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June 20 Judge Arlene to get the boot from Strictly?This week The Sun reported an exclusive in which it claimed Arlene Phillips will not be a judge on Strictly Come Dancing 2009.
The suggestion is that in addition to wanting to find younger celebs, the show's producers want to shake up the panel of judges.
Although, the other three regular judges - Bruno, Len and Craig - are expected to participate, Arlene is the one getting the chop and may be replaced with series five winner Alesha Dixon, according to The Sun.
The BBC News website reports that a BBC spokesperson has said the claims are "purely speculation".
In an interview with Sky News, Alesha said: "There is always speculation."
All the above was reported across various mainstream media sites on Thursday June 18.
On Friday June 19, The Sun's website reported that the deal to get Alesha to join the judging panel would be done 'in days'.
Watch this space...
Use Bing to find the latest news on Arlene Phillips.
April 28 Strictly voting fiasco: BBC escapes Ofcom's wrathRemember 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.
Media coverage:
February 25 Ballroom dancing in school PE lessonsGot this press release the other day. This type of thing would never have happened before Strictly appeared on the TV. Ed Balls, the Children, Schools, and Families Secretary, has welcomed a pilot scheme launched today (February 24) with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show to bring ballroom and Latin dance into school PE lessons. The scheme called Essentially Dance aims to improve children’s fitness, self-esteem and social skills and is being piloted with 2,500 children aged 5-16 in 29 primary and secondary schools across the country with funding from The Aldridge Foundation (www.aldridgefoundation.com). Over the next three months, 52 teachers and classroom assistants will receive practical training sessions with professional dance and PE experts supported by a training resource, which includes a step-by-step DVD led by Darren and Lilia, a booklet with easy to follow sessions and a CD with suitable music. Ed Balls said: “From ballroom to ballet, dancing is a fantastic way for children to keep fit and have fun. “We want to encourage everyone to take part in physical education and we know that dance is a great way to improve fitness and can attract young people who perhaps do not enjoy competitive sport such as football or netball. Dance forms part of the PE and sport curriculum and I hope both teachers and children will quickly see the benefits from these pilots. “Making physical activity an attractive option for all young people is especially important if we are to tackle obesity and give young people enjoyable and positive activities they can take part in both during and after school.” The Essentially Dance scheme has been developed by the Aldridge Foundation in partnership with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, School Sports Partnership expert Sue Cooper, Dale Bennett from City Limits Education and former world champion ballroom dancer Lorraine Drolet. The outcomes for both teachers and children will be independently evaluated by Roehampton University for a report due in May and there are plans to make the final training resource available to all schools following a launch this summer. Rod Aldridge, Chairman of The Aldridge Foundation, said he hoped the scheme would capture the interest of as many schools as possible so that it could be rolled out across the UK: “From Rubgy playing PE teachers to rap music fans, this pilot scheme is already capturing the imagination of teachers and students alike. We hope to build on this enthusiasm and encourage other schools to bring ballroom and Latin dance into the National Curriculum, hold regional school competitions and a national ballroom dance event.” Professional dancer Darren Bennett, said: “Through the popularity of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing combined with the participation of sports celebrities like Darren Gough, Mark Ramprakash and Matt Dawson who all took it very seriously and achieved great success in the series, boys are seeing ballroom and Latin dance in a whole new light – if their sporting heroes can do it, then so can they!”
January 07 Camilla Dallerup quits StrictlyIn an interview with the News of the World Strictly Come Dancing professional and series six winner Camilla Dallerup has said she is quitting the show.
We shall miss her.
December 25 Jill and Darren win Strictly Christmas Special 2008
Jill Halfpenny and her dance partner Darren Bennett won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2008. After the six competing couples had all danced, four were tied on 39 points. Head judge Len ranked those four to give a leader board with no tied positions (perhaps something for the show's producers to consider for series seven?). Once the studio audience's votes were combined with the judges' leader board Jill and Darren came out top. Congratulations to them. The other couples taking part were Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler, Kelly Brook and Brian Fortuna, Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone, Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup, Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole. We spotted Mark Ramprakash in the audience. It would have been great to see him up against those other top dancers, wouldn't it? Merry Christmas and thanks for following this MSN blog in 2008. December 20 Tom Chambers wins Strictly Come Dancing series sixActor Tom Chambers and his dance partner Camilla Dallerup have been crowned champions of Strictly Come Dancing 2008.
After the viewers’ votes were counted Tom and Camilla came out on top ahead of Rachel Stevens and her dance partner Vincent Simone. A grand final Lisa Snowdon and her dance partner Brendan Cole were eliminated. They had received two perfect scores of 40 for their performances from the judges but did not get enough votes from the viewers. That left Tom and Camilla to compete with Rachel and Vincent for viewers’ votes. Both couples danced a Viennese waltz. The judges (who did not score this section) said both did well but Rachel’s technique was better. And so it all came down to the freestyle show dances. Rachel and Vincent did a terrific routine with some spectacular lifts but were trumped by Tom and Camilla’s dance that was full of humour and clever choreography. The voting viewers appeared to agree by phoning in for Tom and Camilla more than they did for Rachel and Vincent. A victorious and emotional Tom praised his dance partner Camilla and even left her to raise the glitterball trophy on her own before joining her in celebrating their success. This natural and spontaneous gesture of Tom’s along with his infectious enjoyment and excitement at being voted through week after week surely played a part in his attracting so many more votes than his rivals. Have your say
Strictly series six: freestyle show danceThe two remaining couples performed a freestyle show dance to compete for viewers’ votes. Here are our comments and those of the judges (there was no scoring, just comments). Rachel and Vincent Our view: Wow. Amazing. They absolutely went for it and it was brilliant. Blogger’s wife: I generally haven’t enjoyed her dancing but I loved that. Fantastic, great to watch. Head judge Len: A fantastic, spectacular job. Well done. Judge Bruno: You showed your technical ability as always but you also entertained. Judge Craig: A great combination of steps. Apart from a little fall and stumble at the end. Judge Arlene: That was some flash dance. Tom and Camilla Our view: That was fun and not what we usually expect from a showdance. Blogger’s wife: I was laughing all the way with it. Not what I expected for a show dance but I loved it. Camilla tried something different and it worked. Judge Arlene: All I can say is: “Wow!” Head judge Len: I loved the whole thing. I liked Rachel’s but this was something else. Judge Bruno: Show dances could never be more showy than this. Everybody lapped it up. Judge Craig: You’re like Bisto gravy, darling. You save the best til last. So who’s going to win? Strictly series six grand final: Viennese waltzThe two remaining couples in the Strictly grand final – Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup, and Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone - performed a Viennese waltz. They are competing for viewers’ votes. The judges did not score but provided some comments: Head judge Len said both couples did well and Rachel’s footwork was slightly better. Judge Bruno said Tom led with assurance but Rachel was a “dancing delight”. Judge Craig said Rachel’s dancing was smoother. Judge Arlene said Rachel turned the dance into a floating dream. She added that Tom led Camilla very well around the floor. My own view is that they both did well. I enjoyed Tom’s performance and I have to say that Rachel’s dress prevented us from seeing much of her footwork. Strictly series six grand final: Lisa Snowdon is eliminatedAfter the viewers’ votes were added to the leader board from part one of the grand final Tom Chambers and Rachel Stevens went through to dance again.
Lisa Snowdon, despite getting two perfect scores in the final, did not get enough viewers’ votes and so is out. Strictly series six grand final scores and leader boardAfter an evening of top quality dancing here are the scores and the leader board at the end of part one of the Strictly Come Dancing 2008 grand final: Each couple performed two dances. The judges’ scores were as follows: Lisa and Brendan 40 40 = 80 And now the complicated bit. Those scores give us the usual points: Lisa and Brendan 3 These points are added to the points from the semi-final leader board (Lisa 4, Rachel 5, Tom 4) to give us this: Lisa and Brendan 7 And that is then converted into the usual points which gives us the new leader board at the end of part one of the show: Lisa and Brendan 3 So that’s the position with the viewers’ votes now flooding in. The couple with the lowest combined score once the viewers’ votes are counted will be eliminated. The result will be revealed at the start of the 9pm show tonight. There is no dance-off this week so Tom can be saved if he gets the most viewers’ votes. Have your say
Strictly semi-final leader board is finally revealedAt the start of this evening’s Strictly series six grand final, the leader board from the previous week’s semi-final was revealed. It is as follows: Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone 5 points This shows that Tom had got most viewers’ votes last week and Lisa the fewest. These scores will be added to the judges’ scores from this evening’s show and then combined with the viewers’ votes from today. This will result in one couple being eliminated at the start of the second part of the grand final (which starts at 9pm).
December 19 Strictly series six: the grand final previewWelcome to the Strictly Come Dancing 2008 grand final. Three celeb dancers remain. But there can be only one winner. Here is all the info you need to get ready for the big night: Who’s doing which dance?
Please note that I don’t know the correct order of the performances. * I think favourite would be more accurately described as highest-scoring before the semi-final and in the event of their having more than one dance in the same category that achieved the same highest score they can choose which one they want to do but let’s not allow pedantry to get in the way. These two dances are scored by the judges and voted on by the viewers. The resulting overall leader board is then added to the results from last week’s semi-final. The couple at the bottom of this combined leader board will be eliminated at this point. No scores or viewer votes are carried forward to the second part of the final. The two couples left will perform a freestyle show dance and a Viennese waltz and compete for a new round viewers’ votes. The judges will not score these dances; it’s all down to viewers’ votes. Show times Saturday December 20 9:00pm to 9:45pm BBC One
The Odds Elimination in the first round Outright winner The (always totally accurate) prediction Here we go with my grand final predictions: Tom Chambers will be eliminated at the end of the first round. Rachel Stevens will beat Lisa Snowdon in the second round and be crowned Strictly Come Dancing series six champion. (as usual, the predictions do not constitute regulated financial advice so don’t blow your pay packet down the bookies on my account!) Our coverage And I’ll be back with the Saturday night grand final result as soon as it is announced. The preview podcast Download or listen to the podcast now. In pictures: the road to the final Your comments Have your say now by clicking the Add a Comment link below.
December 18 In pictures: the road to the Strictly finalYou can find a wonderful photo gallery showing our three finalists' journey to this Saturday's showdown on MSN TV.
Worth a look. December 17 Strictly final will be foxtrot-tasticAll three couples in the Strictly Come Dancing 2008 final have chosen to do the foxtrot as their ballroom dance. On Tuesday’s It Takes Two the line-up of dances was confirmed as follows (in brackets are the scores they achieved when they previously performed the dances in this series): Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup After these dances one couple will be eliminated. The remaining two couples go head-to-head to perform a freestyle dance and a Viennese waltz. Full details of how the final’s scoring and voting works was in a previous post.
December 16 NEW Strictly podcast: the semi-final reviewed, the final previewedIn this new Strictly Come Dancing podcast MSN TV editor Lorna Cooper and I discuss:
Lorna and I don't always agree, particularly about John Sergeant. And I remain convinced that three in a Strictly final is a good thing generally but Tom's performance in the semi-final wasn't good enough to earn a place in the final (I'm pleased Camilla admitted her jive mistake on It Takes Two last night, by the way). Share It
Strictly It Takes Two review: time to forget about the semi-final. We’ve got a final to think about!After the storm of the Saturday’s semi-final came the calm of Monday’s Strictly It Takes Two. Winkleman interviewed John Beazley, controller, BBC entertainment production. After the obvious preamble about the semi-final (they hadn’t foreseen a tie, it wasn’t fixed, voting viewers can get their money back, blah, blah, blah) we got down to business. Here’s what you need to know: What will happen at the start of the final? The combined ranking from the semi-final based on the judges’ marks and the viewer votes will be rolled forward to the final. The combined score will be displayed at the start of the show. This will be the first time the outcome of the viewers’ vote has been released. So I interpret that as meaning we will be shown something like the table below, by way of example (assuming Tom got most viewer votes and Lisa got the fewest – we don’t yet know who get the most votes): Rachel 3 + 2 = 5 This example shows Rachel got 3 by finishing at the top judges’ leader board and 2 by finishing second in the viewers’ vote. Tom got 1 from the judges’ leader board and 3 from the viewers’ vote. Of course, if Tom got the fewest viewers’ votes and Rachel got the most the leader board will look like this:Rachel 3 + 3 = 6 So at the start of the final the contestants will not start on an even footing. It’s not clear to me if they will then turn this combined leader board into a single 3, 2, 1 points ranking or whether they will retain the combined points totals as in my examples above. We’ll see… Who’s doing which dance? The judges will score both dances and the viewers will vote. These totals will be added to the leader board from the semi-final. Whichever couple is bottom will then be eliminated. The two remaining couples will go head-to-head in the second part of the final (Saturday 9:00pm to 9:45pm). All the viewer votes will then be reset to zero. The couples will dance a freestyle and a Viennese waltz. The viewers will vote again and whichever couple has the higher number of viewer votes will be series six champion. Anything else? Or you might be wondering why you will have to phone in twice during the final if you want to see your favourite win. Or you might be wondering if it has now become so complicated that viewers will be less willing to phone in to vote. How am I feeling? In the podcast we also discussed my view of series six overall and who I think will win. I also handed out some alternative awards (best new pro dancer, biggest shock, best torso etc). I’ll let you know when the podcast is ready to download. Am I getting excited about the final yet? The tension as we wait for one couple to be eliminated will be unbearable. And after two more performances each from the two remaining couples we shall have a winner. Bring. It. On.
BBC statement about the semi-final resultsThe statement below appears on the official BBC Strictly website: Following the unprecedented outcome of last Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing semi finals, the BBC has been working on providing a solution for next week's final. We have worked in consultation with the production team, the remaining contestants and an independent adjudicator to determine the fairest outcome. During this process, fairness to the viewers who voted and the contestants themselves has been the guiding principle. We considered a wide variety of options including the scrapping of all votes from last week's show. It was felt, however, that this would not be fair to the contestants nor to those who had voted. Instead, it was agreed that the fairest option was to allow the combined scores of the judges and the audience to carry over to the first show of next week's two show final. This was confirmed by an independent adjudicator as the fairest option. In the interests of complete transparency we are taking the unprecedented step of revealing the marks allocated as a result of the audience vote from Saturday's show during the first of the two final shows (1840hrs). These scores will be added to those from the judges from last week. This combined score will be announced on the leader board at the top of the first show. Our three couples will then dance and the judges will score them. The audience will vote on those performances in the usual manner. These results will be added to the leader board and the couple with the lowest overall score will leave the competition. In the second show the remaining two couples will start from scratch and go head to head with a public vote to decide who will be crowned Strictly Come Dancing Champion 2008. Only the viewing public will determine the winner. The BBC recognises that this has been an unprecedented situation and would like to thank viewers and the contestants for their understanding. We note that there have been 1,687 emails and 193 calls of complaint since Saturday night. We will be offering refunds to anyone unhappy about their votes in the semi final who would like to be reimbursed for their calls. Details for how they can do this will be available on the Strictly Come Dancing Website from Tuesday and on the usual BBC audience service numbers.
December 15 In video: Strictly semi-final rewindA couple of video clips on MSN Video from Saturday's semi-final:
And...
Viewers complain to BBC about Strictly vote changeNearly 200 viewers have complained to the BBC after Strictly Come Dancing bosses decided to allow all three couples in the semi-final to go through to the final.
Full story on MSN Entertainment.
I'm not sure how significant 200 calls are but I do think the Beeb should have thought about the possibility of a tie on the leader board and told viewers and contestants in advance what the outcome would be. Share It
December 13 Strictly series six semi-final result: there isn't oneIn a surprise outcome all three celebrities made it through to the final of Strictly Come Dancing. Nobody was eliminated in the semi-final.
At the start of the results show on Sautrday night Tess Daly said: "There was a tie at the top of the judges' leader board meaning that one couple would always have gone into the dance-off. Therefore we are freezing the votes. Please do not call as the lines are now closed."
Bruce Forsyth added: "It's the worst possible week for this to happen and it's our thirteenth show."
At the end of the show viewers were informed: "All your votes from tonight will count and be carried forward to the final."
So next week's final will feature Lisa Snowdon, Rachel Stevens AND Tom Chambers.
A three-couple final was what many people wanted but could not have once John Sergeant had pulled out the competition. Now it's been made possible by the way the show's producers have decided to handle the tie at the top of the leader board in the three-couple semi-final.
How happy was Tom Chambers?
How relieved was his dance partner Camilla Dallerup?
Sunday December 15 update:
How this all came about
Rachel and Lisa were joint top of the judges' leader board and therefore got three points each. Tom was bottom and got one point.
The leader board based on the judges' scoring looked this:
Lisa 3 points
Rachel 3 points
Tom 1 point
When the vewer votes are counted a similar ranking system applies.
So if, by way of example, Tom had got most viewer votes and Rachel got the fewest, the points for the viewers' votes would have been:
Tom 3 points
Lisa 2 points
Rachel 1 point
(I don't know what the viewer votes were, this is just an example to illustrate the problem)
When the points from the viewer votes were added to the points from the judges' leader board the overall outcome would have been:
Lisa 5 points (3+2)
Tom 4 points (1+3)
Rachel 4 points (3+1)
So Tom, despite being top of the viewer votes in the example above, would still have been in the dance-off. There was no way he could have avoided it even with all the viewer votes going to him. This is what Tess Daly meant when she said "one couple would always have gone into the dance-off".
So to prevent this situation occurring the show's producers decided to allow all three contestants into the final and to carry over the viewer votes into next week.
Your views
Was this a Strictly brilliant decision? Or a Strictly farce?
Was there any reason that the possibililty of this ruling being made could not have been explained during the week in the run-up to the show rather than once the voting had closed?
Have your say by clicking the Add a Comment link below now. Share It
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