Definitely think they are much more open about the will to win than most, I have to say when we were first introduced to Natalie last year I was a bit put off by this trait because it just reminded me of the Aussie Cricket team so much. But she has the talent to back it up and I think she got some amazing dances out of Ricky and was a very deserved finalist so by the end of the series she was pretty much my favourite pro.

But frightfully unBritish.

Its a competion and I see nothing wrong in wanting to win .
I dont think many would object to a sports person wanting to win and saying so ,so why not a pro dancer .,
Maybe we are not used to it but I dont see it as wrong all the same .
I would be more annoyed if a pro took part and could give a monkeys about the show .

Well, that'll be OK as long as she doesn't drive Scott mad too!

BTW I often think some of the naff things said on camera are due to the people behind the cameras pushing them to say something! Towards the end of the series there will be increasing risk of contestants exiting the competition with their entrails hanging out ("If I don't get voted through, I'll be gutted")

We didn't get to see much of Ricky and Natalie last year for whatever reason, apart from the live shows and so only heard a few isolated, random comments from Natalie.
(I hold my hands up, I was one who didn't take to her last year either until I saw her with Ian.)
She was hardly going to waste the little air time she had commenting on the weather?

She comes across as rather reluctant to voice anything at all, preferring to let her dancing/choreography speak for itself (or her celeb).

Why not say she wants to make it to the final - it's why she is there after all!

I have no problem with her wanting to be in the final. I have no problem with her saying she wants to be in the final. I do have a problem with her saying 'I'm going to be in the final'.

Totally, I think many people forget that behind every reality TV talk to camera soundbite there is a producer asking probing questions.

Since when is it cool to have no confidence?

I don't understand why people seem to hate, and literally hate, these women who aren't afraid to succeed.

I don't see what the problem with Natalie is at all. As some people have already said, its funny how this kind of confidence is acceptable in men but not in women.

Honestly, do you think capitalisation and excessive punctuation makes your point more persuasive? Because, honestly, it doesn't.

As for Natalie - news flash, most of the public don't know her, won't vote for her, and it won't make a blind bit of difference to the voting scores no matter what she says.

People mostly vote for the celebs not the pros - with the exceptions of those pros who have themselves become celebs, like Anton.

I think she's being over-optimistic - at the moment, my money is on Matt vs. Widders in the final - but I don't have a problem with her saying it.

Given that everyone who has actually met her on here has nothing but praise for her, even those who previously hadn't warmed to her I wonder if all the Natalie bashers might think again & ask themselves if they could actually be wrong about her.

I won't hold my breath though.

Isn't saying "I'm going to be..." rather than "I want to be..." just a positive visualisation thing? The same as when people say "There's no such thing as try." Yes, it's a strong statement. Yes, she's competitive. Yes, pretty much every pro said something similar and if they didn't say it, they're almost certainly thinking it. I can see why people might be irritated by it if they don't like people being competitive in general, but I can't honestly see anything boastful about it- it's just stating an aim. Now I might have understood if she'd said "Obviously I'm going to be in the final because I'm Queen of all of the World and the best dancer since Sliced Bread, as well as being so naturally personable that everyone I meet falls in love with me. Scott? Oh right, the new boy. Meh, he won't leave me alone so I guess he'll be there too." I'm pretty sure she didn't though. Sadly, as that would have been much more fun.

How on earth do you know that Natalie doesn't want to win for Scott as much as herself? All of the other pros didn't say 'I want to win for X as well as for myself', because they just weren't afforded enough time to do that - Ola didn't even get given the chance in her intro to say she'd like to defend her title!

Natalie couldn't be more opposite of 'me, me me'. Last time I met her she told me that all she thinks about is the audience, the people who are watching the show that she is paid to be on, and how they deserve to get the best possible performance and entertainment with 110% of her effort every single week (she was talking in context of the pro tour, but the same applies to the show, it's her overarching mentality); So that means putting every effort into training her celeb the best she can and ensuring that the dance is the highest standard she can attain in a week.

I didn't like her choreography on Friday, but it certainly wasn't all about her, she had Scott leading her, and the woman naturally looks to be doing more in the ballroom, that's just the way it is. Her choreography was brave, trying to be different and give the wow factor. It didn't work for me, but you can't knock her for trying!


Oh for goodness sake, so it's all down to her sentence structure really, isn't it? If she'd said 'I'm aiming for the final', as Ola did, none of you would have batted an eyelid, and I really do find it astounding that you won't even consider that it basically means the same thing- she can't predict the future, so 'I'm going to be in the final' really means 'I'm going to try my hardest to get to the final', which is exactly what all the others pros said in different ways.

"win", "make the final" - whatever.

It's the "going to" and opposed to "want to" part that gets on a lot of peoples' nerves.

Nothing wrong with being confident in your ability as a dancer and teacher, but let's not forget it's ultimately OUR (the public's) decision if she gets there or not so her attitude - to me - comes across as quite "telling us how to vote" sort of thing. We don't like that.

Without Ricky Whittle on her arm, she is more appealing than last year IMO. I don't doubt she is a talented dancer and teacher and lord knows many people who should've made the final in past seasons didn't (tears for Austin Healy!) - because we voted them off.

So want all you like to reach the final and BE confident in your ability. Don't tell us how to vote though, love. Especially before we've seen the first dance.

Oh my word, that is some interpretation. Of course none of the other pros think that the public should vote for their celeb and keep them in the competition as long as possible.

Most pros have actually said "please vote for us" at some point or another. As have most celebs. So I don't think it's that.

I think some people find Natalie presumptive when she says it, like she thinks she doesn't really have to try, she's just going to be in the final. I think they're wrong - it's a statement of intent, not complacency.

Yes, it's the presumption of it all. Ultimately, we need to vote her into the final - so don't come across as sort of saying "I'm there already and it's a forgone conclusion."

She's not asking for us to vote for her - she's telling us how it's going to be and that's what I personally don't respond to.

Well unless she can see into the future I don't see how it's possible to tell anyone how it's going to be - no-one knows what tomorrow brings, it was just a figure of speech that means exactly the same as saying 'I'm determined to make the final'.

And for you to have that opinion is wonderful for you... It doesn't come across like that to everyone else though. "I'm determined to make the final" and "I'm going to be in te final" are different statements to me.

You cant blame people fo being turned off if they're interperating her comments literally.

It seems to me that some people are just determined to hate her. Bit petty really.

But it's impossible to interpret her comments literally, unless you happen to believe she has a time machine or powers to see into the future!

That's my point, the comments shouldn't turn people off her because they cannot be taken literally. It would be different if they could be, I agree, but there's no point in vilifying her for a comment which has to mean something slightly different than the literal interpretation. If you are determined to dislike her, fair enough, but please don't attack her for a comment which clearly doesn't mean that she's 'going to be in the final'.

Why are you so determined to dislike Natalie?

This.

She's big, she's blonde, she's beautiful, she's fit, she's a high achiever - what's not to hate?

Natalie's beautiful? She's not enough to put me off my food, but is she really an enticement to my shallow pretext of terpsichorean titillation?