Thank you! What great photos and the costumes are fabulous! I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but I love the dress Lacey is wearing and even Kelly looks stunning!

The only celeb that stands out for me in a 'bad' way is Chuck, as I think he will have the age old problem of being too muscle bound to get the kind of loose, flexible look needed for Latin.

I am really looking forward to this series now, although I don't get the Watch TV channel now and I haven't worked out yet how to see the show!

Even though I'm in the UK, I'm supporting the gorgeous Donny Osmond and his partner Kym Johnson who is beautiful and I also loved her partnership with Joey Fatone from NSYNC a few seasons ago. Go Donny and Kym to win!!!!!

From Hayley

Does anyone know who Kathy Ireland is and what she is like? Only want to know 'cos I love Tony Dovolani & hope he has a good partner

Hi kaycee, I'm with you on Tony, he really grew on me last season, so I'd like him to do well.
Kathy Ireland is apparently really well known, and seems to have moved on from being a model quite well. She's done some acting, and written self-help books, plus had her own clothing line and various other activities. I think there's a chance that she could do well, she might pick up some of the people who supported Brooke, if she can avoid the usual model problems!

She was a supermodel in the same era as Elle MacPherson, Cheryl Tiegs and Christie Brinkley, but what she went on to after that I don't know. She was in that special group of swimsuit models for one of the America sports magazines where men collect the 'swimsuit issue' every year - I want to say National Geographic, but I know that's wrong LOL!

LOL - it's Sports Illustrated.

I knew the name Kathy Ireland but not really much else - but I'm not one to go on. I never know who anybody is. Models don't usually do very well - there was winner Brooke Burke but she was also a presenter on some reality show I think.

BuddyBon - I've got the opposite problem - I wish I could see SCD! They seem to have cracked down on Youtubes so I'm not sure that's an option - and BBC doesn't let you watch i-player if you're not in the UK. Oh well.

Hey, you and I ought to trade dvds or something

That's the one!

Elsa I posted this on another thread and it might help you out -

For those of you outside the UK, have you thought about using proxy site software to watch on iPlayer or YT? They are quite cheap and could be worth your while. There are lots of free proxy sites available, but the problem is eventually they all get blocked, so you have to look for another site when that happens. But if you choose a paid service then the software does all the sifting and searching for you, so it is quick and easy to use. If you are interested Google 'Hide IP Address' and see what you think. Just an idea and if anyone has tried this without any luck I'd be interested to know how you got on.


Just a thought!

Trading dvds would be a good idea, but I think the dvd players/recorders in UK are different to those in US - not sure what the difference it, but when my daughter was given a dvd set it wouldn't play, and she was told it was for US market.

Thank you for info about Kathy Ireland; am a bit dubious 'cos models (current or ex!) seem to be a bit pointless, weak and lacking in personality ..... but hopefully Kathy I will be the exception!

I've read up on her since last night and she has had a successful career since leaving modelling and is now a high flying business woman, so she sounds like a smart cookie!

Is it just me or is she the same height as Tony? and why is Anna standing in just a weird way it makes her look like she is miles taller than Michael who 6'2 and is taller than she is?

Love Lacey dress as well it is the one she wore for her Viennese Waltz with Steve-O

She's 5'10" and he's 6'1", so with heels they are probably similar height.

Don't know what Anna is doing - trying to appear more interesting maybe?

Well remembered about Lacey's dress! I couldn't stand Steve-O, so I clearly had blocked it out of my mind!

Oh good, that sounds more hopeful.

Yeah, that can make it dicey. If you have a techie around (my hubby's one), they can make a different region dvd play on your computer.

I also buy so many British dvds from amazon.uk, etc., that I bought a "multi region" dvd player/recorder, which solved the problem completely -- but before that I had hubby run the dvds through the computer for me.

You get some sort of program to load onto computer and then you put the dvd in the slot and click on the "Movie Player" or whatever your program is called, and then the dvd plays.

But I can understand not wanting to worry or bother with all that. Hey, I could send you one "test dvd" and you could try it and see if it works -- then if it worked for you, on your computer or whatever, then we might could set up a trade?

And I wonder if this is rule breaking - even as a "swap" with no money involved? Maybe we should take it to the private messaging thing, assuming you're interested ?

I have a lot of last year's DwtS on dvd's, so one of those could be the test one I send? Let me know if you have liked any of DwtS' former contestants, from seasons 4 (won by Apolo), 5 (Helio - Mel B was 2nd), 6 (Kristi), 7 (Brooke) or 8 (Shawn) -- and I could try to round up a dvd with that person on it. I'm pretty sure I have all those seasons - or at least parts of them.

Mya is going to win hands down like i said earlier. She is an r&b dancer, tap dancer, street dancer, the list in endless and shes appeared in Chicargo. It soooo not fair that she was allowed to participate. Its hers to lose tbh.

I've got an idea so I will PM you.

Wonder how long it will be before Maksim complains like he did about Melissa last year??

I know a lot of people love Maks and he is clearly a wonderful dancer, but for me his attitude can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the celebs on DWTS and that goes for his partners too!

I really like Maks and think he is a great dancer, Loved his partnership with Mel B but last year he really annoyed me by complaining about Tony's partner. Tony is one of his best mates and it was the first time he got a decent partner in Melissa and there was Maks moaning after having the partners he had had in the past. His dance with Karina are amazing tho

I think Mel B was the ideal partner for Maks and he will never be happy on DWTS again unless he gets someone as good as her. I know Denise is not popular in the USA, but I thought his attitude towards her stank and he should have been more adaptable to get the best out of her. And to moan publicly about a friend's good luck...well, what can I say?

I agree with what you are saying about Maks.

I think he is a brilliant dancer but I am not so sure about his teaching abilities. People who have been to his semnars say he is great and very patient. However, that does not translate to DWTS and his celebrity partner. He needs someone who is a natural dancer, can pick up choreography quickly and can deal with his personality. Mel B. was all of those things so it worked out great. Can you imagine if Maks got Cloris that year she was on? Now that would have been some good t.v.

His criticism of Melissa last year was not taken well by a lot of the ABC posters. He changed his tune when he wanted Melissa to win at the end (saying he was supporting Tony) but when he was in the competition he was pretty annoyed that ABC allowed someone with past dance experience.

For quite a while he blathered about a woman not being able to win and that women "only vote for men" but after Kristi, Brooke and Shawn won he can no longer claim this.

I don't think he was complaining about his friends' "good luck"
so much as the fact that Melissa was already a trained dancer - he wasn't alone with his complaints!!

As for Denise - they certainly didn't seem to get on well, but not everyone does, do they? She appeared such a wishy-washy" sort of person. Pro dancers usually have plenty of patience for those people who genuinely can't do something, or find dancing hard to learn, but still try. What few (if any!) have patience with is those who don't even appear to TRY - and Denise certainly looked as if she fell into that category.

I freely admit to being biased, as a huge Maks fan, but I think puttin him with Denise was calculated on DwTS's part - they were looking for there to be trouble. Denise, for me, fell into the Kim Kardashian category - she thought she could skate on her looks, and I don't think she put the work in.

I still think it was a shame that they couldn't get Misty back, as I think Maks proved with her that he could teach someone without much initial ability, if they had the work ethic for it. I think that might have applied to Laila as well, but I didn't see that series, so I can't be sure.

You are right Maksim wasn't the only one to complain but he was the first and he was the harshest then at the end he changed his mind and wanted Melissa to win because of Tony. It was a pity he didn't think of Tony before talking in the first place

There are always contestants with experience but as long as they are your partner or your brother/sister/best friend partner no one complains except Maks who obviously doesn't know about not complaining about his best friend's partner

Of course Melissa was going to have some kind of experience she came into the show on two day training no contestant is going to go onto a show so late on without experience but as Tony and Mark (about Kristi) said he had to retrain her into a different style and that may be easier than learning a beginner but it has its own challenger a

As for Denise I don't blame Maks for not getting on with her (though they both said they did on the show ) and I agree with what you said about her but Maks can be pretty hard on his partner even Mel and Laila

For me Maks is the Brendan of DWTS and if he'd have been given Cloris I can't even begin to imagine how that would have gone!

I do agree it was probably a set up pairing Maks with Denise, but hand on heart I don't remember seeing a single positive clip, apart from her initial solo VT about her. The producers must have been rubbing their hands with glee, as they edited the VT footage to paint Denise as as blackly as they could and unfortunately they were too successful as she went out in week 2.

IMHO Denise is definitely not a wishy washy type of person and she is definitely a trier. Her problem is that she is now caught between a rock and a hard place because she was very publicly married to Charlie Sheen, one of the prince's of Hollywood and the highest paid actor on US TV - and then very publicly divorced him. They were a golden couple at the beginning, but she was warned by friends and family not marry him as he was a well known hard drinker, drug user and womaniser, but no doubt she thought she could change him and then found out she was wrong. Eventually she chucked him out and got a restraining order against him and they went through a very nasty divorce with failed attempts at counselling and reconciliation in between.

Charlie is so popular in the USA in spite/despite his 'bad boy' reputation and the public where clearly on his side against Denise. She is probably wondering what she can do to get rid of the negative reputation she has as it doesn't matter what she does she can't win. Retire from public life to bring up her children seems her best option!

Sorry for the essay - BTW I do like Charlie as an actor!