This came up on another thread regarding Vicky Ogden, she seems like a really nice person, yet has been partnered with than her fair share of duffers. She also seems to be a good skater.

Brianne on the other hand usually gets the more talented celebs, as does Daniel.

Maybe because Brianne is willing to do anything to win (showmance).

Think they pick Brianne to work with who the show thinks the best male because they know she would sell her soul to get headline for the show.

I bet Brianne will get another good skater next year & there will be lots of telling us how Brianne woz robbed last year.

And I bet if Sylvian Longchambon takes part next year he'll get another pretty youngish celeb and the focus will be on 'are they, aren't they.'

I just hope if Vicky Ogden and Mark Hanretty are back next year - they're both given a chance with decent celebs, I think they deserve a chance to shine.

It would be nice to see Robin, Jenna and Olga back next year too.

Totally agree with both of these points. They will need to pave the way for her to get her win again next year.

Since Vicky is mentioned I'll go with her I wonder if the reason she gets I'm not going to go with duffers as such but lets say the less able is AFAIK Vicky has been a solo skater rather than pairs, dance or adagio. I could be wrong but I don't ever recall seeing mention of her skating with partners anywhere.

Generally Vicky has mostly done solo stuff on the tour with her fire acts and although she has obviously paired up with other pros for pro routines I don't recall seeing her do any of the big tricks.

It could be that Vicky is maybe not as able to do the big lifts and tricks of the girls who are trained as pairs skaters so rather than perhaps limit a better male pro who is able to do these things they give her to the ones who are not as up to it but can manage some of the easier/smaller lifts and make them look good.

I do like Vicky and would like to see her do well and I could be completely wrong and it is just a theory but may also explain part of how the pairings work. It is also maybe based on what the pro is capable of as much as the celeb.

Vicky's fire act is amazing. She does hoola-hoop with fire.

Brianne is a smoker. Both Sam and Matt are smokers. I wonder if they pair up smokers with smokers so that they can stand each other and go and have a fag together when needed.

Agreed. Sady I don't think Olga will be back next year. Imperial Ice Stars are doing a Nutcracker On Ice show in November near me & Olga told me on twitter that she was performing in that. November is usually when the pros & celebs start training together so that will rule her out.

Don't know what the people who decide who patners whom see in Brianne but its not what we see. Some people always get a good partner while others always or more often than not get duffers. That's probably why some of them leave.

she's single and up for being passed around for the latest showmance

personally I find her skatting too harsh and aggressive and she totally overacts

To me Brianna Is a poor mans Frankie. Frankie was fast and could pull the aggressive moves when needed but she did them she more fluidity, substance and style. Something I think Brianna try to pull of but a lot of the time she looks coarse and severe when trying to.

Exactly Topaz and there is nothing wrong with the pros really, its the judges that have spoilt the show for me sadly my friend.

Am back posting by the way.

Maria had a good run in intially (top three placings), then two years out on week 1. She could have gone far with Shayne but it was his misfortune to be in the skate off with Matt - against some of the others Shayne would have been saved In fact he should have been because Matt stumbled

my take on things - Vicky is a better teacher than Brianne so she gets the less talented celebs and actually teaches them to skate

I dont really rate Brianne as a teacher so maybe they give her the celebs who can actually skate and therefore dont need teaching

Not really fair IMO - I would love to see what Vicky could do with a celeb who could skate - fingers crossed she gets one so we can find out

Aww that's a shame - I didn't watch the first series when she was with Barrowman although I've seen clips of it on youtube and I gather they had a shock exit. I know Keith was good and her friendly, warm partnership made him even more enjoyable to watch, but it would have been good to see what she could do with a talented younger celeb. I suppose DOI is just a bit of fun though and the show you mentioned is more of a serious challenge for her. Good luck to Olga and I hope all goes well for her future.


Hi Tall Paul It's nice to see you back posting on the SCD and DOI forums.

Yes the judges have really spoilt this series. It was unbelievable the way they reacted to Beth and Dan's victory Such an insult to all the hard work they put in. I'd suggest the producers should have a word with them but sadly I think they were complicit in trying to manipulate the public to vote for Matt and Brianne. Luckily it backfired

I think it's time Brianne got a dud to see how well she can actually work with them. It's all fine when there is natural ability there, give her someone like Joe and I'm not sure how long she would last.
I agree with OP its time Vicky got a good one and Mark Hanretty too.
Dan got stuck with Kerry Katona remember, I'm not his biggest fan but I think he genuinely likes people and knows how to get their personal best out of them.

This basically. Her habit of having showmances with her celeb partners brings in headlines for the show. I'd love to see her get an older male Joe Pasquele type next year, but she'll get another young hunk mark my words. The same goes for Sylvain, he'll get another young and sexy female.

Dan has a had a few good ones, but also had a few duds like KK and Coleen. Matt tends to get a lot of good partners as well.

The thing I like about Strictly is that bar Anton. who always gets the token older lady, the pros get a much fairer selection of partners.

Based on that post could it theefore be argued that whoever decides who gets who is maybe being unfaair

Edit - Dan did not get Coleen - though maybe he should have had Coleen - It was Stuart Widdall who got Coleen

I said in this thread before perhaps it is down to the pro's ability i.e using Vicky as an example as I think she is primarily a soloist as I have never seen anything about her skating as a pair and perhaps is not as able to do all the "big" tricks and from the shows perspective if they have capable celebs they want a capable pro and I do not mean any disrespect to Vicky by that remark as I do like her. I just don't think she is used to doing all the pairs/dance lifts tricks if you get my drift. I know I'm probably not explaining it that well.

If they have a pro who is not as confident in doing those things then they may not be as able to adapt if something goes wrong. Just a thought i.e if a lift was starting to go wrong experienced pairs pros know how to adapt Vicky for example wouldn't be able to adapt as quickly and could end up injured.

That could be why she seems to get the "duffers" they are able to do the simple lifts etc. I don't think its they don't want her to do well its maybe working within her limitations as well as the celebs. Whereas I guess someone like Brianne who is experienced gets the celebs that are capable of the big tricks.

Pairings I think are pretty much decided by T&D so they maybe look at what the pro skaters are capable of as well as what the celebs are capable of as well as the usual stuff like heights personalities etc.

The thing is Brianne has done very well for partners - and couldn't Matt have been given to someone who had not done so well, and Brianne could have been given someone like Joe

My point is though you may have a celeb who is capable of big lifts like Matt or of doing tricks well like Beth but what if the pro you pair them with isn't as such?

Fair enough Matt could have been paired with say Olga or someone else but if the pro doesn't have sufficient experience in say lifts then it is not going to work. You have to be careful that the pro is experienced enough to be able to make everything work properly. If they are not "show" skaters or proper pairs skaters then doing some of the stuff may be trickier. Using Mark as well as he is another people complain about being hard done by. I believe he has only done ice dance and I don't take anything away from him for that as I love watching proper ice dance but I don't know if Mark has actually performed in shows as such to have the experience of doing "adagio" type stuff which again might explain why he has been paired with who he has been paired with. When you look at the celebs Mark has been paired with they have been more suited to his style perhaps and that is the reason for the pairings.

I admit Brianne should/could potentially be paired with someone of a lesser ability but I don't think she would do the show if that happened especially given the stroppy temper tantrums she has had over coming second can you honestly imagine how she would be if she got voted out early?

I could be completely wrong but I think the pro's ability is one of the deciding factors and whereas yes you can easily give a duff to one of the better pros it risks leaving perhaps less able/experienced pros trying to work with celebs who want to try risky moves.

I think Tiggergirl's post about the professionals and their different skating backgrounds possibly being a reason for who seemingly gets 'duds' and who doesn't is really interesting. It could well be a possibility. I suppose you could say like two footballers, all understand the game but have varying levels of ability and may play divisions apart.
Although if that were the case shouldn't pros of similar abilities and backgrounds be hired to even the playing field so to speak?

Probably size as well fitting pros to female celebs? . A big tall hunking male pro is going to be needed for taller heavier females if they are going to do much. On the other hand, the top girls have all been 4-11 to 5-3 ,but need someone tall enough, as well as skilled enough, to use that in lifts. The people in the middle of the size and capability range may just end up with someone who fits their capability. There's also the geographic question which dictates for some who gets whom, and a possible coincidence that a lot of northern and northern based female actors seem to have done a lot of dancing and are the ideal size.

If that is the case isn't the show better off without her

It wouldn't be the end of the world IMO if she didn't reappear on our screens anytime soon.

I think there are a lot of pro skaters out there equally the same standard as her or bring back some of the other pros from previous years, obviously it would be good to see Nina come back but even others like Florentine or I would to see Brooke or Molly come back and get another shot at it.