Now that we’re down to the sharp end of the competition, been thinking about who the judges would save in the dance off.

I’m thinking:

Ed – would go whoever he was against.

Judge Rinder – would be saved against Ed, but I think now probably go against anyone else.

Claudia/Ore – I think both of these would be saved against either Ed or Judge, but would go against either Louise or Danny. If they came up against each other though it could be a tough call and depend on the dance on the night. I’m leaning towards the judges saving Ore probably.

Louise/Danny – would both be saved against anyone other than each other. If they ended up in the dance off together then I think the judges would probably have to find a very good reason for not saving Danny…..

Anyone else any thoughts?

the combination I was exactly thinking myself OP

I don't think Ore vs Louise would be a foregone conclusion, but otherwise the OP seems about right.

Sorry to say I think Claudia is the weakest link other then Ed, she will go against anyone else sorry to say

I agree with op

Even the Judge?

Ed - he's gone no matter who he's up against.
Judge Rinder - saved against Ed, gone versus anyone else.
Ore/Louise/Claudia - entirely dependent on the dance and what their respective scores were. Louise would probably come out on top versus the other two, but put in an Ore jive type performance, and it's a different story. Claudia v Ore is the real wildcard option - I genuinely don't know who would be saved. I would give Ore the very slight edge, simply to keep him in to reproduce that amazing jive in the final - Claudia has had plenty of decent scores, but I can't recall her getting a 10 (has she?). I think that just squeaks the difference between them, as 3 out of 4 of the judges have awarded Ore a 10 during the competition.
Danny - safe as houses against anyone left in the competition! Unlike others, I highly doubt the judges would keep Louise in the competition, if it meant losing Danny.

My general predictions going on performances up until now:

- Ed would go against anyone (unless something VERY strange happened!)

- Rinder would go against anyone except Ed

- Ore would be saved over Ed, Rinder, Claudia - could see a controversial dance-off if it was him v Louise

- Louise and Danny likely to be saved over any of the others (though as mentioned above Ore could pull off a surprise there depending on the day/dance)

- Danny v Louise hard to call though he's obviously the better dancer imo

IMO
Ed would not be saved against anyone
R Rinder would be saved versus Ed
Claudia would be saved vs Ed or J Rinder

Now to the tricky part so this is what I would like as opposed to what the Judges may decide...
Ore would be saved vs Ed, R Rinder, Claudia
Louise would be saved vs Ed, R Rinder, Claudia, Ore
Danny would be saved vs Ed, R Rinder, Claudia , Ore, Louise

I think Danny is better than Louise from an entertainment perspective, but not sure what the judges would decide in that scenario. I hope it doesn't arise and that both get to the final where the public can decide who wins.

This week is strange Claudia and the Judge both have what I would emotive roles to play in their dances and I do not think either can shame for Claudia

Danny would win any DO, he'd only have to smile at three of the judges and they'd put him through.

He'd have to make more of an effort than Jay then who didn't even have to smile....

I think it would be a massive shocker if Danny and Louise ended up in the bottom 2.

Claudia and Ore are most likely to be there purely because they've already been in a dance off.

Ed Balls is winning the public vote every week and I suspect Judge Rinder is high up there too.

it would. The judges would explode in fury.

How to people know who is winning the public vote?

Yay......now we all know what we need to do to get a new panel

Sorry but you are being (or pretending to be) naive. The judges have many more concerns than making sure the best dancer wins, such as: rewarding the winner's "journey", ensuring SCD's diversity, attracting a younger audience, boosting SCD's ratings (nothing works better than a scandal or two), etc. After all, objectivity does not increase their salaries but the above-mentioned factors do.

Probably
Ed won't be saved against anyone
Rinder would probably only be saved against Ed
Ore would be saved against Ed and Rinder
Claudia would be saved against Ed, Rinder and Ore
Louise would be saved against Ed, Rinder, Ore and Claudia
Danny would be saved against everyone

Possibly
Danny is doing the samba which a difficult one and Louise is doing the waltz where she'll have to be graceful and not dramatic so if Danny isn't on top of his game, Louise could win a dance off against him. This dance off won't happen tho imo.

If Joanne can choreograph a paso like her brother and if it happens to suit Ore then he could beat Claudia but not sure about Danny and Louise.

Who hasn't been in the dance off? The Judge, Ed , Danny and Louise. The combination of the judges scores and the public vote. And as Ed has always been in the bottom two, except once, he must have a pretty solid public vote to avoid the DO.

There are several ways to get some idea of this, check out the views of the dances on Youtube. Ed has scored over half a million hits for his Salsa, no other contestant even comes as close as a gnats nidger. And that is just for the BBC stream. There are others - my favourite being this as it is not just the dance but the joodges reaction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2zd_DzJdCg

Danny and Louise should be fine, as they are consistently close to the top of the leader board.

That makes sense. Thanks for the reply.

So it seems everyone's agreed that Ed's toast if he ends up there as is probably Judge, but after that it's less clear until you get to Danny who is a cert to be saved.

Now watch the judges confound all our predictions!

My dream scenario if Danny were up against any of the others - "Sorry, Danny, I'm saving the other one because they have made more progress, and lets admit it, you're a bit of a dull boy, aren't you."

You seem to forget that Jay was never in the DO.

I don't think Jay was the judges' favourite by any stretch. That honour was reserved for Kellie and Kevin who were ridiculously over-marked in the final IMHO.

The judges know their marks have no sway in the final though.

And marking Kellie and Kevin 6 out of 7 in the Quickstepathon certainly did them no favours - they ended up in the dance off. There was also the whole Anton in the final storyline and Katie was saved over Anita, even though Anita's combined score for the semi-final dances was higher.