Well if the judges don't return next year perhaps you and your family could take over seeing as you think you know better than them!!!

How foolish of us to think that they know what they are talking about.

I didn't notice that, I usually do. Still it was a charming, graceful dance.

Are we not allowed an opinion then?

The judges are not always right!

My mum is actually trained in ballroom. She can do all these heel leads and things that Len harps on about- she knows what she is talking about.

Well said EJ. I have to confess to finding this the most boring dance of the night and that's as much down to Vincent. Sorry Vincent fans, just my opinion. At least when Jodie did her FT there were some accents in it and a bit of a WOW factor. This was just meh.

I agree, Jodie and Christine are the least capable, but they are the ones who are improving week on week and are having fun and loving the dancing with no expectations of glory. I hope the public get behind them and keep them both in.

I have to say, I quite liked Tom's Tango tonight. A great routine from Camilla and I thought it was better than Austin's which got 10s.

Well then she is perfectly qualified.

I thought that Rachel had missed something near the beginning and the expression on her face changed.
It was ok, but no wow factor for me. I was stunned by the score of 40.

At times like this I wish we still had the expert commentary for another viewpoint.

PS
I loved the Rumba last week and that was the dance of the night by far.

I can't believe Rachel would get four 10s when incredibly good routines from last series didn't. I agree about the protection idea. It's a shame. When the judges start becoming wildly inconsistent, it's time for a rethink.

There were no stumbles, the OP has had it in for Rachel for weeks.

It's hard to wow the audience with a Foxtrot, but it was near perfect and deserved all those 10s.

You'll notice though, it's not only the OP voicing this opinion.

She didn't need a single 10 to top the leader board and I imagine the judges are not innumerate enough not to know that - particularly when they have marked 4/5 of her compettion.

I havn't yet heard any argument why a ten wasn't justified let alone one against straight 9s which would have put her top. Even less argument that anyone else was better - which is all that really matters. Someone claimed her steps were wrong but also claimed no one could see them which destroyed the first point. Someone else claimed she missed steps out which is by definition unknowable without knowing what steps were meant to be in at that point. Imagined errors are not errors. Some people thought the dance was not exciting but thats a comment about the dance not the performance or the choreography - you get marked for doing that dance not some other. If she had jived where she should have walzed people would have complained with some reason.Some people find her dull and have found her dull since before the show started - that just reveals who they find dull.

Ive certainly not had it in for her for weeks. I admit I don't like her much, but I was pretty shocked when she ended up in the dance off.

I am not the only person who thought she was overmarked.

Who cares? That wasn't the point I was making. Moonbaby dislikes everything Rachel does - whether it's perfect or not. So I don't see any objectivity in the OP's opening post.

Thank you for saying what I wanted to but so much better. How can people know if there were errors when you couldn't even see Rachel's feet? Just watch the rise and fall of her body to know that she was doing heel leads most of the time. People are just nit-picking. I like Jodie but if she'd put in a similar performance and got four 10s, no- one would have bat an eyelid.

Am I not allowed to voice my opinion? I personally find your comments quite rude and far too personal.

Where were they inconsistent? The leaderboard is a perfectly defensible ordering of the pros. All tens could be argued over all series - even Matt Dawson got some.

The protection idea is mathematically untenable. All they had to do was to give Rachel the same as the person below her - it doesn't need tens. Rachel doesn't need protecting either as on this weeks dance anyone else will go out against her.

If anything Rachel being high protects the other good dancers from ending up in a dance off with her if the anti-judge vote swings automatically as it probably will to whoever is low in the judge's list . it doesn't save her but it might save Tom, Lisa or Austin from going against her.

The problem is, everyone, no matter how much or how little they know about dance, can understand "perfect" and can understand "mistake", "error", "flaw", "no heel leads" :P etc.

And plenty of people think 10 means perfect, or should mean perfect.

So 10s can be like a red flag to a bull to them, especially if they happen not to like the person getting the 10s.

I think the poster was trying to say, quite rightly, that you are basing your opinions of Rachel on your personal dislike of her and not on her dancing ability. Hand on heart, is the poster wrong?

No im not. I don't like Tom very much either but I thought he danced well. I didn't say Rachel's dance was rubbish but it wasn't perfect either.

I have no opinion on Rachel either way - my only comment on the foxtrot is that I found it boring and I cannot even remember what the piece of music was that they danced to. I appreciate that has nothing to do with whether a dance deserves a 10 or not, however, in my mind I feel I should remember a dance that has received four 10s and found this foxtrot very unmemorable unfortunately.

How could it have been perfect? Rachel is not a professional dancer, she is a singer who learned that dance in a week. It was lovely.

However, I do agree that the judges know the voting numbers, and Rachel does not seem to be that popular with the voters, which is a shame. She is a good dancer.

Fair is fair, I think. I hate what has happened with John, and this seems the reverse side of that coin. As it was with Cherie also. All in all the judges had to decide who was the best of the two of them. They made their mind up last week, and it is Rachel.

I dunno. I just cannot dislike Rachel, and I do think she dances really well.

Yep that's what I was saying Vincy, cheers hun x

I totally agree with you and believe the starter of this thread to be an anti-Rachel voter.

However it is typical human nature that those not blessed with natural beauty and talent take against a beautiful young lady like Rachel who is such a good dancer. It reminds me of last year when some people disliked Alesha.

It was a beautiful foxtrot that she performed with great elegance. It looked perfect to me and since the cameras do not show much of the footwork it is only the judges and those there that can make a judgment on the dance.

The judges judged a foxtrot, and it was a perfect foxtrot. So it got 10's. It was also the best dance of the night and Rachel was the only contestant who actually looked like a professional.

Well, I care. And I'm not sure a message board is the place to look if you want objectivity.

Oh here we go again. Why are women always accused of jealousy when they dislike another woman?

For the record I adored Alesha and if Rachel had half the personality that she had maybe I would be able to take to her a bit more.

I thought the rhumba actually deserved it's point but I agree with you about this one - lovely yes, perfect no