And every year we get a very similar range of celebrities just as widely varying in ability.

Denise worked really hard last year, but got off on the wrong note at the start regarding her ability. Having said that, no matter who was in the competition the winner was a foregone conclusion from very early on. Same as the previous year.

What I am rapidly coming to believe is people are unhappy because there is no obvious winner. Yes Natalie is head and shoulders above the rest in ability, but she has not captured the support. There again no one else really has either.

I don't know her Corrie Character as I don't watch Corrie but I can't take to her. I don't dislike her either, she just doesn't resonate with me, same with Ashley.

Her dancing is beautiful, loved her Rhumba but usually I prefer to watch Sophie, Abbey and Mark. I would like to see all of them really improve.

I think we're all overlooking Natalie's real journey this year.

By the time the final comes around, Natalie will have triumphed over the one thing that she has REALLY been fighting against this whole series.

Her epic hair.

Gosh, no.
I like an open field.

I really think it could be any of Sophie, Abbey, Susanna, Ashley, Natalie or (a very outside bet) Ben. I really have no clue.

It's actually quite interesting!

Did what to who? What does a stage school brat look like?

Natalie won't be in the Bottom Two
And even if she was, she will always be saved

So why not put her into the Final? It's not a competition when you're so far ahead.

that's artem's (sufferance) journey no?

On a journey...... she's hardly left the drive

I find her boring to watch because to my untrained eye she is already the finished article.

Will make the final but won't get the public vote so won't ultimately lift the glitterball

I do get the argument from the viewers who prefer to watch someone start from zero and then improve even if I'd prefer to see the whole range of abilities on the show. But what's Ben's journey? Or Susanna's? Dave's?

Rachel, arguably, had a mini journey (from cringey paso to passable VW) and she got the boot. Guess it wasn't the right kind of journey ...Deborah was definitely on the sort of journey that seems to meet all the approved criteria () and she got the heave ho.....



Personally, I do see things Natalie needs to work on. They might not bludgeon me across the face like Dave's ...er... 'challenges' do, but I don't see the finished article yet, so there's enough to keep me interested in her (aside from also just enjoying seeing some great routines from her and Artem).

Natalie might win, she might not. I don't think it matters either way, does it?

I enjoy watching someone who can actually dance. Spellbinding. Surely she has no ballroom training? Smug? Never noticed. Keep dancing Natalie x

^^^^ This right here. ^^^^

Ben's journey is from a man who can't dance to a topless man who can't dance.

Completely agree.

I find it hard to warm to Natalie or Artem - there is a smugness about them that is unappealing. They know they are good together and all this false modesty is really a pointless smokescreen.

Combine this with the knowledge that she was a very, very accomplished dancer in her youth with lots of training and experience - and it is not hard to see why there are a considerable number of people who are not keen on her as a contestant.

I think the producers made a mistake in inviting someone so strong to be part of the show. It robs it of a real sense of competition.

It is clear, as others have said, that even if she were to come in the bottom two, she would be saved. Which again deprives the viewers of any uncertainty

There is only one way she won't get to the final and that is through injury

As for winning - well that is another matter. The public don't like being told who to vote for. And so I can easily see her being beaten to the Glitterball by someone else.

I must admit that I tune out during her dances - I don't find her particularly watchable. All in all, it has not been a particularly strong year for the show.

Made me laugh

I agree with almost everything you've written.

She's too good, too polished, too professional, too over confident, and that's why she should not have been asked to take part (or agreed to join).

At the moment many are voting for favourites who are not particularly good dancers so she does not need to rely on the popular vote because she up at the top of the board. As the others improve and number drop then she might start to need the public vote. I have noticed the Mail ran a feature about her being dance trained and probably other tabloids have had similar ones so could count against her.

When I talk to friends & family about SCD I get lots of likes & loves for different celebs but everyone says Natalie she's good but I don't like because...various reasons....

I wonder how many times you yourself have turned down something you really like which has been offered to you. I also wonder if you would turn down the chance of earning if you were in an uncertain profession.

What is the destination in Strictly, aside from trying to reach the final. Pesonal achievement, personal improvements, personal enjoyment etc. I'm sure she'd say she's yet to fill her tank with these 3 elements just yet.

So... Natalie is too good, Ashley is too busy, Patrick too dull, Ben too undressed, Dave too bad.., fussy lot aren't we!

Natalie's had a journey - from someone I'd never heard of to someone I love to watch dance, and would like to have a night out with as she comes across to me as being a right laugh!
(I'd love a night in with Patrick but that's off topic!! Hehehe!!)

Well said, I couldn't agree more!

I wouldn't say brat but I get what the poster meant. She does scream stage school. Others may be stage school too but it's not so obvious.

I agree with all of this.

Journey's are tricksy things on this show. They often seem to depend less on consistent improvement than on getting the right dance at the right time. Sophie could have got an entirely different storyline if her Latin dances had gone jive, cha cha cha, samba, Charleston. And I agree - there are things for Natalie to work on and she has already improved from weeks 1 and 2 (her hip action is better in the samba than it was in either the cha cha cha or the rumba; her topline is better in her VW than it was in Waltz or Quickstep and there was less gapping when she was in hold).

I'm also not sure that Natalie is the most highly trained dancer ever to be on Strictly. Kelly Brook also did 3 years at Italia Conti and specialised in dance (where Natalie did her degree in Acting and Musical Theatre). We discussed Denise's past experience ad nauseum last year. Ali Bastian and Dani Harmer were stage school kids. Jill Halfpenny went to a dance school for 3 years. *shrug* It's happened a lot. It just so happens that Natalie came out and said it in week 1. I respect her for it, frankly, same as I respected Dani last year for saying straight out that she had done other styles of dance before but not ballroom.

Who is the winner of Strictly anyway? Is it the best dancer? Because I don't think it necessary is. The best dancer has frequently lost in the past. With any luck she will be there 'til the end for those of us who are in this mostly for the dancing. Doesn't mean we couldn't get another Darren Gough/ Chris Hollins type winner.

Natalie might have faired better if she was in with some other dancer/s of her level or at least nearer to it like say Denise Van Outen. She might not have stood out so much and it would seem a little more fair. As it is she is so far advanced of everyone else it is a bit like the others are the support act whilst she sails into the final.

Her previous training is like the elephant in the room as far as the judges are concerned, that which must not been even alluded to.