Daniel does seem to be a very unique individual Buddy, he is going to be a fascinating contestant, his slow motion action replay speech delivery tends to hold you spellbound.

I think Daniel may surprise some people and he will be good on Strictly.

I don't care - I cannot stand him!

I didn't know who Daniel is Sarah, but I already have a bit of warm spot for him, his measured delivery in interviews is quite fascinating, I think I will be supporting him this year..

To be honest Terry I did not know who he was initially either a bit to young for his music by the sounds.

From the little I have seen of him Sarah, he seems like a quite nice man.

I found him to be willing to take time out for people unlike some celebrities who only want to generate publicity.

Daniel:
Complete beginner
Loved by some, hated by others
Large fan base to keep him in so he overstays his welcome
Likely to struggle with certain dances which won't fit his personality or capability
Has a professional partner with a completely opposite personality.

.....it's what Strictly is all about, isn't it? Good signing.

He's very much not my cup of tea - but not in a bad way. Its usually quite a strain to watch him (I was joking about watching the 2:43:43 video )

But he is a great signing because he is very different and he has been paired with Kristina who is different from him. I won't be surprised if they actually get on very well.

I will be impressed if he takes on the Strictly challenge fully and tries to perform each dance in the Strictly version of 'the correct manner'. I wasn't impressed by his group dance performance, but I was by his training video.

I believed you about watching for nearly 3 hours! I think he will try his best to do things the right and Kristina is a perfect partner for the gently, gently approach. I liked it when in their First Steps video that if he gets something wrong, Kristina doesn't say he's wrong, but shows him another way.


I get what you mean Terry. It's quite strange watching him and it felt a little bit like unwanted hypnotism!

I wasn't sure from your reply whether you believed me or not.

Slow talking is unusual these days, so I feel a little bit like I want to finish Daniel's sentences.

I did believe you, but didn't realise that you meant you'd only been watching one video!

It's so tempting to finish off a slow speaker's sentences. My 80yr old FIL is a slow speaker and very deaf, so it's a real effort not to jump in!

Will Kristina revive the John Sargeant drag to get votes ?

I don't think she'll need to resort to that ☺

I don't recall ever seeing John Sergeant in drag.

He has a reputation for it. Even in Ireland he gets stick for being 'too nice' and for how well he looked after his mother while she was alive, and his annual tea party for his fans. However he has a good sense of humour and always seems to come across well in interviews. I met him once when I was very young. I had been marched into a jewellers where he was signing autographs to get his for my gran! Personally I wouldn't be a fan of his music but that's no reflection on how he seems as a person. But I do know a dancer who has worked at his shows and has only ever said good things about him. You'll be hard pushed to dig up dirt on him. For some reason though he gets ridiculed for it.

Its nice to hear that he looked after his mum like that, and having an annual tea party for his fans sounds amazing beebopbabsie. A good sense of humour and good in interviews it sounds like Daniel has what it takes to be a Strictly presenter one day when they put a man in charge again. Thank you for all this info beebopbabsie, Daniel is a firm favourite with me now.

This made me smile at the amount of comments which could be generated if Daniel is rumoured as the next Strictly presenter!

I dipped into some of the clips although I didn't last long with any of them. I actually like his voice a lot, a bit Neil Sedaka-ish, just couldn't cope with his song choices.

What did stand out in the clips was his sense of rhythm. It didn't seem to matter what kind of movement he was making, whether walking across the stage or just an arm movement, it was always instinctively in time with the music. This sounds as though it should be par for the course with any singer, but it most definitely isn't.

He may lack the athleticism of the younger ones, but if Daniel's strength lies in his ability to interpret the music and hit every step bang in the centre of the beat, he could be very watchable. Mark Benton is an example of what I mean, his jive was a real showstopper for me, despite his limitations as a dancer, although whether Daniel can be quite as extrovert a performer as Mark remains to be seen.

You make some very good points Annied.

Now Louis Walsh has left the X-Factor he has tipped Strictly to beat the X-Factor in the ratings because he is aware of how popular that Daniel is as says that he believes that Simon is not aware of how popular Daniel is in general.

Just read an article saying that Daniel has been getting tounge tied in rehearsals.

Louis is much missed on X Factor, it is always wise to take notice of his comments, he must know a lot about Daniel.

Agree Annie, I also had a dip in and out of some of his clips and noticed that he most certainly was always on the beat, which will surely be an asset to him.

Daniel doesnt seem top speak fast enough to get tounge tied though Sarah.