My guess is that it will be easier to score high in the AS than the Samba.- could we be in for a surprise this week?

Training for the Samba looks OK not spectacular so far.

Of course the judges might support their favourites but what price Scott or Matt near the bottom two?

I thought both Matt's and Scott's samba training were looking fine.

Best male celebrity samba was definitely Mark and Karen .Great song too , but I do think Matt has a good tune .

Mark and Karen

Well, thank god the standards have increased. In this day and age that Samba won't pass on SCD.

I think both Matt and Scott will do better, as long as they have a good choreography and song.

This day and age ?

Well each to his own

That was one of the last decent sambas on the show .There hasn't been a decent samba since series 4 or 5, they have been atrocious . James has gone out on a samba every time and Penny Lancaster's boots one was terrible .Brian and Ali's was the most dismal party dance and very slow to name a few.

The samba has caught a lot of couples out .

Mark & Karen's dance may not be as technical as the dances now - but that cat could dance, he just radiated joy as he danced

I think those performing the Samba have drawn the short straw.

It's a tricky dance to master technically (so the pros tell us) and it doesn't quite have the same wow factor that the AS which permits lifts has.

Yes - and unfairly gorgeous, which can't have done him any harm!!
(Actually, his samba still looks pretty good to me, having just rewatched it......)

And it made Craig rave enthusiastically like he's never raved before or since!

It looks better than I remembered it to be!

Nice choice of music as well

Mark & Karen just had that rare chemistry though. They could perform the Birdie Song and I'd still enjoy watching them dance together!

Thank you for that. I don't think I've watched that since they did it. Ah, Mark, sigh, in the Latin he really danced, didn't he, as if just for the joy of it. That smile on his face. Gorgeous.

Until recently Mark and Karen's samba was the highest score for a male celebrity.

Has it been overtaken in the last few years?

Not yet. Could be run close tonight though...

Maybe a point to think about re Mark and Karen's samba; this was the second dance from a two dance week. Their earlier dance (cant remember what it was) was panned by the judges, and they needed a blinder of a performance in order to try to reach the next round. The judges thought they had achieved that!

The sambas this week are the only dances the celebs have to learn. I admit that Scott and Matt are still working and so have limited time to rehearse. I wish them well and look forward to tonights show!

They must be feeling the pressure - I bet they would all love the AS this week. But, given the right mix, the samba is perfect for Blackpool. It's up to them to make it work.

I cant see Bruno giving his fancy boy scott lower than a 7

Foxtrot

I hope both Scott and Matt rally do well with the samba tonight , I woudl love to see a decent party dance again .I fear there may be props

Ooh, didn't like any of the sambas tonight. They were all a bit lacklustre...
If you ask me Matt didn't deserve the 10s and Len was right about the gymnastics being innappropriate. Scott's was a bit of a letdown, much as I like him. And Ann's...no comment

I get the feeling both Scott and Matt were given the Samba to counteract Ann's performance - if anyone could pull it off, it was those two.
Their performances have certainly given the forums more to talk about than just A&A anyway

The Smooths were superior to the Latins though - perhaps because of the size and aura (for want of a better word) of the Ballroom?

To be honest it is much easier to impress in a AS than a Samba.