SCD '21 #19: We have our FINAL! Judges, your paddles are for guidance only.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Just as well, as they seem to have lost all of the ones under 9...

Previous thread

Yes riot interestingly but it didn't seem John had the same journey as Rhys who was very energetic but uncontrolled at the start. His partnering was superb in the semi which it hadn't been before.

ppeatfruit, that's not an answer. It was a genuine question. If your opinion is that they were saved because they are same-sex, why/how do you think that was done? Do you think the judges saved them because they were instructed to? And if so, do you think that is because the BBC takes a 'woke' position?
Or do you think they were saved because the judges all share this 'woke' position and felt they had to?
Or something else?

@ppeatfruit

I said they were not as good as Rhys IN THE SEMI FINAL. Which they weren't in the jive. Iam not homophobic, John has been v. good throughout. Johannes is extraordinary but it shouldn't be judged on the pro IMO

The final when there were 3 women who were much better than the one bloke with ( katya who is also extraordinary) who won makes me think the judges are not always completely unbiased .

I feel sorry for the producers in this one though! they'll have to think very fast.

I don't follow that. AJ didn't do a jive in the semi final? AJ isn't my favourite, but I thought their quickstep and rumba were both superb.

Sorry, ignore me, I'm confusing who you're talking about. sad

Well we all have different opinions . Funny old world if we all thought the same eh?

Indeed. This is what I always say to my kids
Fwiw, I don't think there was an agenda but I will say that the judging has been more erratic this series.
I also thought, that since Jamelia, it had been agreed they would give a clear reason for their save/preference based on that DO only not the whole series average or their potential or better dancer but just had a bad week. In fairness, Craig did say 'better finishes' but I am not clear on what he meant by that, having watched them both back.

As to series 15, in fairness the judges ranked the four in the following order:
Alexandra 119
Joe 118
Debbie 117
Gemma 114
Their votes didn't count - public had already put Alex in the DO twice incl the quarter finals, as she was marmite to some. Debbie wuz robbed was deemed a ringer too and was in one DO. Gemma wasn't as good as the others and was in one DO. So Joe was the last man standing by default and was popular. Plus a lot of affection for Katya post-Ed pre-Seann (and there had been some stand-outs - the silly AT lift, the cabaret samba etc)
The jury weren't biased on the night - they thought Alex was the best dancer, including Craig who was close to Joe allegedly.
They never had to save Joe as Joe was never in the dance off.

Joe and Katya's cabaret samba is my second favourite samba of all time on the Strictly dancefloor.

Re the BBC being woke. Well, there has been a problem with them and Stonewall but they've backed away from them now. Would that have gone as far as Strictly? Er, no!

Re who was better on Saturday. I genuinely thought that Rhys and Nancy were better in both dances than JJ but that was my opinion. I didn't think they'd go through but I was surprised that the judges went for JJ unanimously. That made me a little sad but if Rhys had got through to the final we'd never have seen that fabulous last dance which was so bloody joyful that it almost made up for him being out.

Anyway! That's all last week's news. This week I remain gutted that AJ will almost certainly not be dancing and should almost certainly not be dancing on Saturday. When I mangled a ligament in my calf I was in a lot of pain at first and then it seemed to be almost okay so I thought nothing of it until the next morning when I went to get out of bed and fell over because the injured leg couldn't take the weight and it took me quite by surprise. I've broken bones as well and would say that there is very little difference in the level of ongoing pain and inability to use the area that's injured.

I wasn't a big Joe fan but did like the samba and the VW. I preferred Debbie's showdance but I am a sucker for any Quick-change effect in dance or skating so liked Katya's dress. Gave Debs all my votes though.
Winning didn't give Joe the career boost it has for others though. He is currently the beast in Beauty and the Beast in Basingstoke, and a very reasonable 30 quid for a personal Cameo message.

I loved Joe. One of my favourite celebs ever. Saw him after that in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and he was great

@IntermittentParpsermitten - Yes I do agree with you to have got so far it must feel worse - but I just hope that she will not do anything which could give her a longer term problem ( & as I said this is based on a statistcal example of 1 ( my mother ) . I know I have said I don't like her decibels but by golly I admire her drive and determination. It's a shame if this has taken her out of the final but I think she will be remembered very fondly.

The Fred 'n' Ginger showdances are always my favourite so it's disappointing there isn't one in the final. It seems especially strange as both AJ and Rose have excelled at ballroom.

Think John and Jojo have the best of the other dances. I loved AJ's jive and Charleston but it seems insane that they haven't switched her to the waltz or the AS or something else a bit more low impact, given the circumstances. For Rose, given that they've said her showdance has a contemporary feel, I would have gone for the foxtrot and the tango.

The best show dance ever was Tom Chambers and Camilla. All professional finalists should be made to watch it. Mind you, Oti's showdances with both Bill and Kelvin come a pretty close second.

I wonder if Janette has been drafted into the final at the last minute to fill some AJ-less time or if it is something that has been planned all along? Oh god, is Anton going to sing? Anton Sings! is no match for Bruno Sings!

I think Kai missed out on the final of BGT due to his partner being injured.

@EsmaCannonball

I wonder if Janette has been drafted into the final at the last minute to fill some AJ-less time or if it is something that has been planned all along? Oh god, is Anton going to sing? Anton Sings! is no match for Bruno Sings!

She said she was going to be dancing to Ed Sheeran so I assume the 'slot' has been booked for sometime even if they hadn't chosen the Pros. If they have to fill time last minute I imagine it will be a bit more z list or more likely longer VTs and more waffle with the eliminated celebs.

If AJ doesn't make it to perform in the final do you think they've prepped the others to potentially do 4 dances ?

@covetingthepreciousthings

If AJ doesn't make it to perform in the final do you think they've prepped the others to potentially do 4 dances ?

Nope, they will back fill with chat and maybe a pro dance it would be totally unfair to expect the celebs to revisit another dance at such short notice.

@dementedma

I loved Joe. One of my favourite celebs ever. Saw him after that in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and he was great

Saw him in that too. He was fantastic. Always loved him in Heartbeat also.

Nope, they will back fill with chat and maybe a pro dance it would be totally unfair to expect the celebs to revisit another dance at such short notice

The damage was done on Monday though I believe, so they'd have 4-5 days potentially?

But it's now Thursday night and AJ hasn't withdrawn (as far as we know) but even if she had pulled out on Tuesday morning the others would only have a three days rehearsal (as Friday/Saturday are tied up with studio time) and props/costume/ the band/effects would have to sorted. The timing for two couples doing four dances would have be to different to three couples doing three dances (Rest time, costume changes, hair, makeup). It would be a big ask all round and presumably the remaining couples could refuse as they had been working on the assumption of three dances.

The pros could probably do a basic Ballroom Showcase at short notice. I think it might benefit from not letting Jason Gillkinson loose with the props box.

Or they could ring round a few pairs of competitive ballroom dancers and offer them a grand to turn up and do their best world championship routines? They've already got all their own costumes. Or maybe some adorable/terrifying child ballroom champions. That would give a bit of variety to the show as long as they could clear the music.

All good options but you know we will actually get a couple of cheesy VTs of the finalists Nan's neighbor's dog groomer's sister's hairdresser's undying support and a longer chat with the booted couples.

I think they should have had a reserve (Rhys) as standby bearing in mind it would be so easy for one of the six finalists to get covid at any time. Losing one would be a shame - but losing two ...

coughing my lungs up plus insomnia = not sleeping so I watched James Jordan strip off so you didn't have to
Strictly real full monty on itv hub was lovely actually - very moving.
Also helps that Ashley Banjo is sexy as hell.

Oh no, Sequins. Have you got Covid?

Watched Wednesday’s AJ/Kai interview with Janette last night, and thought that although AJ was her usual upbeat, chatty self, she had a look about her that suggested she’d already been crying- besides the few tears she cried on the show, poor girl. Kai also seemed very deflated, so doesn’t look good, does it? They’ll have to make an announcement today I guess.