Strictly refund row

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

The BBC has agreed to refund 'Strictly Come Dancing' fans' money after last week's dance-off showdown was dropped.

The broadcaster had previously refused to pay callers back after the incident, which saw viewers voting for 'Holby City' actor Tom Chambers even though the judges' scores meant he had no chance of avoiding a dance-off, but have now changed their mind after receiving thousands of complaints from show fans.

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Jon Beazley, the BBC's Head of Entertainment Production, labelled the incident "unfortunate" and admits producers should have spotted the problem before phone lines were opened.

He said: "What's important to say as well is that if somebody is really unhappy about that and they feel very strongly that they want to have a refund from their voting last Saturday, then we will refund that call cost.

"There were exceptional circumstances at play."

Judges Arlene Phililps, Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli gave contestants Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon two very high scores - meaning Tom Chambers' lower score would automatically see him in a dance-off, regardless of how many public votes he received.

However, before producers deemed the phone vote pointless, thousands of viewers had called in to try to save the 'Holby City' actor.

All votes will be carried over to this week's final on Saturday (20.12.08), but anyone who requests a refund for their 15p phone call will be granted one.

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