It was reported that Richard Madeley was scheduled to appear in Series 8 but had to pull out, so was replaced by Matt Baker.

Is this true?

If so - who was his Pro going to be ?

If it was Aliona - then negative posts about her getting 2 good celebs on the bounce might be a little uncharitable.
(If you assume Matt Baker would be considered a better dancing prospect then RM)
However if RM was supposed to be with someone else and then things got "shuffled" to have Aliona paired with Matt - then maybe she is due a "duffer" next series.

richard bit was true - obv not sure about who he was due to be with - but there were some questionable height arrangements that series

IIRC Matt was a very late replacement - I think Richard pulled out the day before they were due to start training or some time into training.

Richard was 6ft 2 whereas Matt was about 5ft 10 or 5ft 11. I wonder if RM was meant to actually be with Natalie and after he pulled out they shuffled the pairings - Scott would have been the new tallest male at 6ft.

peter shilton was 6ft 2- so why did erin get saddled with him when she isn't the tallest female

Because she gets all the sport stars lol think there's only been 2 or 3 series where she hasn't had a sportsperson. I can remember series 2 with Julian Clary and series 9 with Rory - but she's had Martin Offiah, Colin Jackson, Austin Healey, Peter Shilton, Peter Schmeichel for definite in that time.

True but why wasn't Natalie given the tallest ma as she is the tallest female - or that is me being too logical and sensible

Since when did logic and sense have any bearing on Strictly pairings

*if* the above is true, I guess it would have depended who Aliona's original partner was and how many pairings they had to switch. It's all speculation at the end of the day though - no-one knows for sure.

so i shouldn't apply to join the bbc production team for that - as i am too sensible
Julie - did you get my PM

I'd love to see Richard and Judy on Strictly. Would be great comedy.

Exactly - she was (sort of) given the tallest guy last series in Audley, and RM would have been the tallest in s8. Ricky W was the tallest guy in her debut series as well at 6ft 2, so I do think she would have had RM.

Just checked some of the other guys from series 8 - Matt was 5ft 10, and Scott and Gavin were both 6ft. I don't think RM would have been with Aliona, so I wonder if it was meant to be her with Scott?

Why did Richard have to leave? I'd like to see him take part as he's a good sport although I think he has two left feet and wouldn't last long.

I thought the worst pairing was Artem and Holly. The height was a difficulty but the main problem was their bodies didn't match. Holly's shoulders and waist were all higher than Artem's and most of the time they looked a bit clumsy.

I agree I mentioned it on another thread - not to mention the difference in their personalities - along with Lulu and Brendan - it has to be one of the worst pairings in SCD history and for what - so the producers could generate some phoney headlines/publicity Lulu should have been with Artem and Brendan with Holly!

So right! And as a big fan of Brendan's I was especially miffed. Have seen him on tour twice and he is wonderful. He comperes, sings, chats - and he's good at all of it. Audience were eating out of his hand.

Ah-men to that, I seem to remember once making a passing reference to the sentiments that you express here, I still wake up in a cold sweat sometimes with Lulu's plight bearing down heavily on my mind.

Like most people I find the twittering of Richard Medley to be quite irritating, but also like most people I would love to see the charming Judy take part in Strictly Come Dancing, Judy is warm and lovely like an enchanted bunny and also the undisputed Queen of the wardrobe malfunction.