Yeah good advice, and I'm sure someone close to her will point out her "kay" and "yes" "yar" bits I'm sure (I hope anyway)!

I'm just thrilled we have a judge who knows about dancing.

She's giving positive comments

so it's a thumbs up from me

*remains to see if irritation sets in on the yeah's*

I know she is a fantastic ballet dancer, no argument there. But as a person who specialises in showing ponies I know that is world away from showjumping. And while i could give a very good show of knowing what I was talking about while looking at showjumping/eventing/dressage. I personally know that I would not know as much as the experts in that sphere, as they would not know about mine. I am presuming the same goes for dancing.[/quote]

This. As far as I'm aware, she doesn't have a background in ballroom. I know she's been trying other things since she retired from the Royal Ballet, but she's no ballroom expert. For all we know, her and Alesha's ballroom experience could be quite similar.

I watched a large amount of Strictly in mute tonight, except the dances. Partly because I found Bruce cringeworthy, the VT's tedious, the backstage stuff awful; but I also felt uncomfortable watching Darcy. She doesn't have ease of camera presence (yet). She sounded awkward. I felt embarrassed for her and it doesn't make comfortable viewing. But, she is just starting so hopefully she will find her stride soon.

I thought Darcey did pretty well - she stuck to what she knows about instead of pretending to be a ballroom expert like Craig and Bruno always do. But I still think we should have a ballroom expert on the show - and I mean a real expert like Karen instead of an elementary dance school teacher like Len. He shows his background every time he nitpicks about footwork.

I know she is a fantastic ballet dancer, no argument there. But as a person who specialises in showing ponies I know that is world away from showjumping. And while i could give a very good show of knowing what I was talking about while looking at showjumping/eventing/dressage. I personally know that I would not know as much as the experts in that sphere, as they would not know about mine. I am presuming the same goes for dancing.[/quote]


But she was being very careful not to make technical comments on the dances - she made very precise, relevant comments about posture, showmanship, and so on. The only technical comments - such as on Fern's leg extension - were generic, and could have been applied to any pertinent dance.

For what it's worth, I would have chosen Karen Hardy as Alesha's replacement - the only danger would have been that she would have risked upstaging or contradicting Len on the technical stuff, but I was actually reasonably impressed by Darcy.

Oh, and she wasn't saying yeah all the time. It was more like a yah....

i loved Brucie's dig at Aleesha LOL

yeah i have to admit they were very distracting not a good choice

i was gutted she did not have her sexy legs on show

"I commend yah for coming out and giving it a go. EIGHT!"

I would only wear Hot Pink Slit Sinbad Pants if I had the legs for it, and Victoria certainly has, they will be on show for everyone soon enough.

Darcy is a talented dancer but does not have a good tv persona, you need both to be a success on this show. The 'yeah? and 'k?' all the time is annoying, do hope she stops that.

I was so looking forward to her being on but this has got to me already. I'm switching off next week if she's still doing it.

I agree. And her marking was sensible too and reflected her comments.

I didnt notice the 'ya mmmk' thing until i read the boards on here. I thought she made a solid but steady start. I was impressed by her knowledge and her advice was precise and relevant, especially to Michael and Fern. They can at least take that away and work on it, unlike Nicky who found himself in the middle of a spat between Karen & Craig. I hope his confidence isnt knocked because he had nothing to do with the choreography.

I think the panel is really well balanced this year and Darcy adds to the mix in quite a constructive way.

DARCEY (please, can we get the spelling right ?) gave the right advice for the celebs. Something they can understand and work on. I thought she was spot on and she impressed me. I've always been impressed by Darcey but I was keeping an open mind about how she would perform on this show, and I think she surpassed my expectations which were anyway high.

The thing about Darcey's comments was that they were clear simple helpful advice for the celebs. And chosen on the basis of what she had just seen.
As opposed to Len's scripted comments that are prepared in advance and thrown in regardless.

I think she will do very well once she becomes more comfortable in front of the camera.

Totally agree. She gives very good advice in a very nice respectable way.

I totally agree with John's comment.

Good advice, but doesn't the constant 'yeah' 'yah' etc get on your nerves...
I find myself counting the number of times she says 'yeah/yah'!!!

Me too.

Someone told her about the 'ya's'

Great advice thou!

I thought that Darcey was much better tonight. We had a couple of Yeahs but her advice is sound.

Totally agree with you Cheryl423. I think she fits into the judging panel well bringing a refreshing opinion which is constructive. I loved the bit about wearing a fabulous necklace!

I thought overall she has shown a good knowledge - but I thought she was wrong about how a waltz should be conveyed - it is understated - camp and cheesy does not work for a watz

I think Darcy is a superb addition to the judging panel and to the show.