I agreed with Craig. It did fit to the song lyrics and whether or not it was out of place, I don't care. It was done with an amazing show of strength and trust between the couple.

Ricky handled it beautifully, letting Natalie down so slowly and gently, stretching his leg out gracefully as he did so. Couldn't see a problem with it. I'm getting a little tired of all the Ricky-bashing.

I thought the judging panel covered both sides of the 'debate' quite well...albeit in an unnecessarily silly, pantomimish way.

I don't think it's Ricky bashing to say weight lifting in the middle of a romantic dance was silly.

It was a well done lift but it ruined the dance for me, I don't remember any of the lyrics of the song being "I'm going to pick you up and chuck you over the rainbow"

The lift was a nice lift, But I agree with Len that it would have been more in place in a final showdance.

Spectacular feat but wrong for the dance. By no means Ricky bashing, I really like him.

It was lovely I thought and elegantly done. But I am no expert on dancing, unlike Len who knows what he is talking about.

It ruined a beautiful routine for me. I'm gutted because it was one of the dances i was really looking forward to last night and i thought it could have been a showstopper for Ricky

One minute i'm swept away in the dreamy romance of it all and then i'm watching a weightlifting move that jarred horribly with the whole mood and feel of the routine. I was like WTF???

I don't know what Natalie was thinking. Appealing to the audience is one thing but all she did was use a cheap gimmick imo and Ricky is a good enough dancer that he deserved better.

I thought it looked totally out of place.

As much as i love Ricky, i agreed with Len. I was really looking forward to see what he would do after all the hype throughout the week, and whilst it was a great lift, it didn't suit the tone of the dance.

As much as it pains me to say it, I agreed with Len. It was an impressive lift but it just ruined the sweet and romatnic mood of the dance.

If they'd been doing a more quickstep type American Smooth then maybe it would have fitted but to me it just looked like Natalie was saying 'look what he can do' rather than having a lift that was in the mood of the dance.

I like Ricky (Natalie not so much) but I didn't like that dance at all. And the lift looked completely stupid. As time goes by I'm realising that I don't like Natalie's choreography.

Ruined a really nice, delicate routine, completely out of place

I thought it was out of keeping with the rest of the dance, but I didn't feel it ruined the whole routine or merit Len's OTT rant.

Loved it and thanks to Craig for pointing out the significance of the moment.

Really appreciate the difficulty of the lift and it was very well executed. However I don't think it was the most elegant of lifts by its nature, looked like he was bench pressing Natalie.

It was a good lift, but it jarred when viewed in the context of the dance, especially the opening to the lift. Really out of place.

I liked it and agreed with CRH. It was pleasing to see a male celeb do a different lift than the usual low plank lift.

As much as I love that song, I felt it was wrong for an AS and also thought Fembot's dress was horrendous.

My heart was in my mouth watching it thinking for gawd's sake don't drop her. I've just watched it again and can understand why people think it was incongruous but also can understand why Natalie wanted a crowd pleasing finale.

Loved the reaction in the Tesspit though - Ricky seems genuinely very popular with them all & with Vincent (my fave pro) especially supportive.

That lift belonged in a showdance not in the American smooth. I agree with Len. It was a good lift, just in the wrong dance.

I liked the lift and I thought Len went a bit OTT with his comment, my heart was in my mouth during the lift, very risky move but worth it.

For me, it was an awkward, weightlifting move in the middle of a romantic dance. Very jarring and rather inappropriate.

I thought it was absolutely awful and ruined a beautiful dance.

The dance itself, EXCEPT FOR the lift, was absolutely spectacular. I was getting lost in the dance... and then I was brought crashing back to earth with a bang. It looked even more ungainly than Kenny weightlifting Ola, because at least Ola was significantly smaller than him. Natalie looked huge and ridiculous above the slender Ricky.

So did I, it went from a subtle and very attractive dance to a complete egotistical showing off - look at us - moment. I agree with Len.

Hated it.
A beautiful, lyrical dance spoiled by a blatant attempt at crowd-pleasing. Natalie admitted it was included for "wow" factor. And it was certainly impressive but it was unnecessary and artistically very jarring.
Incongruous was just the right word. I agree with Len.