1. Pleased to see Claudia has gone Back to Black.
2. Simon was v.good but needs to lose the attitude.
3. Thom was a huge disappointment for me, and yes I know he's nervous but his nerviousness came across as a bit arrogant and I didn't see any connection with Iveta.
4. Missing Artem but not James.
5. Really looking forward to this series. There are about six or seven that could go all the way and only a couple of duffers.

and finally, Free Aliona, she really didn't seem to have any sparkle tonight

1. Claudia is great. Her instruction to eat chocolate and bounce on trampoline. lmaoooo.
2. Tess should stay away from jokes. Cringe at the swan direction pun.
3. Were judges watching the same dances I was? "I can tell you enjoyed that" Are you kidding, they looked petrified?! "A lot of energy!" Where?!!!
4. Aliona was grouchy being partnered with Gregg but I laughed my head off watching him try to dance so maybe it's understandable.
5. I really like Jennifer, shame she can't dance that well. She looked so nervous, bless her.

6. Caroline was really good. Enjoyed Alison as well.
7. Could see Sunetra's hands moving around so much like the judges said. Was funny to watch though.
8. Len is so grouchy with the audience and it's irritating.
9. Did it sound to anyone else like the singers had took a step or two back from their microphones? Sounded strangely quiet at times then back to normal volume.
10. I want to dance with Iveta, she is so funny

1) Caught myself a couple of times last night thinking that it's time the judging panel was revitalised. The only one I would keep is Craig, I find some of Darceys scoring really odd and Len is well past his sell by date.

2) Gregg should have been at the bottom, he was truly awful . Jennifer was bad but her dance had much more content and she is infinitely more likable.

3) Thom was like a cardboard cutout, perhaps it was just nervous, but goodness he was dull.

4) Steve seems like a nice genuine guy who can dance a bit too, a good one for Ola's last partner (possibly)

5) Frankie and Simon were the best of the night by some way.

1) Steve is a good chap and seems very capable, pleased for Ola. I love her. She's my favourite pro and I really hope this is not her last year
2) Tess and Claudia are way better than Bruce and Tess. BBC made the right decision with the presenters
3) Loved Allison. It's great to see someone genuinely happy to be there giving it their all
4) Pasha is yummy.
5) oh dear Gregg, what was that? Poor man.

1) Gregg - oh dear, more camp than a field full of tents!
2) Aliona is really not doing a good impression of a happy bunny.
3) Trent and Pixie are quite scary.
4) Steve - blimey, where did those muscles come from? (good thing Tess isn't in the pit or we'd be in for multiple 'guns' references)
5) I don't dislike anyone really, although Pixie does get on my wick a bit for some reason (I am probably just a jellus hata though... )

1. How Gregg managed to score the same as Jennifer I will never know. Even though it wasn't a great routine, Jennifer still went for it and did a passable job, but Gregg took the worst bits of the bad Cha Cha's on Friday (Scott's awkwardness and Tim general lack of musicality) and merged them to create... that.

2. Even though Simon's head is so far up his arse he can probably smell his own s*it, him and Kristina did do a very strong Jive and should've been a little higher up on the leaderboard, IMO.

3. As someone else said, Frankie stood out in the group dance three weeks ago, and proved exactly why with her Waltz. Kevin's choreography was really lovely, and Frankie's dress was gorgeous, too!

4. If Jake surprised me, Steve completely shocked me, because I was so impressed at how much potential he had for a complete novice. I'm not sure if the party Latins or the graceful Ballrooms will be his strengths, but he's at least done one good dance on the show.

5. I don't know why, but I'm finding Thom a little bit strange. It's probably just nerves, to be honest, but he was looking so awkward around Iveta and on the show in general. Whatever the reason, his Waltz really disappointed me.

I actually think Kristina is one of the best choreographers when she has a contender (but she so rarely gets one it is easy to write her off as someone who just twirls around her celebs to disguise their flaws).

As for Thom, I can't tell if it's a case of the Pashas and the Rachels, and he and Iveta are so awkward together because they fancy the pants off each other, or if they have zero chemistry and the whole showmance thing is contrived. Iveta is so warm and fun I find it hard to believe a celeb wouldn't get on with her. He's not really a media personality so maybe he just can't be himself in front of the cameras, or maybe he is just a bit frosty. Time will tell. I definitely don't think he was a fan of the show before he was asked to do it. Same goes for Pixie.

I agree with you about Kristina - I thought most of her choreography with Jason was pretty good (barring that Argentine Tango, of course), and she made up some nice routines for Ben last year, even if they did mainly consist of her using him as a prop, but whatever, they kept getting eights so the judges didn't really care either.

To be honest, though, I wouldn't be surprised if Iveta has a small crush on Thom, mainly because of the way she was acting in training. Whatever the case, though, I'm pretty sure Thom has no feelings for her. Or maybe he does. I don't know, after Rachel and Pasha, nobody's immune to shagging their partners. Anyway, it's probably just nerves, and I think (and hope!) he'll slowly warm up as the series progresses.

1) Caroline and Jake were surprisingly good.
2) Simon and Pixie were unsurprisingly good, both early favourites to win surely.
3) Thom may be good looking but god he's dull.
4) Allison will be this year's Lisa Riley.
5) Judy Murray was the most awkward, uncomfortable celeb since Fiona Philips.

I keep missing him


I didn't know who she was but when she came on my daughter said 'Oh God, not her. She's horrible'. Something to do with someone from McFly

My 2nd half thoughts are:

6. why do most of the pairings consist of someone I don't like?? I like Kristina but Simon has always irritated me. Steve was great but I'm not keen on Ola.

7. Thom reminds me of an Easter Island statue (Iveta is lovely though)

8. I really like Sunetra. She has that certain something.

9. Love Claudia!!!

10. I don't get the Tim thing. I haven't seen him in anything before so I am a bit confused by him. I read here that he is hilarious but I've yet to find him so. I'm a bit miffed he has Natalie.

Wow. Some really good dancers this year. Bags of potential. And I haven't taken an instant dislike to any of them. This could be a great year.

Sticking to 5.

1. Both shows faster paced and mostly slick.
2. Too much cheesy Celebrity theming for the music.
3. Some nice surprises from the celebrities.
4. Loving the Tess & Claudia combination.
5. One celebrity will stay in long past their dance by date, due to nutty fans of the professional.

1) The scoring was okay most of the time but I feel that the very low scores were a little unfair, perhaps no lower than four would have been kinder; seven seemed a little high for the first sessions.

2) I am happy with the two comperes.

3) I wish that the audience's cheers were not so loud.

4) I like the programme without guests singing, just concentrating on dancing.

5) I liked Tim and Sunetra most of all.

1) I enjoyed Friday's show but yesterday was dull as ditchwater - where did the Strictly sparkle go?

2) Caroline and Pasha and Jennifer and Tristian are my early favourites, even if poor Jennifer struggled at least she tried to do a true Jive.

3) I think nerves held back the personalities of some of the dancers, especially yesterday. I hope they shine as the series goes on.

4) I'm a bit worried that Joanne isn't going to show Scott off in the best light.

5) Trent seems like another Jared but it's early days.

1) Caroline is an early fave from a dance perspective, but Frankie's Waltz was mesmerising.

2) The theming was a little on the excessive side.

3) Both Claudia and Tess impressed as presenters.

4) Sunetra and Brendan are my early tips for " dark horse" status obtainers.

5) Joanne's CCC choreography was truly abysmal.

1. Very good choreography from Kevin and Kristina for their talented celebs. Kevin's was actually quite basic in steps and movements but beautifully finished and played to Frankie's (rather bland!) image; Kristina's showcased Simon's very strong performance skills. I suspect he will prove the most versatile dancer.

2. What a relief not to have to fast forward through Bruce's doddering but I wish they would stop trying to change Claudia's image. Let her wear her black and fringe and be herself.

3. Feeling a bit at sea with the new pros. Suspect I will like Trent best as he gave his celeb recognisable dance content and seemed to have tried to teach the proper technique (which was a bit much for her). Horrified at Ms Clifton's effort - Scott isn't good but showed no signs of having been taught anything in a bizarre 'cha'.

4. Judy had the nicest dress. I like her.

5. Jake may be one to watch but it really, really wasn't quite as good as some claim - and Janette's posture still infuriates me.

1. Thought Jake did a great job with his tango, but Steve stole his thunder a bit.
2. Best performances of the week were from Frankie, Caroline, Jake and Steve.
3. I missed Bruce and his not-doddery ad libbing. Can we have him back, and Claudia up top please? Tess can pass out mints or something.
4. Alison ought to tone down the laugh just a bit (the volume of it, that's all! It's great to see her having a blast) but otherwise she and Aljaz are great fun.
5. Brill show overall, looking forward to a bumper week two next Saturday.

1. Simon was the best of the night, but he needs to rein in the cockiness

2. Hope that Steve gets the opportunity to do an authentic Paso Doble - he'll be awesome.

3. Frankie danced well and has lots of elegance and poise, but I didn't especially enjoy the performance as the music was odd and there was a bit too much umbrellaography

4. The Introductory VTs are sufficient at reminding us who the celebs are - we don't need every routine themed around it

5. I didn't think Thom was as bad as suggested (even though he did go wrong in the middle) and think he'll suit Latin better

1. Love Claudia and Tess hosting, show feels much slicker.

2. Caroline set the show off with a bang and for me nobody quite eclipsed her sense of performance, confidence and dance ability.

3. Despite the marking I still believe Thom and Iveta and Mark and Karen will be the strongest male celeb pairings this year. Both started competently but I think Mark will excel in ballroom and Thom in the Latin

4. Thought the marking was a little strange. Thought Jennifer and Tristan shouldve been just above Tim and Natalie, while Gregg and Aliona should've been scored lower.

5. Simon and Kristina; far too cocky for week one. A strong dancer is appealing but someone who can't take criticism isn't attractive. Will be interesting to see how he copes with the slower dances.

1 - frankie was a lot better and far less annoying than i was expecting. hope she goes far

2 - pixie wasn't as good as i expected, but i think she was hindered by a ridiculously short outfit

3 - i love judy, but i don't think she'll last too long

4 - more claudia! she's fantastic. show is much, much better without brucie

5 - i miss artem

and as there were 2 shows, here are 5 more

6 - thom was a massive, massive disappointment

7 - i like tristan, but i wish he'd been given a better partner so he could go further in the competition. i think him and jennifer will struggle to pick up the votes

8 - gregg is much worse than i was expecting

9 - poor aliona

10 - poor ola too. think her husband has made things difficult for her. she looked very awkward last night i felt. i'm glad she's been given a decent partner and got good comments though. and she looked amazing

and a bonus one - do away with the stupid vt's!

6. To my utter amazement, Frankie's last name isn't actually "Frommduh-Saturdays".

7. Absolutely disgusted that they've let Lisa Riley "black up" for this series of Strictly.

8. I eagerly await Tristram McManus knocking out a Cockney boxer with one punch and having his mam's caravan burnt down by gangsters.

9. Claudia Winkleman's ability to grow a fringe in 1 day is honestly quite amazing.

10. Iveta's love of raising one leg suggests either gynaecological problems or a propensity for cramp. I'd send her a banana and some Canestan, but I'm an ugly hairy bloke so it might get taken wrong. Any of you ladies willing to step in?

Saturday night thoughts

1) Steve ~ better than I had anticipated
2) Thom ~ wooden, zero personality, kinda puppet like
3) can't really remember Marks routine.........
4) Frankie did a lovely waltz
5) don't like Simon, mediocre jive, huge ego

1. Alison was better (and far less irritating) than I thought she would be...so far....

2. So glad they let Claudia be herself again for the Saturday episode. What did they do to her fringe on Friday?!

3. Claudia and Tess are doing a good job so far, but Claudia is better.

4. Was surprised how good Jake's Tango was. Hope he keeps on surprising me.

5. I felt sorry for Jennifer. She had so much content put into that Jive, that she didn't have time to think about her posture/performance.

oh dear. i'm a terrible person for laughing an awful lot at that

Don't worry - I did, too.