To be honest I didn't really wish any of the four couples out
BUT the dance off was NOT fair.
Austin had the salsa and Lisa had the waltz. Now whatever these duffers on the panel say the waltz is an easier dance than the salsa and it is virtually impossible to decide who is better on single different dances when the couples are close as they were on Sat.
I think for a dance off in the latter stages both couples should do the same dance.
I thought they were all good and sad to see any of them go.
Terrific quarter final.

I agree that the couples should all do a close as possible to the same dances. It's difficult trying to compare a Waltz against an American Smooth against a Foxtrot against a Tango. I vaguely recall in earlier series that the dances were more similar in one week than they currently are now.

luck of the draw I'm afraid. The same happened with Gethin. He had to do a Paso and AT in the semi and his AT in teh dance off was against the Matt/Flavia Waltz that got 40 in the original dance.

Life isn't fair, boo hoo hoo

Well, in past serieses, if Ramps had danced his salsa against almost anyone else's waltz, he would have got through, so it's not always the case that the salsa would lose out to the waltz.

Some people are actually stronger at the latin e.g. Jill Halfpenny and most of her latins would have wiped the floor with anyone else's ballroom.

There are equal arguments for making them dance their best dance again, or their second-placed dance.
I would be in favour of the second-placed dance. It gives both couples a chance and makes the fact that they are dancing two dances mean more.
With their weaker dance they have a chance to improve, so the dance-off is more exciting. I thought Austin's salsa was worse in the dance-off because he knew there was no way to win unless Lisa fainted.

Just because its difficult for us mere mortals to judge a ballroom against a latin doesn't mean it's difficult for a judge in a dancing competition.

What are we looking for? - Does it look good? Am I entertained by it?
They're looking for those things, too, but also for the specific technical things that they know each dance should have.

They also have to vote with their head. You can see Craig wanted to vote Austin but couldn't as he was worse then Lisa in teh dance off.

they danced the dances that scored the most, which is the only fair way of doing it

had Austins AS been better he would have done that and it would have been more 'even'

I thought his AS was a mile better than his salsa.

actually I did too, I mean if it had been better scored

Plus it would make the judge`s decision harder

The dance off has been a complete waste of time the past 3/4 weeks as it has been pretty obvious who the judges will put through before they even dance !

All they could do is give the couples a choice. If the couple want to take the risk of dancing the routine that the judges scored lower then that's up to them.

You can't really expect them to do the same dance in the dance off unless they've done the same dance in competition. It could mean preparing an extra dance on top of the two they already doing

Life isn't fair. Someone had to go. Whoever was out at this stage, it would be sad. Austin and Erin must be feeling very sad indeed after doing so well - but they have done extremely well in the competition and given us a lot of pleasure. They were good on Saturday night, just others were better, that's all. That's competitions for you!

Why do cynics such as you bother to reply? I wasn't crying about it merely expressing regret and giving a serious opinion , not trying to take the p***.
Have a happy life.

Well, if Austin and Erin had scored higher on their American Smooth then they would've danced that, wouldn't they?

I thought Craig's vote would be particularly interesting since both dancers appealed to him but in wildly different ways.

Ultimately, it's a dance competition not a sports pin-up competition. Based on previous wins by Gough and Ramprakash, he thought it would be something of a cake walk. Austin Healy kind of forced the dance to come to him with his clowning around and lack of progress rather than challenging himself to surrender to the dance. End of.

One thing that I think might tip the balance a bit when Lisa is in the dance off, is the fact that the judges have a weekly phone in slot on Lisa and Johnny Vaughan's breakfast show on Capital, with Johnny ofen saying to Len or Craig "I'll see you on Saturday, I'm coming down to watch" - it's all very pally and makes me wonder how neutral the judges are when they have the final say?
That said, I don't really take it that seriously, and I'm sure Austin isn't losing sleep over it!.

I absolutely agree.

Austin was the best dancer - his salsa was the most authentic I've ever seen. It's a travesty that he lost, and it's completely unfair.

It's all based on the biased judging - they simply want a Tom / Rachel final, so they vote that way, no matter what.

An awful lot of very good people spend a lot of time trying to make it fairer.................. Others just stand by and mock!

I remember one of the judges saying during the dance-off- "now it matters more than ever what type of dance you do"


I thought, what's that supposed to mean?
Very odd.

Well, apparently there was a rumour backstage that Austin was going to come out with bells on, and do a Morris dance, so maybe that was it?

and what exactly are you doing out of your thread young man???

you know you're not allowed into other threads without permission

(I do apologise everyone it won't happen again)

come back to your thread at once before I take my hand off your face!!!

It was a shame that Austin was voted off Strictly as I really thought he would win this year BUT I do have to say that I thought he looked pretty exhausted before he even danced at all.

He has worked so hard (as have all of them) in mastering the various dances each week and I fear that, with a family life and other commitments, it finally took its toll.

I just now wish 'good luck' to the other three remaining contestants and their professional partners and may the best man/woman win.

Purely as an aside, I sneakily would like to see Camilla take the trophy this year (with Tom) as I feel she has worked so hard and Tom has improved so much.

Oh - that was your hand?