I agree, but Anton is the Strictly daaahling!

Jamelia says what she thinks without considering how it might make her sound. Which is remarkable when so many people in the same industry are disingenuous to a tee.

To be honest, she's one of my favourites. She seems refreshingly honest and down to earth, does not have an over the top personality, and has shown a degree of improvement.

She takes the comments and criticisms she receives graciously and makes an effort to use the criticism constructively.

Look at her Charleston , and then compare her Foxtrot and Jive to her Waltz and Cha-cha. Sure, the Foxtrot and Jive were still both very flawed, but what I like about her is that she always makes a real attempt to correct some of the flaws in the dance off.

As far as averages go, Jamelia is the 7th highly scored dancer (Behind only Helen, Jay, Kellie, Peter, Georgia and Anita, in that order), so I would consider it an injustice if she were to rank any lower.

Out of the 7 dancers listed above I also find her far more likeable than Peter or Kellie, and I identify with her journey (sorry) and the struggles she has to come in the competition more than I do with say Jay.

- - -

RE the fat controversy - my understanding is that what she meant was that people should have their unhealthy lifestyles challenged and not condoned/encouraged.

Over 90-95% of obese people are obese because of lifestyle choice (about 5% due to medical conditions).

As someone who in recent years has made a recovery from a long battle against obesity (My waist is six inches less than it was at age 13!) I find her opinion that

"Mainstream shops shouldn't provide designer clothes for the obese"

as offensive as:

"Pubs and clubs shouldn't allow people to smoke indoors".

Sure, she could have phrased her point of view better, but excess body fat, by and large, is not an intrinsic part of someone's character, is not a protected characteristic in any sense of the term and it is ridiculous to suggest that Jamelia is in any way prejudiced. Especially when she repeatedly stands up for equal rights for women, minorities and the LGBT community and has stated on many an occasion that she supports "equal rights for everybody".

She is clearly on one level sympathetic to obese people - suggesting that they need help and support. Her comments are also pretty lightweight when actual medical journals continually attempt to classify obesity as a "disease", "mental illness" or "disorder".

Personally I don't get the amount of dislike/hate Jamelia is getting. She hasn't argued or frowned when the judges give their scores and isn't as bad as Carol or Jeremy at dancing. She comes across as sweet and giggly most of the time she just needs to try harder with the ballroom. Anyone would think she committed murder the way some respond to her.

They're an easy target.......literally

The point is I don't vote for her because I hate her, I don't vote for her because I think she's a shit dancer.

Always loved this performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC4fJkmIv0E

Very well said.

This thread has become an opportunity for character assassination by Jamelia naysayers and haters. It is very mean spirited and has nothing to do with SCD.

I would have thought your first reason makes your second irrelevant, pretty much.

It wasn't designer clothes. It was any clothes. She said high street stores shouldn't provide clothing for people who are size 20 and above or size 4 and below because they should be made to feel shame when they went into a shop, and couldn't find clothes for them. She suggested instead that there should be "specialist shops", off the high street, presumably down an alley somewhere idk.

Do I think people over-reacted? Probably. The woman has to cobble together opinions on various topics she knows absolutely nothing about at short notice to get paid so it's no surprise she says stuff that's fatuous, makes little sense, and would only makes things worse. If you'd asked her on a different day after she'd read a different pseudoscience article in The Daily Mail she probably would have had a completely different opinion. Do I feel sorry for a woman who gets paid handsomely to do such a valueless thing if there's a backlash? Not really. If it bothers her that much she could get a proper job.

I had a vision of the clothes being handed over in a plain brown paper bag.


Good sport for some.Put someone who is not a fountain of wisdom in the public eye,ask them knotty questions about social issues,then when they put their foot in it,give them a good metaphorical kicking......with their own feet.

I think many people are letting their preconceptions of Jamelia dominate their views of her; fair enough when it comes to who you choose to vote for, but some of the venom directed at her is ridiculous! I've been quite impressed by her attitude towards this show and whilst I'll never be her biggest fan, she has gone up in my estimation a bit.

As for her comment at being in the dance-off again, I found it a refreshing change from the usual fluff people come out with. Good on her for being honest, because it must be a horrible feeling to know that hardly anybody is voting for you and that people would rather see a crap dancer go through. The whole "we can't understand why you're not getting votes" thing is patronising, we all know how these things work and its happened enough times to be easy enough to understand. If anything I think the way Tess and the judges react with shock makes the experience worse.

I don't "hate her", the reason I don't vote for her is because I think she's a crap dancer.

She was saying that people don't vote for her because they hate her, I@m saying that's got nothing to do with why people don't vote for her.

Honesty on a reality show makes a refreshing change. I'd much rather see that than all the old cliches and platitudes. And, to me, she said it without self pity, just a realistic sense of resignation.

Why was it rude? Because it discounted the (probably) many thousand votes she received from viewers.

I don't hate her. I've never seen her programme. She's from a town where I once lived so that automatically makes me want to support her.

But she really isn't much of a dancer. It's a shoulder-shrug from me. But don't tell me what I think, Jamelia. And I feel the same about some DS contributors. I don't hate her. I don't even dislike her. I haven't even bothered to vote online yet for anyone whatsoever this series.

But just don't tell me what I'm thinking, if you please. That's not going to win my vote.

If she's less popular... meh... I don't like her.. I also don't like Anton... and frankly I'd rather be without both of them.

She's made a post-singing career out of having no filter when she talks, and people are somehow surprised and personally offended that she made an unfiltered comment on Saturday night?

Yes, I thought that too. She didn't say it in an accusatory way and she wasn't weeping or wailing, just calmly stating a self evident fact. She was actually pretty dignified, I thought.

It's sad that she's getting a kicking for that as well. Jamelia's had a very positive, upbeat attitude all the way through this series and hasn't made any obvious faux pas like Helen's rude comment about not being paired with Anton or Kirsty's blaming of the music for her poor performance. Yet Jamelia is the one who everyone seems to love to hate. It's odd.

I used the term designer very loosely, meaning any brand whether high-end fashion or economy label like Primark or New Look.

I still get where she's coming from. Obesity is soon to be the countries biggest killer, and the biggest avoidable financial burden placed on the NHS.

We ban displays of cigarettes in shops because they promote the image of smoking. Why is it so controversial for Jamelia to have suggested that clothes that promote unhealthy body images (20+ etc) should not be displayed in shops either? Jamie Oliver still gets to be the nation's sweetheart when his "sugar tax" makes next to zero sense for those of us who have learned to control our appetites.



I've warmed to her week-on-week. She's not my favourite, but I'd like to see her go on a bit further.

Her attitude, general demeanour and smilieness is very endearing. She's probably the most modest female contestant in the entire series.


To the extent of calling her a "duffer" or "shit dancer" when she obviously isn't, as if "duffer" is shorthand for "I have prejudged her, and will refuse to acknowledge any contribution or progression she makes within the series.

I have no idea who the woman is but she she seems to have gone down like a bowl of cold sick with the voting public, LOL!

I suspect she'll be out on Sunday though if she's in DO with Carol the judges will keep her on for one more week (I'm assuming Jeremy Vine is here until at least Blackpool)

She didn't say they shouldn't be displayed, she said they shouldn't be sold. Point blank. You keep on trying to claw her opinion back to somewhere where it makes sense, and, I'm sorry, it just doesn't. She literally said that she wanted everyone to feel comfortable in their bodes and then that she wanted to shame people into losing or putting on weight within about 3 sentences of one another. Her stance was incoherent and frankly farcical, regardless of what anyone thinks of the "obesity crisis".

Really, personally I have no problem with her on either of the reality shows I've seen her on - I even didn't mind her on Bear Grylls because whilst she was snotty and childish, the Foxes had a horribly condescending attitude to her and frankly provoked half of it. I just think she shouldn't be surprised that she's not popular when she enters a popularity contest, given that her day job is saying dumb outrageous things for money.

I certainly don't hate Jamelia. I wasn't keen on her before Strictly mainly because of the way she is on Loose Women and the comment she made on the launch show didn't exactly endear her to me.

I think she has come across quite well in Strictly and, to me, she does seem to try pretty hard with the dances. I certainly prefer her to Kellie

I did feel sorry for her last night but I don't think it is that she is not liked (although I know quite a few people who dislike her either because of Loose Women or when he was with Bear Grylls). After all we are not voting for people to go are we?

As others have said, she is not good enough for people to think I will vote to make sure she stays in nor does she have the fan base of Carol or Jeremy. Carol is obviously very well liked plus of course lots of votes like Pasha.

Jeremy I think had quite a lot of fans due to his radio show and Eggheads but people have warmed to his personality and exuberance with every dance. I am loving Jeremy and his Thriller routine was one of my favourites this weekend.

I haven't voted yet this series but if I had it would have been for Jay as he is my favourite and probably Jeremy. Once Jeremy goes I would probably vote for Georgia or Anita. Jamelia just doesn't interest me enough

i agree, she comes across as a warm person, and she's been pretty honest and stoic in the face of difficulties. i like her accent and i thought she looked dead cute in the VT footage with her hair just natural in a plait, no extensions, no make up. she's not the best dancer, or my favourite but she doesn't deserve the vitriol some direct towards her.

Some people are so mean spirited on here. My mother always said if you don't have anything nice to say about people then don't bother as it will not win you any accolades. I really felt for Jamelia when she said that the public don't like her. I could see the hurt in her eyes and I acturally hurt on her behalf. Honestly some people just don't get it do they?

Well if they aren't sold, they aren't on display are they?

And by "everyone" she clearly meant "everyone normal" or "everyone who isn't anorexic or obese". It's common rhetoric in these sort of debates.


She accepted her own lack of popularity in a perfectly dignified manner and hasn't appeared fazed or thrown by it.

Dumb and outrageous? She gives perfectly valid comments and opinions on topical issues.

She doesn't deliberately provoke, and she's not a media whore like the Hopkins.

In the opening show she seemed to have a few moves and I thought she was going to be a contender.

She soon put me right.

I don't dislike her. I just prefer to vote for other celebs.