Remember the outrage over the screw-up in the voting during the series six semi-final? All three couples went through to the final due to a tie in the judges' leaderboard making the viewer vote pointless as far as Tom and Camilla avoiding the dance-off were concerned.

 

Well, watchdog Ofcom has decided not to take action against the Beeb.

 

Ultimately, it was an unfortunate mistake that the show's producers tried to fix as soon as they had realised it. Quite how they hadn't spotted the possibility before then still troubles my troubled mind. At least it won't happen again.

 

The full statement from the Ofcom site is below.

 

 

Statement
Strictly Come Dancing
BBC 1, 13 December 2008, 18.10 and 20.55
Strictly Come Dancing is a dance competition in which celebrities are paired with professional dancers. Each week contestants perform a dance routine and are awarded a ranking. The ranking is calculated by combining points awarded by the programme’s dance judges and those allocated by the viewer vote. The two couples with the lowest rank in each round must take part in a ‘dance off’. After this performance, the judges decide which couple should be eliminated.

Ofcom received 297 complaints about the semi-final round of 2008’s series of the programme.

 

In this programme three couples competed, so that three points were awarded to the couple with the highest judges’ score, two points to the next highest and one point to the lowest scoring couple. The same process would have applied to the couples’ placings in the public vote.

 

However, on 13 December 2008 two couples tied in the judges’ scores and were awarded three points each. The other couple, Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup, were awarded one point. Therefore, even if they had won the public vote – and so achieved four points – they could not have avoided the dance-off. This meant that viewers who voted for Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup could not have affected the overall result. After the voting had opened, this oversight was spotted by the show’s producers. At the end of the evening’s later show it was announced that all three couples would go through to the final.

 

Viewers complained about the mistake, saying that they felt let down and many argued that refunds should be offered.

 

The BBC did not dispute the mistake. Further, it was clear to Ofcom that the mistake had resulted from an oversight, rather than any shortcomings in the technical arrangements for voting or in the handling of votes received. Therefore, Ofcom sought background details and information from the BBC to assure itself that full and proper consideration had been given to remedial measures, both in respect of the show and for individual viewers who had voted.

 

The BBC said that it deeply regretted the oversight and explained the steps subsequently taken to find a solution which was as fair as possible to the voting audience while not being unfair to the contestants. In arriving at a decision to carry over the judges’ scores and viewers’ votes to a final contested by all three couples, the BBC had considered a variety of options and taken advice from an independent statistical expert.

 

The BBC also stressed that it had made clear from the following Monday morning that vote refunds were available to any viewers who wanted them. The refunds were publicised during Strictly Come Dancing, other news reports, and on the Strictly Come Dancing website.

 

To prevent anything similar happening in the future, the BBC said, the voting and judging mechanisms used in all BBC voting programmes have been thoroughly examined.

 

Ofcom was satisfied that appropriate steps were taken by the BBC and the disadvantage to viewers minimised.

 

In Ofcom’s view the BBC had been open and transparent with viewers about the mistake it made and the solution adopted. Ofcom notes that an explanation of the BBC’s actions, including details of how to seek a refund, has been available on the Strictly Come Dancing website since soon after the semi-final: see http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/news/december/wk13_news_update_151208.shtml.