Sorry just had to check the origins of this thread, cos good grief it's every week. If Ed stays (is what I think the OP meant), the Sky wil fall in, the earth will shift on its axis, it will be the end of civilisation as we know and the US will elect Donald Trump, ooh hang on they did.

But it is not the end oft the end of the world. I think.

I usually want the comedy act gone by Blackpool - but I want Ed to stay. Not only is he improving and the most entertaining, the 'good' dancers all leave me a bit cold. Being technically good is one thing - but they are all lacking on the entertainment front, bar Rinder and I'm afraid his over-emotional moments are starting to grate.

You are probably right but one must hope that GBP public will see sense sooner or later.

Why do you want him out? Does it bother you that people are watching for entertainment and not necessarily someone who is a perfect dancer?

Um....I think you're wrong. I can just see Ed in full gaucho outfit making his entrance on a horse............

Personally I don't see what's entertaining about someone who can't dance, not dancing on a dance show.

And I think it's unfair to the other performers who have to put in decent performances every week to stay on the show and Ed basically is able to turn up, lark about for two minutes, call it "entertainment" and get through week after week.

Just my take on it.

Frankly, with an attitude like that, I'm astonished you even lower yourself to watch the programme at all.

Strictly is supposed to be joyous entertainment - not a melodramatic bitchfest with all these cringeworthy, self-indulgent "poor me" sob stories peddled by talentless blobs such as those that often appear on crummy third-rate shows like X Factor.

Strictly contestants are usually people with a proven track record of success in their chosen field. They don't need Strictly to propel them into the public eye, because they are already in it. On that basis, what they sign up for is to be part of an entertainment show - not a talent contest.

THAT is what they are doing - providing entertainment. Of course, if that entertainment is not to your taste, you are always free to switch off or to watch something else.

As long as Ed Balls is fulfilling the terms of his contract to the show, he can stay in for as long as the public wish to see him do so. There is no no reason whatsoever for him to ask to leave.

Perhaps acquiring a sense of humour might assist you in seeing what others can apparently see clearly in his endeavours.

I agree.

I admit that am not a dance expert, but was they any salsa content in his dance?

Yep - possibly more than in Daisy's routine, which was heavily disco oriented.

Well said.

For myself, Ed is in a different category to previous so-called comedy acts. I got very tired of Ann W and John Sergeant irritated me, but Ed is giving it everything He's got and trying hard to dance. The fact that the end result is entertaining is just a bonus. Each week I look forward to his performance.

I don't agree that Ed can't dance - for example, some of the quicksteppy bits in his quickstep were lovely, IMO. If it were a 20-week contest and Ed knuckled down and his corporation were reduced, I reckon a real dancer would emerge.

I would love Strictly to be purely a dance competition and have never enjoyed the comedy routines... until now! Ed and Katya's dances make me smile fit to burst and I dread them not being there because most of the other dancers just don't connect.

Please stick to talking about the show and judgin me. I have an opinion and will voice it as long it is within the T&C's

I wouldn't worry the joke act goes so far and then people get tired of him. I know John Sergeant withdraw because he thought he could win but I truly think that he would have found himself in a dance off sooner rather then later. Same with Ed people will tire of him.

I don't think so. Ed will get through for a few more weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if he won. He seems to have an overwhelming amount of support.

Has anyone mentioned how hard it must be to do any kind of sensible dance steps to a novelty song like Gangnam style?

Can you imagine how Greg, for instance, would have looked trying to move to that beat?

Logically, Ed should be more suited to slow dances but he seems to be willing to have a go at anything if it entertains his ever growing fan club.

I am now not sure whether the rest are becoming boring or Ed is just making them look that way

He's going to find it more and more difficult to escape the dance off from the bottom of the pile. Even if he gets to the final and he's against say Danny and Louise I'm confident that people will vote for the dancing. A poor dancer has never won Strictly even Chris Hollins was average.

Well, you can expect to have your "opinion" challenged within the Ts & Cs too.

After all, that's MY opinion - as is Ed being a fantastic asset to this year's line-up.

I genuinely believed he was going to be someone who shuffled around in a self-conscious and almost apologetic manner for 2-4 weeks before bowing out with a huge sigh of relief - but no, he has FULLY embraced the ethos of the show. He has done everything his pro partner has asked of him - tackling clever and imaginative routines with enthusiasm, energy and a great deal of commitment and character... and most of all he has brought this series alive with the sheer unbridled joy of watching him.

Ed has fully and beautifully demonstrated what Strictly is all about. He's a complete novice who is just learning to dance, as well as bringing enormous pleasure to a lot of people. In terms of cumulative progress made to date, Ed is actually one of the greatest achievers, compared with Danny, Louise, Claudia etc, who were all pretty good right from the outset.

There is a lot of misery and unhappiness in this world. What's wrong with someone like Ed bringing a little cheer and humour to brighten things up on a Saturday evening?

I hope that you are right, but there's a first time for everything.

Being stupid dance is a subjective item so who is to say he is not dancing ??? and i am Informed he does do a few of the required steps so who can say it ain't his interpretation of the dance

Well personally I watch strictly for the "journey" purposes not for the predictably good dancers necessarily.

Ed has come a long way and is a joy to watch in my view.

All this fake indignation about a bit of entertainment!!

He's not opting out (like Ann Widdicombe who spent most of her time standing around not trying much) - he's buying into it and giving it everything because he knows he doesn't have age or natural talent on his side.

If it was a dance competition rather than an entertainment show, the celebs would start from more level playing field. Christopher Parker came second. His entertainment value was high, his talent was much less. Who now cares that anyone else didn't come second and he did? No one! No one ever thought he should win, but they voted him back because they enjoyed watching him.

When on tour, Christopher Parker was enthusiastically received running around with his paso cloak by everyone and rightly so.

I do not understand this emotional flailing of arms stamping of feet - take it for what it is and enjoy it - Saturday night entertainment, not a serious competition!

Ed will stay in as long as Honey G stays in the X factor. They are both the 'headline' acts this year for Saturday night light entertainment and are pulling in viewers. Producers will throw everything including the kitchen sink in to keep them both at the moment.

Both should be eliminated from their respective competitions within the next two weeks, but the way voting is going this year, I wouldn't bet against an Ed Balls / Honey G double win,

I cannot speak for the salsa routine as I am not knowledgeable in that dance, but I can assure you that he was doing more than larking about in that quickstep. It would have taken a lot of effort to have learnt that routine which had a fair bit of quickstep content. He has also worked on his posture. So you may not be impressed with his dancing but I think you should be fair and not assume that he is just larking about.

He is doing his best to learn the dances. Katya adds the comedy around it to make it more entertaining, but a comedy routine can still have content. They are not mutually exclusive.

Oh you don't like it, so therefore no-one else can.

If you can't see that Ed actually can dance then you must be blind. Unlike most duffers, Ed is actually light on his feet - his quickstep for example was actually very nice and had plenty of content and didn't rely too much on gimmicks.

If you hate him (and I suspect it's because of his politics, it's the only explanation) then fine, but don't suggest he can't dance or people are stupid.

His QuickStep was his best dance. As I've said in other threads his ballroom has improved slightly (from a very poor starting point) but even so it was littered with mistakes and errors. Still at least it was "identifiable" as a Quickstep.

Even with the QS he was still the "weakest" dancer by a long way though and should have been eliminated.

As for everyone else, not sure why there's so much outrage about my opinion. If you want everyone to say how wonderful he is I'm sure there's an appreciation thread for him and Katya in the relevent section of the forum.

My view is that he is a terrible dancer and the sooner he's out the better. I don't expect or want anyone else to agree with me but that's my view, so there!