Oh, well said. It seems so silly to see people agonizing for weeks on end about who'll win instead of just enjoying the show.
I'd imagine Jeremy is going to gain as much (if not more) from the exposure as any one else. I'm a fan of his for life now

Before last week his last three leaderboard positions were 3rd-2nd-3rd. He's only ever been out of the top three twice, compared to Anita, who's only ever been IN it twice. Take that stumble (and the accompanying improv) out of his foxtrot in the dance-off and he would have been saved over Jeremy, Jamelia, Katie, Anita, and Kellie at the very least, and probably Helen and Peter as well.

Jay fans are confusing Craig having a one week paddy with "the judges hating him". He's second on the overall leaderboard.

I totally agree with you (I just now voted on a poll, despite having been involved in the discussion on the thread for days ) I was just addressing Littlegreen's comment that it's a forgone conclusion that Jay will win, due to polls.

Polls are interesting in the way that Twitter followings and youtube views are interesting - something to speculate over in the week, in the absence of concrete evidence of a weekend's vote (something we only ever get to see via shock dance off appearances, and this year has been decidly unshocking, in that regard). I really miss the dude that used to post up voting figures for one of the mobile phone companies - it was still an incomplete picture (if it were true at all, and I prefer to believe it was) but it was interesting to see. Would probably mean even less now with internet voting.

As an aside. wasn't it originally 5 free online votes? Or have I dreamt that?

Jay will win.
Even if he has an awful dance (unlikely) and ends up low on the leader board, his fan base will make sure he is never in the dance off. The only way he won't win is if he has to pull out due to injury.

He's 5th on Craig's overall leaderboard though

And Peter's 5th on Bruno's. One judge isn't the entire panel and Craig is used for storyline purposes more than any of them apart from maybe Len.

Smartest move Jeremy ever made.

I adored him and before this I didn't even know who he was really. I thought he was classy, funny, sweet natured and very lovable - and I am a choosy cow at the best of times!

Lordy, and here I've been dissing Bruno's sanity/sobriety!

I think Jeremy has probably done the best of all the contenders in PR for future work opportunities from this series.

I think he probably is, since this year reminds so much of the Harry Judd and Louis Smith series, both of whch I stopped watching since it is boring to watch when you know who's goin to win.

Jay does have a natural grace and ability that makes him good to watch. I just personally don't feel he's improved at all. Yes he is more confident off the floor in interviews etc. but he could dance just as well at the beginning. I would like someone who has improved to win. Just my opinion.

I've always been a fan of Jeremy but not a fan of his dancing.

Me too and that's why I'd like Anita to win. Having said that I would prefer Jay to win if there was choice between Peter and Jay.

But then IMO, I don't think kellie, Georgia, Helen, Katie or Anita have actually improved much since the start either (in Katie''s case she's gotten a bit worse). They've all had dances that suited them better, but the quality of their dancing i don't think has improved.

Helens still stiff in the hips, Georgia & Anita's feet and frame are still a bit sloppy and Kellie''s frame in ballroom doesn't look any better.

In Bruno veritas...

yes I'm sure the men will be cheering for the queen of strictly

Do you think the storyline is set in stone from the beginning or is adapted as the show progresses and things change? Such as people doing rather better/worse than expected or certain personality traits being emphasised. It did puzzle me why a particular contestant would be pushed from the offset but maybe is more a case of keeping viewer figures up by creating intrigue.
Sorry if this is obvious - things dawn on me slowly

If you're a fan of Jay .. No ...
Non fan - yes he has it in the bag

i don't think its a shoo in but it seems likely.

i don't mind if he wins - he's clearly one of /the most able contestants ever seen on strictly - but i want the win to be deserved, ie that he performs up to his top standard and shows some development of some sort.

i think he has not done either of those things lately, with a few mistakes/stumbles and seemingly struggling to deliver the emotion integrity to go with the technical competence.

he may still win, but it will be something of a formality, and i'll probably enjoy or remember others more - someone like helen with her sense of absolute commitment to character (even where the steps aren't technically perfect) or georgia's frothy joy, or anita's quiet and contained intensity.

I do not think that any of them have really improved tbh, the only thing I see as an improvement is Georgia's confidence, all the good ones are pretty much te same as they were at the start. I think that Jeremy did improve a little but would have improved much more had Karen taught him properly and not taken the comedy route.And I think that Jay improved from week 3 though is prone to making an error.

Most of them make errors, Peter all the time and Georgia sometimes too but they do not seem to get their scores lowered.

The public get the people they deserve.
If all the girls want is a baby faced young man with two coins to rub together with the personality of an etch-a-sketch, then modern culture is every bit as vapid and shallow as it's been accused of is bound to implode and usher in the new Marxist collective.
* or not

well should be able to draw a smile or an emotion , job done !!!

I have given up trying to second guess the voting public. He may win easily regardless but maybe not. There have been a few surprises in the past so who knows. (I never thought Abbey Clancy would win)

As a neutral this year i hate when the winner is so obvious from early on in the series! I think Jay will most likely win. For me he has had only one great dance and obviously that was the jive. He suited it perfectly, not only was his dancing good but his lack of facial expressions or whatever Craig says was perfect for that particular performance. But thats where it ends for me - since then i think he has remained static, i have seen no improvement in him. I do think though that his Samba tonight might be a great dance for him.

Personally if the Final was tonight i would prefer to see Georgia, Helen or even Anita win. I can see the improvement in them especially Georgia who seems to have grown in confidence. I enjoyed her Charleston last week as much as i enjoyed Jay's Jive.

Why do some people only use digital spy as a measure of Jay's popularity Sure he's the favorite here but he's also mostly elsewhere .

Just take a look outside DS and you'll see how popular he's. It's not only digital spy but Facebook, social media, other strictly blogs. ......and polls he's topping by a huge margin compared to the others.

As a Abbey fan and huge supporter, I never thought she would win either; I still can't believe it tbh but this is just an entirely different situation. I'm fairly confident that Jay stands a huge chance to win.