some interesting bits of gossip from Fiona's article in the Telegraph today which I couldn't find online

according to her,

Natalie had been struggling with her back injury and exhaustion 'due to a relentless and punishing 12 hours a day with a demanding Artem'

Susanna is one of the most ambitious people she has ever met and doesn't hide the fact that she wants to win

Abbey is 'truly delightful and funny' and has a strong work ethic

Mark enjoys a good whinge

Patrick is charming and funny and has been filming Casualty in Cardiff

Ashley is filming Hollyoaks everyday and trains from 7 pm to midnight with Ola but he picks up the steps really quickly

Ben is getting the votes from both the girls and the boys and 'could be the one to beat'

She wants Sophie to win but fears the public vote is going to be 'less stylish'

Lol no. Fiona said that she wants either Sophie or Abbey to win

Do you have a link OP?

i've reread the article that my friend handed me and she only says Sophie

i couldn't find it online that's why i thought it'll be interesting here

I did a search but no joy either.

She said on ITT that she adored Abbey and wanted Sophie to win.

You are probably right ; Maybe I read too much into this

Fiona Fullerton ‏@2FionaFullerton 17 Nov
Went to bed at 4am last nite after a fab show and still smiling! Thank you for the ride. Love you @OfficialClancy @SophieEB go for it.

Either way, she seems like a lovely and classy lady .

Anyways, she wrote a " strictly diary " for the telegraph so here is a link

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...rictly-on.html

I used to read her blog and she is incredibly honest in it ; I was a bit shocked lol

I'm not surprised by any of that.

I feel sorry for Natalie reading what Fiona has written. I know she was keeping a blog for a magazine I think. A link to it was posted by Pashulty but I forget where.

Thanks for the link. Her new piece isn't to be found though

The Telegraph tends to put items on its free online site some time after hard copy publication so if the article is in today's paper it may appear online late tonight or later.

Ahh thanks for that

I'm not surprised by anything she said tbh.

always good to get an insider's view

That's a nice piece. Fiona was much better than I expected her to be (probably because we've all become so accustomed to seeing Anton partnered with total no-hopers).
Not sure I entirely agree with her about Abbey and Sophie at the moment - though both have been recipients of my five free online votes. But one of the pleasures of this series for me is having so many free votes to dish out - and so many people worth giving them to.

Indeed.

"Natalie had been struggling with her back injury and exhaustion 'due to a relentless and punishing 12 hours a day with a demanding Artem' "

That is ridiculous !!

I sincerely doubt that they have been training for 12 hours a day. Working, maybe - including filming VTs, ITT and other media stuff. But training? No. Fiona isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I'd be surprised if this wasn't just a case of her getting the wrong end of the stick.

No need to be nasty.

I wouldn't be surprised if a Saturday is a 12 hour day, so maybe it comes from there? I mean she would see Natalie struggling with such a long day.

Wow that's a bit harsh. And given she was actually doing the series, I think she might have a better idea of what is going on than those of us posting on internet boards!

I absolutely love the idea of Mark enjoying a good whinge.

I am reminded of Cassandra, Hector's sister in Homer's Iliad, who was cursed always to prophesy the truth and never to be beleved

Nothing better than a good moan