Len gives the illusion of the dapper, old school charmer, but there's a real nasty streak hiding beneath that veneer. It wasn't obvious - to me anyway, what Giovanni had done to warrant such a sudden, spiteful tirade. I went from happy and entertained to feeling really uncomfortable!

Poor bloke is told to play a role, and the Rhumba has always been criticised for being posy in Strictly hands, that's all. Len just spat the dummy.

I quite like him. He seems to be constantly bewildered by the process of the show and looks uncomfortable in interviews.

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I wonder if that's due to his age as he seems much younger than the other pro's. Or perhaps he's just aged very well

I only get a fake, Vincent-style arrogance vibe from Giovanni. If I was going to point the finger at anyone for that sin, it would be Tristan. I honestly don't see any substance, personality-wise or choreography-wise, to justify the hype he generated when he joined last season and I don't think Jamelia is enjoying her time with him, unlike Georgia with Giovanni.

Funny how you still like the females?

I find him very sleazy but I think Len should have had a word with him off camera.

He's 25 so I guess younger than most of the others.

Len maybe phrased it wrong, but he''s right, that wasn't a rumba by any stretch of the imagination, more a contemporary dance, and my favourite dances are always the ones when they resemble what they're meant to be (although I'm not convinced by a lot of the cherography this week) Anton is right in a way that the celebs can only be judged on what they'really given to do, so it depends if you're judging the celeb or the partnership if it should be taken into consideration or not

For me Len always has one he dislikes each year and gets nasty and tonight was shocking.

I believe he isn't doing DWTS anymore? I for one would be very pleased to see the back of him, there is no need for the way he spoke.

It's true to say that the pro-dancers work around the ability of their celeb, maybe she was struggling with the Rhumba walks etc? Whatever, I have seen far worse. Carol Vorderman anyone? I have never been able to look at her since her Rhumba!

I think the head judge does have to lay down the law when it comes to dance content. The pros will ignore every rule in the book if the law isn't laid down firmly and someone like Darcy can't apply the law (in case the head judge disagrees). The only problem with Len is that he loses his composure when applying the law, when it is actually the time when he should stay composed the most!

I think Giovanni is just a bit protective of Georgia. I'm certainly no expert on ballroom dance so I don't really know what he was talking about it not being a rumba but I've seen people mention lots of dances the pro's have choreographed have had little content of what the dance is supposed to be. Jannette's Cha Cha for example. I don't seem to recall Len going off at her about that.

If Len does have a serious reason to dislike Giovanni then it should be dealt with backstage there was no need to humiliate the guy on TV like that.

I agree, he criticised Trent last year if I remember correctly


as you said, Giovanni has only been on the show for three weeks and I was surprised at Len's comments, have to admit to watching Giovanni all through the dance then having to watch again to see what Georgina was doing

I can't decide if he's shifty and cagey or just focused on winning, hopefully it's the latter

I don't find him arrogant at all...I think hes just trying to play the romeo character hes been given, exactly like Vincent was. Regardless of whether some may think Vincent played that role better or not, I don't believe it really resembles either of their characters that much. I could be wrong, but I think Giovanni may well be latching on more to that role that the producers gave him as hes the new kid on the show and it is quite a big thing to join a new team where no one knows you, if you've no previous experience on other shows.

I don't have a particular opinion on his personality as i don't think I've really seen enough of it yet, but his dancing and routines have been great so far and I like his partnership with Georgia.

I think some people are missing the point, Len was reacting more to the fact that Giovanni was shaking his head in disagreement with the judges comments and being disrespectful. Maybe a bit harsh in tone but understandable

I like Giovanni and I thought Len was 100% out of order, and you could see that it really threw Giovanni. Pretty low of Len, but what else can we expect from him?

I can't stand the two new male professional dances. They hog the screen instead of keeping the focus on the celebs. As far as I'm concerned the show should ditch Giovanni and Gleb at the end of the season.

I guess everyone will judge it differently, depending on their point of view. I can understand how some might think it was out of order, but I have no problem with him disagreeing with the judges comments, especially if it only amouinted to him shaking his head. Brendan and James go overboard answering back etc but he wasn't near that. I also like to see pros defending their partner. Personally I didn't see anything particularly arrogant about it at all (maybe because I enjoyed the dance) and I've seen much worse in terms of pros not agreeing with judges comments (and not getting spoken to the way Len spoke to him)

I don't see the problem with him. He is a bit conceited, yes, but I'd imagine he's been told to ham it up for the cameras by producers.

Len was really out of line tonight the way he spoke to Giovanni. Who the hell does he think he is?

I agree with this .
Gio is very much up his own bum and maybe needed taken down a peg or two , but Len was too personal .
Wasn't it Gio who was soaking wet ? I think it was . I was shocked at the state of him after that dance , the gravy was running off him . Most peculiar .

Indeed. It was annoyance at "disrespecting the judges." The lack of rumba steps tirade came after that!

Whether you think the strictly judges qualified or not - it's never a good idea to piss off the people who mark you. Sometimes you've just got to smile graciously when inside you're thinking "Bawwww, this is so unfair!" Which Georgia definitely did! Props to her for staying bright and bubbly in the face of a really awkward situation.

I agree. The pro's should be allowed to defend their choreography. I do think it was the head shaking that bugged Len (I don't think he'd have tore him to shreds if Giovanni had vocally expressed his disagreement) but I actually thought the head shaking was a bit tongue in cheek towards Bruno. I didn't read it as arrogance. But as you say, everyone judges things like that differently.

Giovanni is a typical Italian 'fighetto' - very conscious of his own appearance, thinks he's a hit with the ladies etc. Vincent was like that, but he had more self-awareness and humour about it, which made it kinda charming and funny. I don't think Georgia has got enough sass to take the mickey out of him for it, which would make him seem less of a bore.

Re: Len v. Giovanni though: Len is a nasty piece of work. Totally team Giovanni on that one.