... if Vincent has Nancy (both Italians) and Anton has Edwina (he had experience with the other Tory Ann)?

Or maybe would it improve matters if Edwina is with butt-chest Artem, and Holly, maybe with a taller pro, like Brendan, or will Brendan turned Holly into another Lisa Snowdon?

What do you folks think? Of all the pairings, which one do you think would have worked better if they have different partners?

Harry is clearly nervous around Aliona. I'd like to see him paired with Pasha.

Paired with Pasha?

I actually think Chelsee and Pasha pairing works quite well!

And Harry was a good influence to Aliona (yeah, not the other way round) because he's hard-working and appeared obedient and patient with Aliona. Their foxtrot was good last Sat, and I really hope Aliona listens to the judges and correct his posture.

Another odd couple that works for me is Russell and Flavia. At first I thought Flav drew a short straw, but not any more.

You're the one that brought up man-on man in the non-app thread yesterday.

so very many of them

Bloody Lulu is a hobbit and pairing her with Brendan was just daft - she would have worked much better with someone like short like Vincent. She'd have probably found him easier to get on with

Harry could have done with a less terrifying pro. Aliona I think needs sonmeone who gives as good as he gets and harry just looks bewildered. Ola would have been better or Flavia - though i do like Robbie with Ola and Russel with Flavia so not sure how that would work...

I don't know who you could have inflicted Nancy on and got anything better I have to say. Possible someone who was prepared to humour and flatter her - maybe Robin but again I love his partnership with Anita so...

so in summary, I'm not help at all

It was a wrong expression I used, gosh I am not going to get away from this now, will I...

Y'know, I am not proud about this silly Pasha thing going, but I think I just have to ride it out and hope it goes away eventually. Used to think it was impossible for a straight person to fancy someone of the same gender, but I am willing to concede defeat now... What more can I say?

It comes down to the visuals for me. I'm distracted by Holly appearing huge next to Artem (and I know she isn't) it makes her seem heavy-footed somehow. Lulu and Brendan look daft together because of the height thing. I wonder whether the ptb try to trade off popularity vs perceived unpopularity when making the pairs? I'd rather they just stuck to the visuals first.

I thought Lulu would be everyone's nightmare. Not sure if she will get the 'Vincent' joke, because she's so up herself and might take Vincent's banter quite seriously.

I like the following pairing:

* Robbie and Ola
* Russell and Flavia
* Chelsee and Pasha
edit to add: Anita and Robin

The rest I am not sure. Though, having said that, I think Kristina's pairing with cardboard personality Jason was a good one. She either got someone with character but can't dance or the other way round. Karma, I supposed... Or maybe Kristina would do better with Harry and Jason with Aliona. I don't know... *getting confused*

I think the only way Edwina might have stayed in longer (unless she had turned out to be a fabulous dancer and therefore scored higher with judges) would have been with Anton.

The only pairings that really don't work for me based on appearance are Holly & Artem and Lulu & Brendan - could they have been swapped over? Although I think you are right - if Brendan had been with Holly there was the danger of another Bacofoil incident. With the male celebs, I think they are about right - although Ola is a lot shorter than Robbie their pairing works. Maybe Harry & Jason could have swapped, but I'm not sure Jason with Aliona would have been a good thing

I do wonder how the partnerships are picked - I think next year all the names should go in a hat and then for the launch show the pros each pick a name out - would save all the 'fix' arguments!

I think that is not only because he is such a hoot, but that SHE is making the pairsome absolutely adorable - she is so smiley and genuine and lovely. She just seems to be enjoying the fun which is very contagious. Might have been a different emphais with a "talented" dance partner.

That's right.

She's so relaxed and happy with Russell. And the best thing is, she actually managed to teach Russell how to dance, now that's a feat in itself, no? The audience picked up that their pairing was the genuine article and responded accordingly. The slow-mo segment in the results show just illustrated how well they worked together, it was one of the best SCD moments for me.

Flavia is one of my all time favourite pros. Her pairing with Jimi last year was good, shame they didn't last longer in the show...

Agreed she seems to be enjoying herself a lot more than she did with Craig Kelly - it's probably the first partnership that's really gelled for her where she hasn't ended up dating the bloke afterwards. I felt a bit sorry for her when she got him but he's looks like he's working hard and having the time of his life and it's utterly infectious even my mum whose tolerance for the 'fun' contestants is pretty low thinks he's great fun to watch. My brother's s.o pointed that he wasn't the worst technically by any means as well - as well as making the rountines fun - Flavia appears to have actually taught Russell how to do a few steps well as well.

Both of these I totally agree with.

I know Im slightly biased as a huge fan of Flavia but in my opinion Flavia makes this partnership. She is just so chilled and going with the flow and having such a FUN time (in a different way she had fun with Jimi - and still is). I think working with Teddy Kempner on Midnight Tango over the last few months has taught Flavia a lot about working with a guy like Russell and they are perfect together. Flav is so chilled and going with the flow where Russell is concerned that Im not sure any of the other pros could have done this. Im usually very sceptical with anything relating to astrology and the stars but maybe Russell is right, they are compatible working together in a way that others (eg Katya and definitely Aliona) would never have been.

Although if given the chance, Im sure Flavia would have jumped at the chance to dance with Harry (and Im sure they could have won), I really think Flavia being paired with either Jason or Robbie for instance would not have "worked" (in the same way Ola or Kristina will do).

And just think what we would be getting if Russell and Aliona had been paired together - ....

I totally agree - and it's lovely to see Kristina having someone good to work with for a change (no one was owed a ringer more than Kristina). I think Flavia could actually have got more out of Harry than Ailona is doing as well but I love her with Russell - they won't win but they are enjoying themselves.

Ola is a great deal smarter than the blonde and boob watchers realise. Sure Artem presented Kara at her best, but Kara was outstanding material to start with. Ola took Kevin Logan thru 9 weeks, even the rigid Andrew Castle thru 5 weeks. With Chris Hollins she endeared her partner and their partnership to the public, surprising all to win the glitterball.

On Saturday using a colourful umbrella with echoes of Gene Kelly, Ola extended the attractive limbs of Robbie and showed off his athletic grace, blending his masculinity with colour and romance.

Ola adjusts her own style to suit each different partner showing him at his best, unlike Aliona who always shows the same persona. With the brains of Ola supporting him I believe Robbie is now rightly a contender for the glitterball.

Your quite wrong Lulu is very down to earth and kind to her fans, she would be able to dance so much better had she not been paired with the ultimate poser that is Brenden.
I agree with you that Kristina's pairing with Jason is electric but your description of Jason is also quite wrong, he is a very dynamic performer as his repeated stage success demonstrates.

I think the following pairings are wrong

Holly and Artem....she is taller than him in heels and they dont seem to be connecting.
Lulu and Brendan...she is far too small for him
Harry and Aliona.....He is terrified of her.
Edwina and Vincent....but she would have been wrong with anyone.

Nancy and Anton deserve each other.

Wow, so eloquently put! *claps*

I still don't think Robbie is a finalist material, at least not yet. His latin is still a little wonky. Having said that Chris was terrible in his latin (except his rumba, strangely) and he won, against all odds.

Lisa was slightly taller than Brendan that didn't stop them producing some really good routines together. I know I am in the minority, I actually thought Lisa's cha-cha with Brendon was one of their best numbers.

I agree about Lulu and Brendon, but I am not sure how Lulu would cope with other male pros. Maybe James would tame her?

Can't understand why people said Harry was terrified of Aliona. Is that the vibe people get?

As for Edwina, I know she's a difficult nut to crack, but I actually think Anton, with his experience with Ann, another tough nut, would work.

Not sure if you mean it a good way when you say Nancy and Anton deserve each other.

I also love Flavia, and nearly cried when she got Russell, but her natural talent clearly means she can work with just about anyone and get the best out of them, even if, like the examples given of Jason and Robbie, it wouldn't have worked as well as they work with Kristina and Ola, or with Russell.
That said- Russell just makes it easy for her to enjoy her dancing, training and routines! You always work best when you're enjoying yourself- so I think Russell is having a magnificent effect on her.

Contrastingly, if Russell had been with Aliona, he would have gone this week instead of Edwina- and Harry's natural talent would have been tapped into with Flavia, and as such would have been borderline 40/40, (or at least have toppled Jason from the top) Simples.

I would say you are quite wrong about Robbie, he is most definitely finalist material, I'm quite surprised that I am warming to him as he was not one of my favourites before the show started, I really do think he could go all the way.

Flavia did well with Matt di Angelo and they would have won if not because Alesha and Matt was SO good together.

Hypothetically, I would think Flavia would fly if given the 'second chance' to work with a young, agile and able male celeb again such as Harry, but we might then end up with a terrible 'joke' pairing and people laughing AT Russell, not WITH him. That would be cruel indeed...

I agree that Lisa and Brendan were fine together even though she was a bit too tall....there is a problem other than height with Holly and Artem and I havent quite worked it out yet....I dont know if its Artem being worried about getting too close to Holly and upsetting Kara (and I dont mean he is wanting another romance but he doesnt want rumours of one either) it might just be Holly not being confident but she is good but not as good as she could be yet.

I am only assuming that Harry is scared of Aliona because he seems awfully subdued to me unless thats what he is like anyway.

I think given a bit of time, Holly will be like Rachel Stevens, a little unsure at first performance wise, but absolute perfection (hopefully not at the expense of the performance) at the end dance-wise.

As for Harry, I think I know him. He's a lot like me, in the sense that I can be a little 'subdued' with a stranger, esp. one whom I see as an authority figure (which Aliona is, considering she's the 'teacher') but will go mental when hanging out with mates, doing the silliest things if given the chance. He's out of his comfort zone, that's all. I don't think he's afraid of Aliona. My take, of course...

I agree about what you said about Ola but saying that Robbie is finalist material after that dance is taking things a little too far.