This is my first post on this forum although I have been reading daily. Some of the messages left have been driving me a little mad so I decided it was time for me to have my say.

First, James might be the weakest dancer of those that are left, and the reason he is staying in is probably because he is attracting votes from ladies of a certain age (my mum being one of them) however, speaking for my mum I can say that if she were not voting for James then she would not be voting for anybody. Surely the idea of the competition is to raise as much money as possible for charity, and if James is attracting the highest number of votes and in doing so raising the most money then surely it is right that he remains in the competition?

Next, I wasn't under the impression that this was a professional dance competition, if the celebrity dancers were to be judged in this way then I expect they would achieve nowhere near the marks they have been. In 8 weeks, 4 tens have been awarded, none of these dances were perfect but in the judges opinion they were that much better that anything else seen this series. Whether they show bias towards Zoe Ball is all down to individual opinion, but even if they do this is not Zoe's fault, like all the celebrities she is giving her all to make this such exciting Saturday night entertainment and people should respect that instead of criticising her for something that is beyond her control.

I think that's about it, I'm sorry but needed to get it off my chest!

LMAO!! i think we are psychic!!! lol!!

I think a lot of the others are jelous of zoe because she was stunning from week one!!

but she doesnt deseve to be punished for it!!

she is always encouraging the other competitors!! and just as if not more self concious than the other contestants!!

T care
Jackie xxx

Welcome Molly and quite the fiery effort for your first post!

I hope that sharing your views has been cathartic ...

I'd reply more to your points, however, I'm in the middle of something right now!

Hear hear molly I think Zoe has really been unfairly critisied on lots of these threads for something that is not in her control.

She has been great from day one.

Molly 1984
I think you make some great points, this is a light entertainment programme and people can vote for those they enjoy watching most ... these don't have to be the technically best dancers.
Zoe has come in for lots of criticism for being favoured by some judges but that is not her fault and her tango I thought was a joy to watch [technical faults didn't seem important for my enjoyment].

Exactly thats why a lotof people are critising her!!

but she is a fantastic dancer!! and deserves to be in the final!!

Welcome Molly.

As I just said on another thread...this is the 'Saturday night entertainment show' not the world professional ballroom championships.

We leave it up to the judges to vote technically...everyone else should vote on who they like for whatever reasons they are, whether we agree with them or not.

Oh and I do agree...the judges bias that has turned people off Zoe is not her fault.

molly1984. Finally someone who talks sense.
I agree with both of your points regarding James and Zoe.
Some of the personal attacks made against these 2 competitors over the last few days have been nasty and horrible to read. I know that its a discussion forum, but sometimes people can go too far. I hope that the situation will begin to clam down now. Because usually this part of the forum is the friendliest to be around.

molly1984, welcome to the forum and thank you for stating so clearly and well what so many of us feel

Yes agreed.

It does all get a bit 'eeeeeeek' sometimes.

Come join in on the non bashers thread anyone if it gets a bit much.

It may be random..but anyone is completely welcome....

We even lay on special cocktails and marshmellows for all new members!

This is great television and entertainment and this forum is living proof of that. Its great that people have views and feel able to express them - I haven't come across many really bitchy comments.

Say what you think, but let's be tolerant and not take it too seriously either!

I think using children in need as a reason for voting for your favourite is such a cop out!! if you're so concerned with raising money for charity why do you need SCD to do it? surely you can donate money anytime you want. celebs and professionals put a lot of hard work into this every week for our entertainment. I would feel robbed if someone who was blatantly worse than me got through based on popularity. Let the best dancer win.

I don't think anyone is saying they vote for a particular person to donate to charity. I think what people mean is don't get so aggreived if the less able dancers get thousands of votes because the bright side is that it's raising more money.

richuk - my point was the competition is about raising money for charity not about a celebrity starting a new career as a professional dancer. and as it happens james is not my favourite but clearly he is receiving many votes. this is a charity competition after all!

For some people, the fact that, by voting, they are helping to raise funds for CIN could be a deciding factor in them actually picking up the phone.

The main thrust of this thread appears to be nothing more than an appeal for a stop to the more extreme posts, re one participant or another, for things that are outside of their control.

As with any talent/reality show people will vote for a variety of reasons. Deciding who they sill vote for is never going to be a completely objective process.

I'm actually watching the behind the scenes footage, on ITT, as I write this & the atmosphere amongst the pros & celebs is a delight to see. It'd just be nice to see it carried over to the forums &, therefore I'm completely in agreement with the sentiments of Molly's posting.

Meh - the grumpy/nasty posts are from a minority; I'm bored of these threads.

i've become increasingly bored of posts complaining about one celebrity or another and so now choose not to read them captainsensible.....

Which ever couple one votes for, money goes to CIN doesn't it?
If I find a thread/post/poster irritating or annoying or childish I just ignore it, unless its downright libellous, then I report it.
Forums are about having your say, getting it off your chest, and having a laugh. There's room for everyone so long as you're not spiteful or anal(!)
Good luck to all the dancers and celebs, it's a shame anyone has to go out in these last few weeks.

I'm sorry, Molly, but the primary aim of the show is not to raise money for charity. That is just a by-product of the telephone votes, and the cynical viewer might conclude that the BBC has been mindful of the criticism directed TV and telephone companies that make money from viewers' votes. To offset this criticism, a proportion of the money is going to Children in Need. To emphasise the charity aspect, votes are invited all week long, before people have seen the dance of the couple they are voting for. - What a good idea - if they make a mess of it on the night, why not pick up the phone and submit double votes for another couple.

Call me cynical if you like!

The primary aim of the programme itself, however, is to provide good quality family entertainment on a Saturday evening, and it succeeds very well. It is a dance competition, so on the whole we need to see good dancing.

The celebrities bring in viewers who initially may have had no interest in dancing, so their way in is through the celebrities they recognise from TV or sport. People do vote for the celebrities they already like, and of course each celebrity will have his or her following of colleagues, friends and family. Then again contestants from Northern Ireland or Scotland seem to attract a national following in TV reality shows (that's how Cameron won BB4). Nevertheless, at some point the quality of dancing does become important. Fiona's and Bill's popularity could only go so far. Fiona kept getting sympathy votes until her continued presence became an embarrassment to everyone not least herself and she had to go. I believe that however much people like James they will finally see sense and he will go next week.

But there is something slightly more complex at work when we choose who to vote for. It is not just the personality or the dancing, but the interaction of the two. You don't always have to be the best dancer to put on the best show. The combination of personality and dancing ability can produce memorable performances. Last year Julian and Erin made it to the final despite Julian's lowly level of competence because they were charming together, Julian was a real tryer, and when they danced they did put on a real performance, no matter how limited Julian's steps were. You are saddened by the criticism of Zoe and Ian because they are the best dancers technically. The backlash against them, however, is not just because the judges give them high marks, but because some of us just aren't warming to Zoe or to Zoe and Ian as a couple on the dance floor. They have not excited me particularly, I can sit and watch and think, oh yes, very good. But other couples are more exciting: Colin and Erin on Saturday were fantastic, and other weeks Darren and Lilia have dazzled me with their Paso Doble and their Jive was just hugely enjoyable and good fun.

So, what I am saying is that SDC is a good light entertainment show and also a dance competition, so we do want the best couples to reach the final. We don't want hopeless incompetents going through to the final, but technical perfection isn't necessarily enough to win either. I think that the GBP will eventually get it more or less right.

Forum posters, this is a shameless bump! No apologies given!!

Agree with SO much of what you say it'snotcricket. I'm new to the show. Could you tell me what happened in the previous series when Julian Clary got to the final. I've only seen snippets of him on ITT when he did his Jive which he admitted he wasn'y very good at. Was it a thrilling final in your view?

I only got into the show last year, Diamondlife. Missed the first series and joined the second series after a couple of weeks - then I got hooked!

Julian and Erin got to the final against the wishes of the judges, it must be said, like this year. Len was kind to him though and called him the most improved celebrity at one point (although he couldn't have been much worse!). However, the public were not all that stupid. They wanted to see him in the final because they loved him on the show, but he was first to be eliminated, leaving the two best couples to fight it out for the prize. Jill and Darren won, beating Denise and Ian. Both these couples were excellent, but I seem to recall Bruno going over the top about Denise a lot.

To add a word to my previous post, I suppose what we're looking for is chemistry between the dancers and between the dancers and audience. And I'm not talking about sexual chemistry!

no it isn't a charity competition CIN is not the reason why this competition began CIN was introduced as a way of raising money. i don't vote because money goes to CIN i vote for my favourite dancer the fact that money goes to CIN is great. the fact that people say vote for james because he obviously raises a lot of money due to a large fan base confuses me, my counter to that is why not all those james lovers accept that he is the worst dancer and put you vote to people who deserve the votes and the money still goes to CIN

At the end of the day, it's nothing more than a light entertainment program. One of the few that the whole family can sit down and watch together. You don't have to get involved in the voting to enjoy it and appreciate the good (or bad!) dancing. Voting isn't compulsary, but it does spice it up a bit.

Hey Molly, Welcome to the Forum. I would have dropped in to say Bonjour earlier but it's the ever busy day in the life of myself that prevented me doing so.

Anyway, I agree with what you're saying, it's the celebrities that are being judged not the Professionals but let's not forget at the same time that if it weren't for them the celebrities would be like fish out of water.

I don't think it's entirely right to criticize one's efforts for trying but there is trying and there is "I Can't" - In my book there is no-such word as I can't, which is where "Do or do not" comes into play.