I dont know if Lisa got marks based on her weight but I will say that expectation does seem to colour judgement .We expect less from for example and older dancer than a young springy one and so when the older dancer is good they get more praise than an equal performance by a younger one .

Same for a heavier person, we expect less so when they do a decent dance it gets high praise .A thin nimble dancer would be expected to do well and when they are not perfect they get criticised .
I have seen the older person get more praise for an ordinarly performance than a younger more supple one simpy because the expectation is less . You hear " WOW you got your leg up high there " to an older dancer , the same leg height gets no remark when raised by a younger one .
So Yes I do think weight or age can colour a judgement to be honest .

At least Len has discovered paddles under 6 though. I did do a double take at first but I re-watched it and the footwork was very good and she really did look it she was having the time of her life. I noticed the first time around the Craig had a huge smile on his face while watching the dance so in a rare moment he might have actually got carried away.

She will probably lose the weight as the series goes on though apart from Jessie Wallace most celebs do. I think this is terrific as someone who is overweight I think you are lucky if you can find a form of exercise which you really enjoy and are good at - Lisa appears to have done just that.

I'm still a fatty and I've discovered that people think they have carte blanche to be rude to you in public. That said I did wonder if Lisa was marked a tad high partly because her weight and partly to make sure she stays in the competition - however I will bow to those of superior dancing knowledge on the issue.

There were those who feared that Robin had been landed with a dud - some even suggested the producers had for some reason set him up to fail. Well, even if they had (which IMO is a tad far-fetched to say the least) it looks like they failed! And a great piece of reverse psychology on Lisa's part to distract the onlooker pre-show with the suggestion she was the merely the token tubby, so to speak. I bet she knew all along that she could shake her thang with the best of them...! She has rhythm, timing and presence in spades and is clearly picking up technique (it was Week 1 of the show, remember). I loved the choreography - the lift at the end and the bit where she ran her hands over his body and he shrugged were great fun. Robin looked almost ready to cry in the Tesspit, so happy did he seem at the reaction the routine got. It was great TV IMO.

Insofar as I saw, Lisa was the only contestant to step INTO the floor. She had great timing - even hitting off beats. She had the right hip action (because she stepped into the floor). So, technically, she was better than all the others (although far from perfect) because she had nailed the basic Latin technique and they hadn't.

On the performance level, we can all she gave it at least as much welly as everyone else and more than most.

So she should have been top of the leaderboard. Simples!

That said, maybe 8 was a tad too high since there was that obvious error with the missing steps about two-thirds of the way through.

I was really impressed by her and must admit to being grateful she's partnered with Robin. I can't help but think if she'd have been partnered with Anton (as many were forecasting) that the 'comedy' side of Lisa's personality would have taken priority.

I doubt we'd have seen the dance we saw last night and the show would have been the poorer for it.

By the way, I'm not Anton bashing - I really rate him as a dancer but he does seem to want to be the class clown and assumes his partners do too!

Go Lisa and Robin

I don't think Jerry is in Lisa's league dance wise but I do think that she overly posy routinue was at least partly Anton's fault - one judge stated that the small amount of ccc she did was good - I was no expert but I'd agree with that she needed to be given more to do.

For Craig to give an 8 it obviously means something and he wouldn't have done it out of sympathy because of her weight so I trust his judgement. Hers and Sid's dance made me so excited because it was unexpected and I was cheering to myself afterwards. I'm looking forward to seeing how Lisa now does with the ballroom - should be interesting. Her partnership with Robin seems great fun too - they could well make the final.

No she didn't, she got good marks because she did good, dont you think if she was rubbish, Craig would have been the 1st to say so. He holds no prisoners

Have to say I was surpised when Craig got his 8 paddle out - seemed odd that he marked higher than Len & Bruno. Will be interesting to see Lisa's ballroom which requires very different performance skills from what she did for the Cha Cha.

Spot on, far better second time around, not that it wasn't good the first time, she looked like she really enjoyed herself, goof for her.

I enjoyed her dance and agree that she had great energy, but there's no way she deserved an 8. Colin, Denise and Kimberley were all better than her and not one of them got a mark that high.

IIRC Craig said once he starts everyone off with 10 then removes points for mistakes based on how far along in the competition. Early on he marks down for not getting the basics right along with marking down for lack of effort, missed steps and will harshly cut marks for illegal moves (based on the professional being in control & knowing the rules).

Apart from a small fumble after the hip slap to the judges Lisa nailed the routine, had good basic cha cha technique and had bags of entertainment & energy. Clearly well in front of the majority on the night in all these respects.

Have you seen the poll? Lisa & Robin have 42% of the vote. Says it all really.

I thought she was bloody brilliant. So much fun to watch and she can actually dance!

Well summed up.
Lisa was terrific in every aspect.
If Victoria had put in that performance she would have been getting nines and so the answer to the original question is NO she didn't get good marks because of her size.

Watched Friday & Saturday's shows back after not being able to sleep last night & I'd say she was fairly marked but there were others who should have received higher scores. Not higher than Lisa but higher than their own scores.

I was pleasantly surprised at Lisa & she shows being big doesn't mean you can't be fit & a damn good dancer!
(says me the proud larger lady)

I loved her performance. Over marked or not, I thought she was rightly at the top of the leader board.

I used to think the same, but I am beginning to wonder if his partners are actually willing to break a sweat or they just want to be on telly and this is how to get there.

I thought Lisa was marked well because of Robin's superb choreography and how well she responded to it - she really gave it her all and got into the Strictly spirit, and I for one can't wait to see more from her! I hope that they go far, not least because it's high time that Robin got some recognition for all the work he puts into helping his partner be the very best they can; he comes across as the least selfish of all the pros, to me. His routines are about showcasing the celeb to the best of their abilities, unlike other pros I could name!

Well said! I absolutely love Robin, what a brilliant professional.

Agreed, as long as the order on the leaderboard is right, I don't really mind

As a self- confessed sarcastic b**** who rarely leaves the non-App thread....I loved it!

I admit to pre-judging Lisa and expected the routine to go down the comedy route, but wow...she was good.

Not cos of her size, or despite it.

Just good.

The bit near the beginning, side by side, perfectly in sync, she didn't check across to Robin.
She kept her head up and looked confident and happy.

My only gripe was she kept sticking her tongue out which is most probably her default "concentrating" expression. And War Drobe need to give her a big more support in the boob department.

Looking forward to seeing more dances from Lisa and Robin

I think it was the dance of the series so far..but totally agree about the 'sticking the tongue out/concentrating face' problem

Chris Hollins 'concentrating face' involved looking like he was sucking a lemon - poor guy admitted it was a problem early on but had to work hard to change it - I think when you're stressed your concentrating face can be quite a hard thing to shift.