Don't think so, peterstone. Maybe married life just suits her.

No just think she been eating too many cakes over the year LOL

Yes I noticed that as well.

I'm guessing you don't know many Israelis.

Katya ftw, anyway.

Sorry I was never keen on Katya's TV persona.
I'm not keen on Natalie's either & Karen (the new one) has not rocked my boat so far.
I'd like them to bring in a couple of young (in their 20's) dancers, they seem to bring a freshness to the show & have better, more up-to-date choreography (imo of course). I found the young ones in Dancing With The Stars were the most dynamic & great to watch.
Obvioulsy you need a balance for the more mature contestants but some of the pros are getting a tad too long in the tooth & boring for my taste (Anton, Erin & James to name some).
I'm not sure how old Karen, Natalie & Katya are but they look in their 30's, I'm going to look them up as I could be wrong...........

It was lovely to see Katya back

But Karen isn't a Brit or permanently living in the UK full time, is she? if she was here full time and regarded as British citizen (or awaiting citizenship) then the ethnic inclusion of her could hold a possibily of truth (on top of choosing her because of the main element of the dancing) but....., seeing as she's foreign, I don't see any other adgenda for the BBC wanting her on the show than just to represent as a dancer who is meant to have dancing credentials. If BBC wanted to include a dancer of a minority on the show in terms of nationality, then it would be British one ironically as they now seem to bethe minority. Btw, I don't care about the nationality of th Pros myself, I just want Pros that are of a high calibre and have something nice/exciting about them. As for Katya, I still don't get why Karen was deemed as a good replacement for her.

What does 'blackballed' mean? I love Katya, was sad she wasn't there this year

I don't have insider info, just know Lilia can be snooty and knows her own mind. There might be something in the thing about the producers wanting new blood who wouldn't answer back. God knows what she would said about dancing a Cha Cha Cha to 'Ghostbusters'.

I always really liked her and thought she would have done really well had she gotten a good partner, shame she was axed

I'll second this. Was lovely to see her back in the Christmas special.

I don't dislike her replacement, Karen, but Katya has a certain sparkle and stage presence and as someone mentioned, a real twinkle to her eye. She never had much chance with Phil Tufnell and I thought she did pretty well with Gavin Henson, so I just don't see what she did to get dropped. She's also achingly beautiful, which is the main reason I want her on my tv.

In fact if I had my way, it would just be the Flavia and Katya show.

With note to the OP, assuming Karen won't get axed, I can't see who I'd rather have Katya than. Maybe Aliona, would be good to see her with pro partner Pasha again.

With regards to the dance troupe, it works in America. They use them as the "next line of professionals" so you get to know them and see what they can do before they let loose with celebs. If they do well (Tristan McManus and Peta Murgatroyd were two who impressed) and you like them, they step up.
Also, they dance WITH the professionals, choreograph routines for them, and are brought in when they do trio dances, so they get far more recognition than the Series 8 troupe ever did. Maybe that's the way they should have done it.

It was, and if we can have Ian back on the main show too, I shall be a very happy lady !!