Please make them drop The Judge and call him Rob.

I found it really annoying.

Anyone else?

Oh.My.God THANK YOU!! I'm glad it's not just me. I was yelling at the tv last night.. "His first name is ROBERT NOT JUDGE" Good lord are these people stupid? I hope they stop doing this as it's going to drive me mad if they don't.

Also.. referring to him just as 'Star of Judge Rinder' does downplay a ton of what he's actually achieved in his career. I like him and I hope he goes far..

Its not looking good for us.

I've just the BBC site and he is listed there as 'Judge'.

I reckon they'll probably switch around alot in the series and call him both

As long as his name in the opening credits is "Rob[ert] Rinder" (ditto Rob[ert] in the voting graphics), then that's fine, they can make as many "judge" references as they like throughout the show and on ITT. But please Strictly, no "official" nicknames, that's the preserve of things like I'm A Celeb ("Huggy Bear", "Biggins"... )

Perhaps he wants to be called Judge Rinder?

Is he genuinely a judge or an actor playing a judge, in his own programme? The lines between reality and dramatisation are so blurred these days its hard to know what is real and what is dramatised.

I thought he was a barrister?

Yes, he's a barrister. I don't know how the TV regulations in this country work as regards his show but I don't imagine his "findings" are legally binding as they claim they are on Judge Judy - I would guess that cash awards are paid by the production team rather than the defendants.

But that's off topic and isn't the point, the point is that no Strictly contestant has "officially" been given a nickname in the competition before, and I just think it's a wrong way to go...

It gives Tess even more opportunity/per show to say "Chuch".

"Let's hear what the Chuchiz 'ave to say about Chuch"

"Rinder was called to the bar in 2001, and became a tenant at 2 Hare Court. He went on to specialise in international fraud, money laundering and other forms of financial crime. He was involved in prosecutions following the murders of Leticia Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis in January 2003, and prosecutions of English servicemen on charges of manslaughter after the deaths of detainees in Iraq. Since 2010 he has been involved in the investigation and prosecution of alleged bribery, corruption and fraud in the Turks and Caicos Islands"

Source

At first, I read it as Judge Reindeer.

Well, it'll be seasonal, won't it?

The thing is, he IS a barrister.
On TV he is an actor, acting the part of a judge.

Lesley acts the part of Dorien, but they don't interduce her as Dorien.
They introduce her as Lesley

I think people may be confused when they see the name Rob come up in the phone numbers/internet voting options.

I think he will lose votes from people who only know him as Judge and not recognise that option to note down/click.

Is AJ a real name or is a name he's know by?

But I bet some of the soap stars they've had in the past - Georgia May Foote, Ashley Taylor Dawson, even Kellie Bright - have probably been more familiar to a good deal of viewers by their character name, but they still didn't feel the need to call them on the show by that name and they didn't seem to suffer when it came to votes... Then there's Lesley Joseph as somebody said above, who a lot of people probably only know as "Dorien" but they still quite rightly are calling her Lesley.

I always call him Rob.

I believe both "Judge Judy" & "Judge Rinder" are, legally, delivering binding arbitration (i.e. the participants sign away their right to go to court and agree in advance to stick to the arbitrator's decision). You don't have to be a judge to be an arbitrator, but it's probably advisable for them to have at least some legal training.

That said, I believe that, on Judge Judy, the maximum award is the same as the appearance fee ($1,000). So nobody comes out worse than they went in. Don't know if Judge Rinder is the same or not.

Surely for the sake of the general audience, you know outside of here, it would be best to continue calling him Judge Rinder. It's what he's best known as, it's his identifyer. Calling him Robert would confuse me if I'm honest. I hadn't heard of him before Strictly, so I'm getting used to him as Judge Rinder. Changing it to Robert is just gonna confuse me even more!

I don't get the fuss some are having on here. Someone saying the nickname approach isn't for Strictly and only for other reality shows. But Strictly had DJ Spoony, that's not his actualy name, is it?

Same principle surely?

And if we're going to be uber picky, where on earth did the surnames go for Lulu, Jamelia and now Anastacia? That's surely just as bad?!

Stage names are stage names. Those are the names that these stars sell themselves under, so it's a different thing. Judge Rinder is only the name of his programme - in the closing credits (and opening voiceover spiel) I'm pretty sure he's listed under his own name.

Interesting stuff, thanks for the info. So they basically just "lose their deposit" in other words.

And for all you know well, he could be happily going by a stage name for the purposes of Strictly. It's the same principle to me.

I honestly don't get the hang-ups of people on this thread.

Maybe they asked him if he wanted to be called Rob or Robert and he told them "Call me Judge." What was it with the Judge Revel Horwood BTW? Is there some history there?

Judges in this country are not even addressed as "Judge". They are referred to as "Your Honour" or as "His honour" or "Her Honour" - or even Your/His Lordship or Ladyship.

It would be a bit like calling someone Vet Smith or Plumber Jones.

What about DJ Spoony?

Edit seen that's been discussed.

Don't see the diff myself.

I'm sure they introduced him as "star of judge rinder - Robert rinder"

I would hope they list him as what he's asked to be listed as.