Excellent post. Couldnt agree more.

I've never voted Ricky as my least favourite - I've had bigger fish to fry!

I do find his routines watchable (unlike Ali who is his closest rival but leaves me unmoved and bored when she dances) but away from the dancefloor, I just can't bear to listen to him drone on. He's not interesting or engaging in interviews and his partner is too intense for my liking.

If all the Whittle fans could just have a word with him about exposing his chest every two minutes then I feel me and him might be able to reach an understanding

Well, I cant help it Vic. I like the view. It makes a change having some male totty on there when we've put up with Ola 'the skimpier the better' Jordan for years!

I think Ricky W is this year's Rachel Stevens. In describing my lack of interest in her, I can do no better than nick the words of the great JfW, in the very first post on his fabulous "Musings" thread:

"What is it about Rachel? She's small, sexy and pretty; ticks all the right boxes, dances a treat and yet...there's nothing there, nothing beneath the surface. It's like there was a Rachel-shaped hole in the universe and someone filled it with plastic. Sometimes her mouth moves and noise comes out; no idea what it says."

That is just how I feel about Ricky W: he ticks all the right boxes and yet... somehow, there's nothing there.

Ha! Fair play to you! Though Ola doesn't do much for me either...I'm hard to please obviously

Haha, fussy fussy! I think Ola is stunning and I also think Flavia is gorgeous (if a bit scarily ripped) and Aliona is hot.

But My Heart Belongs to My Matty (C)

Would have to agree

I don't really want to see any of the guys chests, I'm not just picking on Ricky.
And to be honest I can appreciate why he does it, if you have a body like that why not?! Just not to my taste, especially when I'm having my tea.

I'm quite happy with the view.

Come on. You know you'd like to lick gravy off his pecs really.

I don't really mind Ricky or Natalie separately but i do think they're mismatched. As others have said Ricky seems like a nice enough bloke but he's not the most charismatic person in the world and Natalie seems lovely but very intense and the combination doesn't really work for me. They're clearly the best couple in the show ability wise but other than their quickstep their dances have left me cold. In fact I usually get slightly annoyed watching them dance each week because I feel like they should be much more memorable considering.

Natalie having the best celebrity seems to have magnified her competitive streak and she seems to be going overboard trying to show how much Ricky can cope with rather than creating a more enjoyable routine to watch that he could really shine in. That might just be her style but I'd like to see what she could do with a less natural partner where she'd maybe have to think more about charming an audience than wowing them if that makes sense. Or at least someone a bit more lively or cheeky to take the edge off the competitiveness.

The all-out routines she does for Ricky coupled with his filming schedule and the pressure to stay on top make it feel like it's all a bit of a chore for him. I think that's why i find it a bit insincere when he keeps saying how much fun he's having when most of what we see is him worrying about the speed and mistakes etc. Which doesn't really help with the impression that he's nice but a bit boring. I think he'd be much more popular if he had a less driven partner who let him enjoy the experience more.

Of course saying that I'd probably be moaning if he wasn't being pushed like this, instead complaining that he was just coasting. But then dancers like Jill Halfpenny, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis etc were all great dancers and still managed to make it look fun and do memorable routines. So yeah, I think it's the two of them together that's the problem for me.

That's me off my food for a while

A natural dancer he certainly is. But as a performer he just doesn't engage me.

As for his looks, he is rather cute. But he ain't hot to me!

As it stands, Ricky is such a fantastic dancer despite his 'pigeon toes', can you imagine how phenomenol he would be with perfect feet?

Personally, I like Ricky W; he comes across as a quite humble lad; it never looks as though he takes his talent for granted, in spite of some people wrongly claiming he is arrogant.

So agree with your post. I think Ricky seems a lovely guy so friendly with everyone on the show - he was the only one to mention about Jade on Sat and he was lovely to Brian and to Phill on Sat when they are in the dance off.
I think he is an amazing dancer and he and Natalie make a lovely couple he certainly does not deserve all bad comments he gets.

Noooo, this is one of the reasons I like him a little bit

Ok I realise I'm on my own here with this, I'll just look away when it gets too bad.

your not on your own when his twitter profile was yet another topless picture I asked him if he had no clothes.

You didnt? Haha, thats so funny! Tell us if he replies, although I'll be so jealous if he does

Vic, you should ask Claudia to give you a Whittle Nipple Warning so you dont bring your tea back up. No need for nausea during ITT, we'll enjoy the view on your behalf!

You are not on your own. I don't mind when they have their chests out on Sat night when dancing (well maybe except for Anton) but I don't want to see them on a weekday tea time

That is a really good idea, sometimes it catches you unawares and that's always the worst!!

I like my celebs to be chaste, I'm a more (clothing) is better kinda gal!

She is my problem as well, I just can't warm to her.

you better not see the photos he did for Cosmo then

Well, he's good at the dancing, he's confident, he's good-looking and he's competitive. And we don't like that, do we?