Last year both Rachel and Lisa were perceived as teacher's pet, albeit by different groups.

So who do you think is this year's teacher's pet, and WHY?

It would have to be Zoe for me - due to the monumental cock up at the end of their last dance which seemed to go unnoticed by the judges!

Zoe seems to be a popular candidate for the role this year

I have to say that I think there are a few...

Laila has received some fairly generous marks for her last two dances as has Ricky W who has not been as good as some others and still near the top of the scores.

Its no-where near as bad as last year though where the marking was outrageously biased towards the girls as the boys were clearly getting the public votes.

Slightly off topic but do people think the standard was generally higher last year? I can think of 4 good dancers - Tom, Austin, Rachel and Lisa, but this year, there's really only Ali and possible Ricky W albeit with bow legs and a dodgy foot! I'm loathe to say Zoe, but I suppose she isn't bad

Ignore the drivel in my last post - I forgot about Jade! Doh! She's also good, and certainly not a teachers pet

I don't think there's ever been a true "teacher's pet" on the show. For me the term brings up negative connotations about someone's personality - they constantly suck up to the judges, they try to undermine their fellow students, they try far too hard and have no sense of humour about themselves.

Ricky Whittle whines too much that the judges don't recognise Natalie's super-amazing and hard choreography to be a teacher's pet. Lisa Snowdon probably came closest for me out of everyone I've seen but even then it's not quite the right perjorative.

Overmarked/favoured maybe.

Ricky W is Aleshas pet , she thinkd the sun shines out of him

I wouldn't say that. She obviously thinks he has a lot of talent and potential and she's been quite harsh on him when she's thought he hasn't lived up to that.

Teachers' pets tend to be either the ones who receive high scores despite harsh judge criticism, or the ones that do the dances that judges rave about, while everyone at home goes 'yeah? what was so spesh about that?'

There have been definite instances of the former for Ricky W and Ali, while Zoe and Laila fall more into the latter category.

If I had to pick one I'd say Zoe, who is being given very little constructive criticism to help her towards becoming a bit more dazzling, rather than just highly competent but a bit bland.

I would agree about that.

I'd say Zoe is the closest to a teacher's pet this year, but agree it is nothing like last year. I did and still do think Lisa was the biggest teacher's pet ever on SCD.

With Zoe the judges comments are almost exclusively positive, where as with Ali, Ricky W and even Laila they are quite happy to say how they need to improve or what they didn't like.

I also don't think any one judge has a favourite this year, which I have thought was happening on occasion in previous years.

Zoe is a bit of a pet but nothing like Lisa last year. That favouritism lost her a LOT of votes, I should think.

Without a doubt, Zoe.

How she managed a 9 for that error-strewn American Smooth and bland Foxtrot a couple of weeks prior, I'll never know.

I think the judges are desperate for this series not to become a two horse race, so they are deliberately making Zoe out to be better than she is. They haven't fooled me though.

Zoe - i've not heard one bit of criticism yet despite her being a competent but unexciting dancer

you can't say ricky hasn't been criticised

Len seems to love Phil Tufnell...

I agree 100%. She's not as irritating a personality as Lisa but the marks given for, at best, merely competent and, last week downright poorly executed, dances are bizarre to say the least.

PS - I don't consider Rachel was a teacher's pet last year. I think most people thought she deserved the marks she got from the judges for technique - they just weren't enthused enough to vote for her.

I wouldn't say there's a "teacher's pet" exactly, but some of the celebs are irritatingly over-praised. Natalie Cassidy and Zoe Lucker, for example.

(It makes no sense for Lisa to have been a "pet" last year, btw. Why would the judges care?)

I feel the same.

Rachel was class. One of the best contestants Strictly has seen. I know she got a hell of a lot of 10s, but I believed she deserved them (apart from the one for her Cha Cha).

And I would say that Zoe's personality is a watered down version of Lisa's - but she's beginning to get on my nerves. I think she's too intense and needy and uptight. I find her a bit draining.

Ally is I believe and wouldn't they love to have an american professional win

Ricky Groves is obviously Alesha's favourite.

Ricky Nipple, surely?

As yet I can honestly say I haven't spotted a proper "Teacher's Pet" in the class of Emma Bunton whereby a judge admits that he totted the scores up in his head and gave a 10 to start a dancer going into the DO.

I know people are saying Zoe are but, I can't really see it. If anything I think James is the one being over marked because he always choreographs everything so slow. Which is great for Zoe because she doesn't have to concentrate so hard and as a result tends to put in a competent performance but, it lacks panache.

Glad you brought this point up *Laura* because I've been thinking the same for some weeks now. I find James' choreography total uninspiring. There is absolutely no wow factor. It's very boring. Because of the choreography I think that Zoe is perhaps getting unfair criticism. Was it the Jive they did the other week? It seemed so painfully slow. They may as well walked it.
He did exactly the same for Cherie Lunghi last year and I really liked her but the choreography is at such a slow pace compared to other couples. I also think Zoe is not confident out of hold and the judges never pick up on this. I never think "wow that was great" after I see them dance, I always think "it was ok".

i dont think that zoe is overmarked at all. i think shes the most consistant of the series, she's a good dancer but people might not have 2 warmed to her personality but she is a great dancer

Actually I prefer Cherie's dancing to Zoe's. James did choreograph slower Latin routines for her, but then it seemed appropriate given that she's more than 20 years older than Zoe. Also Len said the there was nothing wrong with the pace of Cherie's routines and it was more a case of what we are used to seeing on SCD that was the problem (or words to that effect). Zoe on the other hand just doesn't seem able to do fast and yet the judges seem okay with this. Her training this week did not look hopeful. Her ballroom is good, but her Latin just isn't.