Strictly's Back

My favourites - Susan, Johnnie, Debbie. Best dancers - Aston, Alexandra.

Brian's so funny though. He looked at his partner and said 'if I was 30 years younger and not fussy!'
He's a showman and used to being on stage. I'm not surprised to hear he made some sort of farewell speech. Not sure it was a rant though.

I know I’m late to comment but have just read this thread. Why on earth would you want to make someone feel bad for cracking a joke like Charleygirl’s? Us thrifty lot in Yorkshire get this and do this all the time and I’ve honestly never known anyone get on their high horse about it.

Sorry, back to the subject. Susan’s my favourite by far. So obviously enjoying the whole experience and giving it her all.

Brian's been on Lorraine this morning explaining 'the rant'. He said it was no such thing - he was trying to lighten the mood and be funny, which is what he says he does.

Maggiemaybe - quite agree. I'm not Scottish but I wonder the same as Charleygirl. Why are we paying for the trips and meals out when it only results in a few minutes of boring and irrelevant telly that we could do without?

I think Simon will finally get the red card tomorrow. Ruth had a much better dance tonight, but somehow I can't warm to her or to Mollie. Susan loves the dancing so much she's a joy to watch and I expect she gets a large share of the popular vote.

Simon to go this week.

I agree, Simon is past his sell by date, he was very lucky last week.

I also agree that it will be Simon this week. I am sure that sometimes the celebrities are a little bit relieved when they are voted off!

DannieRae. I think this is true in part, but the dancers who reach Blackpool receive a large bonus £30K at least. Perhaps the professionals do too.

I'd like to see Ruth last a bit longer. She's gaining confidence and improving every week.

I still can't believe how good Debbie McGee is

The right one went tonight. He must have known he hadn`t a chance against Molly and AJ.

I felt quite sorry for Simon this week, he was dreadful ! IMHO anybody who cannot get the rhythm right on a Viennese waltz to “Delilah” should not have been there so an easy choice to send him home. Painful to watch.
Debbie McGee on the other hand was scintillating!

I agree about Simon. How can anyone not even do the simple routine he was given. He wasn’t even stepping correctly, just bumbling around the dance floor like someone who’s never had any practice let alone a week’s tuition. Dreadful.

To be fair to Simon, he only had 2 days - 8 hours of tuition due to a thigh injury when he fell in last week's dance-off. He was strapped up and had trouble walking let alone dancing. That said, I agree it was his time to go.

I don't think theme weeks help the celebs. It becomes a lot of style over substance. The dances all seem to morph into stage-musical numbers rather than the dance form it is supposed to be. The music doesn't help either. There seems to be a preponderance of pop type songs - most of which I have never heard - and which do not suit the dance supposedly being done.

After all that, I do love Strictly with the colour, costumes and characters we see blossom !

I'm really enjoying this season now; I thought Davood's dance was wonderful, Ruth and Brendan have tapped into the fun element, Susan is always delightful to watch because her enthusiasm is infectious and Debbie continues to be a consummate professional throughout. Mollie's dance was pretty to watch this week, but somehow her personality doesn't come through in the same way as Gemma's does. I have a soft spot for both Joe and Jonnie who have had no dance training, but still produce something worth watching every week. Alexandra and Aston both look very professional, but with this year's line up that may not count as much as it would in other years. Right now I couldn't hazard a guess about the ultimate winner, but I'm enjoying the show.

Bit late coming to this. I've never watched Strictly before - my OH hates it and we've always watched X-Factor but as Charlotte from GMB and Ruth Holmes were on I thought I'd give it a go and now I'm hooked as well Watching Jonnie dance on his blade is amazing regardless of how technically correct he is or isn't and I do like Gemma and Alexandra. I watch it on catch up though as I can't be bothered with all the bits in between the dances. Looking forward to Dancing on Ice in Jan which we have always watched.

Very good summary grannyactivist!

It is now at the stage where it is getting difficult to decide who should go because the worst ones have left. I suppose going by the final result it should be Aston and Ruth in the dance off and Aston would win.

I have a feeling that we may get a nasty shock tonight because of the public's voting.

I would put Ruth and Jonnie in the dance off.
Love watching Susan for all reasons quoted but I don’t think she should win.
There are still three or four that could still be well in the running to win.

Laughed out loud at Ruth’s collapse last night.
Best thing since Craig fell off his chair!
#pratfallsandslapstick

This has been the most entertaining Strictly of all. The young celebs who have had dance training always get off to a flying start but who would have predicted Debbie's amazing performances?

I thought Ruth would be a complete flop and get no further than the second week. I'm so glad I was wrong.

Even DH is enjoying it this year.

I think Mollie will continue to be in danger because the public haven't taken to her. I also wonder if Aston and Janette have become a bit complacent - yesterday's dance really was a bit of a let-down. This year there could be some surprises in the final as the celebrities with a non-dancing background really are quite good and their entertainment value is top notch. Right now I think it's hard to call between Debbie and Alexandra, both of whom are likeable and ultra talented, but both have had professional dance training.

thought Joe was very entertaining last night ,unlike many actors he didn't go to stage school so no dance training.He's come on leaps and bounds in a few weeks .His lifts were really clever I was surprised that Darcy didn't give him a 10 as she was so glowing in her comments