The sort of dancing that Pixie and Frankie do on stage during their gigs is hardly any sort of preparation for the waltz or the tango, and they will have to do both before they are through. Be fair. Some people have more ability than others. Both will progress further than Tim Wonnacott, but is there something unfair about that? So some of the celebs have some dance experience. So what? An awful lot of people have 'some' dance experience. It doesn't make them professional standard dancers. If they were all complete novices, the first show would be a bit embarrassing, wouldn't it? There has to be a hard core of ability to maintain standards while the journey contestants catch up as they gain experience. As one or two people have already pointed out, it is often a journey contestant who wins.

Don't know about Pixie her "dancing" was most poppy posing. Frankie has definately got a huge advantage. She looks professional already. I don't like or appreciate that. She won't win because of it.

Any perceived advantage will be lost after the first few weeks, natural ability will count more as well as the ones who work hardest and have a good teacher. Also factors like the ability to take instruction, sports people are used to doing what their trainer tells them to do whereas some in show business seem unable to follow any instruction!

Not quite accurate both have been to stage school and have had dance training. I would say Frankie has had a great deal of dance training as you can't learn ballroom like that in 3 weeks!

They are NOT professional dancers, just because they dance on stage doesn't mean they are professionals!

Everyone needs to remember that just because they've been to stage school, it doesn't mean they've been trained to ballroom and Latin dances.

It just maybe that Frankie and Pixie are naturals at what they do.

I don't see any reason why they SHOULDN'T win.

Yet I think you will find Pixie is the one that has West End experience...

As I posted elsewhere, Kevin gave Frankie a routine that they had time to polish, Trent either did not or Pixie didn't remember to finesse as much or as you say "posing" rather than polishing ....

Less experience on the dance front than Kevin getting his partner to the right place for the show IMO....

When it comes to latin and ballroom i dont think they have any advantage tbh.

Surely they don't have an advantage over the old and unattractive Greg?

That pouting one (can't remember her name) married to the footballer won last year...

I don't think it would be embarrassing - it would be fair. Then we could see which ones make the best progress through skill and hard work. In reality there should not be many, if any, scores over 5 in the first week if they were all genuine beginners.

Can you name 15 celebrities (split evenly between men and women) all of which would be accepted by all posters on these boards as not having any advantage over any of the others for any reason?

It would be very hard because a high percentage of the sort of celebs who have the time and motivation to do the show (without being rude, at the stage of or from the sort of careers where they need publicity and a (relatively modest) cheque, tend to come from stage school backgrounds with a broad range of training experience including several year's dance. Sportspeople of course don't usually have any dance experience but won't do the show until retirement. Serious, classically trained actors would not usually have as much dance experience as the soap/pop star brigade but aren't likely to do the show because of the career implications unless much older and needing a boost. I actually think it is better when, like this year, you have quite a number of celebs who have all had a lot of previous dance training - Pixie, Frankie, Simon and, most of all, Caroline - rather than just one who stands out like a sore thumb - like poor Natalie last year or Denise the year before. At least the flack is equally shared and there are several competing at the same level.

You can guarantee that something would be found to show that all of them had had training even if it was only in preparation for their wedding.

Just imagine the whole programme of Judy Murray, Scott Thingy, Greg Wallace ......

Any perceived advantage is reduced as the series progresses and others improve.

Both Pixie and Frankie are stage school trained.

When Pixie was picked up by Gary Barlow after she auditioned for a TV programme, it was her dancing that let her done for the part.

Strangely Abbey Clancy managed to avoid any criticism despite having done ballet from an early age.

It possibly may have been mentioned on here, but as she was on the same show as Natalie, who freely admitted she had trained as a dancer, Natalie seemed to be the target last year.

Its unfair as Greg is shown about 5 times a week on cooking progs.

Is it that time of the year again? People prefer journey anyway. Anybody who's good already will necessary stagnate or show less improvement than talented but untrained dancers.

Exactly this! It's so boring that because someone is in the music or acting industry they are experienced dancers! Latin and ballroom are totally different.

For example look at Frankie, Rochelle her band mate did the Christmas special last year and was terrible! Yet like Frankie Rochelle attended stage school as a child was in the S Club Juniors with Frankie as teens and they are now in the Saturdays together, so they have probably had the same amount of dance training as each other. Frankie just seems to be a natural dancer just like Alesha, Kara, Kimberly, Rachel etc

However I would argue that the west end stars like Tom Chambers and Denise van Outen, even Pixie (who I belive trained as a dancer until she was about 16) would have an advantage as they are normally people who spent their whole schooling in stage schools and drama schools where they become highly capable and disciplined dancers, which is a lot different to a simple girlband routine.

Ain't that the truth. But I would add it's only the non passive women who are vilified on here in the most histrionic of ways. In DS land, the contenders can be pretty, but they have to be non threatening and goofy/cute.

Every year on the forum it's the same. Every micro mannerism is examined in obsessive detail and has irrational prejudice projected on to it. Any woman deemed to rise above her station has her looks and character ripped apart. I try to avoid it, but it's everywhere on this forum.

Oh I don't know about that. I can remember the furore on here when one of the contestants said that Ricky Whittle had previous dance training. He might be very good looking but, it cut no ice on here.

I actually think previous dance training goes against a lot of the contestants. Whether we like it or not the "journey" does play a huge part on how people vote. Natalie, Denise, and Ricky are all victims of the "ringer syndrome". All three were head and shoulders above the person who won BUT, were perceived at being so good from the beginning that there was nowhere for them to go. Personality helps (of course) but, no matter how self-depreciating the "ringer" tries to come across, it does sound shallow to the viewer because the celeb is so good.

Yes that is the first thing I noticed but wasn't going to point it out as everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I know I have done it and then realised but it's been too late to change it.

I don't know about Frankie. Any time I have seen the Saturdays recently, I have been aware that Frankie is the worst dancer among them.

I used to get worked up about this kind of thing, then I realised it was pointless and stopped voting regularly. Now I just vote when I feel like it and enjoy the show a lot more.

As far as I'm concerned the biggest advantage any celeb can have is youth. I felt sorry for Jennifer dancing the Jive. If she'd danced it later in the series, she might have had a chance to build up more stamina (originally the earliest a celeb danced the Jive was week 3 - often much later.)