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?

haha yeah I’ve already scrapped that theory. FWIW I didnt want either of those to win nor did I want to Abbie Clancy to win so I think I must have glossed over them 😂

Danny Mac was robbed!!

@AllJoyAndNoFun I hope Stefan doesn't attempt an overhead lift with a pregnant woman.

I was a latecomer to Strictly, living abroad with no access to UK tv when it first started. I did enjoy the first few series that I was able to watch, although I found the first 4 or 5 weeks quite tedious as there was little "dancing" (i.e. basic, identifiable steps) and too much "choreography" (i.e. waving of arms around or lifts etc.).
It was also obvious from the camera angles (focus on faces/top halves of the body rather than whole body or footwork) who was considered "good".
I always wondered why the combined scores (judges and public vote) were never shown, so assumed there was some "weighting" going on. Unfortunately, as a result of Covid and the so-called strictly curse, I think the show has deteriorated in recent years.
I did watch on Saturday and last night. Was very surprised that La Voix was not in the dance off, so the power of the public vote, but totally agreed with C R-H on sending Chris home, because there was really very little Salsa content in his feet.
Is it rigged, hard to tell.
I do not think Vito and Ellie will win (and that would be a massive bias) because they are not a good enough dance partnership compared to others.
Where I am very disappointed is in who the "celebrities" are. In years gone by, you would know the celebrities from their various areas of expertise. Nowadays, I recognise them more afterwards as they have "been on Strictly".
Also, whatever happened to Joe MacFadden, who won a few years back? His was an excellent example of someone having zero dance experience and progressing throughout the competition, especially as I seem to remember that Danny Mac was tipped to win at one point.

Ore Oduba win was manipulated imo because they wanted a person of colour to win. BBC paid to fly in Gene Kelly's widow to be in the audience for Singin' in the Rain routine and he was lavishly praised. Danny Mac was the best dancer that year and yes, I'm still bitter 😆

Oh yeah- forgot about that. Maybe that’s why they paired them up so they can go “oh stefan could totally do it but because she’s pregnant we won’t risk it” . This thread has made me a Steictly Conspiracist!! 🤣

It was John Sargent

Hes not an expert in downs though is he, its not fair to put on him that he has to be somewhat of a professional in her disability to know how to manage. Her presentation veers between being like around 5 years old to tween age so he is trying to respond to her like that. Im sure he is taking advice on how to manage it, it must be really hard for him.

Aleesha Dixon, a woman of colour, won a few years before OO!

I don't think it's fixed but it's not a dancing competition it's more a popularity contest. I loved Chris last year but the other 3 dancers were better than him. Lots of years the best dancer hasn't won.

Agreed. The continual policing of language on this issue is getting tiresome.

I highly recommend reading Chart Throb by Ben Elton. It's a satire on the X-Factor not Strictly but the description of manipulation techniques in these types of shows are pretty much the same.

DH said yesterday that this year we really have definitively reached the point where overall the professionals are more well known than the so-called celebrities.

The appeal of Strictly to me is the mix of some impressive dancing, people on a journey to discovering talents they didn’t know they had and the joy of dancing, some heartwarming moments and some diversity and representation.

So I’m here for the ringers, the disabled, the two-left-feet and the ones with a sob story. They all add something to the show

I’m sure there’s a little manipulation to ensure that the show keeps a good range of participants all the way through - it would be less entertaining if all the great dancers left early, or all the ones who had potential but are still improving. I imagine there’s mix of viewers votes and judges votes does that fairly effectively but I am sure there’s also strategic choices of positioning at the beginning/ middle / end of the show and choice of dance, music and staging.

They were both very good. I can still remember Danny's samba and Ore's jive.

I think what swung it for Ore was that he had no dance background at all, he was a sports presenter with a degree in Sports Science; whereas Danny had been an actor since childhood, and had done some musical theatre.

Regarding Danny Mac not winning, he was a ringer and ringers rarely win. That’s why Ore won, not because of affirmative action or fixing.

I’m still bitter about Danny not winning, I’m afraid. And Ore is still ‘that bloke that cried All The Time’ in our house. I’m sure the tears were all genuine but they started to feel really manipulative after a while.

Doesn’t he respond to the way she presents to him? That’s generally considered good communication. She lights up when he talks to her. She seems to enjoy his manner, and she obviously enjoys the dance.

I have been worried about her, but reassured that her previous experience as a model will come in handy.

People vote for someone to win who is some or all of the following -
Some what popular
Not a ‘dancer ‘ already
relatively decent dancer by the final (but not necessarily the best)
youngish/attractive
inspirational
have a good journey/story
have a moment we connect with during the experience
Bit of a underdog (in theory)

Strictly don’t need to rig it, they sell the stories and we buy in to it.
Ellie is amazing and inspirational (as was rose and Chris) but she’s not quite a good enough dancer to win unfortunately.
George could potentially win he ticks a lot of the boxes but is unknown to a lot of the typical strictly audience . Jimmy maybe could if he gains popularity. Lewis and Amber are excellent but both have dance experience Alex is very good but not sure she is popular enough/a bit too much star quality. Karen is good but hit and miss and potentially not popular enough. I like Harry but so far he’s not a good enough dancer either.

id guess Lewis, Amber, George and Jimmy for the final.

Joe was not Danny's year. He beat the ringer Debbie McGee (Paul Daniels's widow).
Joe has recently got engaged to his boyfriend.
He did have some musical theatre experience but not as blatant as others.
He says Strictly did not provide the opportunities expected.
That said, he did not return to redo a routine with Katya as there were rows over which one.
There was also some negative press about him before he won (he was closeted back then and was accused of being aggy against a one night stand but tabloids couldn't go into detail because that would have outed him). Whether that had repercussions in the business don't know, but he has only done some stage work since. Seems happy enough now.
But not all have a career trajectory. Louise had a small jumpstart to stage work. Not seen Hamza in ages.

@StrictlySequinsandStiIettos Hamza is on every Sunday afternoon on Hamza's Wild Isles.

Craig was “head judge” and had the casting vote last night. Not Anton.

If the 3 other judges all agree, the last vote doesn’t count anyway even if other way.

Yes just before the Results show!

Hamza is presenting a wildlife series on the BBC at the moment. I saw an episode with him about great horseshoe bats and dolphins on Sunday night.

How ridiculous to feel 'bitter'. I doubt Danny gives it a thought now, it is history and it's not as if he doesn't have a career.

Ore was great even if he did cry easily, some just do.

I was surprised his marriage broke up, other than that good luck to him, to all of them.

How ridiculous to feel surprise that his marriage broke up.

Or should it perhaps be ok to feel things differently to other people?