Craig is by far the only judge who scores realistically. He will use the full range of paddles from 1-10 when needed.

I don't understand why Darcey, Len and Bruno seem very reluctant to go below '5' . Giving all the mediocre dancers a 5 kinda devalues the scores to the other dances.

Take for instance Len's scoring. He gave Jeremy a 6 and Jay a 7. Was Jay really just 1 point better than Jeremy? Bruno also gave Jeremy and Kirsty the same score '5', which is just madness!

Also, according to Len and Bruno - Kellie, Daniel, Anita, Jay, Georgia and Katie all danced to the same standard '7'. It's just baffling.

I agree.

Craig is the only one I take seriously. I also am interested in Darcey's comments. She and Craig are the only ones who give decent pointers on dance technique and use of the body. Mind you both have had better dance training the the other two.

Bruno and Len are a waste of space. I just Fast Forward when they speak.

I gave up hoping for normal, rational scoring about 2 years ago. It's all a pile of merde these days and, apart from Craig, is definitely decided by producers in order to create tension in the the show and play games with the audience to get them to panic vote.

That's one of the reason why I never bother to vote. I just watch.

Craigs scores are the only scores I take any notice of! he is honest and marks accurately

BIB No, Jeremy's dance wasnt worthy of a 6, I would agree with Lens scoring of Jay with a 7 but Jeremy was way overmarked

I agree. Well for the most oart, I am still not convinced Caroline would have ever really been a ten for him.

Darcy used to be good with advice and off with scoring, esoecially with the men. I cannot take her seriously anymore as she didn't even mention Jamelia's awful attitude turn.

I agree. Also with 6,7 and8's being dished out there isn't far to go scoring wise

But she did, or was it Craig who said if you are going to do one you do have to lift the leg and point it properly, or not do one at all. I think she and Craig work in sync sometimes.

Agree re Craig's scoring.
As for darcy,some of her comments (for an ex professional ballet dancer) are ludicrous and her scoring is even more ridiculous.
I thought Brruno made some more sensible comments this week instead of his OTT clowning that he did last series.
Len,of course,is back to his old " you can't dance but it was fun,fun,fun" routine.
I was waiting for his " Givvit sum welly" which he loves to use.

Anyway,thanks to Len and Darcy for constantly reminding us that:
it's still week one
that is a difficult dance for every dance
you were all nervous

and to Tess and fringey for telling everyone they were brilliant.

However, it's great that SCD is back on our screens, I loved it.

It was craig. He was also the only one to say about her feet never closing too.

Having analysed the judges' scoring over the years, I've found that, believe it or not, Bruno has been the most consistent. Craig, Darcy and Len all have had the odd favourite and not-so-favourite. (Especially Darcy - she has always favoured the younger guys.)

However, you're certainly right that Craig is the only one to use the full spectrum of marks. Len even admitted that he gives 1 point for the celeb to be able to walk onto the dancefloor.

Len, Darcy and Bruno all forget they have a range of paddles from 1-10

they never seem to score below a 5 - are the scared of getting out 1-4

if a dance is crap, mark it accordingly!

I think he did say that - to Anita, if I recall correctly.

Thanks hon. I rarely remember who says what! He was so right about the feet. I have a feeling both he and Darcey confer.

Jamelia has already admitted her feet are her downfall. That's a biggie

Agree with CRH most of all of them.

I am with you there, he actually, amongst the faffing about, gives nuggets of really good advice.

I don't think he ever goes below 5 though so kudos to Craig for scoring out of 10 rather than 5 to 10.

Craig also blotted his copy book badly with his love affair with that Widdecombe woman, and Miss fun fun fun.

Len without a doubt is the most erratic judge and rarely gives any comments worth noting. His obsession with feet and lifts would be OK if he were consistent but one week he will care the next week he couldn't care less. I expect it makes it impossible for the pros to know what to concentrate on.

I love Aliona for her attitude to the judges, she delights in praise and giggles at poor comments, all the time doing exactly what she wants.

Artem was like that, Brendan just can't stop arguing.

So manytimes aI will say thinzs during the dance and Craig will be the only one to say it.

Maybe they confer, I do think she should have said something though.

Her feet are really bad, I wonder how much of it is she doesn't listen though. There is really no reason not to just close your feet, even if they are not perfect you can still close your feet!

They all have a role to play, whether they do it consciously or not. It would be boring if they were all perfect or all like Len. So everybody in the audience gets somebody to shake their fist at. And it's not like the audience judges by a quality of the dance either. At the end of the day it's a mix that keep us all interested. It's all a part of a bigger picture and that picture is a panto

Craig is the only one who gives fair marks I'd say. Bruno is generally fair as well I'd say. Darcey and Len, particularly the latter seem to have their favourites and mark higher to countetract Craig's lower (more honest) marks.

Generally speaking Craig and Darcey are the only ones who give decent feedback.

True. But it's a pity he isn't allowed to comment on the pros footwork as well. Starting with Kristina, as well as never closing there were feet turned out in the waltz instead of being straight; foot being lifted off the floor instead of brushing the floor.....

It bemuses me that professional judges watching the same dance can have wide-ranging scores. How can Craig think a dance is worth a 2 and Len a 6, what is their marking criteria?

There are none. It's all entirely subjective...

However, the same applies to the voting public and as it is the public which has the greater say (dance-off apart), it all simply comes down to popularity in the end.

Craig's job as a judge is to mark on performance, which is what he does.

Len's job is to mark on technique - an entirely different kettle of fish.

Bruno & Darcey? They both seem to mark on what they like the look of, regardless of either of the above criteria!!!

I think perhaps she was so busy focusing on what she was supposed to do, she just did not think about it.

I've seen this a lot with beginners and intermediates. In Argentine Tango the feet are crucial and they have to be kept very close during the dance, one foot brushing the other in every move, other than during adornos. I had to focus on this myself when I was new to AT. Many followers seem to find this impossible and I really don't know why. Ex ballet people have no issue in adapting, but those who learn without any former dance training take years to work out their axis and their feet.

Happily, I do not teach AT (I wouldn't dare) but I think control of your feet is something you have to deliberately practice day after day as we did in ballet and flamenco.

I hope Jamelia cracks this and her pro helps her. I would so like her to be good.

whilst this is true, how come he only marked Jay one point above Jeremy Jay's technique was great, Jeremy's was.......... well

I agree that Craig does mark performance over technique hence the higher marks for those that can sell a dance.