I agree. I think this topic is a valid one, but it does get very defensive reaction. Also it is complicated as you need to make an overall assessment as to whether each celeb got as far as one would have expected based on ability and that's a fairly subjective judgement. There have been three standouts for me, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis and Alesha Dixon. (Maybe also Ricky Whittle.) They all did well although Denise did hit the bottom two fairly early on. I think it might be the black celebs of middling ability who perhaps don't last as long as one might expect.

Sarcasm??? Simon Webb from Blue.

I predicted Melvin would go out in the first week, and he did.

That wasn't because he was black. It was because he was one of the least well known celebrities taking part.

Point being the public are more likely to vote for the celebrities they know and love regardless of how well or badly they dance.

Laura and Tameka aren't household names so it's plausible that they didn't get the votes because they don't have a "fan base" so to speak.

At the end of the day, Strictly is a popularity contest dressed up to look like a dancing competition.

Also Len had the deciding vote so he could quite easily have got rid of Laura but he must've thought Laura had more potential going forward.

In which case why do half white people always claim to be black and not white. Halle Berry is a prime example. Black father left home not to be seen again, brought up solely by white mother, yet Halle Berry is apparently "Black".

Anyway I can't be bothered with these racists posts. People get in the dance off because they weren't voted for by the general public and the reason they're not voted for is usually because their professional dancer isn't well known or isn't popular. Naga still in the contest not because she's good, but because she's partnered by the very popular Pasha. Happens every year.

No !! No sarcasm just old age !! Thanks

1. I didn't realise white people have a problem with racism I must have missed that one.
2. I never at any point said the contestants that were voted out were my favourites.
3. The fact people vote for their favourites does not disprove that there could be an element of racism to the voting particularly if people avoid voting for black contestants either consciously or subconsciously (impossible to prove either way).
4. Please read my post, I have already said the judging IMO is not racist.

Excellent, sensible post.

So what are you saying - there are too many and should only be one token black/non white contestant like they usually have US style in most tv shows? That could be misconstrued by some as racist in itself. The "racism towards white people" question is quite ridiculous and makes no sense. Out of 12 or so contestants, there are only 3/4 black contestants on the show, so hardly disproportionate.

Anton's gone out first, Matthew Cutler went out first, Karen Hardy went out first, Flavia went out first, Vincent went out first twice, Aliona went out first twice and won twice, Ian Waite's gone out first, even Strictly's all time "can do no wrong" sweetheart Lilia went out first in her time. Pasha's liked, but he's not more popular than any of them. I'm not getting into the racism stuff because I've gone in to it too many times now but if a celebrity is deadweight, no pro can save them.

That's 1/3 to 1/4 of the contestants. Just remind me the proportion of non whites in the UK.

I think it's hard to argue that unconscious bias doesn't play a part in the way people vote on Strictly. And race is obviously going to be involved in that as one of those unconscious biases. It's nothing new. I very much doubt there is any significant conscious racist voting in Strictly - even any at all - but it's just silly to insist that race plays no part at all in voting patterns.

The bookies certainly know this. You only have to look at the odds they lay out before reality series even begin.

I know it's hard to admit to yourself that your likes and dislikes may, in ways you're not consciously aware of, have something to do with race (or other biases), especially when you don't consider yourself in any way a prejudiced person, but y'know. Sometimes, it just does. Despite your best intentions. That's why it's better to air the point than to get annoyed and shut it down because you feel personally injured by the accusation.

(I actually voted for Tameka this week and this was one of the reasons.)

No on GBBO, there was an ethic minority winner last year but I still don't see where you're going with this? Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis, JLS on the X Factor all did well?????

An unemotional, proportionate and intelligent post

So because black people have suffered racism anything that does not go in their favour must also be racism ? that appears to be what you are saying by saying white people do not suffer problems with racism

And if the voters have placed Tameka in the dance of for racially motivated reasons (which isn't possible as you vote for your favourite not for who you don't like) why are the judges exempt from your theory by choosing the white person to go through?

Personally this to me is a case of playing the race card and that cheapens and does a real disservice to those who have suffered racism

I'm just wondering should there be a set number or a control of how many black/nonwhites take part in a tv programme due to population statistics? Because the way some people harp on about population numbers seem to suggest they think there should be. I'm personally not bothered with how many appear on tv shows or preoccupied with population stats - not an issue at all.

Racism, sexism and homophobia are about power relationships and inequalities. This is why white people do not suffer from racism. One can be prejudiced against white people but, since white people are the dominant group in the UK, they do not suffer racism. Racism and prejudice are two different things.

As I understand the poster you quote, he wasn't suggesting that Strictly voters are deliberately trying to vote out the black contestants as quickly as possible because they are outright racists, just that race probably is a factor when people are deciding their favourites, even when the people voting don't fully realise that it is.

Some of the comments I've seen on here about Tameka are the very definition of misogynoir, but I'm sure the people making them don't realise this at all.

So far this series we've had three women in the dance off after a mediocre performance that left them ranked low but not bottom. One of them was black.

The low-mid table pattern will probably be repeated and if Daisy, Will, Louise, Greg, or Ore have a mediocre week then they could be in the dance off too. If someone like Naga improves and gets up to mid table then people will probably stop voting for her and she could go out immediately.

Looks like a post from a first year Sociology student and incredibly naive

You do not need to be the minority to suffer racism , do you remember apartheid ? Black people were the majority but were discriminated against

To say white people cannot suffer racism is something I would expect to hear from Diane Abbot I am not saying they do but it cannot be written off , anyone can suffer racism

Has anyone considered that people have their favourites because they like them and not based upon race

I remembered Nadiya after I posted. I have already gone where I was going. I was just pointing out that more often than not black people don't win TV competitions.

Why do you think that is? You see if we take your carte blanche argument to its extreme, we will end up where we started. There needs to be a PROVEN correlation between black people not winning and their ethnicity. You haven't provided one. This is a political thread which merely seeks to create problems where there aren't any...dangerous

For what it's worth I think you're right. I don't want to get into this debate really but as you and others expressing similar sentiments are getting shouted down I feel I should offer support.

and others like me thought she was just irritating and constantly seeking to be the centre of attention.

Or is that a misogynistic or race thing too?

If there were only three white contestants out of fourteen then it would seem like a very bad case of discrimination.

Someone earlier or in another thread was complaining that there were not enough black contestants, implying discrimination or racism or some other -ism. I was pointing out that proportionally there was a higher number of black people than there would be expected by the proportion of the UK population. With a proportion of around 3% you would expect 0.4 so about one on average. Proportionally there would be about three times more Asian than black.