The Strictly Come Dancing voting fiasco will not result in action against the BBC. A tie between two of the three couples competing in the semi-final meant that Holby City actor Tom Chambers and his partner could not be saved from the dance-off, no matter how many votes he received from the public. Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said the BBC had responded promptly and taken appropriate steps to make sure viewers were treated fairly. The BBC acknowledged the problem immediately after the show, and announced that the votes cast for the semi-final would be carried over to the final and all three couples would go through. After receiving more than 1,500 complaints about the decision, the BBC then decided to offer a refund to anyone who had voted. Ofcom received 297 complaints about the show, but said it was clear the mistake had arisen from an oversight rather than any mishandling of the votes received or technical problem with the voting process. The BBC acknowledged the error and responded quickly, Ofcom said, and has since examined the voting and judging process to try to stop anything similar happening in future. "In Ofcom's view the BBC had been open and transparent with viewers about the mistake it made and the solution adopted." The problem arose when the dance show's judges awarded singer Rachel Stevens and presenter Lisa Snowdon the same number of points. Because of this, even if Tom had won the public vote, he could only have tied with his rivals, consigning him to fight for his place in a dance-off. Get exclusive access to your favourite stars. Subscribe to TV Times magazine
