Now I know there were complaints about the Strictly scoring system during the recent series, and many people seemed to not understand the scoring system at all. I found this surprising, as the BBC have always explained the way the scoring works on Strictly, both during the show, and on the website (basically, it's a rank-based system, with the public vote breaking a tie). They even show you the judges' ranked score (which is the reverse of the scoreboard position) before the phonelines open, to make it clear how many 'points' each couple receives.

So, why is none of this clear on Dancing On Ice? I've looked on the website, but can't find a detailed explanation of the scoring. Is it ranked, like Strictly, or is it proportional to the actual scores/votes? What happens in a tie?

I just find it funny that people wear in uproar about not understanding the Strictly scoring system in 2008 - at least that's fully explained!

Does the lack of response mean that nobody actually knows?

I don't watch Strictly so I can't comment on that. But DOI scores are based half on the judges scores that are out of thirty and half on the public vote. They are then totalled together to give the final score.

Yes, I know it's 50% judges, 50% public - they explain that part.

But they don't explain if the scoring is rank-based, like Strictly (ie the last couple on the leaderboard gets 1 point, the next couple 2 points, etc) or if it's proportional (if couple A gets twice as many audience votes as couple B, then couple A gets twice as many points). This aspect of the scoring is fully explained in Strictly, but not here...

I suspect that is the way it happens but they don't tell you that because of the fear that the BBC might sue them for a stolen format.

Given that the rest of the show is a bunch of famous people wearing sequins, learning a new artistic/physical skill with professional exponents, performing and then getting grilled by a panel of loud-mouthed professionals and dance experts - I'd have thought the scoring system was the last thing they'd worry about getting sued for if it's a format issue

I don't watch DOI as avidly as SCD, but thought I'd give it a go last night due to lack of Strictly action, and must admit that the scoring confused me, too.

When they show the final leaderboard they show the rankings on the left hand side. They look the same as SCD.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lizzo1/doi.jpg

No it doesn't. In that case, the person at the top of the leaderboard gets less points than the person at the bottom - i.e. one for Ray, seven for Todd.

I often wonder the answer to this myself. I wish I knew!

That seems to be a fairly accurate statement LOL.

Good, glad we're all clear on that...