Strictly Come Dancing 2011

Strictly Come Dancing 2011 has been going since Friday 30 September (which was my 40th birthday ) but still no-one appears to have launched a topic on it.

The first three weeks I fell behind with it and had a marathon catch-up of video recordings to watch (three weeks worth of main show and results show), but since then I've watched the shows on the applicable weekend.

I noticed Nancy Dell'Olio was bottom of the judges' leader board every week 1 to 5. The last three Sundays, 16, 23 and 30 October she was in the bottom two. It was clear to me from the very beginning she was the underdog. Annoyingly the other bottom two couple went out 16 and 23 October, but last night it was third time lucky, Nancy Dell'Olio was eliminated at last.

They've already had two special themed weeks:
Week 3 - Saturday 15 October - Broadway week
Week 5 - Saturday 29 October - Halloween week

Will there be any more special weeks? The last couple of years they've had a Blackpool Tower Ballroom special roughly midway through the series. Does anyone know if that will happen this year?

Jason Donovan has topped the judges' leader board a few times this series. Being as we're now about a third of the way through the series, he already appears to be a likely winner for this year.

This year the final will be held in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and there's going to be a mid-series special from Wembley Arena.

..because TC1 is booked for Children in Need that week.

I believe the final's going to be in 3D on BBC HD.

Don't they usually go to TC4 or 8 during CIN week?

When does BBC HD become BBC Two HD, then?

They have in previous years, but clearly it's now been decided that it's too much logistical faff to have to move the set and so forth (I think the CiN set last year was the bare bones of the Strictly set redressed) so it's easier to go somewhere else entirely those weeks. And it makes it seem a bit more special, natch.

The set is pulled out every Saturday night after each programme anyway. The new strictly set will not fit in another studio, even the old one was a squeeze, but the redesign meant it would only fit in TC1. Last year they went to Blackpool to avoid the CiN clash.

What else is produced in TC 1 Sunday to Thurs ?

Later… is in on Tuesdays.

Presumably, like all (most of?) the DQF announcements, once the Trust has approved the changes after a public consultation period. (Though some changes - like the F1 rights - have already happened...)

What is the BBC HD 3D coverage like this evening? Is it only the dances themselves that are in 3D? I'm guessing the judges and Tess Daly's bits are in regular HD.