isnt that what Arelene does every week...... she goes on about how she would love to work with people etc........

and yeh she is always herself and i wouldnt just stand their and take what the judges have to say sometimes!

Why would a few broken ribs stop Craig sitting in a chair and raising a marking paddle 12 times

Ouch poor Craig! I hope he does do tonights show, it'd be wierd without him. However if he's not able then I would love Karen to judge and if not Karen maybe the guy who does the commentary Phillip Jackson.

Broken ribs can be extremely painful and, depending on which one's they are, they can make breathing very difficult.

My dad badly bruised his ribs a couple of years ago and could hardly catch his breath.

Hope Craig's OK for tonight

maybe they could link to his house where he can put his scores up

Why don't they pull Philip Jackson off red button to take Craig's place and leave Vincent and or Karen red buttoning?

I can just imagine it now -cue to CRH lying on his leopard skin rug -just visible in the background are numerous bottles of San Tropez and Grecian 2000.......

I imagine he would be wearing a rather fetching red silk smoking jacket and his insults would be second to none. Ah, I love Craig!

PLEASE STOP !!! ... the visual

There would be a log fire burning and on his mantelpiece is a huge picture of Judy Garland in a pink fluffy frame. In the background you can hear the sound of Jame's Brown singing "Let's Get It On".

I too like Craig, I think he can be very harsh, but he's a character and the show wouldn't be the same without him.

I'm sure Craig will still be there tonight, but I think those not overly in favour of Karen substituting would end up being pleasantly surprised if she did end up doing it this week. Her judging persona isn't the same as her tv show competitive persona. Her personality still comes through, but as the competitor she was... the importance of the technique etc obviously becomes far more of a focus. I also think she'd give constructive criticism without becoming personal about it like Arlene and Craig can do on occasion (although I have nothing against either of them most of the time). I thought she did a great job with the red button commentary and imagine she'd be similarly good if she were judging for real.

Yep - also it's possible to get a punctured lung from the broken rib.

So do I.

Get Lorna Lee in to replace him...she was originally on the judging panel.

But she's got a lot to answer for cos when she pulled out we got Arlene (Yeh...thanks Lorna)

Fab idea. I'd love to see Chez Revel Horwood.

I do hope he's OK.

Og course, if Craig wasn't there, Len wouldn't get a casting vote 'tomorrow'. There would be a clear decision.

I hope he's OK for tonight but I do know how painful broken ribs can be.

This may be closer to the truth than both of us can know.............

so much for craig missing the show

Kenny just referred to Craig having 3 broken ribs - so the report was true

What!? You're kidding, right?

I absolutely LOVE Lorna! Had no idea she'd been asked to do the show.

Maybe if she'd done it, Paul Killick would've stayed longer, being one of his and Hanna's coaches she may have given the pair of them higher marks to keep them in!

::Gets visions of Paul and Hanna, Matt and Nicole, Timmy and Jo and Chris and Hazel all dressed up as Michael and Lorna at Blackpool 2002!::

How incredibly awesome.

She didn't actually pull out - she was considered (by the Beeb) to be unsuitable....

What? Did she actually comment on technical aspects of the dancing instead of randomly shouting "I want sex"? That figures why she would be considered "unsuitable".

Potential judges were given screen tests, much like would-be actors & actresses do when auditioning for a film role. Some give the right image, some wrong!! In Strictly's case a certain personality was needed.

As I was told she was signed up and had a contract but when they came to the 'run through" she was on holiday so the beeb brought in a substitute for the run through, that was Len. They liked Len's character better so decided to use him instead. They were apparently not in the least bothered by having already given her a signed contract. The others had been chosen randomly because the producers lliked their personalities regardless of whether they knoew anything or nothing about ballroom dancing, which they dont all of them being in musical theatre.