It's a shame that the Championships are relegated to the red button, but at least it seems to be on for a good chunk of this evening. If anyone doesn't know, if you have a freeview recorder, go to channel 301 in your guide to set it to record in advance.

I also think it's a shame that some people in the skating community have a thing against Dancing on Ice. I wouldn't expect them to claim DOI is the same as top-notch competition skating, but it's pretty much the only coverage of ice skating on UK tv, and it's a great introduction to the sport, as well as a good, fun light entertainment show. I expect it will be doing a lot to encourage kids onto the rinks, and a hell of a lot more than the dismal coverage of the elite side of things.

I wonder if the BBC really want to promote the championships, or if they have just stuck it on the red button out of some obligation for showing sports other than football. They've done little to promote it, and as a more casual skating fan, I'd never have known it was on if it weren't for my interest in DOI and reading this forum. Couldn't they have got Robin on BBC Breakfast to talk about his involvement (as well as DOI). It would be good for both the BBC and ITV. Apologies if this happened and I missed it!

Does anyone know if there is likely to be a highlights show over the next few days? Possibly a segment on the BBC News channel.

the only problem is having to put up with sue barker - she knows nothing about skating

It was disappointing that none of the couples skated clean. And there were some some really bizarre errors like falling out of spins.

Personally, I enjoyed watching the Italian pair and French pair the most (even if they weren't delivering the same level of difficulty as the Russians). But that's just from a viewing perspective.

By the way, if you can't access the red button, then you can watch at TVCatchup.com which is effectively Freeview online

no- one turned in that spellbinding performance. I was actually a little underwhelmed with the third russian couple- their presentation left a little to be desired, and i felt there wasn't a natural flow in their programme- no refinement.

barker very gushy over everyone- robin for more honest and realistic- memo to beeb - just leave it all to robin - he knows what he is talking about

BBC2 Sunday January 29th January from 1pm until 2.30pm...

Brilliant - thanks.

I can't stand listening to Sue Barker, not only does she seem to know very little about skating but she always talks in a really clichéd way. And Robin, as much as he knows his stuff, I find a little dull when commentating.

That's why I always prefer Eurosport's coverage - Chris Howarth and Nicky Slater are much more enjoyable to listen to.

I'm never that fussed about pairs but I did enjoy Trankov/Volosozhar at the end. Nice for Maxim to finally get the gold at Euros.

Yes, I was a bit disappointed, if Aliona and Robin has skated, they would probably have won

I thought Jason Thompson was unlucky to miss out on getting through to the free programme, I think by about 0.2 points. Apart from that, i really enjoyed it and sitting next to 3 ecstatic Russion women really upped the atmosphere, especially when they got the 1-2-3.

Main disappointment so far (apart from the abysmal catering) was Prince Edward who couldn't even be bothered to stay a few minutes longer to see the British Ice Dancers. Typical of the minor royals really, only in it for themselves.

Ten hours watching is very tiring though.

Grrr. I forgot to watch.

Is there any kind of catchup show?

Russian stream for the Ladies short which has just started: http://www.hahasport.com/v-2/14/186/v-358781.html

Time schedules: http://www.isuresults.com/results/ec2012/index.htm

Oh and if anyone's missed any of the events this person seems to be uploading everything on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/NikaQuest

Thanks Hamster, you're a star

Really enjoyed the ladies short programme, very tight at the top. The French girl, Yrétha Silété, stood out for me though (that she used an iconic piece of music probably helped). I'll be rooting for her in the free skate.

Nice to see Viktoria Volchkova coaching. Anyone know what Irina Slutskeya is up to these days? Really miss her.

It was good wasn't it. Nice to see all the top ladies hitting their jumps for a change, should make for a good free.

Looking forward to the ice dance tonight. Barely any points difference between 1st and 2nd, personally I always love watching Nathalie and Fabian. The Brits are doing great in 4th too.

It has just started - and Penny and Nick will be last to skate tonight.

Barker is completely out of her depth here- saying the second couple made one error- Robin corrected her saying they made several errors

What is Barker doing on this when she hasn't got a clue what she is talking about

After complaining that the BBC were hiding away the coverage, Robin, and the Kerrs were interviewed rink-side on this morning's BBC Breakfast show. It was a bit of a general chat about the competition being in the UK, and a little bit about the UK's chances, rather than any genuine coverage of the competition. I don't think they even played any clips from this year's competitors - just an old clip of Robin doing his jumps!

Sue is rubbish. I get that any live broadcast needs a proper tv presenter, who is experienced at live tv, and not even all tv presenters can handle that, never mind skating experts. However, Sue is essentially a sporting personality that became a tv personality, so I don't see why they couldn't try harder to find someone with tv presenting skills who also knows a bit about skating. They don't need to have as much expertise as Robin - that is what he's there for, but if the BBC see fit to employ tennis players as presenters, they could give it a whirl.

It is probably more about contracts, and the BBC already employing Sue, and not wanting to employ someone especially for the occasion. If DOI were on the BBC you'd bet they'd have one of their own doing both.

British duo coming up now - and they can snatch bronze

The Brits did us so proud, they seemed to thrive on skating at home. It would have been so easy for them to crumble under the pressure. Have the Kerrs retired?

I thought the French were deserving winners, they performed a thrilling routine. I also thought the couple representing Azerbaijan were very entertaining.

I understand what you guys are saying about Sue. Even though she seems genuinely passionate about figure skating/ice dancing, her commentary is largely irrelevant. Don't mind her presenting in the studio, but leave the commentary to the expert(s). There were odd moments where you could tell Robin was getting slightly irritated with her!

The Kerrs have indeed retired. I miss them but it's good to see Penny and Nicholas doing well in their absence.

Loved Nathalie and Fabian. I was so glad they ended up winning in the end. I wonder if they can finally get bronze at Worlds this year. I also enjoyed the Italians (even though no La Strada will ever compare to Daisuke Takahashi's for me) and thought it was a pity they so narrowly missed out on 3rd place. The top Russian couple don't do much for me.

Nor me, or any of the Russian couples for that matter. A bit on the dull side. I do like watching "classic" ice dancing (as Sue would say!) but in order to compensate for the lack of flashy & original choreography it has to be that bit more polished and refined and I really need to feel a connection between the couple and with them.

Shame about the Kerrs. At their best, they could have won a medal tonight.

I thought there was a bit of tension too! But I think it might have gone both ways. I think Sue was thinking like a tv presenter and wanted to fill the gaps with speaking, and so was wittering away, and trying to get Robin to speak more, while Robin was thinking like an expert, and didn't want to speak unless he had something to say!

There is validity to both points of view, and I suppose that's why both of them were needed, but perhaps the producer should have talked them both through what was expected of them.

Being on the red button makes it all a bit strange, because it isn't a proper tv programme. There isn't any "back to the studio" moments, and it is all ill-defined. Most stuff of this nature on the red button is badly produced, and done on the cheap, and perhaps we should be grateful they are bothering at all, but it wouldn't have been that difficult to show a few pre-prepared highlights from earlier in the day during the breaks.

I'm enjoying watching this. It's interesting to compare it to Dancing on Ice. I don't think I've ever seen a contestant on DOI doing a spin (maybe Chris Fountain?) so that must be quite difficult.

I have really enjoyed the red button coverage, it makes a change for the BBC to make time for Ice skating.
Its so nice to have two British couples competing, both are young and have several more years on the Ice dance circuit to move into the top flight, they really did us proud last night and I loved both of their performances.
Nathalie and Fabian were very worthy winners on the night!

So, am sat rinkside halfway through the men's free at present. Voronov in lead (don't know loads about competitors but I'm guessing he had a disaster in the short programme and should've been a lot further up the leaderboard than he was.)

My favourites today have been an Austrian called Pfeiffer and Kim Lucine from Monaco, who definitely got the biggest crowd reaction.

Still a lot of falls - Voronov managed to get 135 after coming a cropper.

Best yet to come though - updates in a couple of hours

Tell me about it! Just sat through 15 minutes of nothingness. But the next group have taken to the ice now, including Joubert, yay


Hey LL! *waves*

Hope you're having a good time. I'm excited about the Spanish guy. I've never seen him skate before. It's been a couple of year's since I've properly watched Figure Skating so am getting used to all the new names and faces on the circuit.

P.S. - Can you try and get me Brian Joubert's phone number