I have to say I think it's pretty harsh that they're doing three dances, especially considering up till now they've only done one each week. Thinking about Matt on the One Show and Countryfile, Scott on Eastenders and Gavin in rugby training, I think they are gonna struggle this week. Add that to Pammie having dances which really don't suit - might be stamina issues in the QS, she wasn't good in the jive so swing might be bad, and I am dreading the ham acting in the paso. So... does anyone think Kara won't top the leaderboard this weekend?

Somehow Pamela will top the leaderboard, with some dances that in others would score 7 scoring 9 etc. Kara in second place. They need Pam at the top. A lot of the scoring will be in place before the dances are actually danced.

That's rubbish. A lot of conspiracy theories have been spouted on here about Pam, but everyone has been very overmarked this year. Scott has been overmarked more than anyone else, and Matt has been badly overmarked at times.

You don't like Pam, but at least try to be objective please.

I actually have no idea about how any of them are going to do this weekend, because they all have 3 dances and some of them have work on top of that, so I'm predicting that none of them may be at their best. Kara has only topped the leader board once, and that was when she did the salsa and it wasn't even her best dance! The swingathon is a completely new dance style added to the show, so I really don't know where they will place. So I guess we'll just have to find out on the night who struggles and who triumphs. I hope Kara triumphs!

I don't think Pamela has stamina issues. I thought her issues in the jive were technique related.

I'm sure Kara will do well whatever she's given. She hasn't given a bad (or even mediocre) performance yet.

Maybe Matt can shine in the swingathon if Aliona is deprived of any props!

Where's the evidence to show that Pamela isn't getting the public vote? The one week they were low on the leaderboard they got through ok. Both Gavin and Scott have been in the bottom two, but then again, they've also both been low and escaped.

Kara hasn't.

Pamela is a great dancer, but as with her and other great dancers, such as Scott, if they are sub-par they will get a helping hand with the marks. This even applied once to Kara, with her jive. It's to give you the impression that they are better overall than they really are. Sometimes they have poor dances compared to their better dances, and the judges give them a boost.

I do think this will be Kara's moment to shine. Their performances have been on a steady high level and I truly think they will up the ante once again this weekend. Apart from the Jive every dance has suited them to a T. They will feed off their chemistry and produce a hot rumba and a romantic waltz. I so get that partnership. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the others, but that's my view.

As Karen Hardy said on ITT tonight [and I quote] "What I love with Artem's choreography is that he's never afraid to push the bounderies. You build a trust and it is through trust that you can take dance to an untold limit and I think that's where this is going".

Now the judges scoring can become a factor when they again go the strategic route and don't mark with what they feel. Will be interesting too watch unfold.

for me kara has been the best most week's but she definitely wont get the appreciation she is needed.

I agree.

Even Karen Hardy said on ITT that she has been undermarked which is quite statement for Karen in my opinion.

I'm sure at the time one of the judges commented that she was flagging a bit towards the end of the jive.

But it's a general impression I get from her, that she gets quite tired out and tries to overcompensate with the manic expressions. Personal opinion only of course, and others might not share it.

Y'know ordinarily I would completely dismiss that idea, but since Pamela did the Charleston I'm actually starting to buy it. It is a contender for one of my most hated dances ever on Strictly (to put it into persepctive, I enjoyed BoD's samba more ) and I can't believe the marks that it got.

I don't think she ever tops it on her best dance, oddly.

Her Paso Doble, Argentine Tango, American Smooth, and Tango were all the best dances of the week in my opinion yet she ranked (second, second, third, second).

Compared to the more conservative (and accurate) marks of the earlier series, they all have. Kara's have been fairly accurate though.

I so agree with this - it was lumpy, stompy, slow and the gurning!! when 10s came out I nearly fell off my chair

kara has pulled out the best performance week on week (ok possibly not jive week) and yet has hardly ever topped the leaderboard

they are holding her to a far higher standard - she has the most difficult choreography and does it brilliantly. Yet one mistake gets her a 9 - scott can forget half his dance and still get a 9!

The top dancers, Scott, Pamela, Kara, Matt, will all have their marks topped up if necessary if they perform below par dances. The point is this has only happened to Kara once, with her jive. How can her jive get 9's as well as her tango ? The others seem to have had top-ups more often. It is done to create the illusion of a consistent high standard. That is why some of the marking seems so over.

I think Kara's dancing (jive aside) has been really good most of the time and I'm sure she will shine this weekend.

I know! As well as being really unfair to Matt and Kara who did excellent Charlestons in earlier weeks. Probably also to Scott, if his turns out to be better as well.

I think the thing with the Charleston is, if you don't nail it technically like Ali and Kara then it better be a damn good performance like Chris' last years - Pamela's was poorly danced but on top of that the choreography itself was quite cringeworthy.

Her Jive was overmarked.

So Pamela gets tired at the end of the routine, would those stating this be prepared to do the kind of physical exercise that her dancing requires.

I love Kara, Pamela, Scott, I did like Matt and Gavin has grown on me, but some of the opinons on here are just strange. Criticise Pamela for a lot of things, but lack of enthusiasm and stamina surely shouldn't be one of them. .. and of course the judges have remarked on all of the couples that they lose momentum within different dances, there are probably other factors involved.

Looking forward to a great finale, and I hope that the best dancers remain.

I think it's going to be tough for all of them. Usually the leap to two dances knocks the celebs for six. This year they're leaping from one to three. That's going to cause some hiccups for them all I think. It's why I think it's a waste having this swing-a-thon crap. I'd rather they concentrate on the two dances and make them as excellent as possible as opposed to what I think we'll get - some half-assedness from them all because they're just over-worked.

I don't think Pam's jive was ever going to be great, but I still think it should have been a lot better than it was. She said she didn't hear the first note, which meant she was playing catch-up during the dance. I think she then panicked and forgot her steps, which made the dance a bit messy. It wasn't awful by any means though. Scott's Rumba was MUCH worse, yet it received a higher score. Unfair.

Agreed. If they have any sense, they'll focus primarily on the two dances and prep the least for the swingathon.

I couldn't agree more with that! It's ALOT to take on for ANY of the dancers. I think they'll all deserve a medal for this weekend!