I was the same when watching the scoring - I had Kara down as a 38 before she danced and Scott to be higher!

I hadn't thought about it that way but I see your point - overmarking sometimes hurts people more than (perceived) undermarking. I dunno whether Mark's lack of 10s is a reasonable comparison, given that fewer were handed out back in series 4, but the Tom comparison stands up pretty well.

That said, I used to enjoy Tom's dances, but I have more trouble enjoying Matt's. Plot thickens

Matt's rumba was miles better than Scott's, so I assume that was down to choreography too.

Will be gutted if Matt wins, i would have said at the beginning of the compertition that Scott would have a huge public following, obviously not. I never understood why people picked up the phone to vote for Tom and its the same feeling i have for Matt but im afraid can see how its going to pan out. Would much rather see Scott or Kara win.
Having said all that everone thought Austin was a dead cert for the final, he didnt even make the semis.

That's also a matter of opinion, I think Matt's getting things right that Scott isn't. Yes, Scott is probably technically better, but I think he's been constantly overmarked as his performance has yet to 'wow' me the way both Matt and Kara have.

In my opinion, the reason Matt hasn't had a 10 is because he's not as good as Kara at the minute, and because Scott is being vastly overmarked.

So Scott was crap at the Rumba he wouldnt be the first. Ramps was also crap at the Rumba. This is about all the dances not just the Rumba.

Actually, I don't think he is - whilst Scott's jive was great, it looked to me like his free arm was a bit "hanging", although admittedly I know little about jive.

Whereas, to me, Matt's chacha was pretty much perfect.

But ... there's still something not quite working with Matt's dances, I think, and I think it's the performance side of things.

It is a matter of opinion, Matt has never wowed me, its clearly in the bag though. Scott and Natalie have very little support if you look at the polls so all Matt needs to worry about is Kara.

What polls? I've only really seen the ones on here and they're pretty meaningless.

So that accounts for Bruno's marks....what about Len.....

Scott is also working at the moment and has been ill and had an injury and he got 3 tens.


This is really a ridiculous argument because if you are obsessively supporting Matt then you want to slag off Scott and vice verse its silly.......Matt doesnt get the marks YOU think he deserves and somehow thats Scotts fault....They are all working hard and entertaining us on a Saturday. Personally I think Kara is knocking spots off both Matt and Scott but somehow I think she might just suffer the same fate as many of the very talented female dancers that havent won.


So Go Gavin

If you compared the choreography of Matt's Argentine Tango and Kara's, hers was clearly more dramatic and showy. I think he could have pulled her choreography off (or Artem's) so it's down to Aliona to make sure she is showing him off to his best ability. In the last 3 dances that hasn't happened.

Agree that Matt has not deserved a 10 yet but he is marked quite fairly, Scott IMO is over marked.

So what if I am a matt fan, I dont think he has deserved a ten yet. Scott is overmarked.

I agree Kara is the better dancer, I like her second too matt, I just like matt more than her.

Me not liking scott has nothing to do with me liking Matt, I just dont like scott as a person, and I find his dancing oaky but not deserving tens.

Please don't refer to such serious matters in such a casual manner. There are many - myself included - still hurting from that dreadful evening when the Sobbing Snowdon was saved at his expense.

Well, if you believe the 'leaked' voting figures from a few weeks ago (I tend not to on their own) then the order was Matt, Scott, Ann, then Kara. But obviously we don't know how reliable these figures were or, indeed, how much the vote has changed in subsequent weeks. It's all guesswork at the moment.

I'm sure Matt has got a wow dance in him somewhere just waiting to come out

Well I dont like Matt as a person (based on a book about Blue Peter that showed him in a very different light to what I thought he was like) and I find his dancing OK but not deserving 10s

see.....just because we both say the opposite of each other doesnt make either statement right.

At the end of the day is matters not one jot what the judges think or what we think as the public vote is really all that matters and we have no idea how that is really panning out at the moment.

Artem & Natalie both choreograph to their partner's strengths & showcase them well.
They both have light & shade in their routines.

Aliona's choreography doesn't seem to suit Matt & therefore he appears uncomfortable whilst dancing.
Matt almost seems scared of messing up & that is inhibiting his performances.
The routines are frantic & therefore lack light & shade.

Exactly right, personally, apart from Gavin....whom I find to be too vaccuous and dull I actually like all of them as people.This year has been the best in terms of personalities for me because once Paul Daniels left I have no axe to grind whatsoever with them as individuals.
This leaves me in the unenviable position of judging them all on a level playing field and how their performances come across.
Dancing for me does not have to be technically perfect....heck I even like Ann but the performance as a whole, persona and charisma coming through their dance routines and the energy within the dance.
I think Kara is technically the most perfect of the lot, but she is also appealing and entertaining to watch, she has a lovely personality too, on technical performance I rate her just alittle higher than Scott.
Scott just exudes fun and you can see that he is absolutely loving this experience, Natalie also plays to his strengths which helps.
Matt does not excite me at all, he is good and I do like him, but he has no warmth and no sense of fun, I think he is trying too hard.....he should just let go of his controland try to enjoy.

I think Matt is definitely lacking something in his performances ( for me ). Scott is at an advantage as he is an actor and seems more able to include something of himself in his performances.

Also, I'm not keen on Matt when he says things like 'What do we have to do to get a 10', which would be a good question if what he was doing was worth a 10, but, IMHO, it's not. He should be striving to be the best that he can, rather than being disappointed that he didn't get a 10.

For me, performance wise, he has not improved much since the first week.

What do you mean by that? I'm not being accusatory, just curious!

It's pointless comparing Argentine Tango choreography when the pros don't choreograph it! Aliona had never done AT in her life before she danced it with Matt.



Agreed. I like Matt, but I don't think he's deserved a 10 yet. I don't think Scott has deserved any of the 10s he's got either though, only Kara has deserved a 10 so far in my opinion, for her Paso and AT.


He isn't the one who's been asking for 10s or talking about it, Tess and Claudia keep bringing it up! He was even joking about that in the backstage clip on the results show!

When Kara & Scott both got their 10s the other week the judges picked up that Matt was nervous when he subsequently performed as he was affected by this. I think there is something in this. Matt is competitive (nothing wrong with that for me - I was in the minority that supported Gabby) but he realises he is being outshone by Scott & Kara at the moment and it's affecting him. He seems very keen on getting some 10s to match them.

He needs to concentrate on his own performances and realise he has no control on how well Kara & Scott perform. He should relax a little more and enjoy it and sort out the small technical issues like his hands and the 10s may well arrive.

That's simply not true. Kele gives advice and guidance, with relation to moves and steps and feeling, but she doesn't choreograph the routine.


And whose fault is that, huh?

Was there a law against her taking a lesson at some point in the past year?

I'm sick of this "go easy on the pros, they've not done it before" line.

How could she choreograph it when she doesn't know the dance?!

The pros do work outside of Strictly, so they wouldn't necessarily have time to take enough lessons in a different genre, it would take more than one, and there's no law that says she has to learn a dance that a) she may never have to dance on Strictly and b) maybe she doesn't even want to learn. It's not her specialism, so why should she have to spend time learning it instead of continuing to improve her own skills at her favoured genre?

In fairness there has never been a flawless performance, for what it is worth it took Ramps ages to get his first 10.

I am still not a fan of Aliona's choreography - the rumba attempted to be too raunchy a slower seductive dance may have suited Matts balletic poise better.

I do agree with other threads he needs to improve on his hands at this stage.

Well, Christ knows. "Badly", I think is the answer you're looking for.

I'm not saying Kele has no input - I'm simply saying that the professionals are the ones who determine the choreography.

For example, I can't imagine anyone vaguely professional choreogrtaphing Tina and Jared's monstrosity of a dance.


I work also, but I still manage to take lessons in AT.


Apart from the fact that she's being paid to do precisely that, you mean?

She may not like Jive either - but she has to bloody well do it, that's what she gets paid for.


What part of "that's what she gets paid for" didn't you understand the first time?