As I said earlier in this thread, I am no expert on betting, but if Matt really did poll more than 50% of the vote in a 5-contestant show, his odds would be a lot shorter, wouldn't they? Rather than being pretty well neck and neck with Kara.

At various points over the last few weeks, the media have told us that Widdy was the favourite ... or Matt ... or Pamela ... or Kara ... and probably the Magic Circle newsletter said Paul Daniels was favourite. It really is anybody's to win, which is what makes it interesting for fence-sitters and nerve-wracking for fans!

I love Kara and Matt! I think it's too difficult to compare men and women as dancers cos their jobs are so different, so i can't say who is better.

For me I slightly favour Matt as a winner as i feel he has been more hard done by ( by the judges and the shameful editing of backstage after the salsa)

I'm happy whoever wins and I may not even vote unless one of them really grabs and moves me and that could be either one of them!

This is exactly how I feel.

I agree that of course you can't compare men and women step for step because their roles and steps are different but you can compare (and see the difference in) their level of talent and execution.

I've said this before but I wish DS had a 'like' button!

I'm a massive Kara fan but what will be will be.

To label Matt a 'better version' of Chris is to damn with faint praise - I simply can't see you how you can compare the two.

It will be a shame if Kara doesn't win - equally it will a shame if Matt doesn't win - they're that close.

I have to say that the majority if not all the posters on this thread would look very daft if Pamela suddenly wooshes through and wins it .....after all Gloria Huniford said on ITT that she was 'very popular' and she should know I think she must be more popular than she seems to be on the DS but I still think she will come in third......but she does have a lot of very rich friends see it really could go any way I suppose.

Is this the first year that none of the finalists have been in the bottom 2

I doubt its true, but Im still going to vote for Matt.

But that's my problem with Matt! Matt has the potential to do a beautiful dance, a memorable dance, a truly moving dance, but he hasn't done one for me yet (I hated his AS, although I know lots love it).

Matt's dances always come with a "yeah, but......" rather than a full stop.

Kara has, for me, done some of the most beautiful, magical, breathtaking dances that I've ever seen on SCD. She just does it, no angst, no drama, no whining, she just gets on and quietly does these heart-breaking routines that are immensely difficult.

If Matt could do just one memorable dance, I wouldn't have a problem with him winning, but as it stands now, nope, he hasn't DONE eonough to win.

It's not about potential for me, it's about actually doing it on the Saturday night.

I think the last time it happened was when Ramps & Matt had not been bottom 2 in Series 4.

Well in previous weeks matts been busy doing Counrty file and the one show, this week he has the week off and has been training extra hard with more hours, so this week he might priduce a jaw dropping dance

Guess it just depends what you happen to like in dancing and find memorable. Personally I hate all that romantic, heart-breaking, whimsical stuff. I find it a bit embarrassing and overall, rather dull. Which is not to detract from Kara's ability, she's a beautiful dancer, I'm just saying you can't declare one dancer to be objectively more appealing than another.

Kara will be a deserving winner, but only one of her dances has "wowed" me - her Argentine Tango. But then I haven't been wowed by all that much this series overall.

Matt's a presenter who can dance well.
Kara is a dancer.

Matt's a presenter who can dance well.
Kara's a soap actress who can dance well.

May the best one win.

Indeed. I think Pamela may be the dark horse though.

She'd need to be darker than Black Beauty to win the final imo.

Charming! I want Kara to win too, but not because I don't want Matt to win. My Christmas certainly won't be 'ruined' if he does.

I want Kara to win and will be voting for her but I must defend Matt here. When did he sulk. The only time it looked like he was he wasn't he was just rushing to get changed for the swingathon as he had the big disadvantage of only having a few minutes to get ready for the dance and then obvioulsy was also disadvanged by only having just danced and then having to do a routine which they all said needed stamina. It was all in the editing.

Pamela's a 16 year old physiotherapist who's married to Bruce Forsyth, who can dance well.

Is that right?

Exactly. Finding one or two Matt supporters coming across as very smug (you know what they say about pride).

Just hope the final is a true nail biting conclusion to an incredible series.

Yes you are right, and on betfair, which is the only true market, she is available at 9/4 (only 7/4 in the High Street). Matt is miles shorter than Kara, long odds-on at 4/6.

So according to the strongest market there is - the one that the bookies then follow to set their prices - betfair has called Matt the winner

Have an award for irony.

What I always wonder is at what stage should one standout dance matter more than consistency? For instance, Kara has been consistently fantastic, week after week providing the nation with some of the most dramatic, beautiful dances ever seen on Strictly. But say in the final she loses it and Matt, who has been consistently good but not once great, puts in a great dance - probably his paso - and finally wows people, would that count for more in the end? Would the luck of finally putting in a wow dance in the final make you more worthy of winning than someone who has put in wow dances all through the competition but had a bad final night, or even a not amazing final night? I don't think it should count. The example I use is Alesha. She was beyond amazing through the whole series but in the final, Matt outdanced her in my opinion. She made a glaring mistake in her cha cha, her freestyle, her jive and her waltz wasn't as good as her first performance of it whereas Matt was the best he'd ever been. It wasn't, in my opinion, better than Alesha at her best but still, he was great. But that didn't count as much for me as the weeks of wowing Alesha had done on her way to that final, while Matt had been steadily improving, yes but also majorly messing up and being slightly mediocre from time to time.

I'm rambling, I know. My point is, how many of you would prize a stellar final performance over a stellar whole series performance? Personally, the whole series matters more. A stellar final performance is the icing on the cake but if the cake is baked badly, I ain't eating it, icing or no icing

What sulking would that be

So just because of a stupid betting site then everyone has to vote for your favourite.

I will vote for whoever I feel deserves to win on the night. The last 3 are all deserved winners IMO.

When he thought he'd been brilliant and the judges weren't singing from his hymn sheet (on a couple of occasions he's looked decidedly ungracious). Kara was never like that in the same situation.

For me the samba, tango and AS and Vieniesse Waltz are all stand out, which is why I think he's hard done by! The judges just don't seem to like Aliona's choreography! I actually do ( although there have been a couple of dodgy dances) Luckily for Matt the public also seem to really like Aliona's choreography, so if he won I feel it would be vindication of crappy scores, for dancing almost perfectly, choreography that just didn't "grab" the judges!