Oh that's so sweet & sad. He is a lovely man

Favourite celeb this week - Patrick - he's a hard guy not to like.
Favourite celeb overall - I actually quite like most of them, so I have no real hard and fast favourites for probably the first year ever. It's a strange experience for me.
Favourite pro this week Karen - she had a crappy week but I just love her a lot and she did as good a job as she could with Dave, and never once lost the rag with him. Patience of a saint, tbh.
Favourite pro overall - I'm boring and love them all mostly. I'd probably go Robin or Artem, but I'm fickle as hell and it changes. I have a serious soft spot for Kevin and Karen, and I think Anya has been a great addition.
Least favourite celeb this week - Fiona
Least favourite celeb overall - Susannah - I love Kevin, and I find their partnership/routines good but I just find it so hard to warm to her.
Least favourite pro this week - Iveta - I have no idea what the hell she was thinking with that routine.
Least favourite pro overall - Anton. If you can't dance Latin, you probably shouldn't be on the show.
Favourite dance this week - Patrick & Anya's American Smooth
Least favourite dance this week - Mark & Iveta's rhumba
Favourite judge - Darcy
Least favourite judge - Bruno. I think he lacks tact and is needlessly cruel sometimes just to try and get a laugh, and without the constructive side of that which we get from Craig when he's going off on it,

Nice you read your likes and dislikes!

Hope to read even more!

Lovely thread! How nice to read early in the AM without nastiness.
Favourite celeb this week: Abbey's Charleston. I really enjoyed that but then, i'm a Fosse fan.
Favourite celeb overall: Hmmmm, it was Sophie but at the moment I'd have to say Ashley. I feel sorry for him as I think the judges are overly harsh on him and I get with tired of people saying he's in love with himself. In reality, he is just a ham of an actor wanting to get laughs for the camera. A dime a dozen in the biz.
Favourite pro this week: Anya. Loved her choreography.
Favourite pro overall: James. He always makes me laugh with his quips in the background and I like his arms
Least favourite celeb this week: Patrick. I think he was a bit overly confident on his dance.
Least favourite celeb overall: Ben. Not much personality and I got tired of the hugging the judges nonsense.
Least favourite pro this week: Iveta.
Least favourite pro overall: Usually the robotic Iveta who needs a good meal. But Janette equally annoys and I am hoping she doesn't stay on this year. I think her relationship with Alicjaz a bit odd. Way too old for him. Not really caring for any of the 3 new girl dancers. Hoping Natalie and Flavia come back.
Favourite dance this week: Ashley and Ola's
Least favourite dance this week Mark's rumba
Favourite judge: Always Craig
Least favourite judge Len - he's a grump

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That was gorgeous. Thanks. Great frock too (very Ginger). And to be fair, it was just orchestral version, so many may not have spotted. And I believe The Producers stage musical has run in Germany?

I'm still enjoying all the dancers for different reasons, some more than others, even if lots of routines had flaws. And though not a big Susannah fan, she knocked it out the park this week .

Just to keep some discussion going here: do you particularly like or dislike themed weeks? Do you think that producers are now picking songs for these themed weeks and it actually restrict how much the pros could do for their celebs and oftentimes the quality of the routines they produced suffered as a result?

I personally don't mind themes on the first half of the series, to 'have a bit of fun' in order to draw viewers in that way. But I don't really look forward to seeing them later in the series especially those potentially gimmicky ones like Halloween which I find can easily get OTT and overshadows the actual dances that the couples are performing.

Am I right to say there is going to be a Broadway Week coming soon? Well, that was one exception of the theme that I won't mind that much, even if presented in the second half of the series. Because Broadway/movies/musicals had many tracks that lend themselves to various ballroom styles that the pros could utilise.

I quite like the Hallowe'en one myself - I find it gives the series a bit of a lift it it's been dragging a bit, and I do like to see what Hair and Makeup manage to come up with.

I could have done without the 'love' week - didn't really seem much point to it and way to early to be messing around with 'themes'.

Tend to agree with you on the Broadway/Musicals week though - there are some good classy numbers which lend themselves to the Ballroom (can see some 'Fred and Ginger' moments coming on) and should be able to dig out some good Latin as well.

PS - nice to have this civilised thread back this year

I don't mind the themes but wish they would be a bit more imaginative. Bored with Halloween now. So let's have something more interesting

I'd agree, SCD-O. I don't mind themes if they don't get in the way of the dances and if they're not too gimmicky. But changing the format too often smacks of desperation - like they did with Dancing On Ice, in order to bring back viewers. In reality it just makes the viewers desert the programme in droves.

I'm not a regular viewer of Dancing With The Stars, but I believe they're guilty of over-egging the theme pudding - they did a classical week once, I believe, which must have meant shoe-horning the dances into inappropriate time signatures. Didn't they also introduce a theme week of schmaltzy stuff like 'songs that mean something special to me' or some such dross? I would hate for Strictly to go down that route. Halloween is just about bearable (she said grumpily) and I actively enjoy Hollywood or Musicals themes because the music works for dances, but no more than these, please.

Where have you been hiding alleycat??? *waves*

I just realised I answered my own question - in the alley of course!

I supposed if they emphasised too much of the theme, whatever they may be, thus style over substance, then people would get bored with it very quickly. Halloween theme lends itself to this problem most easily, I feel...

Been lurking as usual SCD-O and dipping my toes occasionally, but I keep well out of some of the shark-infested waters here otherwise I'd end up getting myself a ban

In terms of themes I did wonder about them coming up with a 'Classic' week, where the dances have to be to 'proper' dance music (ie The Blue Danube for instance for a Waltz and something from Carmen for a Paso) rather than shoe-horning the dances into comtemporary music.

Getting banned? Story of my life!

Some other themed weeks like, Jane Austen (ballroom) versus Jungle Book (latin) Week. Contestants doing dances either in loin cloths (latin) or dancing with those flowy Laura-Ashley-inspired dresses or cravats.

Not everyone thrives on getting themselves banned SCD-O...

So glad you are keeping clean...

I have therapies, thank you very much.

I like the Broadway theme which is good for dancing but don't like Love week or Halloween.

I like some aspects of theme weeks. The costumes and make up alone are usually worth tuning in for. I don't mind too much how they have to shoehorn in some dances/music to fit although i feel sorry for those pairs who have to make it work.

I don't like the over reliance on props which takes away from the dancing but the thing that really annoys me is the comedy VTs. They really wind me up for some bizarre reason

My favourite pro this series is definitely Kevin. I knew he was a great dancer - used to watch him compete - but love his cheeky personality which seems so natural - no false airs and graces!

My most disliked pro of this series is Iveta. Not her as a person you understand, she seems really lovely, but as a pro teacher. I feel she is letting Mark down with her gimmicks. Mark proved he could dance in the first few weeks, but she seems to be just making a clown of him with daft costumes and poor dances (Paso and Rumba).

Themed weeks? OK if they don't interfere with the dancing.

Same as with props. Maybe they should have a week where everyone has to use a given prop (like they do on Dancing on Ice) and ban them for every other week.

Favorite Pro - Robin, I know he gets criticized for his coreography but seems like such a decent bloke, dance wise it has to be Artem though and have to say I met him once and he was extremely likable and approachable too.

Favorite celeb - I'm loving Susanna, she's crept up on me. I usually like the best dancers but I also looked forward to Deborah's dances.

Favorite couple - Susanna and Kevin. They just seem to be loving it.

Favourite judge - Craig, but only just hanging in there. As someone said earlier (Pet?) I would like the Craig we see on ITT. His books are a very good read too.

Least favorite Pro - I like them all but if I had to name one I guess it would have to be Iveta. That said, I think her routines for Mark (barring this week) have been genius and she is teaching him to dance too, not just comedy.

Least Favorite Celeb - Fiona, I don't think she takes critisism as well as most of the others. Her commitment and effort is outstanding though and I applaud her for it.

Least favourite couple - Anton and Fiona of the ones left in. Just think its their time to go now. I would rather see Mark and Iveta last another week than them. I'm glad Anton has had someone willing to work and Fiona should be very proud of how far she has got.

Least favourite judge - Len, His marking is driving me barmy. On a positive note, he's len and you've got to like Len

I don't like theme weeks generally but Halloween would work if it wasn't cheapened by all the others.

Lovely to see so many nice posters - oldies and newbies - in one place. Thank you SCD-O for starting the thread.

I love themed weeks - when they are done well and it's been a while since I can say that. Wardrobe and Makeup almost always do a fantastic job, only to be let down by so many truly dreadful music choices.

I know a lot of people hate to compare SCD with DWTS, but when it comes to themed weeks DWTS wins hands down and could teach SCD a thing or two. In previous years that excuse could be different budgets, but this year costumes, hair and makeup for themed weeks have been amazing, so that excuse has disappeared.

If the producers would let the pros choose the music again, I think SCD theme weeks could be fabulous.

Then all we'd need is for some of the pros to stop bending (breaking!) the rules when it comes to their choreography LOL!

Missed this earlier. Aw...

Believe you me, they are not bizarre at all, because silly VTs wind me up too, simply because they are SILLY.

But in order to keep to the spirit of this thread, I do like sometimes to see how the celebs made the most of the silly VTs and you can see their little looks they gave each other as if to say "we'll make the most of this".

Hope to hear more views about theme weeks and don't stop sharing your likes and dislikes! Keep them coming!

I wonder how do people view the band, Dave Arch and the wonderful wonderful singers?

Sometimes I read in this forum with posters claiming that they murdered the song. But by and large, I thought they have done a great job. I can pick someone who's sings even a quarter of a tone off key (thus I don't watch XF for that very reason, it's like watching the Emperor's New Clothes), and I have to say the singers almost never sing out out tune. They may find songs out of their 'comfortable' singing range, by then you could hear them having to compromise by modifying the melody to accomodate their range or have two singers covering the two different ranges, which I don't blame them for (after all, they were given a wide repertoire to master, often only with a day's worth of rehearsal at best)...

Any thoughts?

Favourite Celeb this Week: Susanna (it’s not often that a Waltz makes me sit up and take notice, but this really did)
Favourite Pro this Week: Kevin (for choreographing the above, and being generally lovely!)
Favourite Celeb Overall: Natalie (until the weekend, I had been uncertain, but my disappointment at not seeing her dance sort-of indicated that she is my favourite celeb – her dancing is stunning)
Favourite Pro Overall: Natalie Lowe (I just love this woman – she’s warm, funny and a brilliant teacher and choreographer)
- Artem (if Natalie is not included, his choreography is fabulous and he’s quite easy on the eye!)
Least Favourite Celeb this Week: Dave (it had just got a bit tired and predictable for me, and I also suspect he’d started to go down the Lisa Riley ‘my public’ route)
Least Favourite Pro this Week: Iveta (I actually like Iveta and find her quite funny as a person, but her choreography was quite lazy and I’m getting a bit sick of the ‘hold the leg in the air’ move – we know you can do it!)
Least Favourite Celeb Overall: Ben (this was probably the hardest category for me – it’s not that I dislike Ben, just that I like him least of the lot - I find his dances boring and overmarked, and he does nothing for me lookswise)
Least Favourite Pro Overall: Ola (probably not a popular persepective, but I’ve never warmed to her and find her choreography dull)
Favourite Dance this Week: Susanna and Kevin’s
Least Favourite Dance this Week: Mark and Iveta (I actually voted for them, because I like Mark, but this dance was terrible – themes can only take you so far)
Favourite Judge: Bruno (very close between Craig and Bruno, but I still haven’t quite forgiven Craig for some of his marking last series and I am fond of Bruno’s exuberance)
Least Favourite Judge: Len (it’s actually got to the stage where I’m shouting at the TV over his marking)

Favourite celeb: Natalie, Patrick for dancing, Mark for personality

Favourite pro: Artem, Anya

Favourite couple this week: Patrick & Anya

Favourite judge: Craig for giving things to work on, Bruno for heart

Least favourite judge: This week, Len for being an absolute a*** to Mark. Not necessary and was mean.

Least favourite celeb: Fiona, Ashley

Least favourite pro: They all have their merits lol

Least favourite couple: Ashley and Ola