It certainly sounds more like a DS myth than anything that actually happened.

The year DVO was in, was the first year they planned for people dropping out by having extra. According to the original plan published for that year, if there were 5 couples left by the Semi finals there was a supposed to be a double elimination, combined Judges and public vote, no dance off. Leaving 3 for the final.

As transpired they changed this as the last minute, with the only logical reason being DVO would have gone out at this point. It seems highly unlikely they would not have changed this just to keep Danni Harmer (Tracy Beaker) in.

No they didn't in the early series.

Everyone's always got to do their showdance, it's just that some people (Julian, Zoe, Lisa) did it "out of competition", after they were eliminated.

Yes, could quite believe that

Judging by this series- and I speak as a strictly fan it sounds like at least an hour too long. I firmly believe there has been something missing this year

There certainly has been - it's Will Young and nine dances, which the public has missed out on over the course of the series between Will's departure and the final. And all because the BBC wouldn't cancel the precious Dance Off that week. Oh, and one couple will also be missing their place in the final, for the same reason.

I wasnt really meaning that but please explain re the dance off

Unless either are in bottom 2 this week I guess it will be Ore, Louise and Danny in final!

I mean that when Will Young voluntarily withdrew from the show in week 4, instead of cancelling the Dance Off (which would have meant Naga and Pasha remaining for another week and performing at least one more dance), the BBC kept the Dance Off and Naga went (so two couples in effect departed in the same week).

Had Will stayed in the competition (or the Dance Off been cancelled), we would have had one extra dance every week because there would be one more couple in the competition. The result is that there would have been four couples in the final instead of the three we're going to have.

I understand why the BBC kept the Dance Off that week - it made life much easier for them. They didn't have to think on their feet and come up with another way of filling the results show on Sunday. But my feeling is that many viewers would have preferred to have kept more couples in the competition for longer and had a bigger final.

Fair comment but being honest that scenario would have filled me with dread this year as on more than one occasion ive been looking at the clock wondering how long od the main show is left.......Just think there has been no spark this year and the little cameos featuring the couples in training have become quite frankly ridicuous

I'm enjoying this series, but I agree with you that the little films are increasingly pointless. They should just be straightforward training clips but they feel they have to shoehorn some special little story into each one and it's become so laboured now.

This isn't true. The double elimination in the semis was added in 2010, as part of a restructuring of the show so they had a contingency plan for if a couple dropped out - if somebody does withdraw, then change the double elimination to a single elimination.

They were going to do the same thing in 2012 and drop the dance-off in the semi-final, but changed it at the last minute to a single elimination with a dance-off as usual and hence a four-couple final.

That also means the final three will miss one dance on the list? There must be some kind of gap between their first two dances and third dance otherwise they will all be knackered and the dancing finished to quickly!?

I know it was not meant to be a three couple final but as it is they could have reverted to the usual three couple format, two dances a break someone voted off and the final two battle it out with two more dances.

Done to not have a 3rd place loser and 2nd place runner up, it has to be 'runners up' and the winner. Political correctness gone mad again!

Agree. It does seem very shifty and manipulated for some odd reason.

Are you sure? There were only 14 couples in 2010 and 2011 and no one dropped out.

2012 was the first year they had 15 couples.

Brilliant!!

Not forgetting the obligatory "Eliminated Contestants Dance" (which is always good fun!!!)


Not sure this is manipulation - isn't it just designed to test the finalists to the limit - to see how much (if at all) they have improved and cleaned up what was previously their perceived weakest performance?

Series 10 (2012) had 14 celebrities - it was Series 11 that was the first to have 15. I remember because there suddenly being a gender imbalance (8 women and 7 men) that year was the first drop of water that started the torrent of Year Of The Woman references.

Ah yes. They did have the double elimination, which was why they still had a 3rd, 2nd & First.

Also what made it look more suspicious the following year.