Hi all!
Apart from Strictly, I've never seen Ali on television (can't get ITV in my country). As she wasn't that great at any dance where she had to do something else than smile and be elegant (IMO - I'm not trying to be nasty), or at least her 'wild and sexy' didn't come across well, I'm wondering what she's like as an actress!

I've only seen her in "The Bill" and she is pretty good in that, quite believable as a young police officer.

I don't watch any of the soaps and dramas - but Ali in a policewomans uniform sounds attractive.............handcuffs and locked in a cell overnight with her perhaps.........

You'd have to have Brian's permission first.....

From the little I've seen (I've given up on it in the last year), she's fine in The Bill, but I think she was better as Becca in Hollyoaks, though I suspect she was given more taxing storylines in the latter.

I was unconvinced by her portrayal of most of the dances apart from the classic ballroom dances where there isn't much to portray but elegance, and the Charleston which was so character driven it would be hard not to get it at least partially right.

However, I would imagine this is more due to nerves and inexperience than acting ability. I imagine that TV acting is rather different to performing live, particularly at something out of your comfort zone. I suspect if she'd done a lot of stage work she might have found it easier.

She's still young - I'm sure she's learnt a lot from this and maybe it will help her with future acting.

I liked her as PC Sally Armstrong in The Bill - her first storyline as a newly arrived PC was quite a gruesome one, and she did well in it, as well as in future episodes. She hasn't been on that much since the new show format came on, but I believe she quit The Bill in September to concentrate on Strictly.

She was wonderful as Becca Dean - lots of tears, seducing Jake/Kevin/other guys, angry moments - credit given as she was only around 18 when she joined Hollyoaks.

I think we might see a lot of her in the future - would love to see her in something like a medical drama next, maybe as a junior doctor.

As Becca Dean--lots of teas and seducing Jake/Kevin/other guys etc..... Well why could she not "act" during her latin dances.??? She was awful. Constantly smiling and looking uncomfortable. She was a lovely ballroom dancer but absolutely hopeless in latin, no matter how frantically Brian danced around her. Sooooooory she seems to have the sex appeal of a jelly!!

Are you a woman?? I suspect so, ask the men if she has sex appeal, asking women whether she has or not is futile.

My OH practically turned into liquid jelly when she did her Samba and Cha Cha.

People say she was a lovely ballroom dancer as if she didn't have to act out those routines ... but watch them back .. and then watch some of the others .. you do have to act your way through those equally.
She wasn't that comfortable with the latin ... the routines were complicated (the judges often said so) .. she had her work cut out remembering them and then on top of that she had criticism .. which is not going to fill you with confidence.
The Charleston was a simpler routine .... and because of that she was able to act it out brilliantly .. more so than the others who didn't change their personas for the dance.

The judges may have wanted more from her but apart from her jive she was the top girl for the Samba(top celeb overall), Salsa, Cha Cha and Tango .. so not bad for someone hopeless in latin.

It's all very well for people to say she can't act ... well, she may not be Judy Dench but she has done well enough to appear in two popular long running TV shows ... and in Hollyoaks she was very high profile. She had sexy scenes in those .. but she wasn't trying to dance a Rumba at the same time.

She seems like the girl you'd like as your daughter in law very nice and sweet however my OH thought she was a nice girl but with no sex appeal. (He thought Laila on the other hand very sexy)

Because TV acting is about pulling the audience IN and stage acting/dance is about projecting your performance OUT. They are two very different things. Besides, even the most famous Hollywood actors are often only good at one type of role.

I agree that Ali did not do well at performing the Latin dances, but I also think there are much better ways of expressing that than yours.

Mine still can't get over her being out of the competition.

I've only seen Ali in The Bill, not in Hollyoaks, but I thought she was good in that.

I think the problem with the Latin dances was that she was being told to emote the dance and rather than portraying a specific character. Perhaps she's an actress who works better with a script than with improvisation?

I thought it might have helped her if Brian had suggested she adopt an alter ego, like Beyonce's "Sasha Fierce" or a female version of Julian Clary's Julian Clary's Carlos in series 2.

Er, what's an OH? Wikipedia gives me 'occupational health' 'organic-rich clay' and 'observation helicopter', but somehow I don't think that's what you mean.

It's your other half

Just to put you right, she's got more sex appeal than a very sexy thing. The little minx!

I thought she was great as Becca in Hollyoaks. I was gutted when the character died!

lets face it everyone bar Bruce Forsyth have been in The Bill its one of those programmes just like Casualty, i dont rate her as an actress