I wouldnt say "won over" so much but i certainly saw something that IMO had been completely lacking, SOUL!!! Last nights AS i actually believed her, felt something it was less "paint by numbers" dance

She danced and performed the routine wonderfully, but, it was not an AS.

Loved it.

It was gorgeous. I never really 'got' it the first time round, but yesterday was 'wow'.

Fabulous performance from her. I didn't get much from it last night as my flatmate was busy rooting through drawers looking for sellotape (WHY MODS? Why take away Mr Eye Roll ), but have just watched both shows again and found Natalie's performance incredibly moving. First time she outshone Artem in a dance (imo).

PS: Apologies if someone only caught half of this. A weird (and accidental) combo of key pressing caused my reply to be posted before I had finished...how rude!

I loved it the first time around, but seemed to be one of the few who felt the emotion in it. And, as I am one of those who (previously) thought that Natalie and Artem were missing emotion/connection in their dances, I was pleasantly surprised by that first AS.
Yes, they definitely improved it this time, but I thought it was great anyway.

Last nights AS was the dance of the series for me. So lovely that they thanked Andrea for her superb singing and the audience for their ovation.

When Natalie threw herself at Artem I did wonder if there was something going on. If there isn't, she acted really well.

Personally think she was just overwhelmed by the whole thing at that point. So neither acting or something going on.

You are probably right.

It was amazing and so emotional watching the dance last dance and for me was the best dance of the series

I'd agree with this. She definitely put her heart and soul into her AS. She did stumble at the end though didn't she? The judges didn't mention it.

I wonder if she did slightly hold back knowing that she was already being accused of being a ringer. I loved the AS the first time round but last night they were dancing with nothing to lose as I'm sure they knew they wouldn't win it.

The reactions of the other contestants and pros rather undermines claims she's a smug, aloof diva.

I didn't view that as a stumble- more a piece of acting because she's overcome with emotion and about to run after her partner because, as the lyrics say, "There's no way I'll leave you".

I desperately wish Natalie had been able to dance the whole series with the fire she had last night.

Amazing.

I think she picked N&A a lot of online votes from people with confirmed favourites, we had a bit of a party last night and everyone who had previously been voting Abbey ended up splitting their 5 online votes 3/5.


Personally. I'm a bit of an Artem fan and had felt quite frustrated with their run this series. I guess I felt like the judges, I wanted more from them. Ended up as a neutral with no favourite, but last night voted for Natalie and Abbey - thee were good arguments for either couple to win.

A good final. I think.

A stunning dance, best of the series by far so much so that I had to watch pause, and rewind to watch it again before catching up with live TV and I haven't done that before. Natalie hasn't been my favourite, Abbey was, but I loved that dance,
. This morning I watched both versions of the AS and the difference was massive, so much emotion in the final one. Maybe the final result would have been different if she had danced the AS first instead of the Cha Cha before the vote off.

I think she really let go last night, knowing it was her last dance, and was carried away by the emotions that generated. We've seen it before when contestants are in the dance-off knowing there's no way they'll be chosen by the judges and so stop trying and just 'feel' it - Letitia Dean comes to mind - and subsequently give one of their best (if not their best) performance of the series.

Can I just say every bit of this is how I feel and what I said last night at home.

Every year everyones fav dances always seem a bit of a let down because you know what's coming, but this blew me away. I think it's because of the song and the real last dance.

I loved that run, she put her whole soul into that and it wasn't technical, it was raw and it seemed like she was singing the song by the way she expressed herself in the music, which is true dancing.

I adored her last night. They danced full out and then some more too.

Maybe it would have been different if they'd only opened the voting once *all* the dances in that section had been danced; a friend of mine voted for Abbey before she'd seen Natalie's AS and then regretted her choice.

Totally agree.

I have never disliked Natalie, I love Artem's choreography but it hasn't all clicked in for me until last night. The showdance and American Smooth were stunning. The American Smooth brought tears to my eyes and was quite incredible.

I'm finding it really sad the amount of stick Natalie is taking.

Seeing how much they were both crying before and after the routine really was something else. Incredible dance.

She looked off balance when she came out of the lift just before, hence the slight stumble. She covered it up well.

I didn't view it as a stumble- I saw it as part of the story-telling: the climax of the emotion, dance and lyric all about refusing to leave her man and then rushing to him.

We are both dancers and when we saw it live, we both said that there was a stumble, as there was a distinct lack of smoothness across the floor.I'm not denying that you are correct in the story telling part, but the landing from the previous was definitely off balance.We have played it back in slow motion and this is confirmed. This in no way takes away from what was a fantastic dance, probably one of the best, if not, the best on SCD.

It should have been the show dance

I was saying this exact same thing last night when watching her performances. I totally believe without a doubt that she has been holding herself back through the series. She came out first show clearly too good in comparison to the others so has been playing it down a bit but still dancing well enough. Now last night getting to the final she just let go and performed to her actual capability.