Yes Chris seens like a nice guy. Unfortunately he has an illness that gives him bouts of vertigo, so that may preclude him from doing the show.

Yes we can all wish for a better calibre of celebs in the show - but the reality is I think there won't be - it'll be much like any other year with the good, the bad, the average or indifferent - some of those celebs will have huge fan bases - others not so big a following! Given the fact that Aliona has had enormous luck in partners for the past two years I think it's only fair that she is given a challenging celeb without a big fan base! Then it'll mean she'll have to think about the choreography more and tailor it to the celeb and what's going to appeal to the public AND judges.........if she tries what she did with Rav in the QS then it won't go down well.

Yes Len is often inconsistent but so are the other judges.......and just because he makes mistakes that doesn't mean he deserves the disregard that Aliona has sometimes shown him........some of the other pros who favour modern choreo manage to do so without without offending him so I don't see why she can't at least take into account his views and preferences!

I suppose if Sid Owen wasn't too short for her then he would be a viable partner choice.


I don't think they'd put her with a popular celeb this time (then again, I guess Matt and Rav weren't exactly "popular" as such)


She needs someone who has limited potential (kinda like Rav) but who has a body shape more suited to dancing. I suggested Ronnie O'Sullivan as out of the rumoured line-up so far, he'd probs be the best fit for her in terms of height, personality etc.



Someone like Mark Foster from S6 would give her a decent challenge.

Matt Baker did have a big fan base imo - he was popular from Blue Peter and Country file.

I wouldn't want her to get someone like Ronnie - I said it in a previous post he's in his 30s so relatively young and he's very successful at his sport.......so that means a big fan base - a successful sports man in his 30s could turn out to be like Ramps, Healey, Gough or Dawson Imo she shouldn't be given someone whose popularity she can ride on this year!

I'm thinking more of the "family" viewers - in terms of the younger demographic then yes Matt would be considered popular, but I think now a lot of people know him from The One Show, whereas when he started Strictly he'd only just taken over from Jason Manford. Maybe I should have said "well-known" rather than "popular".

Ronnie would still be the oldest partner she's had, and I doubt he'd have all that much of a fanbase - I watch snooker sometimes so I know who he is, but I don't think much of the usual Strictly demographic would know who he is. There isn't a clear duffer in the potential line-up so maybe it's best to give Aliona an MOR celeb now, see if she tones it down with them, and then give her the duffer next year.


In terms of the current potential line-up, then Ronnie would be the best fit. If an older, clear duffer comes in then I agree that Aliona should be first in line to have him, but at the moment there isn't so I'm just going on what we currently have.

If the leaks are accurate I would maybe think about putting Ronnie with Flavia - as I think Ronnie has Italian ancestory - I maybe wrong though.

Plus Ronnie's dark looks would look good with Flavia too- and 5ft 10 is a workable height for Flavia when you bring in the three inch heels

So maybe put Ola with Nicky (5ft 4 with 5ft 9)
Kristina with Sid (5ft 3 with 5ft 7)
Matt with Karen (5ft 10)with 5ft 5)
Michael with Erin (6ft 2 with 5ft 6)
and Chris Evans with Aliona (6ft with 5ft 5)

It all depends on the last guy they bring in Suzy until we find that out, then who knows?

Firstly we checked on google and it came out that Ronnie was 5 11 - I don't know if that's accurate or not but that was what was stated and I don't know if Ronnie has some Italian blood or ancestory - O'Sullivan dosen't really sound Italian to me but why pair him with Flavia just on the basis of being dark and having Italian ancestory and why do you keep insisting that only Ola and Kristina would suit Nicky just because they're fair and blond Ola getting Nicky would mean she'd have a high probability of winning again and given that she won just 3 years ago...it wouldn't seem very fair on the other pros to me.

TBH I think it's a bit boring matching always on the basis of like with like.......when Peter Schmeichel took part in SCD - the producers didn't partner him with Camilla because they're both fair, blond and Danish - they matched him with the then dark haired Erin and that was the pro he was best suited to IMO!
When the producers of DOI matched the dark Hayley Tamaddon - they paired her with the blond fair Daniel Whiston again both suited in looks and personality and one of the best partnerships ever on DOI!

And just to bring it around to Aliona and her future celeb partner - if a red haired celeb with Russian Kazakhstani ancestory is taking part in this years Strictly or any other nationality of red head - I don't neccesarily think they should be paired with her just on that basis

I can see your point Topaz - I guess a lot of me is hoping and trying to convince myself that the producers will play fair and allow other pros a chance to shine

I don't agree that Ola shouldn't have a contender on the basis that she's already won... in fact I would like to see Ola given a proper contender to see what choreography she can come up with for a truly gifted celeb, after all, Hollins was more of a middle of the road dancer whose success was partly down to viewers rebelling against the judges favourites after the snowdon scenario the year before.

If Ola still resorted to naff, distraction style choreography with a gifted dancer, then I agree that she shouldn't have one again.

While I agree that i'd like to see some of the more sidelined pros given a chance with a good dancer, I don't think that previous winners shouldn't be given a shot at winning again, otherwise what is the point of them returning at all?

I would agree with you...it's been a long time since we've seen Brendan with a contender and Vincent although hasn't ever won it's seems ages ago since the finals with Rachel - so I'd like to see those two with good partners.

I like Ola very much more as a personality than a dancer tbh but it was just frustration at the thought that Flavia has been sidelined for a long time now and why rule her out on the basis of her hair and skin colour for someone like Nicky who if he's taking part IMO would be perfectly suited to Flavia despite the contrasts in their looks - I personally think the contrasts in look would make that possible pairing look more interesting - in the same way Alesha looked great with Matt Cutler and the examples I mentioned earlier! If you look at Ola in the last few years she's won and she was given one of the biggest signings last year so although I'm not saying she should never get a contender and I agree with you I think it would be interesting to see what she could do with one, I really don't believe she should be in the front of the queue before Flavia!

If Aliona is to become a long serving pro I want her to wait a LONG time before she gets another contender!

BIB *whispers me too*

I would like Brendan to be given a contender this year too - I think if he had been paired with Holly it could have been a completely different story and he may have made it to the finals

V&F also deserve either MOR or contenders - Flavia a contender and Vincent a MOR celeb

Me too.

And I agree. I also thought that the contrast in looks between Hayley and Daniel on DOI added to their appeal - in that they didnt match them up predictably.

Also isnt one of the new producers the one who worked on that DOI series.... so there is hope that fairness might prevail?

Looking at the list of possible contestants out of all those mentioned so far I would like Aliona to be paired with Ronnie O'Sullivan. I think they could be an explosive combination as they both seem very strong minded and don't mind being controversial at times. I think Ronnie would be quite happy with some non conventional choreo as he is known for being a bit of a rebel in the snooker world just as Aliona can be a bit of a rebel in the ballroom.

They may hit it off and be a wonderful partnership or they may fall out in the first week and I think the unpredictability of the partnership could be fun for the viewers to watch

Sadly i think the only reason Hayley and Dan were paired together was geography...he always gets the Northern-based celeb....Gaynor Faye, Emily Symons, Linda Lusardi, Roxanne Pallett, Kerry Katona, Jennifer Ellison...see the trend?? Nothing to do with fair or looks, just plain old location.

I agree it was to do with geography and probably the fact he and Hayley were childhood friends had something to do with it as well.....but for whatever reason they were paired together - they still looked and worked great together - that was more the point I was trying to make and I noticed in your list that Daniel has had more dark haired partners than blondes and the two he won with were of dark hair

me I could tolerate all that close quarter stuff in training