Is it just me or do you think the celebs and skaters have been paired up really badly this year?:S eg .. nina and matt especially , shes not that likeable:L

I think they're pretty much fine - although Seb & Brianne could have been better I think.

How exactly is Nina 'not that likeable'? She may not be as 'known' to casual fans as say Brianne or Frankie but a good partner could easily change that - and I think that it will! She seems lovely, she's a fantastic skater and has a wealth of experience, plus she seems well liked by other skaters... what's not to like?

have you seen her twitter?:S i dunno maybe its just me , i just cant really take to her , maybe swap brianne and her around;L

Sure have - she has a rather bizarre sense of humour but I think that adds to her character! She was also great fun with Comedy Dave on the tour and at the Ice Party shows last year I thought.

If Brianne had got Matthew there would have been loads of complaints as well, as he's being tipped as a likely finalist.

With the exception of Lukasz being given Laila, I actually think the pairings are really good this year.

I got the impression Sebastien would've had trouble connecting with his partner whoever he got.

I agree with you about Sébastien and I hope he manages to improve his partnership skills because his biggest weakness at the moment. His skating is fine for this stage of the competition, it's his performance that he needs to work on.

As for Lukasz and Laila, I can't help but feel that anyone would have been a mismatch with Laila.

Like Tejas, I also don't see what's not to like about Nina. Don't forget that English isn't her first language so some of the things she says on twitter might come across as strange just because of language issues. As Tejas said, the pros all seem to like her and they know her a lot better than we can just from reading her tweets. She wasn't in DOI long enough last year for us to get to know her but it seems likely she'll be around longer this year, so give her a chance.

Nina's lovely and I'm glad she's got a good partner so hopefully more people can get to know her better. I wonder with some if it's her Russian accent as that can be a bit harsh. Having said that it doesn't seem to put people off Andrei & certainly not Artem or pasha on Strictly.

Have said elsewhere though that Lukasz really deserves a good partner next year & hope he's front of the queue for the top girls next series.

I disagree with you I think all the couples suit each other and I especially think Nina and Matt are well suited and I find Nina to be likeable and think she is one of best pros on dancing on ice so I am really pleased she was paired with Matt.

Maybe you are in the minority. They seem good to me, particularly Nina and Matt W, and Matt E and Jorgie!

I think they're paired better this year than last.

Funny how 'likeability' differs on who you ask. I like Nina but I really can't stand Brianne. I think Jodeyne should have been given one of the best male skaters though. I loved the work she did with Johnson last year but it certainly didn't give her a chance to show of her ability or flair.

I think they're paired better this year than last.

Funny how 'likeability' differs on who you ask. I like Nina but I really can't stand Brianne. I think Jodeyne should have been given one of the best male skaters though. I loved the work she did with Johnson last year but it certainly didn't give her a chance to show of her ability or flair.

DOI IMO dont have a good rotation of which pros get a goody etc

Dan and Matt barring 1 year each have had good skaters and contenders - and even in their bad years he had the media savvy Kerry Katona and Heather Mills.

I dunno, we can always swap people around to give our favourite pros more chance can't we? I think the pairings are actually pretty good this year - specially pleased that Sean, Jodeyne and Nina have ended up with what look to be solid partners.

I think if I could make one swap I'd have put Brianne with Sam and Alex with Sebastien, but only to give Alex more chance in the competition - TBH I think Sebastien and Sam's scores are likely to even out over time anyway.

Front of the queue next year for the girls is definitely Lukasz, followed closely by Mark Hanretty, with Dan at the back, chained in a straitjacket and gagged

Matt did a good job with the terrible Denise Welch last year as well, let's not forget

I agree that both of them should've had more duds than they've ended up with, but I also get the impression - possibly falsely - that while Dan might take it with a good grace, Matt probably wouldn't

Actually forgot about Denise... ok make that 2 duds for Matt then

its just a bit of a shame that other skaters get continually duds

Why wouldn't he? He and Denise are great friends aren't they? I doubt it bothers him who he gets, as he seems to make the best of it.

I don't think Dan has had particularly good skaters apart from Hayley but he has had mostly soap stars (especially Emmerdale) who would be well known to ITV audiences.

I bet TPTB didn't consider for a minute pairing up Dan or Matt with Laila though.

It's odd though with Lukasz as he has had 2 duds in a row (and Elen was never going to be liked either) yet he and Alex are clearly well thought of in some quarters as they did the tour before joining the TV show and have continued to do the tour since even last year when neither of them had a celebrity to skate with.

I'm jealous of some of these lovelies Dan gets to be paired with

Not sure Sean is the best match for Chemmy - he looks like her dad because he has no hair and she has masses of it.

Jorgie and matt are perfect together

Funnily enough this is the first time I've really liked Brianne. She was so-so with Kieron (I liked him) but she looked so worldly, it made him look so young and inexperienced - and she was downright freakish with Sam, he literally dwarfed her! - but she and Sebastien are well matched, I think, and she looks like she gets what he's about - I liked her comment about needing to learn his style.

They look a bit random and unbalanced. Lukacs looked small alongside Clare and has a tiny pro partner. He ended up with somone who looked the heaviest there. Matt struck gold with Jorgie as she looks lighter even than Suzanne and the height differential works well for him. Chemmy has someone who is big but still can't lift her overhead. Jennifer might need someone taller still to reach her potential..

I'm not sure any of the pros could lift Chemmy - maybe Andrei. That said her partner doesn't look the fittest. Heidi is tall-ish as well and not tiny like Jorgi.

Although to be fair some of the male skaters might well be better at lifts than other. Some are individual dancers, some are ice dancers (who generally don't lift) and some are pairs skaters and some are show skaters. I imagine the the pairs skaters and show skater would be better at lifting than the others. Matt and Andrei seems particularly good at the lifts

It's a pity they don't have Pavel anymore. He was about 6'3 wasn't he? As a result he always got paired with the tall girls (Jessica being the only decent one he got IIRC).

I guess they'd need to find a pro with a lot of upper-body strength if they're going to expect the tall girls to do high lifts.