I don't see the problem, its a funny little feature and I actually tune in to see it... it makes me smile and he is head judge so he should have a little slot...

I wouldn't worry too much, Erin will not accept anything below par. His arms should be interesting, though...

Nah, the BBC researchers would make up their own questions. Who would know?

I don't want to get this out of proportion, I'm not trying to make out that the segment is some kind of massive waste of the licence fee that's bringing ITT SCD and the BBC to their collective knees. Simply that, for me, it's pointless.

I'm not really sure that Len deserves some kind of special slot either, but if he does for some reason, then this is already covered by his so called masterclass. Not exactly high quality either, but it least it has something to do with dancing.

Anyway, if enough people find Ask Len interesting then they'll no doubt keep it. No big deal, there's a fast forward button for those of us that don't like it.

Well the questions aren't really Len's fault... they are Claudia and the production's team fault. They bear her and her cronies' stamp of silliness and whether they choose them or just make them up is besides the point- I'm sure somebody out there is asking interesting questions instead. She just treats him like how a toddler might treat an obliging grandparent, putting something silly on his head and seeing how long he'll put up with it there...
Last edited by lynxmale : 06-11-2008 at 09:47

I really don't see what the problem is, ok some of the questions are a little bit silly and not related to SCD but hey who cares, we need light relief from the show and not all of us want to focus on the dancing ALL of the time.

I was going to drop this as it seemed there were no new points being made, but this has floored me.

What should a spin-off show to SCD be about, if not SCD? It's not all pure dance - they cover the music, costumes, backstage, production and so on. So it's not focussing on the dancing all the time as you say. But surely it should be somehow relevant to the main show? If not, then isn't it a different programme altogether?

What I mean is SCD is an entertainment show, so is ITT... so there are parts that are there to entertain us... It is relevant to the main show... they are asking questions to the head judge Len.

Yes, it is an entertainment show but Ask Len isn't entertaining.

It would seem that the show, the pros and celebs in it consume a hell of a lot of peoples lives. God knows what these people do the rest of the year?
A little light relief is a good thing, and some people on here need to lighten up a bit

It is entertaining to me I guess it is all about opinions, I find it funny and good to watch

That's a bit of a sweeping statement. Surely whether something is entertaining or not is subjective? You may not find it entertaining - along with others - but there is a proportion of the ITT viewers who do. I'm one of them! A great cheer goes up in this house when Ask Len comes on and it never fails to make us all laugh.

I say keep it!

If they have a 'ask the pros' segment, on things SCD or non-SCD related, that might be more interesting. They seemed to have one segment like that (asking pros random questions, but they were SCD-related), and I thought it was quite a nice diversion.

And other people on here - i.e. you - need to keep your offensive remarks about women to yourself, but that doesn't seem to stop you does it?

Back on-topic, I'd find an extension of SCD-Observer's point quite interesting - why not have an Ask Len section, but ask him about dance? After all, love him or hate him, the guy's got tons of experience. It would be a good chance to get a wider perspective on the dance world other than the small glimpse we get on a Saturday/Sunday night.

Me too. It all smacks of "trying too hard" ~ the people who send in the questions obviously think that they are hilariously "off the wall", and Len's contrived answers are designed to show us all what a diamond geezer he is. It's the lamest item they've ever had on ITT

I like the suggestion about getting a different pro in each week and asking them questions. Len's not quite the charming oracle he, and the beeb, would like us all to think he is.

I present exhibit A, and I rest my case

It's not the idea that wrong, it's the daft questions. The bbc should only choose questions that are sensible and relate directly to the show or to dancing generally. It's their fault for choosing ridiculous questions.


[If no one is genuinely posting 'proper' questions, I'm sure the beeb peeps could post some of their own to make sure there are suitable questions to be asked!]

Can I just say as a non-obsessive, casual watcher only by dint of a partner who is obsessive (but doesn't post here), I find this is one of the bits of ITT that I actually bother to watch - I enjoy Len's asides and the nature in which it's all presented. There's far worse things on TV to worry about...

Its fun isn't it

I don't mind Ask Len (it's ok, but the question about Arlene getting a marble up her nose was exceedingly stupid), but the time could be better spent either asking questions about dance or quizzing all the pros about different things. In a broader sense, there's so much more ITT could show us that is neglects in favour of recap, but that's the way it goes.

Quite sad, really.
ITT appeared to listen to the audience and put a hold on the filler that was the 'celebrity super-fans' who are on the show purely to plug their latest single/album/book and couldn't even get the name of the show right ... and just used the space it freed up for more filler.

Even worse is the way the intro is used before every question. Why? They are even using filler on the filler!

Well, that what the beeb gets for setting up it's own, far inferior forum, after us DS-ers started all the forum fun on ITT!

They just don't love us like they used to.

Oh yeah, that bugs me! Why do we need to see "arty" footage of them setting the shot up in between every single question??

You don't have a case to rest, you're simply an offensive misogynist trolling for bites, and as such as pointless as the segment under discussion. Anyone who gets their rocks off watching female celebs in short dresses and then coming onto the internet to slag them off is beneath contempt.



I agree. It seems they just don't have enough content for five shows a week. The logical answer in that case would be to reduce the number of shows rather than fill out the exisiting ones with fluff, but there you go.

lol the question about Arlene, made me giggle


I don't mind that either lol