I'm glad someone brought this up. I hate the arguing between the judges and Len and Bruno are the worst because they do it to play to the crowd but Len always picks on Arlene and it is when she is talking the most sense. When she's rambling about horny this and that and losing perspective he lets her go on.
It's not funny it's just rude when he does it.
To me Len has always been the worst judge because of his overmarking for particular people and without reason especially when it's obvious when the dance was bad.

I agree, I cringe whenever he does it. Thought it was particulary unprofessional when he said Bruce should be sitting there instead of Arlene. Like he can talk, the marks he gives people are absurd sometimes. He didn't used to be like that in the first 2 series', but now the bit of celeb status he has now has gone to his head and since series 3, he just interrupts arlene all the time, and sometimes craig too. I also hate the way he sits back and looks disgusted everytime either craig or alene says something he doesn't agree with, it really irritates me.

I thought Len's remarks were utterly unprofessional especially in light of the criticism the judges have been under. Moreover, I believe Arlene has just been highly praised for her choreography of the Sound of Music so clearly knows something about dance. Dear me, Len, I feel ashamed of you.

I've just moved to the States and was able to watch the semi-finals and final of Dancing with the Stars.

They only have three judges - Len, Bruno and an American woman I'd never heard of - and both Len and Bruno have clearly become big stars as the programme is HEE-YOOGE here.

It was very funny watching them as they showed lots of clips of the past season and there they both were using lots of the exact same jokes they've used this season on Strictly. They were also wildly overmarking in a very exuberant American way, which made me wish that Craig and Arlene were there to talk some sense.

Plenty of clips on You Tube if you want to hear Len tell his autopsy joke again to a completely different couple.

I am disappointed with Len, he is a great guy but he has started to believe the BBC hype about himself. Len has never ever been a big name judge on the Latin and Ballroom scene I believe he got the job because of his personality and his performance in his well know instructional videos. Now after appearing in the USA versions he has changed many of the pros I was talking to at Blackpool agree - Shame

According to an article in the Telegraph, Arlene was 62 during series 2 of SCD, so she must be mid-60s by now.

Sarah Brightman was on LBC Radio last week saying she was a very tough woman [from her time in Hot Gossip] so she should be able to handle Len.

I agree with many of the comments here. I thought Len was very unprofessional on Saturday in his treatment towards Arlene. I actually thought Arlene comments were very fair on Saturday and she was quite constructive. However, even if I had not thought that I would not have liked Arlene to be so poorly treated, constantly undermined and talked over. As people have said she is a strong person but just because she is it doesn’t excuse Len’s attitude towards her.

P.S. I am shocked to find out her age – I thought Len was a good 10 years older than her….not the other way round.

Hopefully now that DWTS has finished and Len and Bruno aren't travelling back and forth across the Atlantic, they might calm down a bit and start giving some constructive criticism and advice rather than just trying come out with "clever" remarks that they've already used in the American show. They are probably treated like gods over there and have to come down to earth with a bump when they get back to the UK and they don't like it. American audiences are very different to the UK one and they need to get some perspective and start thinking UK again rather than over-hyped USA.

He can't believe his luck and it's gone to his head. For decades he's been scratching a living just outside the 'top' of pro dancing and here he is, on TV both sides of the Atlantic.
I really hope he's dropped next year because the mask is slipping and we are seeing a spiteful bully boy. He hasn't got the style to be a second Simon Cowell!

This week I have to say I could not disagree with the judges, in fact I commented to my mother during the routines similarly to what the judges said.

BUT Arlene does go on a bit and frankly her salivating lust for various male celebs over the fours years is rather embarrassing and personally I am grateful that Len sticks his nose in and tells her to stop drooling. It has to be done IMHO.

But that was the problem this week, Len was undermining Arlene when she was making extremely fair and reasonable comments, her salivating lust (and I like that phrase ) is usually allowed to go unchecked.

Sorry to disagree with you Luckyforest but I happened to catch Arlene suring the Strictly Dance Fever series (where if anything she was even RUDER to the aspiring dancers than she is to celebs who already have a job )this summer. She looked as if she had just had the "work" done. As she had the classic "cat's eyes" look and permanently raised eyebrows as if perpetually surprised and puffy cheeks. It has obviously healed now and left her with a far more youthful look

Great idea - can't wait for someone to tell her and see it happen.

I agree ~ she looked dreadful during SDF, and I did notice she's looking better now, so I'd agree that the lift has "settled" a bit. There was a thread on here about the work she'd obviously had done during SDF, I remember commenting on how odd her eyes looked.

Len's used that line on Arlene once already this series, and the "specsavers" quip too ~ he's in desperate need of some new "gags"!

My fave joke of the series so far was Tarby's description of Len:

"The Noel Coward of Billingsgate Market"

That made me ROFL!!!!!!!!!!

I noticed too, even her hair is looking miles better, so the work has obviously paid off.

Just wanted to mention that when you hear her voice in isolation, she does sound like a woman in her mid-60s though. I heard a radio clip of her talking about the Opening of TSOM, and she sounded 'old'.

<---- hasnt forgiven Len for his airy fairy comment last year


He can talk, especially after watching clips of him dancing on ITT !!

Maybe he can ask Jimmy Carr for help on this.

Len is getting irritating, is it because he's been to the US? What sort of place the US is, a nice person can change so much in such a short period of time?

Sorry I never pay much attention on her, it might help to compare what she used to look like and what she's like now. In that case it might be that 'new face' that we are seeing, wonder when the plastic look will emerge?