tango (and the attendant speechifying from Craig) would have been a big vote-mover, but it only happened in the last 10-15 minutes of voting, when the lines have been open since the end of the first show. It feels like one of those "Tom's Showdance" situations - something that people say for years CLINCHED it (in this case a presumed second place) but which probably made little difference. Just a guess, mind.

Red button interview order was
Mark
Frankie and Simon on couch together but Frankie interviewed first
Simon
Caroline.

So, what are your 'facts'?

Unless you post them, everyone will know you're talking complete twaddle.

The BBC will never release actual voting percentages. They never have for Strictly before, and that's not going to change.

However, from series 1-9, we always knew who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. It was only when they changed to a 4-couple final in series 10 that they decided to have "joint runners-up". I emailed the BBC to complain about this after both series 10 and 11, but they're not budging. As the final is a pure public vote, unless Denise/Kimberley, Natalie/Susanna and Frankie/Simon received exactly the same number of public votes, it's factually incorrect to give them the same finishing position. It's a format decision by the BBC that lots of people disagree with, but I can't see it changing unless we go back to a 3-couple final (which I would much prefer).