To think that Strictly Come Dancing winners are chosen from the outset?

[AndreaMarvell]

Actually I am a bit disingenuous here because I don't think that myself, but have been party to a lot of grumbling on Facebook page for SCD about it from others who think it is.

This started after moaning that La Voix avoided the dance off last night when the dance was apparently terrible (I've not seen it yet). La Voix and Aljaz avoided the dance off because people voted for them, I imagine. They were all screaming FIX! and saying that the winner is already chosen, and it will be Ellie.

What would be the benefit of picking a lineup and then choosing a winner at the beginning? Did they really nail on Natasha Kaplinsky all those years ago? If it was fixed for disabled contestants to win, why didn't Lauren Steadman, Will Bayley, Jody Cundy or Jonny Peacock do better?

Has the public been gaslit for 21 years? Really?

I don't think it is fixed.
La Voix did dance badly this week but I think that people are voting for her because she is really funny and they are wanting to hear what she will say next.
I also don't think Ellie will win but she will be In a few more weeks.

If that's the case why is George odds on to win with all the leading bookies?

Facebook twonk bollocks, ignore.

I have heard it said that they don’t choose the winner, merely the finalists. Which makes sense.

They don’t need to control the winner, they just want the most entertaining possible final. The winner is pretty unimportant to the show’s ratings.

And it’s true or at least probably true - the judges can prop up favoured candidates with good scores so that the public vote will be less likely to see them in the bottom two, and of course they choose who to “save” at the end. Add to that that the programme chooses the dance each contestant will do each week - and of course it’s largely a fix.

All reality TV is a fix up to a point.

I’m not sure how that’s news!

Of course it isn’t fixed

Btw I enjoy strictly - I realise that’s not evident from my post!

I think they were saying fix in the sense of manipulating or lying about votes.

I agree with your points. I'd rather it was like it was in the beginning when people had to do similar dances before all the sob stories and couples choices came in. I still love the show but it is far too emotional and silly in a lot of ways.

I still don't think the winner is fixed.

^him/he

It stopped being a dance contest years ago! It is a personality contest now,obviously for ratings. It went woke years ago and it was ruined. This series is too awful for words. It will /has become the Ellie and Vito show and its dire.

No I don't think so at all.

A pro left a few years ago cos stated it’s not a dance competition, it’s entertainment. The producers make decisions about the cekebs early on, who gets the investment in hair, make up, music etc…..they guide the flow. That’s why the final changes firmer nearly every year so they game the result.

Oh I see! I don’t think they do that as they wouldn’t need to, and there’s no motivation to - it’s just about the viewing figures, but also just from the format, they have complete power over who gets to the final.

That’s why the judges voted don’t count in the final - it doesn’t matter!

I guess La Voix is a character not a person though? So the actor is her but La Voix is just a character he’s created - so could be she in the same was as any fictitious character? You’d usually refer to Lily Savage or Dame Edna etc as she for the same reason.

I don't think it's fixed, but it's definitely manipulated. The duffers always seem to get the joke dances, Ross' Thunderbirds paso for example.

@Freysimo that’s because that’s a strategy the pros can use, but don’t need to with the good dancers. Anton started it. When you have to push and pull your celeb round the floor, you may as well make it entertaining.

If you let the public vote then you kind of have to pull strings at the other end to make it look feasible. I remember one contestant some years ago actually withdrew as it was so obvious that the public were keeping him in because he was so bad it was good. it’s also clear that every year there is a “human sacrifice or two”, scheduled for an early exit. I often don’t understand the judges’ marking but I don’t understand ballroom so they are likely seeing technical stuff whereas I’m thinking “did that look entertaining?”.

I read that people were complaining that it was unfair that La Voix got voted so low by the judges - why would the judges do that if the idea was to keep him in? People will complain about anything, either way!

At the end of the day it's a popularity contest and less well known people with quieter personalities that don't engage the audience so much often go first. People stay for all sorts of crazy reasons - look at Ann Widdicombe! People also often like an underdog.

La Voix's dance was awful, even I could see all the mistakes (and i generally can't) but he is funny and certainly stands out. I can see why he might stay despite having an awful dance.

My favourite Strictly comment of all time was Pete from Googlebox, saying of Tony Adam’s waltz “ he looks like he’s trying to shift a wardrobe”

What would be the point in fixing it? If someone is staying in because the public is voting for them, then they’re popular, and the bbc would want to keep popular people in because people are more likely to watch?

Yeah if anything they’re fixing it “the other way” so that bad dancers who are popular with the public don’t win because that would basically finish the show off.

My favourite quote was Alisha Dixon when she was one of the judges talking about Anne Widdecombe and said that Anton (I think he was the pro) was moving you round the floor like an appliance

I still laugh to myself now and then about that!!

I think if the winner were fixed, Jay McGuiness wouldn’t have won - you could see from the judges’ faces how little they had wanted that victory. I do think there must be a certain element of manipulation, however.

This series is dull. I agree with a PP that it is all about the Ellie and Vito show, and it’s exhausting. I watched on catch up this weekend and fast-forwarded through their dance. Mind you, all the couples choices we’ve had this series have been utter shite. I hope Alex or Karen wins.

I have to scroll past the strictly Facebook comments because quiet frankly some comments are just unhinged! La voix had a bad night but are entertaining and popular, The abliest comments about Ellie are quite hateful and ott.

Anyway no i don't think the winner is decided, people are always going to be voted on popularity but usually the winners .can dance and have had "a journey " I sometimes think people forget strictly is a Saturday night entertainment programme 😀

I think part of this grumbling comes from the fact that as far as I am aware the Beeb don’t release the vote figures (understandable as it could influence voting in following weeks)

the strictly spoiler website allows people to chose who they’d vote for and then releases those results after the dance off is aired, and I’ve found that to be a fairly good indicator of public opinion so if anyone is interested in that they could look there without the spoilers

i do think though that the judges scores are shockingly misrepresentative of the dances and are weighted towards their faves, and it’s so stupid of them because sometimes the public have no reference to genuinely how good/bad/comparable the dances are.

as lovely as it is to see Ellie out there and the beeb are being representative - the judges are doing a disservice by seemingly giving equity to her scoring (it’s like the judges have a agreed a higher starting mark) - She’s terribly overmarked for the quality of dance content and people know that and it pisses them off so in a way you could argue it’s more damaging to that representation as people get annoyed.

id be terribly surprised if she wins and honestly she shouldn’t but i expect she’ll be in the final as there is no way she’ll be put in a dance off.

i would think the beeb haven’t got an agenda re La Voix otherwise she’d have been over-marked. I also think there have been worse dances than that in the past that ballas has marked higher than a 2 reinforcing the opinion that judges do not mark well at all.

no one should be getting 10s for example this early.

Also to my knowledge no one has ever gone onto win after being in the bottom 2 which is also a measure of public opinion. If someone’s been in the bottom and reaches the final I’d be averse to backing them.

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross I agree. Judges obviously wanted Kelly Bright to win that year and promoted her endlessly over Jay.