...to be outraged that the two black contestants in Strictly Come Dancing...

[seeker]

...were bottom of the public vote, even though it was obvious to anyone with eyes in their head that they weren't the worst two dancers?

The dance off pair are chosen by a combination of the judges' scores and the public vote. It isn't just based on the public vote.

GMTV voters kept those women in for ages when they couldn't dance. I think Andrew Castle is going to survive for a while.

But andrew should have gone two weeks ago just for doing that awful awful headbanging bit!!!!

I agree with you. It's not quite as simple as that but there is definitely racism in the public vote when it comes to black contestants the public don't 'know' very well.

Last year, they didn't show the black side of Alesha's family until the last few episodes either - and they were there all the way through

YABU
More to do with personality/popularity than race imo

Are you sure, Freckle? I thought it was just the public vote that decided who was in the dance off?

never watched it.fastidiously avoid it

Andrew Castle was crap at tennis and is crap at dancing too!

Yes. The judges' scores count for 50% of the final score. They add up the public votes, then allocate points for the ones with the most number of votes, the second most votes, etc. and add those points to the judges' scores.

E.g. top of the leader board get 12 points; if they also score highest with the public, they get another 12 points, making 24. If they score lowest with the public, they would get 1 point, giving them a total of 13. So theoretically, the top of the leader board and the bottom could end up with equal points if the public vote the opposite way to the judges. Make sense??

I saw loads of Alesha's black granny - loads. Lovely woman. It is just the public vote that decides who is in the dance off. Black and Asian contestants have done very well on Strictly. GMTV viewers are bafflingly loyal.

It isn't just the public vote, though. If it were, what is the point of the judges' scores??

YAB very U

Yes, there was loads of footage of the granny. But she was the only black member of her family they showed until right near the end.

I would not be at all surprised if she would have done less well if they had shown more of them (although of course I have no evidence for that feeling).

But of course the British public are generally low-key racist, I can't believe anyone is seriously arguing they're not.

The judges' scores are just for the show. They don't change the public vote at all.

Then why do Tess and Brucie constantly say that the judges' scores count for 50% of the final vote? That is why the contestants don't like being in the middle of the leader board, because the public often think they are "safe" because of the judges' scores. And when they show the leader board at the end, they have the judges' scores, followed by the points allocated because of their place in the leader board.

Alesha was fabulous.
Mark Ramprakash was fabulous.
colin Jackson was fabulous, let down at the last post by a crap routine.

yabvu

Oh FFS I don't watch strictly come dancing but honestly why is it that it makes any difference whether its 2 black people or 2 white people if you are so obviously seperating from the others because of their colour then you need to get it bloody sorted.

Heather was rubbish on Saturday. Missed it tonight.

This is from the BBC SCD website:

The Strictly Come Dancing scoring system works on a 50:50 basis. Fifty percent of the final score comes from the judges' points and fifty percent from the viewers' phone votes. The two couples with the lowest score once the judge's points and viewers votes are collated must perform again in the dance off in the results show.

Once the judges scores and viewers votes have been combined, if there is a tie between any couple, then the couple with the most viewer votes will be deemed to be ahead on the leaderboard.

Once the votes have been collated, the bottom two couples will compete in the dance off to decide who will remain in the competition. The judges will decide which couple to save. In the event of a tie in the dance off head judge Len Goodman has the casting vote.

It wouldn't have occurred to me to note who was black and who was white.

Imagine a thread called "AIBU to be outraged that the winners this week were black"

Ok, I was wrong re the vote, but I still think it is not racist voting at all. re Alesha's family, the two people she is closest to are a/her mum and b/ her nan. Her dad left when she was four. You don't see much of any contestant's family (except cute kids) until the end anyway. I've seen loads of Heather's kids. But Heather was sullen, which never comes over well, and loads of viewers have no idea who Don is.

No one has pointed out that there isn't a black judge. I don't think the final result re the dance off was the result of racist voting. Both Heather and Don have been in the dance off before (against white contestants) so it was always on the cards that they would be again. Just coincidence that it was at the same time.

Ok I'm wrong - I thought it was just the public vote that decided who was in the dance-off.I've been misunderstanding the system for 6 series! I'd still like to see a black professional, though!

mamadiva - I wish I lived in your lovely racist free world!