It made me feel a tiny bit sick!

I agree with this post - also don't really feel anything for craig or laila

the ones I want to watch are chris, phil, ali, jade

it's not really ricky w's fault, but he can't possibly have a 'journey' like the others because he's been so far ahead from the start

I haven't seen him improve yet either

having said that, he's by far the best male dancer and should definitely stay in

I wonder if we might have got a different picture of Ricky if he had been with another professional. I have watched ITT tonight and the training footage. We had laughs and jokes and 'yeah baby' t shirts and mock up of cricket pitches from the other couples and then we get . 'Its really hard, its really fast, we are working harder than ever' from Ricky and Natlie and its just dull. They need to lighten up a bit and watch the training footage of some of the others to see how its done.......perhaps Natalie doesnt realise .....however Katya seems to have picked it up .

his dancing bores me - I am not really bothered about any peripheral stuff.

Do not worry some of us cannot help but enjoy his amazing dancing.

There is support for him as well I did a little poll at my hairdressers on Tuesday (have known them all for years)
Everyone is rooting for Ricky and Natalie think they are great. Ali and Zoe are also very popular with them as they are with me.

Great post. Totally agree perhaps he should just he is brillant and then lets see what everyone will say.

Also of course he has things to improve on Natalie is correct on that he is in training and still has much to learn.

Sometimes I find Natalie and Ricky's dancing a tad soulless although that said the VW at the weekend was great even if it wasn't worth a 10.

I hope he outcasts the terminally useless.

I don't dislike Ricky at all, and his dances have all been great, but despite this he isn't one of my favourites to watch. I agree that Ricky maybe need a storyline to pull viewers in, and that the training footage the bbc show should be more varied.

For me I vote for the partnership and whilst admiring both Ricky and Natalie individually, I still see them as individuals on the dancefloor rather than partners. For me their VW was beautifully executed but I felt no emotional connection or chemistry, and that is why I prefer some of the less gifted celebrities this year. Phil & Katya for example have far more connection for me in their ballroom, because I enjoy their partnership.

OP: Hope you are ok after the car crash - best wishes.

To me that blog was another reason not to root for him. Not that I got all the way through, it was so badly written that I had to give up for my own sanity. It's like he's conflicted between two personas - the humble "who me, I'm a good dancer?" and the uber-competitive one. In that I don't think that Natalie has helped, she didn't endear herself with her introduction of "I want a 10 in week 1". Someone else mentioned the training footage and I agree with that - it was sort of reminiscent of Craig's jive last week - "we are having fun, honestly, look, we're having so much fun" rather than just having fun.

I don't want to see car crash dancers, I do adore good dancing so I don't want them to be knocked off just yet and he is definitely one of the best dancers there. I don't want them to win though - I'd prefer to see someone who combines dance ability and a good personality/chemistry with their pro.

I watched the show with a couple of friends last week and one said she'd get him off. I told her not to get her hopes up as I'm sure he'll be in the final, but she said that wasn't what she meant...

Don't worry; I've noticed these things!



This is partly the odd thing I find with Ricky. Having always been a supporter of the good dancers, I am finding it odd that I am not that excited by his routines. I mean, personality has never been that important to me on this show. From the dull to the downright annoying (Kelly Brook), I've voted nonetheless if they are amongst the better dancers.

Of course, I would like Ricky to stay in and perhaps he will grow on me or I'll start to see a spark in the relationship with Natalie, but at the moment, I'm left flat.

I know that there are a lot of people who think Ricky's manner on the show is fake, or if not fake, then he's pretty uninteresting. To be honest, I just think that he is a decent, quietly spoken young man. Even if he is going out of his way to address judges deferentially, I'd rather him be as he is than respond to Mr Goodman's compliments with "Yeah, Len man, safe innit", or refer to the rest of the cast as his "peeps" and his partner Natalie as his "ho"!

I like Ricky W. I have enjoyed watching all his performances and he comes across as a decent guy. I have had a problem warming to his partner. Didn't mind her to start with, then went off her but have now started warming to her again. Think she's a little bit too tall for him which may ultimately prove costly to him but, at the moment, this couple are definitely one of my favourites.

I wasn't on the forums last night but, what was interesting was reading the amount of negative comments about him on the live thread. Also, because he didn't top the leader-board last night we've not had any new threads started about him.

Last night Ali got what I considered to be another undeserved 10 (I didn't think Ricky deserved one last week either) and no-one has said a word! Not one single thread, let alone a post voicing outrage, When I think back to some of the fantastic AS's we've had over the years there is no way that one would beat Colin's or Rachel's (imho) and yet the forum seems happy to accept it as a 10 because it WASN'T Ricky.

I agree

My reasons to be cheerful about Ricky:

1. He's the best dancer over the two disciplines. He's not perfect & does make mistakes but, overall, he's the closest ability-wise to the professionals. Even his detractors, of whom there are many, begrudgingly concede the boy can move.

2. His manners. He's polite and deferential to his partner and the judges and takes criticism with such good grace. I may be old-fashioned but I love the way he calls Len "sir". His father was in the RAF so it's clear he's been brought up with respect for authority and, even though I hesitate to bring in race after what's happened over the last couple of weeks, I think a positive black role model (like Colin Jackson too) should be celebrated.

3. His beauty He's such a pleasure to look at - apols for sounding pervy as I'm old enough to be his mother! I do appreciate fine art (how pompous does that sound!) but Ricky could be a model for a Bernini sculpture and what with his beautiful eyes.....

4. His personality. I know the consensus is that he's dull but I couldn't disagree more. He's a bright lad who got into Southampton Uni to do Law and, as my daughter is about to find out with her applications, that's no mean feat. On 'The Wright Stuff' he was thoughtful and articulate if a little sitting on the fencey. I know he's a bit flash in the motor vehicular department and a flirt (his 2-way with Claudia on ITT was a treat) but his self-depracating humour (e.g. hair or lack thereof and breaking his leg for "charidee") is endearing. He seems good humoured, despite his tiredness and never seems to lose it/have emotional breakdowns with Natalie.

5. His partnership with Natalie. I'm more ambivalent about this as I don't think we've seen enough of Natalie's personality to make a judgment. She's come over from Oz after being successful there and is on a steep learning curve as to what appeals to the British audience and judges. She's not like Karen/Erin/Ola/Lilia but is more of a Camilla/Flavia professional - she's working hard to ensure Ricky's natural talent shines out and she is taking a back seat. Also logistically, given his Hollyoaks schedule, when she gets him into rehearsals there's no time for relationship development - it's get on the floor and drill this routine.

There endeth the Apricot manifesto as to why we should vote for Ricky. I suspect I should have posted this in the appreciation thread but there's a lot of tumbleweed blowing in there. I know the world would be dull if we all liked the same stuff but I do think one or two posters' vitriol is a little on the unreasonable side (one poster in particular was similarly unimpressed with Tom Chambers last year and never wasted an opportunity to dig that dagger in deeper and deeper).

Fingers crossed he stays the course but, after last night's moment of truth, I'm very nervous.

I do feel the 10 was undeserved. 9's across the board would have reflected a very professional performance, and they would still have topped the leader board.

If you start a thread - I'll post.

As a hetrosexual male, I don't find Ricky attractive..but hell, I'm jealous of his moves, the guy is a natural. I guess one accusation you could level at him is that he might be a bit lazy. He has looked great from week 1, from memory,only Ali came close..but he sometimes appears to be just "coasting". I think if he really gives it that bit extra, we will see a few show-stopping performances, then Ricky will become a sure-fire winner.
By the way, I've no axe to grind, I put my money on Laila before the first show..still hoping for a miracle.