Do they call off this weeks vote as obviously they now don't need to evict one couple.

Alas there is the income from the phone vote (including those that have already voted since Sunday) to consider.

Will be very interesting to see how they handle it.

Unfortunately this appears to be a non-existent dilemna as Auntie Beeb has already decided on a two-way final!

I think they should not have an eviction this week but carry over this week's votes and add them to next week's and then evict as normal.

I said this in the ITT thread. Last years final wasn’t as good for me, both Mark and Matt really struggled and the quality of the dancing suffered because of it.

I really dislike the idea of having only two finalists again, a far better idea would be to have nobody go tomorrow/ Sunday and carry the votes over to next week. The show won’t suffer for that if it’s only one week, but the final will suffer if it’s just the two finalists again. Five dances is two much for anyone I really hope the BBC reconsider this plan of action.

I don't like to idea of a 2 couple final, why can't they have the final a week earlier than planned or no one is voted off this week and the votes are carried over to next week.

They could very simply score the dances as normal and have the viewers vote as normal. Then take a reading of the public votes and carry those and the judges scores over to next week.

They should not repeat last year and have two dancers performing 5 dances on the final. They both looked knackered and the dances, while really good, did suffer a little because of it. As did my enjoyment.

I agree about letting the scores run over to next week , but what happens to their Sunday show then ?

It woudl be totally redundant .Unless they ran it as normal until the dance off and then announced no-one was going

I think this week the idea of rolling votes over is unlikely to be a goer since they don't have enough time to sort out what to do with the Sunday show if there is no elimination, there's no time for example to come up with new routines, costumes etc for the professionals to do a show dance or arrange for extra guests etc.

They've already got to decide what to do with the extra time they have tomorrow night now that Kelly isn't dancing. I also think that if they do that there will be some people who moan about the money they've spent on votes this week. They may be able to do it next week as they will have time to sort it out but that won't help this week's couples.

I think by having a two person final (as much as I loathe the idea given the mess of last year's final) it is the easiest way of dealing with the situation and gives them plenty of time to sort out what they are going to do.

IF they are going to have just 2 couples i hope they dont get 5 dances again.
Maybe they could spend some of the show time doing a group dance for those that were voted out earlier on?
That way it wont be as stressful for the two finalists having to learn loads of different routines in a week.
Id rather the two couples spent the week learning an AMAZING showdance and perfecting a previous ballroom/latin dance...

The principle reason for not having a week where no one goes out, is because the BBC think it will reduce the number of viewers. That's the last thing they'd want.

The prime objective of this show and also the reason why it has been lengthened by two weeks both this year and last, is to beat ITV's X-Factor in the Saturday night ratings war.

Likewise, we will be stuck with the Sunday show next year as the ratings for that time slot have been excellent.

"Ratings" are the "one true god" at the BBC.

I agree that a two-horse final is not so exciting; having an elimination-free week would solve the problem, but they would have to tell people before hand, because otherwise the money spent on votes would be considered fraudulent, and there's been enough of that already. As there has also been talk of Letitia having to withdraw because of panto commitments the problem could get worse!

how funny.
We might end up with a one man/woman final

I have s suspicion this might be Letitia's last week anyway (leaving Alesha the only girl - remember the talk being all about the girls at the outset!). But even if that is not the case, from what was said on ITT tonight Darren is off to Ipswich so they can train while she is rehearsing and panto season doesn't start for antoher few weeks.

I would also assume that she is contracted to appear in the final of SCD as all the other dancers seem to be/have been throughout the years so presumably she'll have contingencies. Just goes to show you should never say never!

I think if Leticia does get through this week she is going to find it very difficult to rehearse for SCD and panto.

Letitia needs the practice hours so, if she survives tonight, it is only going to get more difficult for her.

I sympathise with Letitia but only up to a point -the celebs should think of their other commitments before agreeing to do Strictly, not moan about the schedules etc after.... No one makes them take part.

Who chooses who is in the final? Judges? Is there a dance off for bottom two in the semi's?

I would imagine each contestant signs a contract so say that they will be available for the full run of the show.
I would also suspect that the contract to appear in any "Christmassy" enterprise would have been in place before programme one.

Anyone who bleats about "work load" will not get any sympathy from anyone who would be aware of "how things are done."

I watch both SCD and The X Factor (the latter being taped) and it really got me thinking.
As with SCD one act in the X Factor left making one less week towards the final.
Last night was the quarter final and instead of the sing off at the end it was left to the viewers vote.

Much, much better idea as far as I am concerned as there are now four acts in the semi next week leaving three for the final.

I know this is all X Factor talk but I think that maybe SCD should have done the same and omit the dance off.

As far as the BBC are concerned, this is just a programme with good ratings, there's no way they would willingly shorten the series run at this late stage. All their channel schedules will be fixed for weeks in advance, "a gap" would be thought a worse problem for the task of maintaining ratings, than a "no one goes out week."