SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS




So from the Pairings thread, who are you most excited to see hit the dance floor?

Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice
Kirsty Gallacher & Brendan Cole
Helen George & Aljaz Skorjenc
Jamelia & Tristan MacManus
Ainsley Harriot & Natalie Lowe
Iwan Thomas & Ola Jordan
Jay McGuiness & Aliona Vilani
Jeremy Vine & Karen Hauer
Anthony Ogogo & Otlile Mabuse
Katie Derham & Anton Du Beke
Carol Kirkwood & Pasha Kovalev
Daniel O'Donnell & Kristina Rihanoff
Peter Andre & Janette Manrara
Anita Rani & Gleb Savchenko
Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton

poll should now be up

I opted for Aljaz and Helen but there are many couples I'm looking forward to seeing and for different reasons: Kristina and Daniel and Peter and Janette spring to mind

In order they would be:
Jay McGuiness & Aliona Vilani
Helen George & Aljaz Skorjenc
Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice

And then:
Anita Rani & Gleb Savchenko
Anthony Ogogo & Otlile Mabuse
Jamelia & Tristan MacManus
Ainsley Harriot & Natalie Lowe

For me it's between Aljaz & Helen and Otlile & Anthony but I'm also interested in Giovanni & Georgia, Gleb & Anita and Aliona & Jay.

Well I'm not a dance purist and really the subtle nuances of the routines tend to pass me by .Sorry
I'm more interested in the entertainment side I must confess. I'm so non-dance perfecto that I've been known to not bother watching the finals , simply on the basis that to get that far they must be near perfect and I tend to not care which near perfect couple win .I know that will horrify some people . Sorry . But I love how the whole show brings out the best and worst in celebs and totally love "The Journey" with all the stops and starts and problems .
On that basis I'm looking forward to watching Anton and Kate . I like Anton and I think the criticism of him on here can be too harsh . He fulfills a purpose, I don't want all handsome young nubile boys . I just like humour and fun meshed with the dance and he tends to provide that .
Then Daniel and Kristina . My mum loves Daniel and I think he's sweet (if twee) , but I suspect/hope that Kristina might tap into his inner raunchy persona, and that will be fun to watch. It might surprise us , although I suspect it will involve me watching from behind a cushion and cringing .
Jamelia and Tristan . I watched her on Bear Grylls and she was a nightmare ! Not because of her fears and panicking and complaining, I'd have panicked/moaned too .But it was because she kept saying "I'm a strong woman, I never give up, I face my fears," on and on endlessly ."I am woman , see me roar" . Then she'd melt in a puddle of tears over nothing of note . I thought Vogue would be the tippy toes princess, but Jamelia stole the title and Kellie was outstanding facing her water fears . So I'm thinking there will be injuries and tears in training , but great routines. But moaning, endless moaning . I'll be interested to see how Tristan copes .
Peter Andre and Janette. She doesn't seem overly popular with the experts on here , so I'll be watching her routines to see if I can spot the issues with my non expert eye . Peter should be good at the latin but ballroom might be more of a challenge . He lacks the height to look ballroom perfect, but Janette is short too and I've seen short couples look amazing together in past shows .He seems to like a challenge tho and seems a hard worker , so we'll see how he shapes up .
Brendan and Kirsty . Two fiery hard working personalities who could actually grab that glitter ball , but only if they gel . Some celebs need babying along and some like the total work-horse approach .Brendan tends to be anything but bland, or patient, so it could go either way with Kirsty . If they don't gel it will be carnage and blood on the dance floor .

Helen and Aljaz for me followed by Anita and Gleb (I'm hoping she is the dark horse)

I can't get enthusiastic about any of the male celebs for some reason. I think Jay could be good but Aliona isn't a favourite and I like Janette but really can't go Peter.

I would have loved it if Jay had been paired with Natalie - she's my favourite female pro - but I actually think that Aliona might be the one who will make the best use of Jay's background in contemporary dance within Strictly's (very loose) ballroom/latin framework. They're the only couple I'm excited about so far.

I keep forgetting that Helen George is in Strictly this year. I like Aljaz and on paper I think they could be a very good pairing, the problem is I just keep forgetting about her.

I know Brendan wasn't really enthusiastic on Strictly last year, but I do still quite like him, and I think he and Kirsty could be an interesting pair. Mind you, I wouldn't have objected if Brendan had Jamelia, who's rather irritating, and Kirsty had been paired with Tristan instead, although height-wise, those two couples are better matched as they are. Shame.

Was hoping to pick Natalie...but not with Ainslie!

So my initial favourites are Helen and Aljaz.

I wish Natalie would get a contender - she more than deserves one.

I'm not a fan, but I was hoping Peter would have potential. No chance of that with Janette.

Daniel and Kristina will be interesting to watch...the sexless with the oversexed.

Helen and Aljaz for me.

I agree, but I think that more than anyone, Natalie is the pro that gets paired according to height. As the tallest female pro by several inches, it's inevitable she's going to get paired with the tallest male celeb, regardless of any other consideration. If the heights listed in the "Strictly Come Dancing 2015 Couple Predictions" thread are correct, then Natalie could only have been paired with Ainsley or Jeremy, and I rather think Ainsley will most likely be the better dancer of the two. Ainsley can be irritating, but I'm hoping he'll be a good enough dancer to get him reasonably far through the competition.

Georgia and Giovanni

Jay and Aliona. I think Aliona is the pro with the most potential for getting exceptionally good dances from Jay - as long as he is capable of them. I've read that he has been trying to get back to some of his dancing recently, which also suggests that he hasn't been doing much for a while. Also, he did do quite a lot of contemporary dancing, but it seemed to be to an amateur level. So hopefully he has a lot of potential, but that, we still have to find out.

Jamelia and Tristan.
I think/hope they will work well together. They should be interesting - Jamelia says things and Tristan is the sort of guy that can keep her in check but still get the best from her.

Kirsty and Brendan.
Kirsty has some ballet and tap background and is fit and competitive, so they may even be potential finalists. I'm sure they will start off well, but it will be interesting to see if they turn out to do very well.

Daniel and Kristina.
Could be a dud or could be very amusing.

Katie and Anton.
I think Katie may have to play a bit dumb to feed Anton's one-liners but I think they could be a good team. Comedy but also with good dancing.

Brendan and Kirsty. Kirsty, from a sporting background, has the reputation for being a hard worker. That will suit Brendan completely. Like most decent teachers he appreciates that not everyone will succeed, but he has loads of patience (despite what some think) with those who actually try.

Sorry Natalie has Ainsley. Really hoped she would have a real contender. Ainsley has rhythm and will probably be fun, but I don't think he will get too far.

Katie and Anton. Assuming she's any good, Anton might get to stay in the show a bit longer this series. He usually gets duffers.

That's because Anton is a duffer.

Helen and Alijaz will look great at least.

Kirsty Gallacher has a whiff of the Van Outen about her for me.

Carol and Pasha - I think they'll be fun.
Jamelia and Tristan - Could be interesting, she can move and I'd like to see what he can do.
Jay and Aliona - Hope that his fanbase hasn't been over estimated and that he sticks around. Anyone know if he likes custard?
Ainslie and Natalie - He exudes energy, he could be fun if he doesn't go OTT.

Looking forward to for all the wrong reasons

Daniel and Kristina - They could get along famously or she could scare the bejesus out of him, flinging herself about like a mad woman, krotch to the wind.

Iwan and Ola.
Starfish, pivot, knee slide, repeat. I would suggest a drinking game but we'd all be out of booze before we knew it.

Anita and Gleb
I worry for her. I know we've seen very little of him but he reminds me of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Is there room for Anita and his ego? His Cha-cha-cha pants advert (courtesy of Monkseal's twitter) is an utter treat ( other dance pants are available). I hope that he proves to have a sense of humour and have a laugh.

Daniel and Kristina. Oh the irony. Imagine if the Strictly curse struck again this year. Aliona has her best chance to finally win this year.

From the little I saw of Gleb on DWTS, he seems to have a fair sense of humour; he's no comedian, but he'll be more than willing to do comedy VTs and take the micky out of himself. I think, dance ability pending, Anita & Gleb'll survive the first few eliminations on looks alone (Anita's not exactly ugly, is she?). If Anita turns out to have some moves, they could be another Chelsee & Pasha - fairly unknown on both fronts, but endearing enough to build a following as they go.

Second best chance.

http://i2.cdnds.net/11/50/618x439/re...d_final_23.jpg

Oh yeah forgot she partnered him. 2nd best chance. Kristina and Daniel will be like Jezebel and Jesus partnering up.

I'm hoping they are smart enough to skilfully play with the contrast - it can come out one of two ways then - both funny.

I hope they don't just do something safe and boring - this is too good an opportunity to miss.

People forget that Kristina partnered legendary duffer John Sergeant and did a great job.

Absolutely. There are endless possibilities for songs. 'Jezebel', 'You're the devil in disguise', Venus, Man-eater, Personal Jesus.