Ann Widdecombe Leaves Strictly

At last we have a competition on our hands. May the best DANCER win.

At least the best four dances are still in the competition. It has to be the Welsh Lump to go next week please so that the final will be 3 of the best......

more graceful in defeat than any of the dances...

HOOORRRRAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!

Ann & Anton achieved the impossible - they got my dad into Strictly! He'll miss the rapport they share and the comedy they have brought to the dancefloor.

Ann Widdecombe out - FANTASTIC-at least we have a level playing field

The best "real" dancer leaves the show before her time. I am so disappointed.

The right result tonight. Gavin will have to shine next week, but I think the final three will be Pamela, Kara and Matt.

At last we now have a proper competition

at last the right result! Althought I am no fan of Anton - I do feel he was very good this time and had a very difficult task and carried it out with charm!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No offence Ann but if she hadn't gone out this week it would have been mathimatically impossible for her to get through to the final. Well not unless she dramatically improved and everyone else sucked.



I think everyone will be throwing a party and the newspapers will be having fun for days like they do with X factor finalists.

Hurrah - at last we have a DANCING competition! It's going to be so close at the end - can't wait.

'real dancer', meaning inept, lacking in effort and distainful of judges

Dear All,



May I ASK a FAVOR?

I will not be in the UK during the next 3 weeks and therefore I am really worrying about: HOW will I see the dances?



[Personal details removed by Moderator]



Thank you very much,

Manna

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Finally, about time she left. The efforts of many to bring down SCD by keeping her in the competition have failed, and I'm glad.



I feel sorry for Anton though. It's about time he was paired with someone who can actually dance.

Stavrosian - Run of to the Team A2 blog

And about time it will be a joy to watch all the DANCERS. Give Anton a partner next year please BBC

Thank Goodness! Nothing personal but I think it would have ruined the semis if Ann had gone through tonight. Any of the top four could win I think. Bring it on!

thank god!!

At last juctice has been done.

I have just one request,that you give the wonderful singers a spot of their own.

Love the show

Strictly final party back on track

FINALLY up is up and down is down again. world makes sense again! I've been waiting for this moment since week 3 when the first better dancer than Ann left! So happy - made my week!

THUMBS UP FOR KARA!

Obviously, I'm really sad than A² have gone, but...

...WHY WAS SCOTT IN THE BOTTOM TWO???????!!!!!!! That was completely wrong!

When you watched Anton dance the waltz with Erin you can see what the poor bloke has had to put up with in AW

At last Justice has been done with a capital J. Ann has gone and now the worst dancers in the competition are Gavin and Scott which is just the way we like it as they are both very talented if a bit fragile and the only celebs remaining who have been in the bottom 2.



One thing I was pleased to see was that unlike Craig Kelly & (to a lesser extent) Laila Rouass last series although the judges let Ann know that she had outstayed her welcome they still allowed her to exit with her dignity.



A double elimination in next weeks semi finals sounds really exciting as does 3 days of Strictly next weekend. Roll on next friday.

Oh Thank God.



Well at least she was (mostly) gracious in defeat.



Next week 2 eliminations!!!!

Excellent result - now for Kara, Matt & Pamela in the final, can't wait.

Great result. I love Anton and he has been wonderful throughout, what a shame he didn't have a better partner.

THANK GOD THE PUBLIC HAVE COME TO THEIR SENSES - ANN HAD LONG SINCE OVERSTAYED HER DANCE ABILITY (but of course ANTON did a BRILLIANT JOB)

but should SCOTT & NATALIE HAVE BEEN IN THE BOTTOM TWO !!! I DON'T THINK SO !!!!!!



(so Good Luck Scott & Natalie for the Final)

A word to the judges- Mainly Len & Craig- drop the favouritism of Pamela & her age & mark the scores according to content & ability & the winner will be either Matt or Kara.

And form the Movie "Hair"



Let the sunshine

Let the sunshine in



Well done Anton!

Message 18. (lewiss_kid)



They did give Anton a decent partner last year and he didn't make the most of her.



His cheesy Latin numbers let Laila down.



I do like Anton but he's only really any good for the comedy partnerships. I loved him and Kate.

In reply to No: 7 Stavrosian

Do you Latin and Ballroom dance yourself?

AT LAST - I hope that next season Anton gets a better partner. I think that it is going to be an all girl final.

Thank God Ann Widdecome is gone great dancers left Scott and Natalie should not have been in the bottom 2

There is a Santa Claus after all.



This has result has made my weekend at last the none dancing Widdi has gone.



Now we can all look forward to the real competition.



Craig was right that the voting public have finally come to their senses.



YAHOO DAAAAAAAAAAAAARLING!!

There is a lot of support on other blogs for a Matt, Kara, Pamela final and I do agree. Sorry Scott, you are good but you are just a tad too inconsistent.

bye bye Anton, would be lovely to see you get to a final....

Matt to win x

Sorehead (34)



I am an avid practitioner of real dancing. No routines for me, I just stand there and watch a partner dance near me, then put up my jazz hands when it looks like she's finished. Ann was representing me and my kind!

I think somebody has bumped their head!

At last the very dim BBC producers have realised they need a talent show and have arranged the figures to provide one. What a pity they didn't do it 6 weeks before so many talented people were ousted to keep a freak show on prime-time.

Maybe, just maybe, the Beeb has salvaged something. And thanks to Bruno for his outburst - about time the other judges ignored their contracts to toe-the-line and spoke up too.

Nice to see Craig was happy. Still, he isn't nearly as happy as I am.



YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YA BEEZER! etc

Anyone fancy a virtual beer with me to celebrate?

Ohh Ann has finally gone. She was clearly thrilled with her strictly "journey". It was such a shame her physic didn't allow her to improve week on week.



Let's hope that idiotic poser goes next week - we won't have to see his pathetic preening and gazing at himself in the mirrors during the weekly training. Charlotte I don't know how you put up with him for so long, Kataya, you're welcome to him.

Anne has given so much enjoyment this series, I have realy been entertained for 10 weeks. It was however the time to go.



I have a gripe about the Judges, each week Craig has been allowed to be extreamly rude to Anne, followed by Len over the past couple of weeks and now Bruno with the Dalek jibe.



We all knew Anne is not a Dancer it was always rudeness and never constructive critiscm.



Thanks Anne :-)





My Tip Tara Artem for the Title.

I have to say that although she was great entertainment, it certainly was Ann's time to go. Now we have a real competition on our hands. Whatever happens next week, it will be a shocker when we face the first double elimination in Strictly history.

Comment 31. You must have been watching a different dance to me . Pam was fab and judged accordingly, nothing to do with her age !!

Hallelujah!



Also, I've noticed that Gavin vs. Scott is like the Tortoise and the Hare. Scott blasted to the top quickly and has now started to fall apart, while Gavin has slowly grown and grown to the point where he had a fantastic dance last night (which is hard to do with the foxtrot, which is frankly very dull compared to the other dances anyway).



Time will tell if Gavin keeps up the improvements, but I think he deserves to be where he is. He has worked very, very hard and it has paid off. I won't be upset if he goes next week, but I'm proud of him for getting this far and want to see him do well next week.



However, unless Matt, Pamela or Kara *seriously* fall apart, or Gavin and Scott pull off a miracle, I have a feeling both of them are gone next week.

THERE IS A GOD !!!!!!



Kara, Pam and Scott for the final ..... KARA TO WIN

There is a God, and justice is finally done! AW gone and the real competition can finally get going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If she had actually won the competition it would have ruined the credibility of any future series - it would have turned the entire series into a 'clown' series.

47. Dave Waite.

Craig always TRIED to give constructive criticism - unfortunately Ann would never let him get a word in.

I'd be happy to quaff an ale with you Ian! ;)

Thank God for that!! I was seriously doubting there would be a show at all next year if she'd won - what would have been the point?



Btw, there are 3 in the final so it can't be all-girl (unless you know something about Gavin, Scott or Matt that we don't) :)

And of course the judges they will be very happy they don't have an igorant contestant talking over them, talking down to them and refusing to accept comments. Back to more tasteful, family time viewing and away from that channel 4 level stuff. AW will not be missed. I can just imagine the relief Anton is feeling knowing he doesn't have someone saying "I'm not doing that" all the time. Cheapening SCD by having AW in it was a bad idea and I'd hope BBC don't repeat this kind of thing.

I, for one, voted for Ann and Anton throughout (except for last week when I was away from home and couldn't vote) and would have continued to vote the same way until Gavin is out.



My reason? Aside from admiring her pluck and hard work, and loving Anton's choreography, I was voting AGAINST the judges. They just haven't learned from the John Sargeant experience, which is why I boycotted Strictly for the whole of last season.



I don't dispute their view that Ann has always been the weakest contestant. What I do take issue with was the fact that they seemed to be competing with each other to make the snidest, nastiest and most sarcastic comments that they could.



And Len's reaction - saying that he shall miss her because she was such fun and so entertaining - wins the prize for hypocrisy. Craig may be incapable of being anything other than offensive, but at least he's honest and consistent. I, for one, would be happy to see Arlene come back and replace Len.

Ann was very entertaining and they gave her the right partner however she was on the wrong programme!

Congrats to the rest who made it through, could be a Pamela, Kara and Matt final although I love Sc(hot)t and Gavin as well - so hard to call now!!

YES YES YES YES YES!!!

I watched last night for the first time in weeks and it was toe-curlingly embarrassing, and it was absolutely nothing to do with Ann Widdicombe. It was more like 'I'd do anything...' or 'Over the rainbow...' than ever; nowt wrong with that, just that if I wanted to watch musical theatre, I'd watch it; what I want from Strictly is... Strictly Dancing, ballroom and Latin, without the distraction of stupid props, tacky lighting and trashy costumes. Yeah, I know all the blah about this series having the highest ratings ever, but where does this tack-fest leave we who have loved the show from the beginning, who watched every week; banged on at everyone we knew to watch it, even though there was something of the naff about ballroom and Latin; rung up and voted, and shelled out to see the live show. What are we supposed to do now? Because the 'new' version is so crass I can't bear to watch it.

re 45, put a straw in it and one of those nice little umbrellas, and a cherry and a touch of raspberry cordial, and I will quaff away!

IanNicholls: I'll have a virtual beer or two with you .... CHEERS !!!!

Ian - I'm having a cappucino with cinnamon sprinkles, not sure that it falls in the beer category but I raise my cup with you

There's only one thing to say really:





WOOOOOHOOOOHOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Made my day!! About time the joke was over! This is such a marvellous show and this year's competitors are sooo brilliant (APART FROM GORMLESS GAVIN). The last four are all winners. Cant we have 4 winners?

Brilliant to see Ann go. Not only couldn't she dance, she gave no praise to any of the other couples. Erin & Anton's waltz was just beautiful, brought a tear to my eye. Think Gavin, and sadly, Scot, will go next week.

Hoorah the charmless Widdecombe has gone - even Anton looked relieved!

Can't agree with wickedlightblue about Gavin! I think he is very likeable and has a really great sense of humour - don't take everything he says literally. He is very competitive professional sportsman who has to have a lot of self belief to play well and he brings this attitude to the dancefloor. I think he is hilarious and I love the relationship he has with Katya.



Pamela to win!

I am glad Ann has gone. Looking forward to semi final I will be supporting Matt and Aliona ( I have from the start). However, Kara is so good - if she won I wouldnt be too upset.

At last- the best dancers are left now there's no way Ann could have coped with 3 dances ha ha ha



Matt has to win he is the best at both latin and ballroom and has been underscored so often plus unlike Scott he never complains even though his work schedule is just as hectic.

Well finally she's gone. I have never found Ann or Anton for that matter funny, witty or entertaining so this week is long overdue for me.

btw .... did they used to do the Quick Step on Strictly? Don't remember seeing any this year?

THANK GOODNESS SHE'S GONE!!! Couldn't have stood another week. Sorry to see Anton go though. Gavin to go next week. Don't think Scott will cope with the three dances probably due to pressure of work. Pamela, Kara and Matt for the final.....yesssssssss!

As a mother who has spent thousands of pounds training two daughters to dance and not having a lesson myself, sorry to see Ann go, strictly will continue to be good but Ann & Anton have been classic have not been entertained as much since series one when Paul Killick danced Paso in a skirt, cannot wait to see Ann & Craig on the tour. Well done Ann, Anton and the BBC

I could do a flea and scream or a cfccheer and laugh, but I will restrain myself :¬D



Hopefully after next week the three best couples will contest for what is looking to be the best SCD final ever.

I am really, really, really happy with this result. Finally I can watch my favourite program with pleasure again! I have my program back! Thank you, voters from the UK!

Kara, Matt and Pamela for the last three. As much as I love Pamela, the final two have to be Kara and Matt! They are amazing! I am so glad she's gone, I can actually enjoy Strictly again! :o) Where's DragoninExile?? I know he/she'll agree

Thank God she's gone, Otherwise you guys would have had to rename the show to Strictly come Dragging !!!!!! cause that's all she was doing for the last 10 weeks..being dragged around the dance floor. I'm sure you're lovely Ann but you can't dance.

Hey!!



I put spaces after the punctuation in that, where did they go??

@43 Crickedneck. Yayyyyyyyy!!!!! At last she's gone. We didn't watch last night as a protest to the BBC - took our dogs out in the freezing, pouring rain and it was STILL preferable to watching AW. Sorry we missed the rest of it though, especially as it seems the judges finally woke up and realised what everyone else has been saying. Good on you Bruno - about time someone told the truth. Totally agree with your comments crickedneck - at the risk of being accused of 'no pleasing some people', I can't help wondering if the BBC have finally realised what a monumental disaster (in every sense) AW has been for the show, and massaged the votes to get rid of her.

Even though she's gone, there are still lots of important questions that need answering from this series, namely are they ever going to publish the voting figures and make sure they aren't being corrupted by malicious individuals?; and, why the glaringly obvious policy of non-criticism of AW by anyone at the BBC? The bias and propoganda shown towards her has been absolutely shameful. Also, the horribly worrying shift of the show to a cheaper, tackier version in the name of 'entertainment', which nowadays seems to mean pandering to the lowest common denomicator. The judging this year has been awful, they can't make their minds up if they are meant to be voting on dancing ability or entertainment value. Please BBC, will someone realise that the Beebs reputation has been badly tarnished recently by this farce?

Lets hope they finally learn from this fiasco, which has threatened to destroy SCD this year - thank goodness everyone has finally seen sense. Thanks to regular contributors on this blog - Mrs Arcanum, tippytappy, 2redshoes, Chauncy Piddle-Farthing, Jill Morris et al (yes, even gorscot)- you have got me through the last few weeks with your hilarious but well informed and intelligent comments - without you I would have felt like a lone voice in the wilderness. But now the sun has come out, church bells are ringing, I can go to bed happy at night that there is justice in the world after all, and I don't think I'll need to read or contribute to this blog any more. Enjoy the rest of the COMPETITION folks - and so sorry for you if you've already bought tickets for the tour!! I'm off to get sloshed on champagne. Cheers!

re 75, well said! I think you should have both a scream and a laugh, but not in their style. God knows what it would do to you.

What's with the assumption that the only reason people voted for Anne was to "bring down SCD"?!



After all this time people still can't look past their predjudices and consider that some viewers really did enjoy watching her. What a sad world we live in.



Hoping for Matt, Kara and Scott final - Matt to win! :o)

Of course Anne should have gone tonight but I find many of the comments on here shallow and rather personal toward Anne my vote will now go to Gavin as will many more of the silent majority.

Well, I was worried that Ann would stay in the show at the expense of one of the top four but thankfully not to be...(not that I haven't found her amusing to watch up to now, lol). But very happy the semi-final will still have the Fab Four in it.



Suprised that Scott was in the bottom two but maybe that has something to do with last week?..athough I would still have thought he'd be considered a stronger dancer to vote for over Gavin. But however, with Gavin being saved very early on in the results show, I did actually think it was lovely to see the appreciation that Katya had for them making it through (as I did remember her saying on ITT that she thought this weekend might be there last). So, was actually quite sweet to see the emotion she had for them getting through and, to be fair, I did think their dance wasn't bad, like at all, so, Gav & Katya would have still deserved to stay at least one more week over Ann!



Really liked Kara's dance, not out of bias but purely on objective viewing alone, just loved it! Thought Matt's dance was very good too, and fun! Pamela's dance was lovely and Scott (though not amazing) def danced well enough to get through to the Semi (imo).

Thankgoodness the British public have seen sense. Ann should have gone weeks ago. I really hope the BBC change to format next season and give the judges some clout otherwise what is the point of having a judges panel?!



Hopefully Gavin will go next week, I for one am sick of him. I am also sick of Katya swooning over him every week. He is a talentless plank and clearly miles behind the other dancers.



I am also getting sick of all the themes and props, the show is looking more and more American by the week. I liked Strictly because it was all about the dancing. This season has been too much like Dancing with the Stars and I don't like it.



Good luck to Kara and Matt next week...

As much as I love Anton, i am so pleased to see Ann finally kicked off. Let the competition begin.

Ooops, I meant 'their' not 'there'. (face palm).

bye Plum

It was time for AW to go, as it it was several weeks ago.



Many people say Strictly isn't a competition; tell that to the people who put in all that effort.



Anton deserves a lot of credit for trying to train AW and it is time for him to be given someone with a real chance.



As to the judges comments and behaviour, I expect that's is down to the producers. It does make the judges look daft.

I've really enjoyed the ever more creative ways that Anton has responded to each dance with his choreography - and the way that Ann has (mostly) gone with it. In amongst the slapstick there have been the odd moments of sheer brilliance (not just Anton's Blackpool trousers!. Sure, they weren't going to win and next week might just have killed them both, but it's beem great while it lasted, and staying in this long has partly been the public supporting Anton.



Now things get serious!

Re my comment at 80 - thanks to DragoninExile, Ian Nicholls and Natalie Graham too - you have all made me laugh with your comments lately - have never been on a blog before but feel like I got to know you all really well. Feeling de-mob happy!

HI LETS GO NOW COMPETION ON.

At this stage of the contest, yes, probably the right moment for Ann to go. But... I think she made a real effort and was entertaining. And don't forget: to do this sort of thing is a MUCH bigger effort if you're Ann's age, than when you're a young man or woman, and well trained, as, for example, a turner or actor/actress.

Well done, Ann!

Comment 45...yep I will cetainly join you in a beer!

At last the public have come to their senses. Ms Widdicombe should have gone weeks ago. Get rid of Gavin Henson next week and we have a real competition on our hands. I think Pamela's routine this week was top notch and brought a tear to my eye. Still think Kara will win though.

My weekend is now complete and I am one happy bunny

As much as I love Anton (and I do!) I agree that it was Ann's time to go......however, I think it is quite wrong to attack Ann in the way she has been attacked by the judges and the guys on here. To be honest the BBC are to blame for putting on these characters that they want to mock and make fun of then panic when the public want to keep them in. I understand Ann had been asked more than once to do the show before this year. Why? if not to make fun of her? There will be someone else next year too. If it is to be a purely dance competition then at least it should be celebs who are in with a chance of learning to dance...an even playing field. Why be so nasty to Ann?

Will the BBC learn from this?? Probably not. Viewing any of the 'Have your say' style programmes or even Andrew Marr today (re the Panorama/FIFA) programme it seems that the BBC has become incapable of admitting they are ever wrong. Every criticism is met with 'We hear what you say BUT.....'



I will enjoy the remainder of the competition in a relaxed manner as apart from thinking that Gavin has too much to do to truly catch up with the other 4 I really don't mind now who wins. They are all good and have all worked so hard.



However... If the BBC choose another celebrity so obviously unsuited to learning to dance next year then I shan't bother watching again. I found the prospect of Ann reaching the final and heaven forbid winning far too aggravating. I prefer my entertainment to be entertaining not annoying. So fingers crossed

finally Ann widecombe has gone now da competition can carry on with the celebrities that can actually dance and the ones that can definitely train alot more than ann did she didnt improve at all

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I find it ironic that after performing the most proficient of dance routines (although not the most entertaining) during the last ten weeks of SCD, that Ann & Anton have at last left the competition.



To her credit Ann Widdecombe accepted her fate very gracefully and acknowledged that her time had eventually come. After thanking Anton and the viewers for keeping her in for ten weeks, the Titanium Lady retired from the field of combat with her colours flying.



Like many others I am concerned that certain changes have taken place, confusing the audience and questioning standards. Ann Widdecombe was never one of those concerns and I only hope that viewers accept that she was having fun and enjoying her retirement from the pressures of her previous profession.

She may not have always made the popular decisions, but I believe that she has always acted honourably. This conviction has been reinforced by her behaviour in SCD and whilst I do not expect everyone to like Ann, I would hope that they can now give her the respect she deserves.



Good Luck for the future Ann and I hope that you enjoy the experience of partnering Craig Revel Horwood.



It now remains for the viewers to enjoy the efforts of the remaining combatants in this televised dancing based entertaiment.



Keeeep On Dancing!!!

Ok, so Ann could not dance but she was certainly entertaining. Personally I would have preferred to see Gavin go as he is so conceited and is not actually that good a dancer...