... did they poison the producer's cat or something?!

In the last three series they've been given increasingly bad celebrities, even though Lilia in particular is acknowledged to be one of the best teachers and strongest choreographers on the show. And this year they have Lynda, the token older contestant, and Richard who is apparently completely uncoordinated.

I guess you could say they've both had their moment in the limelight but that was a while ago, and they only got there in the first place because they proved they had the skills to push their partners to the top.

I think they can quite easily starting planning their pro dance for Week 3 already :sleep:. It's not like their going to be busy is it...

Hmmm......I think, because they've both won, the Beeb are reluctant to give them partners who have a good chance of winning i.e. someone like Ali or Ricky. I know height is an issue too but it does seem unfair now, especially as they're both decent choreographers and teachers.

Richard Dancewoody is a goner but I wouldn't write Lynda off too quickly... BTW is it me or does Darren's hair look even more bizarre this series. Sorry, but it has to be a wig. Surely?

That's true Xassy, but since Matt won he has still been given reasonably strong partners.

I could see more of a case for putting Lilia out of the running for series five and even series six, after the draws she had had up to that point, but I think it's been carried a bit far now. And Darren has had more ups and downs anyway... in his case I'm not sure what the reasoning for getting Lynda as opposed to Natalie would be.

Stargazer I wouldn't be surprised if Lynda went tomorrow frankly. And I don't think it is a wig, but it's not the nicest cut. He should wear it a bit spikier!

Didn't Lilia say she likes getting a fixer upper?
I don't want to write off Richard Dunwoody, he could get the popular vote and be an improver, he seems like the next Ty Murray (DWTS)

I don't know, there are things that can be fixed but I don't really see that in Richard judging from tonight's group dance! If you're uncoordinated there isn't really much anyone can do about it.

I don't watch DWTS but maybe I'll have a look at Ty Murray on youtube for a bit of a cheer-up!

I guess time will tell

In all fairness I think Joe will be heading for the door if his Latin is as bad as his ballroom. If that happens I will be gutted because I love Kristina.

I think they've just been unfortunate and have been given partners based on height rather than ability. They've both had a couple of great partners in the past though to be fair.

Youtube won't really capture it - Ty Murray wasn't the best dancer it was the fact he had a good work ethic, was a down-to-earth, nice guy and improved, that helped him stay in the competition.
I get the same vibe off Richard.

I wonder if the BBC think it would be a 'waste' to give a young actractive contestant to a married dancer, there would be no are they/aren't they will they/won't they. I think James and Ola suffer from this a bit too.

James has been lucky with his partners I'd say - apart from Georgina.

i don't think that thje bbc have anything against darren and lilia specifically but you would have thought that they would consider the people that made the show great. They do seem to have another agenda which i don't quite understand eg arleneetc

I wasn't really serious that there is an agenda, but I think it's a bit weird that they're so overlooked in the last few series. Especially when it's so widely agreed that Lilia is one of the best choreographers on the show, why would you waste that on someone who's likely to be out within the first few weeks?
Kind of amusing when the only lasting romance to come from the show emerged with a dancer who wasn't single at the time!

Yes, I realised my therory was rocky as I hit the submit reply button and remembered Matt and Flavia!!!!

I think Lynda danced a complex routine very well for a first dance. She got the steps right , but just not sharp enough. She wasn't helped by the costume department. They may suffer from her looking big compared to Darren, although he does look taller, but he had to bend his knees in the Tango. I think she will dance well except for the jive, until they get to two dances a week - if she gets that far.

Richard - I hope that was first night nerves and he just blanked. Its a fainter hope than I want it to be because Lilia is my favourite.

I promise you, 100%, its NOT a wig!

It did look particularly bizarre this eveing but its not a wig!

Perhaps D&L asked for an easy time this series?

Darren and Lilia get a lot of coverage and there's a lot of professional dancers. I think its only right that other pro's get 'decent' celebs given that both d&l have got far in previous series and won.

He managed to get to the semi-finals even though he wasn't the best dancer by any stretch of the imagination. But such a nice guy and worked so hard and of course it helped having Chelsie as a partner. And don't forget the Cowboy Army who voted in their thousands. I was voting for him from the UK, I thought he was great!

Poor Darren, he's never going to be free of those wig rumours, is he?!

I agree, they are both so talented and have had a disproportionate allocation of duffers

Perhaps Lilia's pregnant

(sorry, but I've just come off the Ola pregnant thread!).

Indeed, according to the forums Lilia appears to be afflicted with a terrible disease which has made her pregnant since 2004 but sadly unable ever to give birth