New Judges for Strictly Come Dancing

We wish to request that you review the composition of the judging panel for future series of Strictly Come Dancing, and in particular that you replace Len Goodman as head judge.

It is our belief that, in spite of the high ratings obtained for Series 5, the style of judging has undermined many longstanding viewers enjoyment of the show and its status as a warm-hearted, family-friendly TV event. These factors include:

- Consistent overmarking, with neither Len or Bruno ever giving less than an 8 in recent weeks, and with 10s being awarded indiscriminately.
- Extreme rudeness on the part of Len Goodman, exemplified by his talking over or constantly scowling at other judges comments.
- A clear lack of consistency even in individual judges (especially Lens and Brunos) voting patterns, so that very high marks seem to be awarded sometimes only for guts or personality, with technical factors neglected.
- Unnecessarily personal and negative comments especially in relation to the weaker dancers; many viewers would prefer to see the judges use a much wider range of scores while giving, however, friendly, constructive criticism.

We would therefore ask that you reconstitute the judging panel for Strictly Come Dancing and, at the very least, remove Len Goodman as head judge. Many visitors to the digitalspy Internet forum have suggested that one or two of the professionals could be promoted to become judges, that other ballroom experts such as Peggy Spencer MBE could be invited to judge, or that new technical experts could be balanced by one or two appropriately experienced stars of stage or screen.

Whichever solution is adopted, we do hope that you can respond to these sincere criticisms positively and constructively. Please keep us informed of your response and intended actions on this matter.