Me too. I want Ali & Brian to win but I won't consider it a farce or a travesty if Cola wins. I think these two couples have more to offer in a final.

I really hope that Chris and Ali are in the final but I think it depends on how they dance on Saturday. So I will be watching the results with bated breath. I don't think that it is a foregone conclusion that the final will have Chris and Ali in it.

I would be happy if either of them won to be honest as I think that Ali is really good technically and I find Chris entertaining.

Plus, I reckon Cola's show dance would be the funnest dance ever. It would be such a laugh.

For their personal promotion - yes. I think it would be satisfying to both Ali and Chris to produce a stunning dance and prove they are talented dancers. Ali should aim to act the dance and prove that and Ricky to produce a showstopper as well as one technically good.

With regard to the glitterball a resounding no. There is nothing to play for. I think Chris could go out wiggle his hips and gurn for 2 minutes each dance and walk of with the prize as he has a devoted fan club. I think it might be possible for him to win even if he forgets his dance. That does not mean he has done anything wrong, he can't help being more accessable than the other two and therefore more popular. But it does mean whatever the others produce they have little to no chance of winning.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Ricky/Chris final - with Chris the eventual winner. Ricky has been the target of so much negativity that he's now become the underdog - that's a pretty powerful position to be in.

But one VT of Natalie's face as they win either of their latest dance-offs is enough to re-erase any sympathy people might have gained for Ricky. The main target of this week's negativity - and still the real underdog in the eye's of the public - has been Chris.
Ricky's only chance is to be perfect again, and for Ali to mess a dance up.

But there must be lots of people like me who haven't been bothering to vote up till now. I was saving myself for the final, but I might just vote this week too (or instead, if Ricky goes out this week, which would be a ridiculous outcome). Surely this factor makes it less predictable?

There's been plenty of coverage in the press saying how Chris is the favourite now so I can't see how he is the underdog anymore

VERY WELL SAID!

I don't feel its a foregone conclusion who will go through to the final.

All those who voted for Laila may vote for Ricky and others may also change their mind at this late stage. I have this strong feeling that Ricky will be in the final. He may have received only the third most popular vote last week but we also don't know the difference between second most popular and third in terms of numbers. The difference may have been small.

Last week I was stunned, but in a good way, when Ali's name was called first. Ricky must have got the fourth most popular vote, otherwise he would have scored 6 points and been safe. Therefore Laila must have scored between him and Ali, just as the week before. While it's possible that all three of them were very close, it's not likely, is it?

Ricky will have to earn votes with two perfect showings, with Ali messing up at least once. That will attract the neutrals and previous non-voters who tend only to phone in the last rounds. Not impossible, but it's a tall order.

But how much do people care about seeing him and Natalie dance again?

I can't speak for others, but Ricky is the only one I want to see dance again. The professional dancer is irrelevant (to me, at least). It's not about them.

But wouldn't it be possible for Ricky to have got the 3rd most popular vote and still be in the dance off?
i.e
Ricky 4 + 2 = 6
Ali 3+ 3 =6
Chris 2 + 4 =6
Laila 1 + 1 =2
In this case Ricky would be in the dance off because he scored less with the public vote. Isn't it the case if there is a draw then the couple with the highest public vote go through?

probably similar quantity to Ali & Brian but less than Chris & Ola at the moment

I think this is the most likely scenario. Laila had passed the point where she could pull in a sympathy vote.

That's a good illustration of the difference in public support, because I love the professionals as much, if not more than the celebrities, and a lot of the time, the pairings are as much of an attraction if there is a good chemistry between them.

For example, I love Joe Calzaghe - he's always been a cracking good guy round here, but I really can't stand Kristina, so that made me dislike the pairing. Vincent is awesome, so I loved him and Natalie. Ricky and Natalie are my least favourite pairing of the last three, so I least want them to be in the final.

Bearing in mind, this means being funnier than Lisa's last year then if they manage it I for one will be extremely happy

I'm not so sure if that will be the case.
Lisa lost out in the Final last year but still did that ......erm.....dance (sorry but couldn't think of a more appropriate word that hasn't been used before )

I still have a sneaking suspicion that all three will go through this week - why take away the Dance Off and not go the whole hog?

Perhaps they are waiting to see who wins the public vote first - now that is sneaky

All three can't go through next week unless they cancel the public vote. It is fraud to ask people to spend money on something under false pretences and that includes asking them to vote to retain their favourate when they would know that nobody is going.

I dont think its a foregone conclusion... who joins chris in the final, that is. I agree there is little doubt it will be chris, but between Ali & Ricky, it could be either of them. Ricky seemingly (or has it been proven?!) had less votes than Ali over the last couple of weeks, but the margin is the big unknown factor. Ricky fans will definitely all be dialling this week, so the dropping of the DO has actually made more me excited to watch this weekend, because before my amateur maths suggested it would inevitably be Chris in the DO and therefore a foregone conclusion that the other (Ali or Ricky) would be put through.
Also I actually think there's a case for Chris being in the final making for a more interesting contest because viewers will be voting on their personal list of priorities - entertainment value, technical standard, fun, step perfection, chemistry or whatever, and this will differ from viewer to viewer

Point taken but we haven't reached the actual show yet and heard Tess' usual plea for voters to phone.
She may ask voters to phone in order to place the couples instead?
As long as that is made clear, there is no fraud - it might decrease the number of votes but then again some people are just happy to be part of the process.
I wonder how many people did actually grudge their phone calls last year and demand a refund or were they happy to have placed the couples?

I would love it if you were right but, the way things have gone over the past couple of weeks I'm not going to hold my breath.

If it was a three person final we would get to see all three showdances. I'm doubtful that we'll get to see one from whoever goes this weekend. My ideal situation would be for the votes from both judges and audience to be carried over and added to whatever they achieve next week. As things stand it's almost a certainty that we'll lose one of the best dancers (Ali or Ricky) in this current series.

I totally agree. I was resigned to Ricky not having the public vote but, consoled myself that he would be in the final and therefore he could do an "all out guns blazing shame the devil and be damed" show dance. However, the beeb in their infinite wisdom have decreed that we'll have a two person final (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), so I'll just have to think of what might have been.

*Mind you he could have proved me wrong as Natalie might have decided to bring out the muppets and dress him up in baconfoil!