The pros know him in real life and by actually seeing him in the flesh, as it were.

Cameras and tele are funny things. They can make stunning people look ordinary and ordinary people look stunning. They can make people who scintilate in real life appear flat and dull and people who would have you poking your eyes out with needles appear fascinating.

However lovely he is in real life it just may be he is a person who for whatever reason dosen't translate well enough to connect with a majority of people through the screen.

True. But I repeat, no-one's opinion is right or wrong. It's just an opinion.

Im glad some FM's can appreciate this fact, to others if you are anti-Cola then you are wrong/a snob/an idiot/a whinger etc...

The thing is though, I don't think anyone should be anti- anyone. Support someone more than the others, but I don't think running a couple or their supporters down helps with the atmosphere or maturity of the forum. I know I've been guilty of this so I'm trying to be good now lol.

Did I misunderstand Claudia last night? I thought she announced that there would be no vote off this week and scores would carry forward to a 3-way final.

Not inconceivable that I dreamt that

I agree 100%, Ive created numerous threads stating that fact but noone listens and people just want to righteously point out that other FMs are <insert unoriginal and pathetic insult here>...its getting right up my nose!!!

She did call the three 'finalists', but it appears to have been a slip of the tongue as BBC Twitter have since confirmed there is an elimination this week.


Lemmings?

Though this is scarily nothing on last year after the semi final debacle. The claims of fix and worst dancer winning, best dancer being dull etc. are minute compared to the explosion that took place then!

I think everyone has the right to an opinion about who is their favourite, but some things are matters of fact not opinion. Judging "best" is often subjective and an opinion on the best performance is perfectly valid.
I don't however believe that assessing technical correctness is a matter of opinion. The dances on Strictly have steps which have to be performed in a certain way to be technically correct. Whether celebs achieve that correctness is a matter of fact not opinion, which most of the public are not equipped to judge, the pros are.

It takes us back to the old debate of favourite versus technical skill argument. Some people see "best" as defined by one, some by the other. One is for the public to judge because opinion matters, one is for dance experts to judge because they have the knowledge to do so.

'The Day Strictly Died' (aka John leaving day) remains a personal favourite

Then it had to be hastilly resurrected so it could die again at semi final time.

Happy days.

Thanks Fudd. So a straight elimination with no Dance Off then?

I think the show's died at least 8 times - once each series plus when John left. It has more comebacks than Lazarus.

Apparently so. This is the Twitter from the Official Twit:


http://twitter.com/bbcstrictly

Fudd do you stick around during the 'off' season

I didn't last year, but I may give it a go this year. I always thought the forum became quite quiet post series though.

I LOVE Colin, he will always be my favourite SCD dancer, but I do respect the opinions of pros like Ian, Brendan, James (who I'm reluctantly warming to) and Vincent. As people have said they've got their own particular favourites; mine is Colin and it would seem the pros love Ricky. What the untrained eye might see as cold, a pro might think think "I'm surprised he/she could do that".

Out of the ones you mentioned the only one I would rate higher than Ricky is Colin. Ramps danced a few turkeys in the earlier rounds and Matt Dawson recently admitted on ITT that his partner led him all the way through the competition. I never actually got the Gethin love as he didn't really strike me as being as good as what everyone said he was.

But, hey-ho after Saturday I can stay away from the boards and leave the entertainment vs dancing debate to others.

Well it does.......and its going to be odd now with the appreciation threads in another forum.........so I will have to see how it goes but I have posted all the year usually......there is the tour to talk about for a bit and then it goes a bit flat and then we have 2 months of speculation about who is in the next series and off we go again.

Usually I have a reality TV calendar of sorts. I'm glad about Dancing on Ice because it weans me off Strictly gradually. Then there's Britain's Got Talent, Let's Dance, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Shows, Big Brother (), The X Factor...and suddenly it's Strictly time again.

I don't post but, I always have a good laugh at who is supposed to be signing up and who actually does!

Your right for me.

He has no charisma, no animal magnetism,no sparkle if you get what I mean. Austin had it. Although not for me

Its not just about doing the moves (he does that very well)

But there is more and he hasn't got it.

Plus Natalie is not that likeable

I agree

Dancing like most art is subjective

What one likes another doesn't

There is no right or wrong just opinion

I can't speak for anyone else but I find his dancing a tad souless - I don't know if it's his lack of personality on the dancefloor or I just don't like Nat's cheorography. I thought his foxtrot looked bandy-legged too.

probably because he is bandy legged

I can see he is a very very good dancer - and far and away the "best in show" this year

But I do get very bored watching him and Natalie do their dance(s) every week. As someone said up there - he has all the steps usually in the right order but their performance just lacks the sparkle the lesser dancers have when they strut their stuff. Ricky just doesn't have the same joy of dancing in his performance that Chris & Ola do (neither do Ali & Brian for that matter - although Ali showed that she CAN do it with the Charleston...)

(And he was doing a Ricky G/ Chris "guppy" face during his dance off Foxtrot last weekend too!)

So glad someone else thought this. It does puzzle me that everyone criticizes Chris' gurning (which is at times extreme) when the Nipple also pulls faces.
My other gripe with this thread is the sweeping statement that all the pros/certain named pros have claimed that Ricky is the best male celeb ever. I've rewatched Ian Waite's comments etc and he said that Ricky was the best dancer (male or female) but some distance this year. I don't recall any of the others saying he is the best ever either. Ricky is good; he's outstanding in a lacklustre year but let's not put words into people's mouths.

I can agree that Ricky is perhaps only second to Colin in dance ability (of the male celebs).

Its hard to explain why his dances do not come across to me as well as they should.

I think the poor camerawork this year does contribute a bit.

Its impossible to 'not see' his legs, and although that isn't his fault, it gives a 'something doesn't look right' look to the dance.

Natalie seems to choreograph difficult and fast steps, but it sometimes feels like I am watching the car chase section of a movie. Lots of fast action, but no story. If you compare Natalie's Foxtrot to Vincents's last year, Vincent's seems much easier to follow and to flow better.