I was dreading watching this guy, but to my suprise the boy done well. Clearly a very very shy lad, and I really did like the dance, it seemed like a not asking too much of him and a nice intro to dancing and just plain letting yourself go

He was great, could be a dark horse there

i was shocked that he was way better than my expectations, cant wait to see his latin but yeah he did well tonight

I was surprised because i thought he was going to be rubbish.

Ive always thought he would do well, he will certainly be popular with the the voters.
He is fit, supple and attractive..... he is gonna give old pamela a run for her dosh

I like the way Katya concentrates on getting her partner's basic technique right in ballroom. She did that last year with Phil. Really good to see someone concentrating on getting it right rather than gimmicky stuff.

I'm shocked to find hes my favourite at this stage of the competition. I thought that was a beautifully simple yet moving routine tonight.

Not what i was expecting at all.

One of the better performances of the night. She got him to relax a bit, and then it went better.

Very surprised at how good he was, the boy did good!

Gavin was better than I expected him to be, I think Katya will get the best out of him.

I hope he gets those hips a swivelling in the salsa.

I don't understand all the praise he got . I thought it was ok for a first dance quite average and no better then most of the dances.

I guess it's because we all thought that he was going to be Joe Calzaghe bad, whereas he was actually good. Shyness and nerves apart, he could be good. I didn't want to like him but I couldn't help myself.

errr yeah... but did you see him in the group dance! Tonight he exeeded all expectations. Bless him.

He got praise for the technicalities of his dance. Scott's dance for example was very enjoyable but I think he did have some dodgy footwork (I'm not knocking it because I like him a lot but I think there were some missed heel leads). Len commented on Gavin's attempt at rise and fall for example. Of course it wouldn't have been entirely correct (it was a bit jerky) and when you try to do that kind of stuff it does create problems, but at least he had a go at it which means he is part way there to doing something more impressive.

Well done for tonights performance Gavin, he pulled it out of the bag. He is obviously a very shy person and finds it difficult to show emotion, but his waltz was beautiful. Not perfect but then coming from a very sporty background and having no dance experience at all I think he did great. Roll on next week !!!

Totally agree - well done Gavin. I was worried for him as he is so shy etc but I really enjoyed it they look really good together. Well done to Katya she will get the best from him.

He did do well and I'm glad for him, and it looks like Katya really likes him, tessa got it down to a T with the gooseberry comment but I think the song carried his/their performance to a large extent.

I've noticed this over the years. Get a good song and it makes you look a lot better than you may be if your have some talent and prospects.

After the launch show group dance who would have put money on Gavin being 5th on the board after the first shows

after the launch show I thought he would be sire, but on no way, think he will shine as he goes on

He was better than I expected but I just find something about him really unlikeable

Chwarae teg (fair play) to him he was a lot better than I expected!

Whether he'll get the Welsh vote he hopes is moot.He's upset quite a few people with his rugby decisions and opinions on his abilities on the field!

He comes across as shy but arrogant too which may go against him.

But, being Welsh, I wish him all the best! And did I detect a bit of a spark with him and Katya?

I was wondering when he mentioned the "Welsh Vote" how his rugby history would actually affect his ability to pull that in. Although I also wonder whether such a vote exists or if it's just a reality tv old wives tale.

Glad it wasn't just me that picked up on Tess' less than subtle hint at a bit of a showmance, reckon they definitely fancy each other.

He was definitely better than expected, I do wonder whether he will be able to let himself go in the Latin though. We shall see next week.

I think if he had done Cha Cha Cha this week it would have been a different story, but now he has danced a pretty decent waltz (which I dont think very many people expected including the judges) I think his confidence might just allow him to let go in the latin.

Just watched Gavin's dance properly and it didn't get me I'm afraid. None of the Waltz's did tonight.

I think that because he was expected to be dire, the surprise at being half decent led to over-praising.

I found the dance stiff and self conscious.