I felt so sorry for her.

I think it's almost certain that Ray will win. He's far too good and I think it's unfair he was put in the competition in the first place. Unless he has to pull out due to personal reasons or injury, he will definitely make the final, as the judges will always save him should he ever end up in the skate off.

I don't know if he will win or not but he was the only reason I tuned in tonight and even then I channel hopped quite a bit.

I would love him to SCD but many wouldn't.

I should think Ray will win. He is, of course, by far the best skater in the competition and he won by a landslide in his year. However, there are other winners on parade this year who were at least as popular in their respective years and Hayley Tamaddon got a whopping 83% of the public vote in her final - the highest of all the winners. Mind you, she was up against Gary Lucy so 'nuff said.

I never took to Ray as a character, but his skating prowess cannot be denied. I'll be voting for Kyran, though.

However you feel about Ray (I personally find him fairly annoying unless he's got skates attached to his feet and then he somehow totally reverses my opinion), he couldn't possibly do SCD. He's not only dance trained, he's ballroom trained.

He is an extremely gifted performer on DOI though. Someone needs to ensure that he never leaves the ice .

I think he'd be great on SCD.

I hope he does, but it's definitely not a foregone conclusion. He's far too much a Marmite celeb to say he's already won.

It's one thing to have contestants on Strictly who have a dance background, since most actors will have done at least some dancing at drama or stage school. But it's quite another thing to have as a contestant somebody who competed in ballroom dancing as Ray Quinn did. That really would be pushing the boundaries further than is fair.

Yes I know this and this is the reason why he is unlikely to be booked. It is also why many viewers wouldn't tolerate him in SCD. But I am a bit of a maverick, I just like to see good dancing.

Hiya! *waves*

I agree. There's no chance he'd be allowed to do Strictly.

Hiya, Buddy! *waves back* Nice to see quite a few Strictly posters have decamped here to get their dance fix. Whether I'll last the whole series is another matter, mind, since there are only so many ad breaks I can stand...

Same for me. The ads drove me mad and were the cause of much channel hopping. I only really tuned in because Bonnie Langford, Keiren Braken and Ray Quinn were on it. I doubt I will bother next week. It might be worth watching for Todd McCarthy, but there again some gags don't work a second time.

Oh well,I didn't know that,another one scratched off the list;
I wanted Mark Cavendish on SCD as well.

It was particularly Jorgie's and Kyran's I meant really. Terrible.

When he said a about loving the adulation it was just too much!!! He is so up himself and yes his face is awful.

I don't actually think he will... He's not a very likeable person, and in fairness there was little competition in his series. Then agai , detestable as he is he's the best skater there so I guess the public might go for for that. I'm inclined to say Hayley or Kyran maybe? No idea though.

I'd like Hayley to win personally. I did want Jorgie, as an aside I felt like she was absolutely thrown under a bus :/

When you consider that Kyran has never stopped skating since he won in Series 2, whereas Ray stopped skating in 2010, and has just finished a panto run...........

I'd go for Ray

I don't think he was amazing and the competition is a lot tougher this time around for him. I also think he comes across quite cocky which is offputting

I'm not sure how long I'll last watching the live show either. Last night really brought back to me why I very rarely watch live TV. I need to look out the instructions for watching TV on delay, then I can FF through the ads!

I agree that Ray's competition is much tougher this time and apart from the personality aspect, the other thing that could work against him is T&D giving him particularly challenging routines.

Ray Quinn is a former British Ballroom and Latin Champion, so I would expect that he would not be asked

No I know Jennifer. Pity because I would love to see his ballroom. I have seen hints at his ability in Latin but would love to see him gliding (or swinging ?) around in a tail coat. But given the stick Natalie got for her background I hate to imagine the rumpus. Pity though.

Edit- Anyone who sniggered after "I would love to see his ballroom" should be ashamed of themselves.

I think he' s a former junior ballroom champion, the ultimate ringer.

He probably will. He seems more likeable this time around, much less bothered ironically than some of the others. He's just getting on with it. Also watching him on the ice, even with the mistakes, when he's just moving around he seems to flow so naturally, almost like a pro in the way he just glides. No one else has this.

Given how much Kyran has done since I was expecting better, but even though he has power he does seem to barge his way around the rink with no musicality. If Ray improves again it's hard to see him not edging it.

Agree, at this early stage, Ray ticks all the boxes for me. Great skating, charisma, personality and of course great performance and dance skills.

I hope he does.
I'd get a buzz!