LOLOL Have you ever been to see them, tabs?? SWMBO and I went to Guildford theatre to see them several years ago and they're extremely amusing ..... especially their song about cheap flights.

I think the judges choices were poorly decided by them - they didn't meet any sort of set criteria such as the couple's worst dance. It seemed their reasoning was a bit odd - yes Jay's Quickstep was his lowest marked dance and Kellie's tango was her joint lowest marked dance (with her Cha-Cha-Cha) but Georgia's rumba wasn't her lowest marked dance - that was her Waltz and Katie's quickstep wasn't her lowest marked dance that was her Cha-Cha-Cha.

So what criteria were the judges going by?? Two lowest marked dances, one where the head judge made a prat out of himself for publicly humiliating the pro (most likely chosen so he could apologise) and whatever their reasons for choosing Katie's?

I think that the judges should have a set criteria for their pick.

They could choose all of the lowest scoring dances (see above) or just get rid of their pick full stop and have the couple's highest scoring dance which were performed before the quarter-finals (but only once the couple's favourite is known) - so on that basis we would have seen the following:- Jay's tango, Katie's American Smooth, Kellie's Quickstep and Georgia's American Smooth.

But I think that they should all do their week 1 dances again to truly show their development as dancers - so it would have been Kellie's tango, Georgia's jive, Jay's cha-cha-cha and Katie's jive. And as aggs pointed out below they should be re-worked to include more complex choreography.

I have - they were fantastic. And although, yes, Cheap Flights is a masterpiece (did you know that it's gone fungal? ), I think there are others equally as good if not better.

Wonderful women, all of them. They're taking a break at the minute but if (hopes fervently) they're back touring in the not too distant future, I'll see them again.

I think if they are going to do a week one dance, then it should be re-worked. Improved choreography to take account of the fact they are now 3 months' on (I've no particular wish to sit through 4 content-lite week one dances again!) which would also serve as an indicator of how much they have come on. Heck, go the whole hog and change the music as well

That's very true. There is also no point in banging on about 'throwing away the rulebook' for showdances if all they are going to do is moan that it wasn't a proper showdance if they don't like it

What, you mean change the music to something that actually suits the dance?

Ah now, Dougal

I concur. I'd rather have underwhelming showdances than something that would look more at home in a circus than a dance show... and as someone else said, all the big production at Blackpool and on the theme weeks makes the showdances look a bit 'meh'.

Its probably relevant to mention that Dancing On Ice only used additional dancers for their showdances in the final - and as a result they had so much more impact. I felt that was a far better approach.

Great advice

Which he didn't even do, as the choice forced Giovanni to change the choreography if he and Georgia wanted any chance of receiving a higher mark from Len. Giovanni adds a couple more basic steps, didn't make it look hugely different to the first time and suddenly he is being praised as a wonderful choreographer (I'm not slating Giovanni here, more Len's perspective.)

Yeah, the couples 'can do what they like', but they'll be moaned at by grumpy judges if it isn't what they like as well.

I think you're probably right on this. They all got their 'moment' the way it was done (well except Katie!) - Jay won, but Kellie was scored higher hence getting her highly dubious 'wozrobbed' moment, and Georgia got some sort of job offer.

I don't like it though - judges should just judge, and I don't feel they did that at all. Mind you, I don't feel they've done much honest judging this year at all, most weeks I've felt like hitting at least one of them with a large object for talking utter rubbish. People keep saying the show shouldn't be changed for fear of scaring away viewers, but I honestly think we NEED a new judging panel - this year they ruined the show. All IMO of course!

I really don't think it would have mattered what dance he did, the judges were clearly favouring K&K.

I wouldn't have minded so much if their dances looked effortless, but they didn't. You could see how much it took out of Kevin doing the lifts. I noticed it during their AS last week, and especially during their showdance.

In some ways, I wish they'd ditch the showdance altogether. For me, it's got to have the worst success rate of all the dances going* and is far to easy for the judges to score down if they don't find the dance to their tastes. And yes, it's hard for a 'normal' showdance to live up to the dances with all the extra dancers.

OK, yes, I suppose the percentage of good waltz to bad waltz will be similar or what not, due to the sheer numbers. But there's been about 40, only a couple of which I've liked, and many which have been among a couple's worst dances in the series.

I think all these tabloid stories about the show being fixed are right up the producers' streets. They love the extra attention (though popbitch did suggest that Simon Cowell may have had a hand in it). How better to get more attention than to have a wozrobbed in the final too?

I have no problem with Kellie getting 40 for her showdance (or at least, what I've seen of it - fun, fast if a bit gurny for my taste). Well, that's if the judges have to score the showdance at all. But for that tango? What on earth were they thinking? Monkseal pointed out that this is now one of only two tangos to have got 40. Think of all the great tangos there have been, now supposedly bettered by that.

I can see what you mean. There is build up to the showdance every year and every year most of them disappoint. At least with the "ordinary" dances, you know what you're getting.

I don't think the "redemption" dance works either. Yes, they're usually better but they're never really the "WOW" better that the judges often make them out to be.

Give it a shake up - something like (I'm improvising wildly here) -

Judges' choice - high scoring dance that the judges would like to see again (not from last two weeks).

Couples' choice - whatever they want from whenever they want (possibly with a minimum score proviso though to prevent them picking rubbish).

Couples' choice 2 - dance to rework and rechoreograph with own choice of music. Possibly with rules slightly relaxed to include one or two more lifts should the couple wish.

Or instead of any kind of "judges choice" bollix, they do the dance they haven't done yet. That may change the order of dances earlier in the series as the pros gamble on whether or not to save a potentially-dynamite dance for the final, but we'd get to see the finalists dance every dance and it would give the judges less power to manipulate things or to unlevel the playing field.

Heee, I was thinking earlier that they should make the showdance be based on the skipped dance. It would have worked very well for Georgia, having missed AT, and Jay could have done a samba showdance. But Anton doing a samba showdance? Or James samba dodger Jordan being forced into samba showdances? It would have been hilarious!

I totally agree on that. What's the point of "no rules" if the judges are going to impose rules about what is and isn't a "proper showdance"?

The Showdances have lost much of their impact, as well, since lifts are allowed in 'normal' weeks. Early days, lifts weren't introduced until the Showdance - now they can be done in the AS, AT, Charleston, Salsambadiscocha in increasing number and illegally wherever the pro feels they can get away with it.

By the time it gets to Showdance, it's all a but ho hum.

its usually a fix when it doesn't go the way you want it to (generic 'you').

i was astonished at the otherwise apparently (almost) normal people who were feverishly speculating that peter andre had it written into his contract that he stay til blackpool / not be criticised by the judges / beat jamelia in a dance off (delete as preferred)....

(How very dare you! I don't feel generic at all!)

I think after the first 'fix' story, tabloid writers realised there was an appetite for them and started picking up twitter, facebook and other social media like here comments saying FIX! (Which yes, people were saying because they personally felt it was a fix). There was some merit to the first one, which was Peter vs Jamelia in the dance off, because so many felt that her dance was better than his (I did!). But every person who has left after that, up to and including the winner, has been subject to a trashy story about it being fixed now, fuelled by disappointed fans. That's not "news" though.

Rather than the judges choice or the showdance they should do the dance they would otherwise skip.

So this year we would have got to see an Anton samba and a Jay samba and two Argentine Tango's wouldn't we?? They were the dances which were skipped by the pro's weren't they??

Does anyone have any suggestions on Anton samba's to watch?? I really have this strange curiosity about Anton and Latin dancing.

I thought Jay's showdance was beautiful.
It was subtle and understated and I would much rather watch a dance like that than an ostentatious, chuck everything at it, jump up and down gurnfest like Kevin Clifton keeps churning out.
Talk about overdancing.

I thought Jay's dancing was lovely.
I think Kellie was heavy legged and stompy - not the same kind of stomping as Peter Andre, but heavy and unattractive.
And that combined with the open mouthed stage school OTT facial expressions, I thought she was awful to watch.
Sorry Kellie, but I also think she is a big head.
And I hate big heads. Her whooping and screeching was most annoying.

Much more endearing is the manner displayed throughout by Jay.
I also loved Georgia.
I think her dancing was fab.
And for me it was a close call between her and Jay.


Anton's shortcomings were very exposed during this series. I think he's hopeless.
And Katie was messy as usual.
I think I would rather have watched Anita in the final to be honest.
Ok her feet were awful throughout but her costumes and routines were very entertaining.

I did have a few laughs at the end remembering Bruce Forsyth losing his temper with everyone when they were running onto the stage to congratulate the winner.

And Len, well, he has been a nasty old git lately and he certainly hasn't got a 10 from me.
He's been horrid.

P.S.

I think Kellie was such an annoying pain in the arse that I'm glad she got all of those shyte frocks to wear.
Serves her right.

Showdances always get hyped each year. Most of them are forgettable (including all of this years) and scoring wise are always on a par with the other dances they have to perform on the night. Can honestly only recall a couple of outstanding showdances in all the series of Strictly.