Up in London, grandchildren, busy busy busy so apologies for dearth of posts but I cannot let this week go by without saying how sorry I am to see Ed Balls leave Strictly. Danny Mac, one of the other slebs, said at the end of the show that if somebody mentions Strictly 2016 they will only remember Ed and he is right.
He has enjoyed the most tremendous support mainly because he is what Strictly is all about, or used to be, and which has been lost in recent years as the show has grown and got bigger and glossier, which is learning to dance. Most of the slebs who appear have been to stage school and have been taught the rudiments of dance and some have been in girl/boy bands and danced, and it is seldom now that we have contestants who have never danced in their lives. Ed was such a one and from the week he did his Charleston I just fell in love with him and as I loathed him as a politician, this came as a huge shock to most people to find him so likeable. Pity this side of politicians is never seen by the public. I reckon Ed could aim to be PM at the moment and would win in a landslide!
The judges have been pretty vile to him and Craig in particular. On the weekly spin off show It Takes Two he made it very clear last week that he 'wanted to get rid of Balls darling'. Darcy Bussell was interviewed on the radio and said she would vote Ed out in the Dance off despite having said in an interview last year that when it comes to the dance off they judge on what they see in front of them at that moment. So clearly not true. When Ed finally made the dance off last week and they were asked to say who they wanted to win they could barely wait to say Judge Rinder and get shot of Ed. It was quite obnoxious.
Over the years there have been cries of Fix but I do not think it is possible to do this bearing in mind the way the votes between the judges and the public are structured. However, the judges have their favourites and this year this has been most marked with Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton wildly over marked and small mistakes picked up for other contestants, ignored (Louise constantly looking at the floor, gapping in the waltz to mention just two). Ore and Joanne (another Clifton) are clearly destined for the final as the judges are determined to get them there. This favouritism has not gone unnoticed by the public and it does not bode well for these two when the final comes round and the judges have no say in the matter. The Great British Public get fed up with being treated as if they are pig ignorant and stupid and the more the judges disparage a contestant (Ed and Gred) the more votes they will garner. By the time that Ed reached the dance off he had come to the natural end of his run and we were down to the nitty gritty and so the public wisely realised this and the so called Joke contestant goes. Happens every year. If the judges would only realise this and instead of being unpleasant and nasty, just went with the flow, it would be much better for everyone. But, no, they have to put the boot in.
So the finalists which the judges want are Joanne and Ore, Kevin and Louise and Danny and Ote. I would simply love it if two of these ended up in the dance off and one had to go. Of course we would then be castigated by the judges as being stupid and cries of You should not be here will be heard throughout the land.
One thing that Brexit has taught us - do not take Us Proles for Granted.....
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