It was rarely mentioned because IT IS NOT RAISING MONEY FOR Children In Need THIS YEAR.

I hope the BBC take control soon of this programme or it will die. Change the whole panel of judges!! Len is not coping with jetlag and his scene with Craig was dreadful on Saturday night. This is not entertainment in my opinion. It was cringe making TV, like the wars between the judges on X Factor, just embarrassing to watch. All of the judges with exception to Bruno have made negative comments about John on various programmes. In one interview on ITT Len refused to talk on camera as he was so "distressed" that Cherry had been voted off the show!! Craig and Arlene appeared on various shows telling the viewers not to vote for John and Kristina as they could not dance. I think John's clever comment on Saturday about thanking the judges was brilliant. THEY HAVE CAUSSED THIS AWFUL MESS. with their nasty vile comments to the celebs and their constant abusive comments about John to anyone who would listen. It is just not professional.

That is a joke if they are sacked, especially Craig

So the "Daily Mail" states that

"sources" say that they "may" axe .... "if" viewing figures "plummet"

Say it all really.

Are the papers short of genuine news these days?

Seems they make anything up to fill a space on the page.

They want to keep JS "story" alive, the article is full of ifs. They probably want BBC to comment/deny it so they can say, oh, now they deny it, so it must be true

A difficult one. The British Public have always been for the under-dog and if the Judges dealt with the contestants more kindly, John Sargeant wouldn't have gone past his sell by date. The Judges all know what they are talking about but the celebs are NOT professional dancers but, to be fair, they are being taught by the best in the business and they are getting paid for appearing in the show. It also bolsters their flagging careers. Craig Revel-Horwood has always come across as an extremely spiteful man and giving anybody the score of 1 just proves he is vindictive and nasty. It is extremely uncomfortable to watch him vent his spleen week after week and that does not come under the term "entertainment" in any way, shape or form. I personally would like to see him axed from "Strictly". Arlene may be the Queen of Mean but most of her comments are constructive and, although I wouldn't want her to be my new best friend, I do respect her judgment. I think the BBC should set boundaries with the Judges and insist they do not make personal remarks, swipes or jibes and just do their job which is to judge people fairly and treat the celebs with a little more respect.

Or, he sees little technical excellence or ability in the dance halfway through the competition, and was marking purely on that. Nothing spiteful, nothing vindictive, just a technical judge doing his job, marking purely on merit rather than sentimentality.

And yes, that particular "dance" (I think that we can use that term very loosely indeed) was quite frankly, appalling in my view. It didn't even convey any feelgood feeling (unlike earlier efforts).

Craig is not vindictive because he's equally harsh on everyone, if he was vindictive he'd single people out. Personally find Len's dirty old man comments far worse to deal with.

Professional what??..........these judges are all professionals in the field of dance and hugely respected by the thousands of DANCERS they work with .........so I don't quite understand what professionals you have in mind? Jonathan Ross? Russell Brand?

Dear BBC, please AXE the the phone voting GBP OR give them their own "Strictly come lame dancing laugh-out-loud personality Show". Thank you very much.

They should definitely keep Craig. He's the best and most reasoned of all the judges.

I think I would stop watching if this were true - I don't particularly like Arlene, I can't stand Len but I love Craig. I want them all to stay because that's the programme I love. I enjoy moaning at the television about them.

I don't particularly want one of the highlights of my television year being dictated by the tabloids (which, let's face it, have caused the JS mess in the first place). We've always had the odd weaker dancer going through and getting slated by the judges both on and off screen - it's part of the pantomime and it drives up ratings and publicity.

This year has been ruined because people have lost sight of that.

They in my opinion are the better of the two.....

ITT last night had a lot of pro judge spin and especially pro Len spin.

If Craig and Arlene goes I wouldn't bother to watch......Len first out the door please.

Very true there.

The Help the Aged comment sticks out, but the refusal to even attempt a constructive critique of John's dancing after the first week was most telling. There was also his anger at John being kept in (post dance-off interview from the dance floor after Cherie left).

Len very much shared Arlene and Craig's views but he kept them confined to the SCD studio. Nevertheless, we all got to hear them thanks to the Beeb, and as he has been given the title of Head Judge they probably carry more weight with the public too.

@Quizmike. People who believe everything in the papers are equally as dense as those who believe nothing I fit neither category

BTW, did you read the P & O statement that said John's speaking tour had no concrete dates (as someone already said it is standard in these contracts that television appearances take precedence) and they would have placed him on a later cruise had he remained in SCD? They also said they would have been delighted to see him continue on the show.

The whole show is just a showcase for some massive egos. This series has really demonstrated that fact. Clear 'em all out and get some fresh blood in.

I second that

Len was the one who came out with the much repeated "This isn't Help the Aged" gem.

Cheers, smokeychan1!

Agreed

What this piece of 'journalism' fails to mention is that without the outspoken comments of the judges there wouldn't have been the backlash/furore and there wouldn't have ben the ratings surge. I should think their positions are safe as houses.

I've a feeling the Daily Mail took a look at the BBC forums and got inspired by some of the posts about this topic.

I do think that it's time the show got a revamp and the judges are beginning to look stale. Their comments are now so predictable they've stopped being entertaining.

Surely the point is that these judges are different. What is clear is that though the marks may differ they do tend to agree on who has danced the best in that week. It is after all a matter of opinion. Assuming Craig and Arlene went you would still get controversy whoever replaced them.

The help the aged remark is a classic example of someone quoted out of context.

What seems to have been forgotten by many is that JS wasn't the only competitor to receive negative stuff from the judges. Len prefaced his help the aged remark by saying(IMHO quite rightly) that if he was going to offer criticism of other celebs he wasn't going to hold back on John.

You hire people to judge dancers and to comment on just that. You then what fire them because they do what you asked of them? Really?

It was I believe Bruno who told John to his face that his dancing stinks yet Craig is the one who gets the flak.

I imagine the Daily Mail editor dreams of readers like you. Even by that paper's low standards that article stinks of BS.

Other people think other things Kittles - Craig is vindictive, harsh, unkind, spiteful and comes over as an extremely nasty piece of work. I agree with you that is harsh on everyone but that does not alter the fact that he is hypercritical and completely out of order. I am sure the BBC could find another judge very quickly. Craig Revel-Horwood is not indispensable and I would be pleased to see him axed so I don't have to witness him behaving like the cat he is.