BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 8, Rachel Stevens 35 points = Bottom Two Dance Off

So... these days in Strictly Come Dancing, 35 points from the Judges can leave you ending up in the bottom two dance off. What a joke this is and not a very funny one.

Professional dance partner, Vincent Simone, choreographed a brilliant American Smooth routine and wouldn't have believed what happened with the voting public. This was Rachel's best performance week so far and she was rewarded with this travesty of events. It appears she must have very little support with the viewers at home which is a bit of a mystery. Has something gone wrong with the vote counting system?

One thinks that maybe it has.

Thankfully Rachel survived the dance off this week, but it was to the detriment of Heather Small, who also danced well. Truth be told, neither of the women should have been there.

Head Judge Len Goodman said of Rachel's original routine, "Diamonds come in small packages and that was a gem of a performance."

Bruno added, "it was Fred and Ginger for me tonight, so elaborate and demanding... you did that effortlessly."

It is perhaps impossible to fathom. Bruno said he felt as if he were in the Twilight Zone. In a week where a score of 35 out of 40 can land you in the bottom two, the dance part of this competition is becoming less and less relevant.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing - Week 7 - Support for Cherie

Cherie Lunghi has suddenly overtaken singer, Rachel Stevens in the betting market and now is favourite of the Ladies to win.

This is somewhat of a surprise. It follows a week where her Paso Doble didn't go entirely to plan. A slip-up at the beginning of the dance seemed to destabilize her, and from there on, she was just going through the moves and not really living this passionate dance. Her natural grace of movement perhaps made up for some of the earlier problems.

Judge Bruno commented, "You are naturally gifted. The performance just wasn't up to the standard of the actress you can be."

Despite everything, Cherie still scored a credible 31, 1 point shy of Rachel Stevens total. There is obviously money going on Lunghi to win and that is why her odds are shortening in the market.

Head Judge Len said, "you gave a good performance but not quite as good as you have been."

It was of course no surprise at this stage, Cherie swept through to the next round without any problems and it is likely she will bounce back to give a good performance this Saturday.

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BBC Strictly - Week 5 - Heather verses Don

The sixth series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, Week 5, saw Don Warrington be voted out of the competition after finding himself for the second time in the dance-off. Here's how the Judges saw it,

Heather Small survives her second dance off in as many weeks. Arguably neither of the two should have been in the bottom two, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Mark Foster and Andrew Foster perhaps should have been competing instead, but it goes to show, they both must have some support with the viewers. Heather could well be in the bottom two next week also.

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BBC Strictly - Week 3: The Men, Jive & Tango

The scores of the Judges, Craig, Arlene, Len and Bruno are in and here is the leader board before the unpredictable viewers vote.

Austin Healey & Erin 34
Tom Chambers & Camilla 33
Don Warrington & Lilia 30
Mark Foster & Hayley 24
John Sergeant & Kristina 22
Andrew Castle & Ola 22
Gary Rhodes & Karen 18

The dances performed this week were the energetic Jive and the passionate Tango. Austin Healey and Tom Chambers were again out front with impressive displays, but man of the match without a shadow of a doubt, has to be Don Warrington. He was 100/1 to win the competition and a strong 7/4 Favourite to go out this week, but danced a fantastic Tango to give himself a great score of 30. Don should be safe from the bottom two with that.

Gary Rhodes danced a rather weak Jive which Judge Bruno commented had, "More holes than the surface of the moon.". However, Rhodes was previously saved by the viewers from the dance-off in Week 1 and it could well happen again. It could well end up as Castle verses Foster who both looked particularly awkward during their Tango performances.

All will be revealed this Sunday evening.

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