Every damn time. She sounds like a teenager. Everything sounds like a question. Has she lived in Australia? They all talk like that there.

I have total respect for her as a dancer and her achievements but I find her a terrible judge. She actually waffles a lot and says lots without actually saying much. She never 'bedded' in that panel IMO.
Plus 'if I would say one thing' thing line is getting a bit tiresome. I'd like to see her go in a big judges shake up when Len goes (keep Bruno and Craig).

The 'up speak' thing is infuriating. It irritates me so much that I can't even tell whether I would like her if she didn't do that, because it's all I hear when she is speaking. Craig, who is Australian, doesn't do that.

From Wikipedia;
In 1997, Bussell married Australian businessman Angus Forbes in Cherwell, Oxfordshire. ... In 2008, the family moved to Sydney, Australia[6] and returned to London in July 2012.

All of the judges have annoying ways of speaking, though. I'm not sure she's the worst.

Ahhh interesting. Thank you. To me-she's most annoying. It's also the meaningless rambles that go nowhere causing confusion with the live audience...*should we clap now? To be fair, that mainly happens when she's forced to critique something in negative which as a 'nice judge' she doesn't seem at ease with. She shouldn't worry-she's a dance legend. Just a grating judge.

She's made a nice cushy job for herself being the 'nice' judge', knowing it's a way to avoid much criticism . The waffling is indeed exasperating .

I think she still spends the summers in Australia, it's effectively her accent.

When she first appeared as a judge, the rising inflection was invariably followed by a "yah?".

Which gives a clue to the reason for the rising inflection: the speaker is (subconsciously) checking that the listener has understood what she's just said.

I'm sure this is basically true for all practitioners of said speech trait (including most Australians).

Scraping the bottom of the barrel now for negativity.

What about those of us in UK who have regional accents, do we get on your nerves too. ??
Where are you from- I am sure there must be is someone on here who hates that accent.

Next for the bashing!

Now you mention it there is one thing that seriously gets on my nerves; it's the growing trend in this country to pronounce THS as Fs. On various TV shows I have noticed this impediment slowly spreading from Essex to the rest of England.

I blame TOWIE.

No one is criticizing a regional accent. It's an affectation that is being criticized.

If that's all that infuriates you abou it then lucky you.

BTW on Craig, it is obvious to anyone with an ear that Craig's accent is an affectation. He probably spent years working very hard to disguise his native accent when turned up in London or wherever, but he has gone overboard and it sounds so very 'put on'.

It's very much an affectation, just listen to him say "dance." No English person pronounces it like that now.

It's called "Estuary English" positioned between received pronunciation and Cockney. Spread outwards from London along the Thames estuary and now used widely.

It's thought to have been spread by people in public life, who would previously have had "posh" accents taking on some of the characteristics of the east end of London to make them more acceptable because it's between received pronunciation and Cockney.

I don't think it's an affectation. When you spend a lot of time living amongst people with strong accents, they can rub off without you being aware of it. Years ago I lived for a time in Scotland and when I came home to England, my family teased me for putting on a Scottish accent but I was totally unaware that I was doing it. Maybe it's the same with Darcey.

I'm not keen on Aussie-style raised inflections myself, having lived there for a while in my dim and distant youth. It always sounds a bit insecure to me: like they're afraid to commit to a statement and have to turn everything into a question to force your endorsement of it. I know it's not that, though - just an accentual tic.

But what matters is what she says, and I like the balance Darcey brings to the panel. Yes, she does tend to be the "nice" judge, but it's important to have some positive, constructive feedback when you're doing something unfamiliar and putting yourself out there on prime-time TV week in, week out.

A friend of mine went to Australia for a 3 week holiday and came back with an Australian accent. A couple of years later he went to India for a few weeks and ...... nothing. He spoke the same as he did before he left.

He consciously tries to sound posh and sophisticated. Darling

Perhaps then we should sack Darcy and bring back Alesha Dixon with her "you was's"
#Lulu. what makes you so sure it's an affectation and not an accent- if we are splitting hairs that is ?
AS many who have been to Oz or lived there for a while this ending of words and sentences is prevalent amongst Oz residents. . sounds like they are asking a question to us.
Not sure if this happens in South Africa too- trying to think, I only know one SA and see him once a week at the local rugby club. will listen intently this weekend.

I don't mind Darcey but glad Len is leaving. He annoys me sometimes especially when he picks on illegal lifts. Karen Hardy would be a great replacement for him though

I find that a very useful motto for life in general.

Apart from aberrant apostrophes. For those I blame Hear'say.

I can't STAND this either. One high profile offender I am aware of is Adam Woodyatt. It drives me nuts when he constantly does it on Eastenders.

Another one that has always driven me mad is pronouncing "us" as "uz". I mean WHY???

Pauline Quirke is a massive advocate of this one...

The US shows with women who talk with a purr at the end of each word, I cant stand.. what is wrong with them.. American women didnt always talk that way..

Can't believe I've just read that, Len picks on illegal lifts! That's what he's there for to judge, to notice rule breaking and in my mind an illegal lift it breaking the rules.

I know Len can irritate and perhaps it is about time he retired, but to highlight his failings by saying enforces the rules actually makes you look a rather silly.

BIB Brummie.

Pauline has no connection to Birmingham AFAIK. I also had a friend at school who was a Londondoner born and bred who still insisted on saying "uz".