I thought this was a thread to say who had changed your perceptions, not try to change other posters percections.

Pamela , at the beginning I quite liked and quite frankly over the weeks , the way she did not censor herself is exactly what annoyed me, I watched James become increasing uncomfortable over the way she talked about him ( and Ola on one occasions) she may have been having fun , he most certainly wasn't!

Gavin suprised me enourmously , I thought he would be vain, dull and plank like I found him endearing, witty and charming

Kara I had no opinion of other than an EE character a show I dont particularly like but I found her endearing and charming too, a really nice person

the ones who confirmed my dislike of them were Ann Widdecome who maintained her self opinionated , priggish and humourless persona, ditto Paula Daniels

Peter Shilton I had no opinion of beforehand and found him dull, dull dull , ditto Tina , Michelle and Jimi

Felicity and Patsy I thought I would quite like and coninued to quite like at the end

Oh I found Vincent much more annoying this series than I have previously found

Someone actually does state they ended up "hating" Pamela a few posts up but I'm sure that's just an exaggeration.

Pamela's personality and the way she chooses to express herself is going to cause strong feeling. Anyone, whatever their age, continuing to talk about their sexuality, desire, needs etc in a very public arena is going to get quite a lot of people thinking -"TMI - shut up woman, we don't need to know that," and the longer it goes on, the more infuriated people may get. I didn't mind her at all but I still started off liking her more than I did; the extraneous detail did begin to annoy me. Still think she actually danced best in the first half of the final though!

Of the others, Kara, Gavin and Michelle favourably impressed me.
I thought I'd be ambivalent towards Kara but she seems like a sweet, generous person.
The Gav love came late but I can't help but smile when I see him now. He wasn't the best dancer (although his top score was higher than anyone else outside the top four and he acheived it twice!) but he put a lot into his performances and it was quite endearing to see his frustration at his lack of natural ability.
I started off disliking Michelle, probably because I saw her as a bit of a ringer and then, paradoxically, because she was actually a bit rubbish. However, she didn't whinge and showed an eccentric side to her that I found rather appealing. Don't think she should have stayed any longer than she did but I'm glad she was there.

Didn't know much about Matt before and ended up loving him, especially his latin dancing (especially from behind! )
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

Loved Pam in NT 9 oclock news - and thought she'd do well as she has no embarrassment. Thought she occaisionally came across as a bit show bizzy though.

Thought Kara was adorable espeially last night in her VT talking about Artem - and of course a beautiful dancer..

Didn't expect to like Henson and ended up loving him - bless. Shame about him and Charlotte - they seem well matched.

Thought Michelle was lovely but such a shame she can't dance.

Loathed Anne Widdicombe before because of her politics and still do.

Thought Patsy lost any credibility due to bizarre reactions to remaining in the competition.

Jimi Mistry was a real favourite of mine before SCD and I went off him a bit.

I thought the sketch on NTNON were she was 'Janet-Street Porter' was one of the funniest things I've ever seen and I liked her for the first few weeks but what irked me about her was the way she would tilt her head to one side and say 'Thank you' to the judges comments....she has been an inspiration for many many people and she needs to be commended for that. I for one was flabbergasted when I seen the line up and thought Pamala=No Chance and then blew everyone away with that week one waltz.

I liked Matt beforehand and I like him even more now.

I never knew about Kara (or Scott) because I'm not a fan of EE but I think she is a beautiful, charming elegant woman and a deserved winner

Scott is just a madman!!!!

As stated by a previous post I don't like Gavin and still don't (A bad workman always blames his tools) as I too seen the final of 71 degrees north and thought what an absolute pratt.

Ann Widdicome didn't like before dislike even more after due to her rudeness.

Goldie - liked him before, thought he was a dark horse, still like him, but I really doubt Kristina's teaching skills now as she couldn't get someone with natural music talent to buckle down and learn.

Paul - wasn't keen before, still not keen

Michelle - had no feelings either way before hand, quite liked her at the end, rather endearing loon

Felicity - no feelings before, but she was okay, sadly can't stand her partner so that did put me off a bit

Peter - much as expected, didn't hate, didn't like

Patsy - pretty much as I expected her to be, very sweet, but the neediness did begin to grate at the end

Tina - nice enough, got the feeling she'd have done much better with a better partner

Jimi - expected to love him, but ended up being irritated by him, the dancing was never as good as I expected it, and him and Flavia's constant THIS IS FUN mantra really annoyed

Gavin - expected to dislike him, bought into the press image, now really like him, funny, hard working and a great partnership with Katya (who I now love)

Scott - had no real feelings either way, don't watch EE, didn't really like him, played SCD Bingo too hard, the monkey impressions were annoying, could dance, great jive but went backwards from that day

Pamela - started off liking her, then it all started going down hill, her interviews started irritating, ended up coming across as very false to me - completely deserved to make the final though and finished in the right place

Matt - no strong feelings, but never warmed to him, excellent dancer, maybe a bit let down by his pro who never worked on his weaknesses - thought there was a highly competative streak there he tried to keep covered - which isn't a bad thing, he was a trained sportsman.

Kara - expected to dislike her, thought I'd find her a bot in the Rachel mode - but now adore her, lovely girl, beautiful dancer and well deserved her win.

Fair play, i'd say that the poster that said it should gain a sense of perspective too (if they meant hate, although i'm sure it was just an exaggeration in which case I wish people would choose their words more carefully) It just annoys me the way the words hate/hater get thrown about on this forum every time an unfavourable opinion on a celeb/dancer is expressed... I find it quite childish.

I think the word for Pamela is "forbearance"... she's obviously a silly pseud with a craving for credibility, more a gift for parody than something to hate, really...

Nail...head.

Kara!

For some reason, before the series started, i thought she was quite miserable and false. She proved me completely wrong and seems incredibly lovely and real. I think she's a fabulous girl, inside and out! <3

Widders impressed me. The only genuine celeb on the show the rest can sink back into obscurity. The whole format of this show sucks pitting doddery old duffers against the dance trained and athletic. It is hardly PC and should be ditched.

I didn't expect to like 'rock chick' Patsy but from her first performance I felt almost protective of her vulnerability. Loved her.

I saw Gavin in 71 Degrees North and I admired his determination and tenacity - but I wasn't prepared for his initial shyness and the droll, tongue in cheek sense of humour. Really missed him this week.

I never expect to be engaged by the soapstars but I felt Tina had a lot more to give than we saw and Kara! Well what can I say - beautiful, fantastic dancer and a thoroughly nice girl.

I expected to like Jimi and he didn't disappoint.

I was ambivalent about Pamela but ended up irritated beyond irritation by what I saw as her fawning falsity, the constant camera shots of 'Billy' and the favouritism shown by the judges.

I thought I'd take or leave Peter Shilton but found him one of the most delusional contestants and soon got fed up of his reminders that he'd never danced before.

I expected to dislike Felicity and did. I thought I might be able to put my loathing of Ann's politics behind me and enjoy some witty banter between her and judges; but there was nothing spontaneous about the exchanges - instead I ended up disliking her even more due to her arrogance and her inexplicable belief that she had become a 'national treasure.; an entertainer that the 'whole world' was tuning into.

I liked Paul slightly more than I thought I would - at least he tried.

Its an entertainment show - and if you dont think its PC, then it strikes me that you are one of those people that have made Britain frightened to make any comment for fear of being acused of stereotyping, being repressed or victimising ... having an opinion is not the same as victimising people ...

Ann knew what she was getting into - she was aware there would be some ridicule - she enjoyed the experience and good on her ... Its people who have opinions what others should think that arent PC in my opinion

I speak as a gay man who has previously been approached by a manager asking if I want to use the harassment and bullying policy at work because of a nickname I have had - I found the nickname amusing - but it depends on the manner the humour is cast in and I was very happy with it - its a sad day when we cant have a joke and entertainment

Strictly is entertainment that may mean sometimes underdogs are put under the spotlight for failures etc - that may not be totally PC, but it is appropriate entertainment ... lets just enjoy it!

it wouldn't be the same if everyone was a great dancer

and the GBP generally gets rid of the joke candidates, even if they do go on a bit longer than they should

I love Gavin Henson

My loving of him started from both 71 degrees and SCD before I had never really heard of him

Quite so what are they fillers? It's discrimination and I can't think of anywhere else that it's so blatant.

It's Health and Safety gorrrrrn mad

Goldie - liked him before, I think it's a shame he didn't get a little further. His first VT did him a lot of harm, making it look like he was just joking.

Paul - wasn't keen before, still not keen

Michelle - initially thought she was a bit of a ringer. Quite sweet though.

Felicity - I was pretty ambivalent about her before. Didn't particularly like any of her dances but I grew to quite like her.

Peter - much as expected, didn't hate, didn't like

Patsy - I quite liked her from Who Do You Think You Are; thought I would like her more as she seemed very needy.

Tina - nice enough, can't really say more than that. May have done better with a different partner, but did seem to like Jared. Shame we never saw their rumba as in training it looked quite good.

Jimi - Didn't have huge expectations but thought I would like him more than I did. Never as good as he seemed to think he was.

Ann - though never a fan of her politics, I remember thinking a partnership between her and Brendan or her and James could be amusing. Really disliked how she wouldn't make any effort at all with the Latin dances (Anton no help here) and seemed to want comedy routines for the public vote only. So far the celebrity that has gone down in my eyes the most.

Scott - thought I might like him. Disliked Strictly Bingo. Unfortunately hampered towards the end with work commitments and fatigue as some of his earlier dances, especially the jive, were great.

Pamela - had a brief flash of liking her in the first week, then read her column. Never particularly liked her after that and found her increasingly insincere and overmarked.

Gavin - I cackled with glee at how bad he was in the warm-up show as I fully expected to really dislike him. Loved how outside rugby which he is obviously very confident in he is actually quite shy and has a wit I was never expecting him to show. Found the non-luvvie-ness very refreshing, and loved how he and Katya bounced off each other. Maybe now one of my favourite ever contestants.

Matt - expected to like him. As the weeks went on, there seemed to be an expectation of staying in and getting good marks. Competitive, which isn't really a problem to me - Gavin made no bones about wanting to be competitive with the other guys. Admired how though he was working hard elsewhere, he never revealed exactly how hard - for example one week only training for 4 hours - he could have easily used that to his advantage. A nice guy and his general attitude and graciousness in losing will stand him well.

Kara - if anything I expected to dislike her, or find her a bit boring like Rachel. I liked how she could admit to being overmarked. Really admired how she danced through obvious pain in the final. Could have done without the romance; sadly any hint of that will be blown up by the producers. Sweet and unassuming.

Jared - as noted above, perhaps a little unfortunate that Tina wasn't able to do the rumba as it looked good. Quite liked him in the pro dances seen towards the end of the series but still think he is out of his depth.

Robin - seemed nice enough. Probably done enough to do another year, though I wasn't especially enthralled by much of his choreography.

Artem - LOVED his choreography. Only misstep was the showdance, though it could have been good had it been more rehearsed. I particularly loved his attitude to teaching her with her dyslexia. One of the best pros in the show, and love his dancing in the professional dances also. I particularly love that he is so good in both ballroom and Latin.

its entertainment ... chill out

Is it? Then why do they have judges that criticise and make fun of old duffers. There has been no end of 'bear baiting' on here .

I'd like to see Jared given another chance next year. Tina was very poor in the launch show group dance but improved a fair bit during her time on the show after being paired with Jared. I agree that the Rumba training looked good and I really enjoyed their charleston. I think had they not been given the task of an AT on Halloween theemed week they may have gone furthur. I also enjoyed watching him in the pro dances.

well not really - I mean Pamela was one of the oldest and she got through to the last three

ann widdecombe didn't even bother trying - they definitely need to weed people like her out

My thoughts entirely! Fiona Philips, Kate Garraway, Julian Clary and Chris Parker MAY have been crap dancers but at least THEY TRIED!!!

JJ

I never saw 71 degrees North so I can't judge Gavin from that, though I know a lot of people thought he was an arrogant idiot on it.

But at the start of SCD he seemed like a bit of an arse, but I quickly realised he was just joking.
I don't get how anyone can still think comments like "I don't know why I'm not as good as the others guys are, I'm better looking" or (the week when he unfairly beat Scott by a point) "Scott's the worst and I'm second best" are actually serious

Him and Scott were close and Scott always teased him about his dancing, and Gav admitted several times that he knew he wasn't as good as Matt or Scott but of course he wanted to be.

With the Pros, I really warmed to James.
I love Aliona too, she is a sweetie In fact, Brendan and Vincent aside, I think most of the pros are lovely.

I couldn't remember Natalie being so softly spoken though

Forgot to add, I am intrigued by Pam talking about fantasies about James

What did she say?