Hearing Len's critique of Matt was a real deja vu moment as only 10 minutes early he used that same "I didnt like it" face to Gavin. The reason people arent crying over Gavin is he takes the criticism better and is also more self-aware about his dancing.

I've been guilty of assuming Aliona's choreography is not to my taste, but I came to the realisation tonight that actually Matt is just not that good at dancing. Yes he has nice lines via his gymnastic training, but he is no different from Gavin, a sportsman learning by rote without any natural awareness of music. Infact Gavin looked more relaxed on the dancefloor tonight and thus I enjoyed watching his routine far more than I did Matt's, who looked awkward and tense throughout.

And for those knocking Pamela, as much as I don't like the woman, I think her GaGa Paso was the best performance of the evening along with Kara's. Credit where it is due.

That documentary was excellent, she's overcome a lot of difficulties, spending hours each time repeatedly writing out in longhand her parts in a soap until she'd learned something it would take other actors who don't suffer from dyslexia minutes to learn.
She came across as very genuine.

I guess you are on the producers/judges side, need I say more.

Blimey Some people do take the show very seriously by the amount of eye rolling I'm getting.

To think that Matt said in the VT 'we've always been in top three' and then that slating.

I hope this is a wake up call for Matt, but more so for Aliona. But personally I don't think Aliona really cares. She's care-less and callous in that sense. Horrible woman!

*snorts* All that custard has made her go wtf in her choreography.

ETA: I almost felt sorry for Matt, Aliona should be used to the judges not liking her routines, but like you said I don't think she cares.

In your mind perhaps, but you have no actual proof of that do you.

Thanks for that.

"Here's looking at you kid."

Hello you !

I thought he danced it well, and it was what he was given to learn .

It certainly wasn't just 1 mark better than Gavin and surely they are supposed to mark the dancing ability of the celebrity not the routine per se ? It was definitely the routine which was scored there .

I don't think he was whinging , he was just demoralised and obviously didn't trust himself to say much .

I also think Scott has been pushed far more than Matt , in fact I can't see they have pushed him at all really .

I do recall Karen saying that it would be her fault if Mark didn't make the final. The judges had a go at her about some of her routines and they have done with others , if it's the routine they don't like have a go at Aliona not him .

Whatever , I think they set up the leader board as they wanted to achieve the final 3 they want.
I have always believed the judges know who is getting the votes and who will likely get through even with a low score .

That's what I meant by fixing .
And tonight they have the chance to go away and think some more about who gets what score regardless of how they dance.

Gavin knows he's not a good dancer, so he doesn't have much expectation. Imagine someone telling Gavin he's pants in his rugby. I think you'll probably get tackled by him.

Blimey, I'm not a big fan but that's a bit harsh!

No prizes for guessing which two Pros have spent their wages on dental implants..........horrible, like bright white gumshields!

But no one said Matt was a rubbish presenter (I actually think he's no better than many) so that isn't the same situation.

put it this way she is in charge of them and I feel that it's scripted for them. Maybe the judges are seething with how much pr they get and thus trying to tone it down slightly. Will pm you at some point to tell you more info about myself dude.

That in bold. I think you are not smoking chan, but pot!

Nope, lifts are allowed in the salsa.

We were told on ITT that they were banned from the 5 main latin and 5 main ballroom, salsa is not one of these therefore lifts must be allowed.

Well, I don't support Matt if that's what you are implying. I am Kara all the way. Don't really care if Matt's in the final. But those comments from the judges are just shameful.

And you just lap it up, for obvious reasons.

Get ready: more of

Did you perhaps consider I might not have seen that particular Jen moment. I'm entitled to comment on Matt how I see fit. He was like a kid tonight throwing his toys out of the pram.

Are they allowed TWO?

Okay, up to you. You might want to say he didn't take criticism seriously. I am entitled to challenge you for it. Fair?

No, Matt's salsa was not the best and no, it was not one of his best dances. However, the criticism and marks were extremely harsh, especially when compared to a lot of the marking this series. It did seem very much like the judges don't want Matt in the final.

And for those who say he can't take criticism, I don't think it's that at all. I can fully understand how it feels when you put everything, physically and emotionally, into something and then get totally knocked down. I would think that anyone who has any level of sensitivity might feel a bit upset.

I think one thing was clear tonight - the Swingathon was a mess and a mistake.

I think also the three dances to learn showed in all the dances except Kara's, in that the standard wasn't that high.

Pamela - bad choice of music and a bad dress design. Pace was too slow, no sharpness to the music and not enough attack. She did act it well as usual, and didn't make mistakes other than a couple of off-balance moments.

Kara - beautiful dress and the music was OK. I thought you were only allowed to break hold once in the dance? It was beautifully danced, but a lot of it wasn't what I normally see in a VW. Best of the night.

Gavin - good music and costume and a small amount of Samba. There was a contrast between the way they were gentle with Gavin and heavy with Matt's criticism.

Scott - Music was OK, Scott looked dishevelled for an AT. Once again Natalie seemed to be leading him and he didn't look confident.

Matt - Good music and costumes. For a three dance week, Aliona did a very full and fast routine, and Matt got through it but he didn't seem to know it well enough to forget about completing it and express himself. Less variation in the content and more technique on the basics would have paid off better. Aliona has tended to choreograph for the viewers, and I think the viewers will have liked it more than the judges.

MISSED THE WHOLE SHOW!

INTERNET CONNECTION WENT WALKABOUT!

Do you think iplayer will be up just after midnight?

And why should she? The judges don't win a couple the show, the public win a couple the show. Matt and Aliona clearly have public support as they are still in the competition, so what is so undesirable about her focusing on giving the people who vote for them what they clearly seem to enjoy rather than pandering to the whim of 4 judges who have no real sway, the majority of whom are just as qualified to judge the dancing as Joe Public himself!

I welcome that. But all I saw was some rumbling about me disliking Matt and quite a few eye rolling.