agree - call me sceptical but I thought she was turning on the waterworks to gain sympathy, hardly a breakdown
if I were a toughie like Rachel who's been presenting various tv shows for five years (on top of many years of high-pressure academic excellence), the last thing i would do is burst into tears after a dance-off

Oh I don't blame her, people are different. It was just a spontaneous show of sadness, not a breakdown (that description in itself is slighty ott). I wouldn't be surpised if she hadn't even expected that reaction from herself and she might have felt embarassed afterwards on reflection (which she shouldn't have to, imo). I don't think she was the worst on the night and not the worst in the show, so she might just have felt an overwhelming sadness that she didn't get votes despite that. Anyway, she didn't behave in any way that was offensive, so I think some slack can be afforded. And plus she's stated she LOVES Strictly and that being on the show was an opportunity of a lifetime!

I would prob be sad too. I don't know if I'd cry, but you just don't know until you're in that room yourself and the lights are on and people are watching you and the pressure is poking and prodding at you to the very last second before cameras stop rolling.

I'm struggling to see how either of those things means you should not show a bit of emotion in an entirely different context?

They don't, but if you don't like her you're going to say that. I think being on Strictly, with all the training and being out your comfort zone, would make you slightly more emotional than doing Countdown. Plus she's not going to get voted off Countdown.

My ego would collapse.
All my efforts and people don't care enough to ensure they see me again?
I'd slink off after the show in a huff,find a traffic warden ticketing my car and give him a kicking.....
....and then be eliminated as I couldn't train until I make bail.

exactly - Gethin Jones anybody?

That is what i was thinking. She holds her own against the comedians on the 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown show. She is naturally quick witted. A reality show like Strictly is different.. The producers control the edit.

You mean Gethin's quickstep? His jive was content-poor.

I meant he got better as he got more confidence as time went on and would have won if it wasn't for the dance off.

oh and I loved Gethins jive!

He did half of it and he repeated the other half exactly as the first. That's cheating.

Only the Thunder and Lightening part - the rest was ace! - it was my favourite dance he did with Camilla!

There was a lot of faffing about but it was still a tough dance.

Neither Pasha nor Artem seem that good at choreographing for the mediocre. Design a routine that the celeb can actually DO.

I liked Alesha and Matt DA more than Gethin but I did enjoy his foxtrot (not without faults, but that was the 'ah, he has something there!' dance for me) and waltz. Salsa was a breakthrough dance for him as well and I liked it, but when I viewed it now, the judges were raving more his 'ability to finally let go' more than any real dance content (anyway salsa is a little less structured with not many basics to speak of to begin with).

It was hardly a meltdown - just Rachel getting a bit upset. I've read that her Mum is a big Strictly fan as well, so she probably felt like she's let her down as well as herself and Pasha. She really hasn't though! I really enjoyed that performance, it looked pretty challenging and I thought she pulled it off well. Hopefully she'll pick up more votes next week and someone really useless will go!

And it was that challenging content which seemed to save her as far as the judges were concerned.

I think she was good

A breakdown? A few tears...

You have to look at when those tears came too. While she had something useful to do she was resilient and straight-up -- talking to the judges about wanting to dance again, going through the dance itself. It was impressive in its kind given she felt responsible for the messy bits of the dance. Her tears came afterwards, after the dance and after the results. It was delayed, complex feeling rather than impractical (or pretend) histrionics. My guess is she expected to be out; felt she'd let down her partner; was overcome by the occasion; felt sympathy for the 2Js -- a mix of feelings that most of us would go through. The audience responded warmly to her. We're that kind of animal, most of us, and we can't help it; feeling leads to feeling. The 2Js stood up to the occasion well too. I can't see a way to fault anyone for their behaviour there.

Well said PM. I can't believe that some thought she looked like she was breaking down.

Perhaps that's what they wanted to see, eh?

Bit like some posts elsewhere asserting that Rachel has always had things come easily to her. Yeah - 'course. Piece of piss getting a 2:1 from Somerville......

Yeah, she's just wearing mini skirt and turning boxes etc.. All that puppy doe eye look, she must use this to get through EVERYTHING in life since babyhood...

You got it.

This makes life more interesting but also, at times, frustrating. If that was Rachel breaking down then she was very tidy about it.

Well, she's a mathematician - she would be, wouldn't she?

Hee, hee! Good point!

I was disappointed to see Rachel and Pasha in the dance off, especially as I thought the judges have been overly severe with her from the start. I didn't see any meltdown - just a bit of understandable regret that she didn't perform better. I was impressed by how she handled it all. Pasha has every reason to be proud of his partner.