Flackers got loads (including .. like Jay .. nasty tabloid slurs .. one in particular on finals day.) I know as I had to get my sword out to defend her .. and I swear the thread titles were the same. She didn't get it until late on tho .. as she simply wasn't deemed a threat until then .. having been in the dance off etc.

It's a lot to do with popularity and that's why Pixie lost out. I was sad as I liked her but people just didn't 'get' her. Feel Helen may be heading down the same path and fear we may see Darcey throwing her under a bus when asked to choose between her and the Prince of Cheese later down the line. Hope not.

Not going to complain about Jay being such a good contestant on the show but I am wondering if he has perhaps been to college to study a Performing Arts diploma or similar.

Is this debate still going on???

It's not a serious dance competition. It's entertainment, and the BBC are catering for all - those who like "the journey" and those who like to watch good dancers throughout.

The producers thought he was an appropriate contestant, and at the end of the day it's their ball. If you don't like that, you don't have to play. If you really really don't like it, write to Points of View. If you really really really don't like it, stop watching.

There are no guarantees that Jay will win anyway. We're heading towards Week 4 and we've seen many times before how the frontrunner falls away before the final, or the person who pulls off the "wow" dance can't replicate it.

If you don't like Jay, or you think he has an unfair advantage - don't vote for him. If enough people feel the same way then he won't win. If more people don't know or don't care about his background and are entertained by his dancing, he might win. Nothing is set in stone yet.

Ultimately it's a light entertainment programme, not a general election.

I agree with all of this. To quote a well known song LET IT GO. Its time to move on now but perhaps we're fuelling the fire by continuing to answer these repetitive posts. I'm glad to see that the thread created this morning has been merged with this one. It is getting tedious now.

Though he's had dance training, don't think Jay has quite the amount of training people think.

He attended a normal comprehensive school in Mansfield until he was 16 (and went back to them with The Wanted to sing to the kids 5 years ago.)

The Saturday and evening dance classes he attended were more than the sort of thing Julie Walters did in Billy Elliot, but not wildly, wildly different.

Jay didn't attend MADD until he was 16, after he left school - MADD doesn't take full time students under 16.

You have to audition with singing, drama and dancing to get in MADD.

Think his amazing dance was a combination of jive being quite close to his previous musical theatre training, Aliona's brilliant teaching and choreography, plus Jay's natural talent.

Been a very long time lurker, but gained the nerve to post

Hello Fred - welcome out of lurking!

Apologies, I wasnt that invested last year, so my recollection isnt very accurate.

It doesn't bother me, you always get some that pull away from the pack. Usually because of past experience or a natural talent.

The others just need to step the F up if they feel Jay's leaving them behind. His work ethic and mentality towards the competition probably has a lot to do with it (aside from previous training alone)

He didn't pull away from the pack , he got a huge head start , despite his pretendy duffness and stiffness in the opening dance show .
How can the others catch up with 6 yrs of dance training ? That's impossible . They must feel very down hearted and in reality they are all wasting their time . If I were them I'd just dance crap every week and get voted out asap to get on with other things .Not a lot of point in wasting their time against a pro .

Welcome, and I'm glad you found your nerve. A bit of common sense is all too sparse around here.

They can not catch him in technical ability, but in winning the program? Yes! Tecnical ability does not mean much in strictly as history would have it.

Abbey Clancy won against someone who trained to be a professional dancer, Chris Hollins won against two much better technical dancers, as well as Darren Gough won against another two much better. Louis Smith won over DVO and Kimberly.

So, yes, anyone on it can still win it.

Well, the one who studied musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music should have a fighting chance.

Who is that?

thats not a truth, thats an opinion. and you know what they say about assholes.

I think that amounts to quite a lot of training overall though, 4-5 years or so?

I am bit torn. I like Jay and his dancing is great to watch. I also think that it would be difficult to find that many celebrities who had never danced a step, that would be impossible - especially when you are bringing in actors/other stars.

Nobody just wants to see absolute beginners trundling around but equally though, I don't really want to watch a celeb who is already basically the finished article - sure you get great dances but where does it leave the show as a competition? I think the likes of Anita this year shows there can be a happy medium and that whilst people will have differing levels of experience, they can try to minimise those at either extreme.

Maybe I'm being daft but having only really just started watching Strictly, I like the competition element and am not only watching it to see great dancing, I want to see the celebs and see them get better.

Excellent post. Thanks for adding in some important context.

Can you imagine the horrors of a show full of Tim Wonnacots, Ann Widdecombes and Fiona Philipses? I certainty wouldn't be watching. I like mixed ability contestants and don't mind if they've had some training. I went to ballet from about 6 to 9 and also had some ballroom training but I'd be total rubbish in Strictly. No doubt if I got a job on telly and ended up on Strictly it would be dug out and used against me,
.

Jay has already shown massive improvement from week one to week three. The question is will he continue to develop and how will he handle the other dances. His Jive in week three was the first time he actually appeared to be engaging in the whole dance, previously he seemed to be just trying to remember what came next in the routine and trying to do it right. There was an awful lot of content in that jive.

The show is all about taking what you have and developing it. Jay has shown development in the past three weeks. He is not cocky, he genuinely seems to be surprised at the attention and praise his dancing is having on the audience and the judges. He should be allowed to continue to develop. Perhaps he might even consider becoming a semi-professional dancer after the show, think about choreography etc. It would be a great shame if the positive responses, with the expectations that might lead to plus the negative reactions as shown in this thread, stopped his growth in the show and inhibited him. I feel there is still a lot of personal growth to be had in Jay.

Jason Donovan had a huge head start. Harry and Chelsee didn't get downhearted, dance crap and get voted out. They improved week in week out and beat Jason.

Jason Donovan was much better than Peter Andre. I liked his singing in the rain routine.

It was an opinion backed up by the general public .. who tried to get rid of her twice. Of course some of that was down to shimmy Jimmy.

I stand corrected in that case, I'm sure I'd read James Jordan saying something about it. I must have missed the Launch Show bit.

Don't be kidded into thinking abbey clancey was a complete novice either...she had hours of dance training, and was in a girl band..they don't just stand around pretending to sing...DVO was slaughtered yet kimberley walsh had obvious previous too. It really is 2 faced to slaughter one person yet excuse another for doing the same bloody thing!

yeah...though didn't harry and chelsea have a bit of previous too??

yes...you sound like a semi-pro to me!