agree. I thought sssscccoottttt was a definiate finalist even though I didn't really like him

and who would have thought Mat dawson would beat Emma Bunton to the final?

I think it's interesting that all of my family started off wanting Jason to win and have been rapidly turned off him by his sooooo very serious demeanor when not performing coupled with the manic need to win.

oh and the gurning faces

Just have to wait till he's knocked off the top of the leaderboard and you'll start hearing him trying to 'have fun', and 'enjoying the whole experience' etc.. Can't wait.

I'm also waiting patiently, with fingers crossed, for him to be toppled.

I would not agree that he was "too good" - he is a good dancer, but he is not necessarily going to win. He has to be popular as well and judging by many comments that I have read, he is not as popular as several others?

Also I'm not sure what dance he was meant to be doing last Saturday as it was almost pure disco - not a ballroom or latin dance that I am aware of?

It's a difficult one because the basic concept is celebrities being taught to ballroom and latin dance by professionals. Having other types of dance experience may or may not be an advantage (e.g. good rhythm but inappropriate muscle memory?) as may performance experience of some kind (again, advantage adapting to live audience if you've theatre experience but fear factor if you've spent most of your time working on pre-recorded or audience-less studio material). I know Dan's comments on ITT weren't universally welcomed but I think might have been at least partly what he might have been getting at? The other thing you can't control of course is how fast or well celebrities learn and improve and this might have little or nothing to do with dance experience, e.g. Robbie and Alex have both been prasied by the judges in this regard.

I think you will have a very long wait, I can't see the voting viewers toppling Jason the lovable Aussie, I can see him however mounting his Strictly Come Dancing throne complete with crown.

Throne?
Crown??

Are we watching the same programme?

I thought it was just Terry's way of suggesting Jason's queeny.

Jason is no Scott Maslen. Scott was just too busy with his day job as well and it all got too much for him in the end. As far as I know, Jason's diary is relatively clear for the next few weeks. Another big plus is the fact that he's got a popular dancer. Most people (certainly everyone I know at least) want Kristina to do well and are enjoying the fact that she's finally got a chance (and a partner) to show what she is capable of. I'm loving her choreography so far.

Will they win? It's too soon to tell yet. Let's wait and see. However, Jason is rapidly becoming one of my favourites and as my favourites never win, I don't hold out much hope.

I know - when does it end?

Sorry, I think it does make sense..if the producers are aware beforehand that a particular contestant is streets ahead of everyone else.
Take the year Ray Quinn won Dancing On Ice, it ceased to be a contest from week one. While it was a joy to watch him skate throughout the remainder of the series, it was against the "spirit" of these sort of programmes.
Anyway, I don't believe we have that problem with Jason. As others have said, he's good, but not THAT good. So far, he's been out in front because of his obvious ability to "sell" some excellent routines..not because of his vastly superior technical ability. As the others gain the experience and confidence to actually perform rather than concentrating on technique, the gap will close.
I also think he's been over-marked, not in comparison to his opponents in this years show (he's justifiably out in front right now) but in comparison to marks given to some of the top dancers in previous series.
Jason may go on to win, but like the others, he'll have to up his game...it's far from a foregone conclusion.

I'd like to see Russell & Flavia win this year. They have formed a great partnership with real chemistry and the routines Flavia keeps coming up with have been a delight. Russell has thrown himself into it, has exactly the right attitude, dances with real joy and is very very decent dancer for a man of his size and shape.

But Ray Quinn had only been to an ice rink for an occasional treat like for his birthday and didn't even live near an ice rink. How could the producers know that he would be so good? Yes, he could roller blade, but even Chris Dean said that was a different skill to skating on ice and in fact had caused problems in training at the start. The 'problem' with someone like Ray, is he would probably be good at most things he turned his hand to trying, plus he was young (less fear) and very enthusiastic (up for anything). There are people like that, but when they are as young as Ray was when he did DOI, it's not always obvious. He was a Marmite contestant though and it was not a foregone conclusion he would win in the final. The public could have voted Donal MacIntyre (the underdog who came 2nd) or Jessica Taylor (very good and came 3rd) the winner.

I agree though this is not the 'problem' with Jason. Jason already has the experience of appearing in front of a live audience, but he is having to work hard to produce the technical level he is at now and that's a long way from perfect according to the judges and Karen Hardy on ITT.

At the moment the judges are nagging all the celebs about their technique and if Jason doesn't work on his, then he might get to the final, but not win in the end.

I love watching Russell & Flavia, but I can honestly say that if he wins I will be gutted. He is having a ball, but for me his standard of dancing is not going to reach a high enough level to be the winner. I'm not saying the best dancer should win, just that I would like a better dancer than Russell to win.

Really ?..I didn't know that about Ray Quinn. He was incredible from the start, and before the end of the series he was performing moves that were previously only seen from top professionals !

I'm not sure about Jason. I do think he's probably the best dancer at this stage, but I'm not sure if he will stay that way. Sometimes those who start at the top of the leaderboard can take one almighty tumble if they have a "bad" week, whereas someone who is only "so-so" may well be forgiven a bad week and given another chance.

Also, however he is dancing now, he still needs to show improvement each week - Austin Healey was way above everyone else in the first few weeks of his series, but eventually seemed to plateau out. Voters will often be far more impressed by sometime like Rob Savage, for example, who was pretty dire in week 1, but is gradually improving.

Time will tell of course!

I hope not. I can accept Jason not winning but if Robbie Savage wins well, for me, it'll be worse that Chris Hollins winning. Can't stand him, I really can't.

.
Jason will probably win for four reasons;

1) He and Lulu are the big names this year and will be gently treated by the judges,

2) He has acting and dancing experience,

3) He's in it to win it so puts in the practise, and

4) He has a huge fan base of all ages.

Hurrah! I'm not alone in disliking Robbie!

Now there's two of you! You can make ickle banners and ickle voodoo dolls!

Neither am I

I believe that Jason will work hard to perfect his techniques. He looks like that sort that will give it his best shot at everything he puts his mind to. Only if we could see him enjoying it a little more. He's so intense during training, and yet the way he speaks, I don't know, is so 'laid-back', there is something incongruous there somewhere.

Ironically, Harry looks intense when he's trying to get his steps right (learning his technique, though there isn't much jive technique to be had last Saturday), and he's quite laid back when he speaks, but yet I don't feel anything 'out of joint' with him.

Isn't that strange?

I don't think it's inevitable. Besides, there is still plenty of the competition to get through with plenty of time for ups and downs to still occur.

Jason winning would only be ineveitable if he was the stand alone good dancer, which he isn't. Harry, Holly and Chelsee are good too, and the good news is that all four of those dancers still have plenty of improvement to make. So, maybe wait until at least halfway to three quarters way through before saying what will be inevitable or not . Also, with Chris Hollins winning Strictly, it's very possible that not even then best dancer will win this year anyway.

Ah - but if Twitter and Facebook followers are any indication of the size of fanbase then Jason has a far, far smaller one than some of the other celebs.

I don't think Jason is running the show or has it in the bag. He may be top with the judges but it doesn't mean that he is getting the most viewer votes.
I think the celeb who has more of a 'journey' will win - and I would bet on Harry or Robbie as I think a male will win this year. Chelsee would be my bet for one of the girls