Strictly Come Dancing - What Just Happened?

Maths was never my strong point, but did they not realise before Saturday night at 9.30pm that if two of the three couples were tied on points from the judges the other one was bound to be in the dance-off? Ok, it never entered my head before 13 December, either, but surely the boffins should have been prepared for every eventuality? That's why John Sergeant was needed there because with his experience of elections and counts he could've pointed that out from a ways off.

It was a bizarre end to a great show which wasn't really a semi-final because no-one got knocked out. So, basically, the three finalists went from the quarter-final to the final - I'd say Austin was happy going home. The whole thing made the BBC look silly in a 'eh we're making this up as we go along' stylee and no doubt someone will say it was all John's fault because if he hadn't left there would have been four semi-finalists as was originally planned. But couldn't three of them have ended up tied then too? Anyway, before outrage sweeps Britain, maybe there should be some kind of public announcement every hour that the calls were only 15p a minute.

Number blunders aside, the dancing was nearly all great. For me, Rachel and Vincent's Tango was the dance of the night. I couldn't see how Lisa and Brendan deserved maximum points for that Quickstep but then I can never really warm to them - her crying should be over on ITV while the whole 'tortured artist' vibe around him just screams "grow up!". Yes, I know plenty of other people have cried, too, but the whole win-lose-or-draw high emotion of Lisa's waterworks is as welcome as hearing the phrase "dreaded dance-off".

Tom was never my favourite during the series but I'm glad in a it's-a-show-not-life-or-death way that he's in the final. He was the weakest on the night and I thought from the minute I heard that himself and Camilla were revisiting the Jive that the banana skin had the potential to be the size of the dancefloor - they should've picked their best dance. The look of 'we've blown it' in Camilla's eyes afterwards did actually tug at the heartstrings and I would like to see them go out on a high in the final.

Could they win? Hmm, depends how people react to last Saturday. As for Lisa and Brendan, I don't think they'll get enough votes from the public, even though they have provided some great moments. I had always wanted Austin and Erin and Cherie and James in the final but with them gone, Rachel and Vincent have been growing on me by the week. I like their vibe, I like the way he sends himself up and I really like the way she never comes across as wanting desperately to be liked. I think they'll triumph on Saturday - in style.

Harry Guerin