Strictly a matter of maths
The revision to the Strictly scoring system hasn’t had an airing yet because most people prefer to watch the show in blissful ignorance, but if considering a wager it’s imperative you get a handle on this slight tweak and its implication regarding who is most likely to end up in the bottom two each week.
We all recall the fiasco of last year’s Strictly semi-final, and Tom Chambers earning a reprieve into the final because he was condemned to the dance off regardless of how the public vote went.
Strictly punters thinking on the night went something like this: ‘So Tom has 1 point, if he tops the public vote that gives him 4, which means… he’s definitely in the dance off, which means… he’ll definitely be eliminated given his scores from the judges were inferior to Rachel’s and Lisa’s. I can therefore summise Tom is a goner unless the highly unlikely event occurs that his rival in the dance off falls over.’
You see, all it requires is some simple analysis and hey presto. you stand to win a lot of money. Except on this occasion, it transpired.
Those who applied such cool, calm punting logic and followed it through by laying Chambers on the outright market on Betfair got stung big time after the Beeb in its infinite wisdom decided to let all 3 couples go through to the final, with Chambers going on to win.
Just look at the dismay on Brendan Cole’s face during this unforgettable moment. He knew all chance of winning the show had gone, and he wasn’t the only one feeling unimpressed as Chambers layers were left facing up to massive liabilities.
At least the new points system will avoid this scenario ever happening again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/08_august/25/strictly8.shtml