I couldn't care less who has had training and who hasn't. I like good technical dancing and beautiful people with a sense of rhythm on the dance floor.
Danny and Louise look good and move beautifully. Claudia moves very well and sometimes looks good.. Ore looks good and sometimes moves beautifully.
However, tonight Claudia both looked and dance beautifully whereas Ore didn't. Despite errors that only the blind won't notice, Ore was overmarked to push him to the top and save him from a dance-off (in which he might lose). What we see is a case of outrageous manipulation by the judges and a total shame.

Never a truer word.

Well said.

It was clearly manipulated. Ore hasn't been on anyone's radar in the last few weeks and after the dance off last week the judges pulled out all the stops to ensure he was in the final. Ore slipped in the middle of his AT and even if he didn't, his dances last night didn't have a patch on Claudias Quickstep. Darcey and Craig knew exactly what they were doing. Utter farce.

Ha ha, I hope not as I rather fancy him

Here, here.

Claudia got the same treatment from the judges that Anita got last year in the semi-final.

Good grief, are people really still so naive to think the fix was not on last night?

The judges were determined to see a certain result and did their damnedest to make sure that happened last night.

The fact the judges fix for the winner has been ongoing for at least 6 weeks seems to have been ignored.

Ore is not my number one but I am not sure I totally agree. Danny, Louise and Claudia all had one good dance and one that was a bit ropey. Ore had two that were pretty good, in a Strictly sense.

Well said It was manipulation at best but worse than that imo.

She did, some things never change.

I'll be honest, Danny is my favourite but I think Ore and Louise were both overmarked. Claudia has consistently been good too but gets pulled on any mistakes, same as Danny. Louise and Ore could fall over on the dancefloor and get a 10 off somebody.

The public just don't like Ore - he comes off as fake and a bit arrogant. Every poll has had Danny basically being the runaway favourite and I think that will continue now that people have seen the judges blatantly manipulating the scores to get the Cliftons into the final.

If so then they want to work on their basic maths because by putting a tie on the leader board they gave MORE power to the public vote to separate them out.

Worst attempt at fixing ever! Stupid judges.

i just wish they would use their super powers for good.

Here here - I think Ore is being over promoted and over marked to ensure he wins!

Isn't it just that he is pleased for his celeb partner?

Can't help feeling that being Youth World Number 1 and being British Latin Champion four times, and winning umpteen International Titles might just have had the edge in terms of personal achievement.

Well, I'd imagine it would for most people, at any rate - but hey, I'm not even remotely competitive myself, so maybe I'm not the best person to judge that.

I can't help feeling that all the cheezy VTs which show the pros and celebs insanely coveting the Glitterball are more hammed up than a ham sandwich, with added ham!

love it

I just think maybe from previous votes they knew Ore needed a bit of a leg up with the public votes and they gave him two with the mum and dad travelled so far to see him highlight and the two mentions of his nil previous dance experience. Even Ore fans have been saying he could go home this weekend. So the judges saw him as the underdog.

This. His scores was more about getting him to the final than about his dancing. I guarantee if Claudia danced her QS like Ore did, they would have given her an 8. Her AT was also far better, another dance that was undermarked

I think Ore's dancing is brilliant - I don't see this bias at all. If anyone's overmarked/overpraised it's Louise. I liked her as a pop star and thought she might be a really good dancer, but she's just a bit limp and boring to watch. She's easily the weakest one left.

Not true, although last night was not her best one. As for criticism of Louise's SCD performance, I have noticed that SCD forgives male celebrities more than it forgives females, e.g. Tameka vs. handsome Greg or even Louise vs the same wooden Greg.

They would have to sustain the story about him having the only journey story to do that. Politically a win for him might be ideal, as it would dispose of the racism charge that dominated weeks of this series early on. Him going in the semi , would leave the issue alive. But there's no evidence of what might be ,in theory, politically desirable, becoming an intent, let alone action.

The more difficult problem for the BBC is that there's clear commercial interest in some people making the final, but not others. The tour logically wouldn't want a winner or runner up, who is not doing it. Joanne is making a big break into theatre, Danny may be building his career option, s and Louise may, or may not, wish to. Claudia has a potentally long olympic career left, and no known desire to move to panto , Tv or stage work. The BBC is left, there, to just deny any link, or trying to do the impossible, and prove that commercial factors are not in play. Once the marking seems to be distorted, people will come up with reasons - however wrongheaded or unproven. The answer is not to mark in ways that look so bizarre.

I can't wait the backfire tonight... 2 hours to go.

So if I understand this correctly - Ore is sooo good that you can't believe that he's never had dancing lessons before Strictly. Sweet.

I agree.