Karen Hardy will be on Breakfast, Monday morning, sometime around 8.45am. In the preview Dermot said "just before nine", though the time can always vary a bit.

Karen's slot is now being advertised for 8.55.

At 8.45 Breakfast will be doing a feature on Christmas number 1 singles. The preview clip for that showed X-Factor winner, Leon.

For those who didn't see X-Factor, Leon is worth seeing.

IMO Leon's similar to Matt - looks, nervous, with strong "boy-next-door" appeal, etc. Vocally, he was the weaker candidate, by a long way.

Leon came from behind to beat a very strong favourite. The favourite was described on the show by Cowell as "fantastic, consistent" (all the adjectives we hear about Alesha), "every season this show produces a star..., etc, etc".

Methinks the teenage girl vote thought differently.

I think it shows how important it is to pick the right songs or in SCD the right dances for the finale, I wanted Rhydian to win and even I was bored with all the ballads by the end of the show.

It`s on now

Karen re: Matt: "All he had to do was nail the choreography"

Note for next years contestants, mess up before the semi-final and complete the next dance, sure fire to get you in the the final

Ummmm- what was the point of her being there?

She toed the BBC party line and didn't answer a single question!
Who should have gone out last night - well (waffle waffle) :yawn:
Who will win - I don't know (waffle waffle) :yawn:
Just went on about what a hard job the judges had
What a total waste of time!
Mind you, on that basis she would make a good judge!

Very disappointed - I hoped she might actually express an opinion!!!

Can you imagine the uproar on here if she`d said Matt/Gethin/Alesha should have left or should win

Do us a favour. It's a light entertainment programme and you're talking about how someone "toed the party line".


And if she did, and it was one you didn't agree with she'd just being toeing the party line right?

That was very brief.

Karen was wearing a high-neck black jumper, with a long string of chunky beads, and knee-length black skirt.

Started with a clip of Gethin's AT (and another nice set of vocals by Hayley Sanderson, "The World is Not Enough", - I hope Hayley's adding links to all these SCD clips on YouTube to her MySpace website).

Karen said this was the first time she'd ever been in the audience for the show. She explained that last season she had gone right through to the final as a competitor (for anyone who didn't know).

Karen described the atmosphere as exciting and electric. Usual one-line descriptions of the competitors "head-girl", "forgetfull young boy", and "gorgeous Gethin".

Karen says she would not have wanted to have been a judge last night. (But maybe in other circumstances?)

Sian asks Karen if the decision was the right one. No direct answer from Karen. "Someone had to go", and some fans had to be disappointed.

Karen explains that the judges would have been marking exclusively on technical issues about heels and toes, etc, all beyond our ken. She says that the public may have voted differently.

Karen adds that Matt may have been under less pressure than Gethin.

Dermot asks for a prediction about the final. Karen: "I can't say. I don't know. I am a big fan of Alesha, but, on the night, you never know".

Amy - she didn't express any opinions of her own or answer any of the questions!!!! She could be in the diplomatic corps!
I have seen her interviewed before and she drives them crazy because she never answers the questions put to her. It's a waste of time her being on there.

And for the record, I like Karen very much. I just think she is told not to rock the boat.

Anyone remember a little Scottish lad called David Sneddon who won Fame Accademy? I watched X-Factor for the first time last night. Rhydian was by far the stronger competitor (compare Lemar). My impression was that he didn't put his all into the mediocre song for the Christmas single. I'm sure that long term he has a future - not really X-Factor material at all.

In SCD it wasn't in the end down to the public who went through but, as Karen pointed out, Len Goodman. It was, however, the public's fault that Matt went through without having to prove himself in the dance off. Karen also said that whoever went out the public would be upset. I suspect it's a rather larger proportion of the public for Gethin that it would have been for Matt.

Realistically, Karen's hardly going to go on national television and slag off Len or any of the other judges (much as some of us might want her to do it ... ). She wouldn't be so stupid as to bite the hand that feeds her.

I'd say the opinion was there, all right - it was in the subtext.

From my reading of what Karen said, it was implicit that she disagreed with the decision to kick out Gethin over Matt but atributed Matt's victory to the wobble he had the previous week - i.e. the 'nerves' soap opera and his 'comeback' ... which is pretty accurate.

Karen never does give an opinion. She merely makes the right noises. As you say, not going to bite the hand that feeds her.

Think of Len BADman's treatment of Kelly because Brendan dared to have an opinion. The bullies (eg Len) can't handle people having an opinion. This is usually down to lack of intelligence.

Then why not have someone who is not connected with the programme who can give their own expert assessment. I agree she doesn't want to bite the hands that feeds her!

If we have to struggle through the subtext first thing in the morning then it's not a good interview in my view. (Speaking as a serious journalist who has done hundreds of interviews - not tabloid I hasten to add before anyone calls for blood!)

Dear me , poor Karen ,

If she says what she thinks and gives an opinion , she is castigated , if she doesn't, the same thinjg happens ! She can't win can she ?
Of course she isn't going to overly criticise the finalists . Did it happen last year ? nor in many other years . I do recall a loy of negatives about Chris Parker, but by this stage , everyone is getting behind the finalist and being positive .

She has said all along she likes Alesha , I doubt that has changed , by later in the week thay may do a poll of the pros , Anton , Erin , Brendan all wanted Matt to win , James was pro Mark last year .

I really am not bothered if the BBC have said be careful , I would not have liked to hear her say Matt should not be there in the final , nor vice versa , if it had been Gethin .
My personal view is that , Gethin may well have pipped Matt if it was just the public vote .

Even if you had someone who isn't connected with the programme, the BBC would never allow a loose cannon to let rip about their flagship Saturday evening entertainment show ... particularly when it might stray into issues of trust (i.e. can we trust the judges) at a time when the BBC is paralysed with paranoia about wider trust issues (competitions being rigged, the Queen documentary, etc.).

Maybe that's why Karen opted for the subtext route first thing in the morning, so that the Len (love it, dottiep) BADmans of this world would miss it?!

I missed the results show last night and I missed Karen this morning! Darn! I was very shocked that Gethin went, howe ver back to Karen.
I have said this week after week,. I think Karen is fine as a commentator. She is employed by the BBC - I would imagine she cannot for contractual reasons bash the show / format / contestants etc. As someone above has said, the BBC would not let that happen.
The real problem is not with Karen's bit on Mondays, it is with the judges erratic behaviour. One week they vote for potential the next on the specific performance.

I personally believe that Karen does not sit on the BBC breakfast sofa and state a favourite/non-favourite out of good manners more than anything. She is not employed by the Breakfast team as a hard nosed journo, but as a social commentator on a light entertainment show. Perhaps if the questions they asked her were more answerable, without putting supporters noses out of joint, that might help.

Wasn't there a comment about how all Matt had to do was get the choreography right? I agree that had it been up to her, she would have preferred a Gethin vs. Alesha final.

Could be she's just being fair to them all.

None of this toeing the party line nonsense. You just want her to express your opinions.

In the waltz the woman normally pirouettes around the man. Flavia's choreography cleverly showcased a pretty boy pirouetting around the woman. Very effectively, Craig was bowled over.

Strangely, I thought Matt showcased Flavia very well! It was when I watched it again that I force myself to look at Matt's (excellent) dancing. It was a very accomplished, mature and romantic performance that I will NEVER expect to have come from Matt. Though it wasn't on par with Vincent when V&F did their amazing Waltz, but it came rather close.

She also said for Len he probably saw something extra, some extra sparkle and technical skills and 'tick his last box' that he chose Matt.

So...?

Is that possible that something extra happened to be in Len's bank account?

Like Matt could have bribed him? Wrong thread! Go to the conspiracy thread instead.