I have opening criticised Brendan for this extra lift on Sunday but I am beginning to think the BBC and SCD producers are trying to excuse Bruno's actions. We all know it was ridiculous to give Brendan and Kelly a 10, and we have heard his lame excuses.

However the BBC seem to be using Gabby's exit to swept Bruno's actions under the carpet. We all known Bruno's favours Kelly but it seems he has resorted to cheating to make sure they are kept in. What is the point of viewers phoning in to save who they think should stay with Bruno uses underhand tactics. I am not surprised Gabby is fuming, Sunday vote was a farce, Bruno's score 10 should not have been counted, therefore Kelly and Brendan might have been in the bottom 2.

It is quite clear he does not have an impartial view when it comes to judging. I will be very disappointed with BBC if this matter is not fully investigated.

What's next a snooker plays fouls shot but the referee decides not to deduct 4 points because he likes the player and referees from his heart !!

Bruno has never been impartial ever..he has always had the hots for certain pro dancers and liked certain celebs to an obvious extent imo...but then so had Arlene to an extent but she does mark her faves down occasionaly...first time I've seen Craig showing favouritism was last year with Emma and it surprised me but Bruno's behaviour is almost a fact of SCD, not necessarily palatable but always there

That's why he should be replaced imo.

Well let's think through the hypotheticals then.

Bruno gives Kelly & Brendan an 8 or a 9...and they end up in the bottom 2.

The other judges - who are not known for their consistency and impartiality either - save the other couple because they're 'annoyed' with the 'illegal' lift or through just plain old favouritism. Craig has gone on record with his wish to see Kelly & Brendan disqualified.

Strictly loses one of its top 2 or 3 couples.

So, by your own logic, shouldn't everyone who claims to want good dancing in this 'competition' - including the judges - be applauding Bruno's action?

Three years in a row Bruno has gone OTT with one of the female dancers, Zoe, Emma and now Kelly.

One would think his mission is to set the public against them.

Its the one constant with Bruno........ he is never constant.

I feel sorry for anyone who is Italian...they must cringe at him in the same way we do with Len.

At least he is seen as Italian in the US and not British....If only Len would put on a fake accent, we could deny all knowledge of him.....

As I've posted elsewhere, if you think that Bruno is not impartial, you should see the Polish version.

One of the judges used to go out with the father of one of the celebs and gave him a 9 for a dance that another judges marked as a 2!

Imagine if that were to happen over here!

They are? I haven't seen any evidence other than a lack of action or comment.


Not really underhand though, he quite openly said that he gave a 10 because he could not give an 11. He quite openly said that he voted from the heart.

Yes, he is wrong, yes, he should not do that, but it is not underhand when it is plain for all to see (and no, i am not condoning his actions or views).


It all depends on what rules are in place (if any) for such eventualities. Probably none. In which case the programme producers would have no clear guidelines, nothing to work from, and all this on a live show with viewers able to vote (so there could be little chance of a quick meeting/discussion to decide what action to take). The incident would be without precedent. And any meeting/decision would have been all the more serious in the light of recent phone-vote problems. The BBC would have had to suspend all voting until the situation was clarified. Not something that could be catered for.


Yes, I agree there.

The BBC should have some clear rules laid out, and communicated to all (judges, viewers and dancers).

If Bruno had followed the lead of the other judges, he would have given Kelly and Brendan an 8. This would have left them in joint 3rd with Penny and Ian. Penny and Ian moving from 4th to 3rd gives them an extra point and makes it less likely that they would be in the dance-off.
The 2nd couple dancing-off would probably be weaker than Gabby and James, so a different couple would have been eliminated.

So, Bruno's stupid score contributed directly to Gabby and James being knocked out!

Well said!!

Feel that Bruno's 10 is only scratching the surface though. I get the impression that the judges are by and large very much favouring Kelly and Brendan. During their tango the previous week Len was the only one to penalise for Brendan's error and so they were safeguarded there too.

Don't think it's an issue for K&B though as even if they drop into the bottom two I can never see the judges favouring another couple over them. Think, therefore, that they've got a path straight to the final laid out for them despite whatever tricks Brendan manages to throw in along the way.

It's just a shame that the judges are not taking into account how the other couples are going to be affected by their blatant favouritism (as you have so clearly pointed out above).

This is very logical, and deserves to be made very public. It should increase the amount of annoyance being shown towards Bruno, all round.

get a grip guys, there is no hard and fast rules as to how a judge may score he is entitled to do what he wants and he did so!!! i thinks its more of a problem when craig gives some one a 2 and len a 7 for no obvious reason exxcept personal likes and dislikes !
perhaps they shoudl in future disqualify people who break rules but they should state that first and as to blaming doughnut brendan well kelly knew rules too and she is just as much to blame !!!

Exactly...so punish her for the rule break then!!

Hmm you dont know that for sure though. For all we know Penny could have still got the least votes. Or maybe Kelly would have been in the bottom two with Gabby? Her and brendan arent realy that popular at all.

Fair enough as long as Bruno doesnt bleat on about the public voting for their favourites too.

This in no way excuses Bruno, who is paid to judge professionally. His actions may have directly led to a very good couple being eliminated long before their time.

you cant create rules in retrospect and backdate them!!!!
i say in future any one who chooses to break rules should get zero marks then they do so at own peril!

No, but it is propably fair to assume that it had an impact on the make up of the bottom two and, therefore, potentially the couple chosen to be booted off too!

Think that`s why miggy put the word `Hypothetical.` before their post

It wouldn`t shock me actually if Kelly and Brendan weren`t doing very well with the public vote.

i agree,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the judges seem to have lost sight of the fact that this is ultimately a public vote competition and we can do what we like, i mean they are all gonna get voted off sooner or later so what if gaby went, john is my fav but i know he will go soon,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, thats the nature of the beast!

No, but a points deduction for more than two lifts already existed and the other three judges had no problem sticking to it!

yes but its not mandatory to deduct , its there choice to ........ same as we choose to spend money to vote when we feel strongly enough.
gaby going out is not the end of the world guy!!! len is head judges perhaps he should have some criteria in writing for points. certainly that will then stop him overmarking as well,

The judges want us to keep the best dancers in but when Bruno pulls his `10s` stunt every year what on earth do they expect ? Of course the public are going to go against such blatant favouritism.

Think that`s why the other judges were so annoyed with him, it loses them credibility, well with what little they have.

On this forum......That maybe true ..........but with the GBP........Who knows ?.........

Well, if a judge chooses to give maximum marks to a routine with a blatant rule break in it (and it was mentioned several times during the show on Saturday that you're allowed two lifts in the American Smooth) then he is not a credible judge IMO!

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one as I cannot see how Bruno has a leg to stand on!!