The skill Natalie brought to the show from the off has been obvious throughout, but nowhere more so than in her showdance. No wonder Artem was so excited she could do what he wanted and the judges were so effusive - Natalie's training meant she was technically head and shoudlers above everyone else.

FMs pointing to the judges' leader board across the series are missing the point. If they had marked Natalie honestly, as the best dancer technically, she would have topped their vote pretty much every single week, and certainly at the start. And there is no way the producers would have let that happen - hence the overmarking of contestants.

I realise she has obviously been popular with some - and undeniably impressive - but, for me and many others, the skillset she came with was just too great. And it was there for all to see.

I'm sure the BBC will be too delirious post-ratings to review the pros and cons of this series, but I would argue it should think twice before including someone quite so polished from the start to compete in Strictly. Even DVO wasn't as adept as Natalie.

Well they all big up their CV'sAs I said she studied acting and musical theatre for 3 years which is pretty much what most actors do.
She has already explained that the latin she did was in a Saturday class with 30 others when she was 12 years old......it was solo and she has never danced with a partner and never done ballroom.Previous to that she did drama and dance at school which again is pretty standard for a lot of girls. She is telling the truth about being highly skilled in as much as she is a natural but she is not a professional dancer in any sense of the word.

You stated that Rachel was not a "Professional" but merely qualified. I was, and am telling you, that as Rachel states that she is a corporate member of a recognised professional engineering body, recognised by Royal Charter and presumably a Chartered Engineer, the term "Professional Engineer" is appropriate because it will have been granted on the basis of educational qualification and appropriate experience…there is no other way to obtain it. Should such a person choose to follow different employment later, they can still claim the title as long as they remain a member of the professional body responsible for granting it. Indeed I have known similarly qualified people turn to the dark side and become accountants. However, I digress.

Natalie is a "professional performer". In her case the term is used to describe the fact that she earns a living by following a particular trade or "profession".

Natalie has, by her own admission, been trained in numerous aspects of theatrical performance and that includes dance. She even claims to be "highly skilled" in that area. She obviously believes she has all the skills necessary to assume a paid role in that capacity, otherwise why put it on her CV? Whether she has actually been paid to dance previously is of no consequence.

That being the case she obviously had an advantage over other contestants.

Yes, plus the fact that Aljaz is a very different type from Artem - a more smiley and fun-orientated guy. Their youth and beauty gave them a big leg up.


I think you are being cynical. When I watched her VTs she was choking up and that is not acting. She was genuine. She was just a bit less "fiddly" than Abbey maybe who was always twiddling with her hair, or shaking with nerves. And, when it was all over, the stress levels drop and Natalie could talk without tears more easily.

Except that for the last 10 years she has been making a living by acting rather than performing. There is a big difference.

I still don't get why anyone wouldn't like her, seems a nice enough person to me

She is a nice person never disagrees with the Judges and loved the dancing. I cant understand it either.

It isn't about her being a nice person or not, I am sure she is lovely, for me it was her lack of charisma and chemistry with her partner. And vice versa. It takes two to Tango.

Just because she did not put on a fake act clawing all over her partner like some others did not mean there was no chemistry with her partner. All imo.

No one can beat her for the laugh either. She certainly managed to tame the terminator.

Well I must be blind or watched another programme, because I never saw any chemistry at all and neither did others in my house. So it appears I am not going bonkers too!

Natalie (to her credit) didn't play the same games as Susanna and Abbey. She didn't, for instance, fill her VTs with sympathetic family members. Susanna was on breakfast TV every morning to remind us she was a "working mum", while somehow Abbey managed to convince everyone she'd started from zero - even though she topped the leaderboard on the first programme.
I also think we should also be talking about Natalie’s partner here, because I suspect that the "newness" of the other two pros in the top three was definitely an advantage for Abbey and Susanna. Just as it was for Kara when Artem was the new boy. Aljaž in particular played the role of Eastern European hunk to perfection.

When I accorded Rachel the title of qualified engineer I omitted to take on board that she has never fulfilled the practical experience requirement - thus she is neither a professional nor a qualified engineer. Had she chosen to pursue an engineering career her degree would have provided the first stepping stone on the road to professional qualification. For all professions of which I'm aware it is not possible to gain membership of a professional body based on education alone - experience is a pre requisite. So sorry I do not believe that a degree alone entitles one to Chartered status - unless of course the standards for entry into the professional engineering body are set lower than those for other professions.

Maybe you would have preferred her to slobber all over her partner as Susanna did.
Thankfully Natalie is far too dignified and classy for such over the top excesses.

They showed just how much charisma and chemistry they DID have in their last dances, and their emotions were genuine.

For me, Natalie was a joy to watch right through the whole series.

I agree.