Her ballroom dance was very nice but she really didn't deserve all 7's (especially from Craig) for the Latin as it honestly wasn't that good!

I fear that like last year every effort will be made to keep some contestants in, no matter how they perform, because Brian May being in the audience etc.

And 'he's agreed' to re-record one of his hits just for Strictly? Hah!

To be fair, I think Anita's costume detracted from her dancing. It was awful!!


She looked like Minnie Mouse, with her frou frou skirt and two little thin legs sticking out from it. She would have looked so much better in a sexy, longer Latin dress.

BBC costume take note.

I thought she was over marked last night. She looked ridiculous and her performance was not all that. TBH I felt embarassed for her.

Hasn't taken long - (1 dance!!) - for the tide to start turning against "Team Dobbin".

I'm still supporting them, I just wish the costume department had been a little kinder to her.

As a person Anita comes across as completely lovely but I wasn't impressed by last night. Too frenetic, a stage-school grinning performance that compensated for some very unflattering dancing in a very unflattering outfit. Please, please, please don't let her be La Stephenson all over again: I started out liking her but it rapidly turned to loathing ...

I was completely confounded by that mark last night. It looked stiff and twee to me. Compare that to the mark of Nancy who tried harder, but got more wrong and you'll see the judges have picked their favourites.

I like anita but did think the dance was over marked

Wow, I disagree wholeheartedly, now you are trying to say Craig is 'overmarking' favourites also? Get over yourselves, that was a great Salsa, definitely worth 7's but nothing more. She is such a ball of energy, and seems so lovely, she's so wonderful! Definitely a great person, and one to watch! I dance Salsa, and this wasn't perfect, but I do believe 7's are fair, for gods sake even Craig gave her a 7 for it, so that should prove. Full of energy, definitely a good Salsa!

How did Nancy try harder than Anita ??? She was all over the place

I agree that Anita's salsa wasn't the best and her costume was dire but I fail to see why the judges marking of her dance and her costume should be reasons to turn against her. She admitted she was annoyed with herself and looked a tad embarrassed by the positive comments to be honest. I think she will come back strong and justify my support of her.

Agree!

Awful costume and dancing not great. She must have a contract that says criticism isn't allowed.Hopefully she will be better next week or it will look like favouritism.She's better at ballroom IMO

Hi, I'm new here this year and this is my first post! I really like Anita and Robin but I was a bit surprised they scored as well as they did last night. For me, their salsa just wasn't as good as their waltz but ended up with the same mark. But then I do think that having to wear that Bertie Bassett outfit must have had an effect on her dancing....

I thought the costume was quirky and cute and spot on for the dance they did - it would be so wrong if the costume people tried to make her look sexy in the latin routines and she is such a good character actress that she can get away with quirky in my view

To put it mildly, I was not one of Dr Pammy's biggest fans, so I would be very sorry if Anita were seen as the new Pamela. There are superficial similarities (older woman with famous husband) and the BBC is doing her no favours by constantly harping on about Brian May. He isn't dancing: she is.

Thankfully, there are major differences. Dr Pammy got my goat for her insincere gushing and enormous ego; her personality put me off big time. Her dancing was good, but not that good, since James kept the steps simple and threw in a lot of props. She certainly thought she was better than she actually was, and her article for the Guardian after the series made it clear she felt she should have won. Have you guessed that I didn't like her?

Anita seems genuinely to enjoy dancing and I love her partnership with Robin. She appeared cross with herself last night and a bit baffled by her scores; I think she was expecting to be criticised more than she was. The costume, though garish (under-statement), went with the music and the dance, so bravo to her for agreeing to be Bertie Bassett (good call, jgivvy!).

Let's see how she progresses (if she doesn't get eliminated).

I agree. Her mark last week was well deserved, but I can't see how even her keenest fan could justify her marks for this week's Salsa. It was all a bit of a mess.
In the long run, accusations of favouritism will damage her chances..a pity because I like her.

Agree with comments about her salsa not being as good as her waltz. It was stiff and slightly uncomfortable, not helped by the costume. Still love the partnership, though, and hope they do very well in the competition.

i love anita but last nights dance wasnt at all good and she looked very nervous even when being interviewed. she just needs to 'let go' and just enjoy herself a bit more and the dancing will probably just come naturally.

Only at a superficial level, in that they're both of a certain age and have both been overmarked. I think Pamela was a better dancer, but I don't have to mute the tv when Anita's on. To be honest, there's nothing wrong with not being the best dancer and if a celebrity is overmarked then it's not really their fault either. Dislike for Pamela was down to her personality, I don't think that will be an issue for Anita.

Anita's Salsa was much worse than Pamela's. I thought she was very overmarked.

I like Anita but thought that was overmarked. While it was fun, and she performed it she missed some steps, and always looked quite shaky on her feet. I think when you look at the difference between that & Chelsee's salsa it should be so much more than one mark.

Exactly. Ignore what the other judges marked her and look at what Craig gave her. He marks according to what he sees and what technical and specific skills have been demonstrated.
Anita's salsa was of medium difficulty and, with the exception of the hand slip where she failed to grab Robin's hand properly, most of the steps were performed adequately.



While I disagree with your impression of Pamela, I do agree with your other points about the BBC doing Anita a disservice simply because she's married to Brian May.

However, Anita demonstrates, for me, what SCD is about - a celebrity being taken out of their comfort zone to learn a new skill and showing how much they are loving the opportunity.

I agree. Chelsee was a bit out of control at times, but her Salsa was much better. Anita danced in a very weak way. I think she only scored so highly because of her costume and the choreography, which isn't really fair.

I'd go along with all of that

I think it's too soon to be labeling anyone as judge's pet. The panel were generous with quite a few of the celebrities last night (Anita included). Only Chelsee and Harry's marked properly reflected their dances in my opinion.