I think Matt had so much potential, probably one of the best male dancers they have had (seriously better than some of the male dancers who have won!). I think with a different dancer, like Lilia or Natalie or Ola, he would have done so so much better - his show dance with one of these girls would have been amazing. I hope that in the Xmas special he gets a chance to dance with someone else - I bet it would have the wow factor!

I would keep him with Aliona.

I liked what she tried to do, and on reviewing the show dance, it is exceptionally good in parts.

I'm sorry they didn't win, although, Kara was a deserving winner in her own right.

I think the argument that he would have won with another pro is spurious - I think him not winning had as much to do with him as with Aliona

How could he have done 'so much better' than 2nd place? There was only one dancer above him!

I get really angry that all the blame seems to be laid on Aliona for him finishing 2nd. Yes, I hated her showdance choreography, but I hated Artem's as well, and Aliona has created some beautiful dances this series and worked incredibly hard. Just because Len doesn't like a style doesn't make it rubbish, as Kara's AS also proved! There 2 dancers in the partnership, and it's no shame to finish 2nd to someone as good as Kara.

I wouldn't put Matt with anyone other than Aliona, and I doubt he'd dance with anyone else either. He's dancing with her on tour.

And the Christmas special is different celebs, not this series' finalists. Matt will dance with Aliona in the group number.

Erin, Natalie, Karen (if she were still dancing) or Orla would have all been better partners imo.

I would have liked to see how it would have worked if Gavin had Aliona, Scott with Katya and Matt with Natalie. Obviously we will never know now! I think he and Katya did very well and imo it wouldn't matter who he was partnered with because Kara was a better dancer (again imo)

Which female dancer would you pair Matt with?

Aliona Vilani.

/\ /\ /\ This

The few people blaming her choreography for Matt not winning are just as ridiculous as the people blaming the judges for Kara winning.

Matt and Aliona worked well together. I don't think changing partners would affect how good a dancer is at all. Matt is a good dancer. End of.

Nicole Cutler - she would allow him to be himself, shown at his best. She might even backflip alongside Matt

I don't think Matt ever reached his full potential and I think a lot of that is down to the choreography and music choices which are down to Aliona rather than him. It is the luck of the draw who gets which pro and some are much smarter in their music choices and better in their choreographical skills than others. Out of the female pro's I think Natalie is the one who excels at these things most of the time so I suspect he would have done better with her. I don't know that he would necessarily have won as Kara and Artem were brilliant but it might have made it even closer than it was and I suspect he would have had a much better showdance.

Lilia, Natalie. Anyone really other than Aliona.

Natalie or Katya - both excellent teachers & choreographers.

Can we please get rid of Aliona for next year - she really lets her partners down.

Matt is a traditional man & I think he would really have blossomed with Natalie or Lilia who would have embraced his character & used it to their advantage whereas Aliona seemed to try to change Matt to suit her.
IMO a good pro bends to suit the celeb not the celeb bending to the pro.

This is as daft as saying which female pro would have got Scott further than fourth...or Jimi toward the end of the series?

Aliona was fine, it is what it is, she got hin to second place and they should both feel proud of that achievement.

Yep, she let Matt down. He only came 2nd
Rav was awful. She couldn't change that. I honestly think Matt wouldn't have fared better with anyone else, and I like Aliona.

From the female pros that were on Strictly this year I think I would have put him with Natalie. I dont think he reached his full potential and I personally think he might have been unstoppable with her.

Agree, Lilia would have made a fantastic partnership with Matt.

Matt came second buoyed by the predominantly female voters. That has no bearing on what a better pro like Natalie or Lilia could have done with him - he could have won, nor the fact that Aliona's choreography is dire.

People voted for him because he is a good dancer. Some people just complain too much I get that you don't like her choreo but to blame it all on her is unfair, as is stating judges bias as the reason Kara won.

I like Aliona's choregraphy.

And if Matt had been paired with Natalie, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd exited in the semi's like Scott.

I would probably personally have preferred Erin or Natalie with Matt in terms of choreography, but you have to wonder in terms of public perception of him. One of the negatives that the antis have given is that they thought Matt was too competitive. Not exactly something that would have been tempered with either of those two.

I think Matt was unlucky to have been up against such a great dancer as Kara. I'm not going to blame Aliona. I think in some ways Matt quite enjoyed doing something a little bit different.

And your proof for that is? I'm a female voter and I voted for Kara and Pamela!

And it is not a fact that Aliona's choreography is dire, it is in your opinion, not a fact in the sense that 'Kara won Strictly series 8' is a fact.

Nor is it a fact that Lilia and Natalie are 'better' pros - 'better' is inherently subjective.

Scott looked like the winner to me early on, so why would Natalie have done any better with Matt.

I think Scott may have got to the final with Aliona.