I've been thinking about the flying next week and wondering who it will suit best.
Usually it favours the girls (Ray excepted of course), but will that be the case next week?
By rights it should be Hayley given her excellent arm and leg lines, but I wonder if her rib problems may make it difficult for her.
I would expect Gary to struggle because he isn't naturally graceful, but the athletic element of it just may suit him.
Kieron could be the surprise package, he seems to be very supple and his core strength seems to have improved which could make his flying excellent, but I wonder if nerves about learning yet another new skill may affect him.

Forgetting who your favourite is for a minute, what do you impact do you think the flying element will have on each of the finalists?

I think Hayley will give a really graceful performance in the air, even with her rib injuries. Remember Clare and Suzanne, both had problems with their ribs but both flew brilliantly.

I also think that Kieron will suprise some, he has the right build for the flying. Something that usually holds the men back in the flying element. IMO he has a similar body frame to Ray last year, and Ray made it look effortless. Granted he's not as strong as Ray but I still think he'll do well.

I'm not looking forward to seeing Gary in the air though. He's not the most graceful of performers, even standing on two feet. If he looks embarrassed to be skating on the ice, then what's he going to look like in the air?

Do you mean Gary here?
If so, I agree, I like Gary but I am still waiting for him to realise that he has to act his performance.

Oh yeah, I did mean Gary. I was trying to do 2 things at once and it didn't work for me

I think, objectively, Hayley is going to demolish them unless the scores are artificially inflated. I'm not saying that as a Hayley fan because I'm a Kieron fan, too.

Gary is just too big, too clumsy, too graceless.

Kieron is slight, but he's also very gangly. The advantage that Hayley and Ray have is that although they have small frames, they are very strong and very athletic (in fact, I absolutely worship Hayley's figure for that reason). Kieron may have some measure of core strength but I think he's going to look awkward.

I really wouldn't say that Kieron has the same body frame as Ray - Ray was quite muscular really, while Kieron is incredibly slim and wiry.

I really have no idea how Kieron will get on to be honest - going to be interesting to see. He seemed really excited about "being a real-life Peter Pan" (in his words!) so I'm sure he'll give it his best. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that they actually give him a Peter Pan routine - that would be amazing! Can imagine Brianne as Tinkerbell...

I think Hayley will be strong at the flying. Gary could struggle a bit, but you never know...

I think it's handing the win to Hayley on a plate.

I really wish they would drop the flying routine altogether. It's boring, it has little to do with skating, and it blatantly favours the women (Ray being exceptional).

Actually, that would be a good laugh, and would be the only thing that would make the flying routine interesting.

I say this every year but I hate the flying with a vengence. No matter what people say about it live, on TV it's boring and predictable as hell; obviously favours the girls, and has bu**er all to do with skating. If I could change just one thing about the show it would be to ditch this for ever.

As for this year, I have no doubt Hayley will be wonderful at it, Kieron gangly and awkward, Gary lumpy and un-cordinated. They'll then go on to their favoured routines from the series and Hayley will reprise Jai Ho and again look head and shoulders better than either of the guys. So the whole first half of the final's soley about which guy can survive to the end.

Hopefully things will at least start to get interesting when they get to the Boleros but I may have lost the will to live by then

Incidentially, I'm saying all this as a Hayley fan. On what we've seen to date I'm sure she should win, but I really want to watch a close final NOT some kind of elongated victory dance

I absolutely hate the flying and I think it does give females an unfair advantage.

I wish they would get rid of it.

Hayley should be good given her dance background.

Gary is a big fella, so it might be tricky for him.

Keiron is slim and fairly graceful, I think it will suit him. I hope they give him a routine with a comedy twist. He could definitely pull it off.

Me too.....it's almost like they do the whole show and then at the end say, forget all that we want you to do something completely different to win.
I agree it does generally give the females and advantage, they are generally more graceful which looks so much better when flying. I just wonder about Kieron though, I know some people think he may be awkward, but given his suppleness and lightness, he just might surprise us. Could go either way.

If they want him to be in with a chance, that's precisely what they need to do. Give him comedy or at least something quirky.

I do feel the same, I'm lucky because I like Hayley this year, but in previous years when I was passionately supporting guys I was mightily p**sed off.

I think they could all surprise us. Gary might take to the flying, and Kieron's slight frame might be an advantage. Maybe Hayley will look really awkward.

It's just so pointless, teach them how to skate for 12 weeks and then base 50% of the judges' scores in the final on being in the air.

I dislike both the flying and the Bolero routines which always make the final the worst part of the competition for me. I'd rather see a freestyle routine choreographed entirely by the pro and their partner.

Hayley will be a natural at it, it does favour the girls.

Kieron could be interesting i think he might do well. I dont have high hopes for Gary

I dont mind the flying although i like the idea of a freestyle. And i love the Bolero.

I have always enjoyed it, but I must admit I am beginning to get a little bit tired of it after so many shows.

Same here... Jane and Chris didn't used to do fly, neither did they do those silly head-bangers, so why inflict it on us viewers because I for one would like to see more on the ice... a few triple salcos would look more entertaining and impressive than flying on wires!!!!

I have endured 4 years of the flying but no more. I have decided a) because i hate it so much & b) because of last night's poor semi meaning I can't get too enthused about the final that I am going to miss the first half of the show on Sunday.

The show is called Dancing On Ice so why all this flying crap, especially in the final. Hayley will predictably score 30 & boys won't be elegant & will score low-mid 20s.

Jayne and Chris did do flying routines during their professional career; they also did one on the DOI tour a couple of years ago. Dan Whiston has also done an amazing professional flying routine. Flying routines have become an accepted part of performance skating and DOI is about performance skating, not competitive skating.

I've said it every series and I will continue to say it every series. Flying has no connection with what the celebs have been trying to achieve over the rest of the series. It favours those with smaller, athletic frames and dance backgrounds. It might look pretty but imo it has all the relevance of getting them to do a series of bungee jumps above the ice to music.

Flying - fly off.

I love the flying routines. There's a certain magic about them.

I know they aren't strictly about skating, but I love the spectacle of it all and I'm not sure they make such a huge difference to the voting. People have generally made up their minds who their favourite is by then.

So I just sit back and enjoy

Donal & Flo performing Rocket Man remains my favourite performance, followed closely by Clare Buckfield's.

Totally agree with you, I think that it will really suit Hayley because she is small and very fit whereas both Gary and Kieron are very tall and with Kieron being so thin and gangly I think that he just might have problems. I think that Gary will also struggle but he just might surprise us because he is quite muscly and looks very strong!

Without doubt, it will be very interesting though!

I would be in favour of dropping the flying completely for a freestyle routine. Its hard to see how you could get rid of the Bolero seeing as its an integral part of T&D's history. I do myself find it a bit tedious though.

Dan's routine is breathtaking. He must have amazing upper body strength to do that. I do like to see the pros fly but when the celebs do it it tends to be very predictable imo.