Mark Holden DWTS update

After yet another bizarre and creepy performance from Mark Holden, his time on Dancing with the Stars has come to an end thanks to a lack of public support.

This week’s episode featured Holden dressed as Vladimir Putin (the controversial President of Russia).

Fortunately for viewers the show then stepped in to ensure there was no repeat of last weeks antics. His dance partner gaffa-taped Holden’s mouth shut, and host Daniel MacPherson intervened between the judges and Holden, dragging him away from the desk when he began thumping it.

In an interview with Herald Sun, Judge Todd McKenney said;

“It was awful to watch, and it was an awful feeling backstage, I’m just glad he is gone,” McKenney told Confidential.

“The whole thing was just odd.

“It was more the banter afterwards that was just bizarre and not family friendly.

“We have all played the game the past 10 years, you can skate on thin ice a little bit with humour on the show, but it’s still in the realm of family entertainment.

“He broke through the ice in my opinion.”

McKenney's view was shared by many on social media;

@DancingAU sorry but Mark Holden is a disgrace and I'm switching channels and not watching the show until he's gone
— Louise Olley (@4olleys) October 21, 2014

@DancingAU Mark Holden is bringing shame and disgrace to Australia and the whole Dancing with the Stars team. Poor Judges.
— Sabrina Eggleton (@KhloeKarLeopard) October 21, 2014

Ultimately Australia can take comfort in knowing their opinions were heard, and subsequently Holden is no longer a participant in the show. 
Voting shows such as Dancing With The Stars allow for producers to receive real-time analysis of how audiences perceive the content of their shows and the popularity of certain segements, and this directly correlates to who remains on the show and who is voted off.

Would you like a similar system in place for all shows? For example, a way for audiences to vote on who their favourite actor was on Home and Away, with the winner receiving additional scenes that week, and less scenes for the person with the least amount of votes.
Comment below with any other suggestions, or any comments about Mark Holden's DWTS career.

DWTS and the problem with live tv

Channel 7 has faced more controversy this week after Mark Holden's bizarre Dancing with the Stars performance at 7.30pm on Tuesday night. The entertainer-turned-judge-turned-barrister shocked audiences with a circus inspired routine and his post performance attitude.

It opened up the age-old debate around live television programming, and whether the benefits outweigh the potential for disaster. Many networks have opted for 7 second delays on their live programs to give themselves a chance to bleep out accidental swear words, but this doesn’t account for incidents such as Mark’s, where so much of his segment was scary and inappropriate for a family friendly show.

The controversy continued into the following day, with questions raised over how the incident was reported on various media platforms. (Remember that the ACMA code of conduct still applies to news and current affair programs such as Sunrise). Many social media comments were made noting that it is one thing to show the content initially, but to reshow it the following day after there has been ample time to edit the inappropriate content out is unacceptable.

Did you consider his conduct inappropriate? What would you recommend to producers of live TV shows to avoid similar situations happening again? And would you have re-aired the content the following day?