Dance Rivals Livid - off-camera frustration among the SCD performers

The Times Online 17/11/08:
The cast usually stick up for each other in public, but James Jordan, Lunghi’s dance partner, broke ranks yesterday to beg viewers to end Sergeant’s run in the competition. Visibly annoyed after being told that he and Lunghi were out of the show, Jordan said: “I think Cherie had a lot more to show. This is supposed to be a dance contest. Please, please, people at home, vote for the dancing.”

Off camera, the frustration directed at the former political correspondent was all too evident at the end of the show. Unseen by those watching at home but witnessed by the studio audience, none of the performers milling on the dance floor to commiserate with and embrace Lunghi would make eye-contact with Sergeant, who wandered aimlessly among them.

The competition has now reached a stage where, bar Sergeant, all those remaining are accomplished dancers with a shot at taking home the trophy.

One senior show insider said that he thought the public would now put an end to the joke. “This might be the tipping point,” the source said. “People at home will see that the competition has got to the stage that those getting kicked out at the expense of John had a real chance of winning.”

Cherie had a real chance of winning? They're 'avin' a larf.

Just to throw a little thought into the mix - we have been watching the SCD dvd over the weekend - and what a change you can actually SEE THE FEET - now we aren't dancers but do appreciate the "dancing".

Has anyone given thought to the fact that we DON'T see the feet on the series very much - poor camera angles etc - so therefore mere mortals like us are simply being entertained - if it is a "DANCE" competition like everyone harps on about - then show the feet give us backthe commentary so we know what is what and perhaps the "Dancers" will be safer

Unfair of them to take it out on John!

Of course it isn't - I'm sure this report is overstating what we saw on screen last night, but how on earth would you feel under the circumstances?

Every other couple has spent ages training, trying to improve. In the meantime, the court jester does the bare minimum (and I'm pretty sure he trained less than anyone else last week) but instead focuses his energy on building up his 'David and Goliath' act with the judges, playing for the sympathy vote by implying it might be his last dance and generally milking everything he can from the situation whilst loving it at the same time (see him relishing the attention he got one day last week when going to speak at a dinner - referenced on ITT). In the meantime, Kristina throws in some classy moves to distract the audience from John's limitations and sits next to him on ITT fingering his jacket and simpering ...

And the BBC has shamelessly hyped this up as much as possible in a desperate attempt to get maximum publicity.

James voiced what every other celeb/pro couple will be feeling. It wasn't, as has been claimed elsewhere, the sign of a bad loser: it was a plea for Cherie to be the last casualty of Juggernaut John.

Sadly, I suspect she won't be - so if you don't like stories like this, tough. Voting for the court jester has a downside - welcome to it.

Nobody should make John or Kristina (phwoooar!) feel uncomfortable about this; it isn't 'fair' that they should stay at the expense of the other couples (who might not all be capable of winning, but are still good dancers; everyone put in a decent performance last Saturday apart from John), but it isn't their fault.

It's a shame really. In any other year, it wouldn't be such a huge problem, but this year (for the first time) we have six (used to be seven) couples that are all either very good or capable of being very good. Not outstanding (yet), but the differences between this years 'final six' are smaller than they have ever been.

I suspect that many voters don't see a downside.

I respectfully disagree!! The guy should be ashamed that he is milking the sympathy vote for all it's worth while brilliant dancers like Cheri are falling away. She had a good shot at the title, and she was light years ahead of ol' half-baked pumpkin head John!
The show has become a complete farce now What is the point of having a dancing competion when the people who can't dance are being kept in week after week? Who the hell cares if he brings a "feelgood factor" to the show? That's not why I watch. I wanna see brilliant dancers fighting for all it's worth, and it's awesome to see dancers like Jodi improve the more they practice.
What has John done? He hasn't improved. If it's possible he has gotten worse! How difficult is it NOT to vote for the worst dancer in SCD history?
IMO I think he gets votes because the public love to disagree with the judges. They can also become quite tiresome at times. Can I be so bold as to suggest that maybe next season some (if not all) the judges be replaced?

(Wow, I feel so much better now)

Fun and games.

I can just imagine all the OTT indignation on John's behalf.

What's the odds we'll have a full-scale 'bullying' scandal on our hands before the day is through?

I hope OFCOM are well staffed just in case.

It's fair to say that if this was simply a dance competition being marked by the judges only - John would have been out in the first couple of weeks. But it isn't. It's also Saturday night prime time entertainment and the Great British Public is having a say as well. They are voting to keep John in the competition. The Britsh love an underdog.

This reminds me of the "I'd Do Anything" result, with Jodie being the favourite with the judges and the public, while ALW and CM favoured another contestant.

If the BBC wants to include the public in the voting process, the "professional" judges have to accept their verdict, or risk being seen as out of touch with public opinion.

It all boils down to this: is it a dance competition (in which case why is the public having a say) or is it entertainment?

How ridiculous!

If true which I somehow doubt, it just shows how pathetic some of them are if they are taking it so seriously. They all have careers (of sorts) outside the show and are only really there to up their profile.

Every series some really good dancers have left before their time because it's a popularity/personality show.

John going this week would only have delayed her departure by a week, she was in the bottom two because she didnt have the publics support so you are right highly unlikely she would have won.

This happens every year! Yes Cherie is/was better than John, but her Latin wasn't great! If she had been brilliant then she wouldn't have been in the bottom two. The only good latin dance Cherie did was her rumba.

I don't want John in any longer, but he is brilliant at galvinising the public vote. The judges are making it eaiser for him with thier pantomime attacks. Also they should not be mouthing off and telling the public how to vote. They soon get uppity when they are questioned on their marks.

I can understand why John's competitors are upset. I would be upset if I was in strictly and good (A flight of fancy I know), then to be knocked out at all would be upseting and to be knocked out by someone with limited dance ability would make me furious. I think most people would be the same.

I always remember feeling a bit sorry for Kate Garroway cause she was made to feel uncomfortable by the other couples.

This is ridiculous! If true, then the celebs and the pros have gone quite down in my estimation. It's not John's fault, the public are voting for him in their droves. He did hit on ITT that the AS a farewell quality to it, so by no means, did he expect to still be there this week.

John...end this ridiculous sitiation now.

Just walk & do us all a favour

It's no surprise though is it?

To use an allegory - If there was someone at your work who was no effing good at their job and had brown nosed their way to the top denying you your promotion or payrise on the way, how much would you go out of your way to be nice to them? It may not be professional or kind but they're only human and are reacting as I think the vast majority of people would.

I felt a bit sorry for James, saying what he did, and it could have been edited out, since the show isn't live, which shows the BBC actually WANT to generate this kind of publicity. They must want to do that because it works.

But um... I kinda think this report takes it a bit too far, and I also kinda think the cast should probably stick together, except for the judges vs everyone else as the pantomime bit.

It's just not very nice to put a pin in someone's balloon of popularity, is it? People signed up for Strictly knowing that public popularity (or rather, lack of it) could potentially embarrass them in public and trump their dancing ability. So they can't really send a fellow competitor to Coventry when it actually happens.

Having said that, I thought this week was the most dignified week for John to go.

I agree.

Was Christopher Parker treated like this? He got to the final didn't he?

It's the public who are keeping J&K in the competition. Why should they be cold shouldered?

And do we really want another two couples final again? I really hope not!

Back to the topic... I hope it's not true, since it's the public voting for John, that's why he is still there. And that's not John's fault!

And of course he was not only correct (and quite polite) in what he was saying, he also had every right to say it.

Good post, is so true.

He's not 'milking' the situation. When he does the interview with Tess after his dance, he doesn't turn to the cameras and ask the viewers to vote. (He did make the comment weeks back that he was confident the public would keep he and Kristina in but that was ages back and it was said with tongue very much in cheek)


If this was an out-and-out dance competition, would they choose a guy of John's age? This is meant to be fun and entertaining with the better contestant winning out eventually. If it was a 'real' dance competition there'd be nobody over the age of thirty in it, they'd all have to go through a tough vetting system before starting out and it'd be really boring.



I feel he has improved - just nowhere near as much as some of the younger competitors. I'm feel genuinely sorry for John because of the way this has panned out. He must be feeling rotton about all of this. He comes over as an okay bloke and I can't believe he got any pleasure from seeing Cherie leave on Saturday. This is supposed to be a fun competition, not one which is meant to make someone feel bad just for being there.

I thought Len's comments before the dance-off were an utter disgrace ("They shouldn't be here. John ought to be" etc) Some of the comments that John's had to listen to have been nothing short of blatant rudeness and they border on bullying.The judges should be thoroughly ashamed of the way they've handled this. They come across as four spoilt showbiz luvvies who are used to getting their own way all the time and they hate the fact that the way the program is now structured so that its beyond their control. The judges should stop bleating and get on with what they're paid a lot of money to do - judge the people before them and give contestants constructive feedback. Its not their jobs to bleat constantly about the way the program's structured. If they don't like it, perhaps its time they moved on and let someone else do their jobs.

This whole issue started when the BBC decided to cash in on SCD's success by making it into a two night show instead of one. I don't recall any of this sort of thing before the dance off was introduced.

Spot on!!!!!!!!

Well said!

This is probably one of the best posts on this whole topic!

Did the writer of this piece engage brain when writing....


How?

If John had gone last week the a dance off would still have happened between two people "...with a real chance of winning."