Just for fun, which celeb and which pro dancer from 2013 would you have paired together and why?

Personally, I would have liked to see:

Deborah & Anton (their mutual love of SCD would be a delight to behold)
Sophie & Kevin (his fun, giddy personality would be an interesting contrast to Sophie’s cool sophisticated style)
Ben & Ola (to see who wears less every week - though Iveta's challenging Ola in the catsuit stakes)

As a reminder, these are the official pairings from 2013:

Abbey & Aljaz
Ashley & Ola
Ben & Kristina
Dave & Karen
Deborah & Robin
Fiona & Anton
Julien & Janette
Mark & Iveta
Natalie & Artem
Patrick & Anya
Rachel & Pasha
Sophie & Brendan
Susanna & Kevin
Tony & Aliona
Vanessa & James

Whether serious or silly, all suggestions are welcome

This is very interesting - thank you. I like your suggestions, though on the whole the official pairings seem to work pretty well. I wouldn't really want to prise Kevin away from Susannah, but perhaps Anton deserves a chance with a possible semi finalist if not a winner after his partners of recent years, and Susannah would fit the bill. Fiona is sweet but I can't see her lasting much longer. Looking forward to reading other replies. I have often wondered what criteria the BBC employs when choosing partnerships.

This may sound cheesy but I wouldn't change anything . I think that TPTB got it right with all the pairings this year .

I love Kristina but I would have been interested to see what Natalie could have done with Ben. But Kristina and Ben work well together now so I guess it's all good .

Ben and Natalie would be wonderful!

I'd probably have swapped Robin & Pasha, so Robin had Rachel and Deborah had Pasha.

I think Rachel needed a real nurturer to extract the best of her potential, and Robin has form with turning the perceived "ugly ducklings" (in dance terms) into some approximation of a swan.

I also think ballsy and self-confident Deborah would have been a better match for Pasha- who not only has never choreographed for an older woman on the show, but also would probably have avoided any Table-based maladies in the Viennese Waltz.

I wouldn't want a potential semi finalist or finalist contestant chances being wasted on Anton because I don't think that he would fulfill the potential of that contestant. Sorry if this sounds harsh but he deserves the partners that he gets imo. And his Latin is cringeworthy and awful . His ballroom is also a bit overrated imo.

I like this idea - I sometimes got the impression that Pasha was a little frustrated with Rachel at times

I like this idea. Rachel probably would have got something closer to the Strictly experience she was expecting/hoping for had she been partnered with Robin.

Deleted. Duplicate post.

Artem and Sophie. She needs a hot blooded Russian to melt that cool exterior.

Ben and Natalie Lowe. She wouldn't just dance around him and happily settlle for praise and high scores for his "hotness".

Ashley and more training hours would have been wonderful

Ben and Korky would be even better: I just know it.

However, yes, a lot of us thought before the pairings were announced that Ben would logically be put with Natalie as the two tallest, but then Fate intervened.....

Abbey & Aljaz - i think it works

Ashley & Ola - Anya I think she is really talented teacher and choreographer.

Ben & Kristina - Natalie Lowe, although I do think Kristina is doing a good job, but the height difference

Dave & Karen - they kind of worked.

Deborah & Robin - ditto. I miss her.

Fiona & Anton - ditto. I would not miss her.

Julien & Janette - kristina. I do think he was hard done by Janette, but I am not too sad as I never liked him that much.

Mark & Iveta - i like this partnership, she is bonkers but I like that you just dont know what to expect.

Natalie & Artem - not 100% about the partnership, I love both of them separately but I feel a lack of pure joy and fun when dancing. They obviously love dancing, but their perfectionism/professionalism takes over a bit too much. Saying that, not sure who else could have partnered with Natalie and do her talent her justice.

Patrick & Anya - Natalie or Aliona, I think someone taller. Anya is doing a good job but I dont like the height difference.

Rachel & Pasha - Brendan, so that he wouldnt be in the competition anymore. I dont like him much.

Sophie & Brendan - Artem or Alijaz. Love her, but Brendan is stopping me from supporting them as a couple. (But I wont be too sad if they won on account of her.)

Susanna & Kevin - not my favourite couple but I think they suit each other very well.

Tony & Aliona - Janette (because she seems the weakest choreographer/teacher, though I think she is a very good dancer)

Vanessa & James - Pasha, just to see him deal with a older non dancer. As much as Rachel is not a dancer, she is young, fit and gorgeous so there was a lot there could be done.