Agreed. Wasn't a fan of the Sunday show, still think it takes away a lot of the immediacy, but it is good to have our pros be able to showcase just how good they are.


Not able to vote myself, but yup, every ITV vote seems to end up with drama and Ofcom and general hissy fits.


Not Bruce's biggest fan, per se, but he does help keep the show fluffy. He can deal with the live situations, and I was glad to see him mention Kelly as one of the contenders, as she really was, and it seems to have slipped the attention of some.


I know they always play up rivalry/friendship, but this group really gelled. I wish there had been a couple more weeks without eviction, as I loved Stephanie's pearls of wisdom for Kelly, and the look on Willie Thorne's face when everyone cheered him was so endearing.


Yup - Craig is usually the voice of reason, the one not doling out high marks because the contestant's bum caught his eye/love of divas/they tried. There were lots of dances this year which didn't deserve 10s, but the judges had already boxed themselves in by giving previous dances 9s, which in earlier seasons would have got 7/8.

I wonder if they've been told to increase the marks as the series progresses - gives the impression that everyone is improving, and each year they get better and better?


The controversial departures this year earned so much publicity, it's hard to see them go. There really really shouldn't be a dance-off between 2nd and 3rd place (though I really hope we do not have another 2 person final).


Thought it in previous years, and still tuned in. I think for so many of us, it's not the celebs, or the judges, or the guests, it's the joy of seeing dancing that keeps us tuning in.

So, er... Agree with lots of your post! (I could have said that so much more succinctly!)

I really like your posts, Borntosuffer, and I see you're relatively new to this forum. Keep up the good work - and the standard of intelligence & fluency on this thread which I have alluded to before.

The inflated scores of the judges, their pantomime (occasionally ugly and rude) performances and the dance off have been major turn-offs for me.

The only reason I mentioned personalities was in the context of whether Matt and Alesha would be able to carry the final, just the two of them, as successfully as Mark and Matt did last year. I don't believe they will and I think the BBC will regret not ensuring a three person final.

Strangely enough I was very supportive of Matt in the early weeks (although the divine Flavia might have had something to do with that) but couldn't come to terms with his personality transplant over the past month. A cynic might suggest that he realised that Gethin had sown up the beefcake-with-sensitivity vote and he would need to find an alternative source of votes, if he were to survive. So goodbye confident, bullish, macho Matt and hello insecure, vulnerable, please-help-me Matt. Lucky I'm not a cynic.

Thank you kindly, janjohn. As my monicker suggests, I was put on this earth to suffer and I try to do so with equanimity and without complaint. Sometimes my misery is lightened, just as now, after decades of anguish supporting Arsenal, I bask in their glory, knowing that it is only transitory. Occasionally, however, I see rank injustice and am roused to protest. Hence my reaction to Gethin's sad treatment at the hands of the four clowns, one symptom of a programme in decline.

Apologies for going miles off-topic; I'll just slink off back into the darkness of my cave.

Yes, but soon it will happen. i don't always bother to watch the dance-off Sundya show in full now and soon I will not drop everything to watch the Saturday show as I once did, if the decline continues. This happened with BB - where I actually did stop watching this year.