Strictly Come Dancing: The Judges versus the Public
Rather than continue to analyse each week’s show, which after all is a somewhat over saturated field, I thought it would be more interesting to write about the different facets of Strictly Come Dancing. The one I particularly wish to focus upon this time is the voting system and how it often highlights a differing of opinion between the professional judges on the show and the British public. For the past two weeks now there have been several celebrity dancers in the dreaded dance off who are far from the weakest performers. This has led to competent individuals leaving the show unexpectedly early. In many ways the voting system and the fact that no one can be considered safe is one the key factors that keeps Strictly popular and in the media spotlight. However, it also provides some pause for thought. The judges broadly mark and assess the celebrity dancers based upon their talent and performance. If they do not like a routine but still appreciate its technical merits, then they reflect that in their scores. However, the public seem to approach things quite differently.
When discussing Strictly with fellow fans, our personal favourite couples often come up. Hence it can be assumed (erroneously) that if someone enjoys say Karim or Alex’s dancing, then they regularly vote for them and offer them ongoing, unqualified support. However, a little research shows that this is not the case. The most obvious fact that supports this theory is that a celebrity can be riding high on the leaderboard due to the judges’ marks. But when the public vote is added to their score, they find themselves in the dance off, indicating that what pleases the likes of Craig, Motsi, Shirley and Bruno does not necessarily fly with the home audience. Karim had a judges’ score of 38 on Saturday night with his Couple’s Choice Contemporary routine. Yet he still found himself in the dance off. A similar fate befell Michelle Visage a week earlier with her similarly non-traditional routine. Unlike Karim, she did not survive the dance off. So it would seem that there is potential for a perfectly capable celebrity to perform a dance that means a lot to them but doesn’t chime with viewers and for that to result in a distinct lack of votes.
Another incorrect assumption is that of “fan bases”. Saffron Barker may well have a legion of fans on social media but that patently did not translate into votes on Saturday night. Hence, she found herself yet again in the dance off with Karim and the rest is history as the expression goes. Perhaps the problem in this instance resides with a fanbase that is predominantly online, as opposed to actively watching an older form of media such as television. There has also been discussions in previous years that Strictly viewers are more likely to vote for those celebrities that they can immediately relate to. This then raises contentious matters such as race, class and other spurious social markers. And lets us not forget the Great British tradition of supporting the perceived “underdog”. Strictly viewers will happily keep a talentless, time wasters embarrassing themselves on national TV each week until they tire of them. Such is the enigma of public voting. There are times when you can deduce how people are thinking and who they may keep on the show. And then there are other occasions when it can be a total lottery. I suspect that this year’s final may be subject to the latter and not the former.
