leading the poll on this forum.

He has certainly been the best dancer at ballroom and Latin. Just curious why he does badly in the poll on DS?

He's really not popular on the forum, though in some cases (like myself), it's his dance partner who is the unpopular one, as for me, she seems a bit arrogant, is very competitive, and generally isn't someone people would warm to.

Because he was the bookies favourite and people are trying to get the odds down!

Well, OP, many people don't share your certainty about his quality. Including, if you watched ITT yesterday, judges Craig and Bruno, who saw potential fettered by mistakes.

Basically, he's undertraining due to his day job.

Well he has been in the bottom two so... it's obviously not all about getting odds down.

Thanks Alexgr. I really don't pay too much heed to the professional half, as the show (for me~) is about the celebrity dancing, but I can see how some people may do so.

I wonder if this is the reason Chris gets the votes, insofar that he is partnered with the very popular Ola?

Seems that the constant war between fans and judges over the fairest way to judge the celebrities is set to run and run. I'm glad that the BBC strive to moderate extreme and irrational popularity in favour of promoting and rewarding the celebrities acquired/learnt skill of dancing.

Oh come SI, the Ricky bashing has been incessant since around week 2/3. Granted I don't think he's as popular as other contestants but, there are enough threads on here about latest odds etc., to support a claim that people use the forums to bash the favourite. The first few weeks were awful and so much mis-information that I'm surprised he has any supporters at all!

I think you will find that until this year Ola wasnt particularly popular, except by a few men who want to see her in her skimpy outfits but probably dont vote.

Ola's transformation this year into a fun loving giggler has been something of a revelation for a lot of strictly fans.

I think many seem to see Ricky as nice enough but not endearing enough to support. Similarly most can appreciate that he's technically a good dancer but he doesn't 'move' them somehow.

I sense a basic apathy towards him most of the time.

Ricky can dance, but when i see him dance i dont feel that atmosphere about/around him, and also i dont see him dancing elegantly, sometimes i feel his ballroom dances are too fast in how they should be and not done elegantly IMO

Well I think he's great and Im proud to be a WWW, especially after tonight's interview. His reaction to being in the DO was great, no tears, no signs of being disheartened or depressed that the public didnt get behind him this week, he just took the judges marks and comments on board, knows he has to work hard and seems upbeat and positive about the dances he has this week.

He has a zest for life.

You can tell from the reactions of the others in the Tesspit that he's also genuinely popular and Vincent & Ian (my fave male pro's) have both said they think he should win the glitterball.

I'm just praying to the gods of foxtrot and cha cha that he gets clean routines this Saturday.

"certainly"? I think Ali is the better dancer.

I just read on Twitter that he has finished both dances and is going to spend the rest of the time 'running' them and 'cleaning' them.

Foxtrot is to a Frank Sinatra song and Cha Cha to an Eric Clapton remix.

I can see where the judges come from when they want cleaner dances from him at this stage (and judging from his comments on ITT, so does Ricky). If he does two good dances this week, he will definitely be back on top of the leaderboard.

In terms of his popularity on here, I don't think it's indicative of his popularity elsewhere.

I am not keen on the word certainely in the post .For me Ali has been a better dancer .

Don't like him...period

But his appearance in the dance off is an indication that he isnt popular enough to stay out of the dance off unless he is at the top of the board. So it looks like that statement isnt accurate.

I can understand why he didn't do well on last Saturday's show.

He came second in the running order after a barnstorming performance by Chris.

Ricky & Nat had been told by the head choreographer to tone down their performance from how they'd been practising it so it was hesitant, mistakes were made and the performance was flat. Certainly not an inspiring routine for voters.

Laila & Anton were on last and did a routine that pleased three of the judges and irked Craig - coming on last is a big advantage with a 15 minute window and also Craig being a bit mean would inspire some votes too. (Thought Anton danced it beautifully and Laila looked beautiful!)

All these things came together (plus the Liverpool stuff might've been voter neutral or it might have put some off - we'll never know) and Ricky was in the dance off.

We can't know if it was the perfect storm of events last Saturday or a real problem with his public support.

I always start watching this with an open mind, I don't mind admitting Craig was my favourite to start with, but Ricky has won me over, I am voting for him and I don't understand why people don't like Natalie either, she seems ok to me!!

I agree we can never know exactly whats going on in the public mind, but I think even his most avid fans would have to admit, if only to themselves, that it doesnt look good that he did his worst performance and he needed votes and didnt get them. I have no doubt that he will be back up at the top of the board again on Saturday and will avoid the dance off but he could infact get exactly the same amount of public support and its only the judges scores that are making a difference and the lower the number of couples goes the more difficult it is to avoid the dance off (for all the couples).

In terms of cold, hard numericals...Ricky is the better dancer with a better average. Although Ali is close behind, particularly after last weekend.

I love Ricky, but I also agree Ali is a great dancer. For me, they are both wonderful dancers but I want Ricky to win because he is the most consistent dancer (indicated by his scores) in Latin and Ballroom and I think that is a sign of a better dancer. Ali's improvement reminds me very much of Rachel Stevens who went from unconfident shaky quiet girl to ballroom goddess with one cheeky rumba. Unfortunately, Ali hasnt had that moment for me yet (although her VW was beautiful but not WOW for me).

I'm probably naive but I think that he lost votes last weekend because his dance was bad (or at least not as good as the Charlestons).

I don't think we'll get to confirm it this weekend because I think he'll be top (unless he messes up the dances of course).

Ricky doesn't bother me as much these days and I can understand why new girl Natalie would want to make an impression (and is therefore trying so hard, maybe too hard).

But I just happen to prefer other couples more, so they get my vote on the poll.

I've never voted Ricky my least favourite either.

I'm indifferent to him.

You may be right about his support but I really don't believe weak performances inspire votes. Being bottom of the leaderboard does, especially if the judges give a real slating which provokes pity.

But Ricky was third out of five - certainly not safe from a dance off but not in an obviously perilous position like Natalie. I thought he was in trouble but, there again, I always do even when he's top so I vote wildly in any event.

I hope he does clean & exciting routines routines on Saturday so, even if in the dance off because of lack of public support, he's got a good shot at getting through to the semi and then he can work on turning public opinion round.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions as to why Ricky isn't as popular as he should be.

In terms of votes, last Saturday wasn't a one-off; Ricky has, as can be demonstrated mathematically via positioning, been near the bottom of the public vote for most of the series. The reason for his survival is simply that he has been 1/2 on the judges leaderboard every week.

It does seem that the DS poll in fact mirrors Ricky's actual public vote.