Kyran is directly responsible for Jersey now having a temporary ice rink every Christmas - for that alone he gets our (theoretical - we can only watch on catch-up) vote. After he won DOI, and set up his own touring show, he brought the touring rink to the island which became his childhood home during the tour's diwn time. Although not a true 'Bean', Kyran is well-regareded locally, his parents' house is just up the road from us and Kyran has a house 'out West' in St. Mary. Knowing there was some call for a rink locally, but with no chance of getting one, Kyran covered all the costs of bringing over his rink, gave free lessons to local schoolchildren (every single one of the 30+ local schools were offered slots for nominated classes) and was basically the catalyst which has subsequently lead to The States (Jersey's government) funding a temporary rink every Christmas since then. He's been back to teach now and then too.

Kyran may not 'live' here in the accepted sense of the word for much of the time, but he's highly regarded because of his support of ice skating locally. As for him being a 'professional' skater now, that's really misleading - he's good, but it's too late in the day for him tobecome 'that' good. What he's got is strength and confidence on the ice - and good on him for developing that - but he's no way so far ahead he doesn't 'count' as deserving a place in an amateur show.

I knew he had a rink in Jersey at one point but didn't know all that - interesting & shows he's a nice guy as well.

I just really like the fact that Kyran clearly developed a genuine passion for skating when doing the show originally which has led to stuff like this.

Aw, thanks for the background info. He's a nice guy. BIB - I think you've hit the nail on the head (as have others, so apologies for not quoting them as well) that Kyran may make his living out of the touring skating shows, but it would be a bit of a reach to put him at the level of professional skaters who have been training on the ice for most of their lives. He's good enough, mind - I've seen his shows a few times and he's a strong skater - but he is overshadowed technically by the pro skaters he hires.

I'm definitely on Team Bracken.

Just bumping this to the first page again - sorry to see it's slipped down the board!

I know there's not much news happening with Kyran at the moment.

So here's a reminder of how good he is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kydq60dc-HA

Come on Kyran do away with all the competition. Kyran to win!!!!

Agreed! Ooh, just tell me - are you a Tigers fan? I am!

My twitter name "Tigersue" is a bit of a giveaway, but that's NOT the reason I'm team Kyran.
Just love watching him skate + got so annoyed with Jason last week that I'm sky+ ing the show tonight so I can FF his inane + ridiculous comments.

Looking forward to watching Beth but sad Jorgie went so early.

I'm on twitter too but of course, Kyran played for Sarries so I'm not Team Kyran for that reason as well. I thought Jason was personally rude, which is a trap he falls into every time. Being constructively critical is one thing - to insult someone personally is just not on.

Was impressed with Beth, but she does need to work on her performance. I'm a bit meh about Jorgie - the whole situation was clearly a stitch up, but she was a good skater.

Thought Kyran skated really well on Sunday. For me, he's by far the best skater there, even if he's not the best dancer!

Yes, you have to be, but I don't watch rugby as much as football - really I am a SUPER FOXES fan!

The competition is called Dancing on Ice so that is what we expect to see from a winner. Chris says Kyran is going to do some dancing this week instead of skating round the ice lifting Nina. Looking forward to seeing how he copes. Kyran has been skating regularly professionally since he appeared on the programme so he should be confident. Just saying.

And so noted

Personally I have always leaned a bit more towards the skating simply because of the difficulty & also the unique factor on this show. The contestants who excel at the dance side of things on the show invariably have years of dance training behind them which Kyran is never going to compete with.

However I always enjoy watching Kyran's performances and find him fun & exciting to watch. As long as somebody can sell a routine & inject a bit of personality into things I'm not so worried about the dance lines etc.

You just said what I wanted to say and couldn't find the words for! I don't like getting into arguments on a forum and so I thank you for addressing poshtamfan's comments in a way I couldn't.

Take out Nina's acrobatics and examine what is left in the routine. The criticism is not aimed at Kyran but at the choreography. Many celebs have to spend time mastering difficult footwork with or without dance training. Lifting is not particularly one of Ray's strengths but he is expected to do them without the advantage of a very petite partner. I am neither a Ray fan or a Kyran fan. I just want it to be a little fairer when it comes to choreography. I feel the same about girls looking spectacular when they spend a lot of time in the air. Yes the lifts are not always easy to master but it is a skating competition so I do want to see some skating.

I am a Kyran fan and although I am not a Ray fan, I acknowledge that he does skate and dance well. As you said, the choreography is what is at fault and, as Karen pointed out, the celebs are given choreography by Chris and Jayne.

As far as lifts are concerned, Kyran may have an advantage having Nina for a partner; however, it's as much down to the woman being lifted as it is to the male skater lifting whether they go well or not. Ray certainly isn't lacking in core and upper body strength and technique is as important as strength during lifts.

At this level, you may have a point about the choreography being unfair. Granted, in previous series, Chris and Jayne have had to adjust their choreography to make poorer skaters look good; this series, however, everyone is pretty much as good as everyone else (now that Todd has gone ) but I agree that choreography should challenge the celebs and make them work on their weaker areas.

I'll be interested to see next week how it pans out.

Hopefully any Kyran fans are picking up the phones like mad. He needs our help big time. For me he's a fabulous skater & has much more to give & really doesn't deserve to be bottom 2 at this stage.

Hear hear! I gave him my vote!