I was being scurrilous but as I was typing I was wondering what hold Anton had that meant he would not be relinquished. Thought of him golfing with Bruce and Len and then one thing led to another and ... well there you go! I mean it's not the wildest of my thoughts. May be he's a member of the Illuminati.

He does seem to be made lf Teflon doesn't he? Why do they keep him on year after year?

Please give Tristan a contender.
Kevin is overdue a duffer.

Aliona - Middler
Aljaz - Middler
Anton - Middler/Contender
Brendan - Middler
Giovanni - Contender
Gleb - Duffer
Janette - Duffer
Joanne - Contender
Karen - Contender
Kevin - DUFFER
Kristina - Middler
Natalie - CONTENDER
Oti - Middler/Contender
Pasha - Middler
Tristan - CONTENDER

Aliona - Middler - Unlikely she will get another contender and she's had her fair share of duffers although Pasha went from Caroline to Carol, and Aljaz from Abbey to Alison so I wouldn't be surprised to see her get another duffer

Aljaz - Middler - I love to watch Aljaz both as a person and a dancer/choreographer. With a winner, Alison and then a Middler it's anyone's guess what he will actually get

Anton - Middler - I do have to say that I think a contender would be wasted on him and I don't mean that cruelly. He's good with the "older" woman and that's his niche almost.

Brendan - Contender - I'd actually like to see Brendon with a really good contestant as I think he can pull out some amazing choreography and would give him the chance to redeem himself for Bacofoil which he's been paying for ever since

Giovanni - Duffer - I'd like to see him with a Contender because I think he is a good dancer and has learned a lot this series but being a finalist I suspect he will be handed a duffer next year and in a way I think he'd actually handle it well

Gleb - Duffer - Now part of me says I would love to see him with a real contender that was up there with the best of the best.... but the dark side of me begs for a duffer just to see how he'd deal with it.

Janette - Middler - After a run with Jake and Peter it's hard to say what she would get but I imagine with Janette it will depend more on the height aspect. If we get a small male then she's the natural choice

Joanne - Contender - Having had Scott (duffer) and then dealing so graciously with nothing this year I would really love to see what she could do with someone good

Karen - Contender - Karen has proved herself with duffers-middlers and I would really like to see what she could pull out of the bag with someone really good.

Kevin - Duffer - Has to be. He's had a really easy run to be fair and I'd actually think he'd do pretty well with a duffer anyway

Kristina - Middler - I love Kristina's choreography and she's had a mixed bag to date ranging from John to Simon/Jason. Hard to say what would come up for her next

Natalie - Contender - I would love love love to see Natalie with a real contender. She handles all her contestants with the utmost grace and deserves the chance to shine. However, like Janette I fear her placing will be more about height than ability.

Oti - Contender - I really want to see what Oti can do and would love to see she would come up with with a real shot at the glitterball

Pasha - Middler - He did well with Carol this year. A recent champ, so I guess middle of the road

Tristan - Contender - Give Tristan a break and give him someone decent. On DWTS and now SCD he's never really had a real contender and I would love to see him prove some people wrong as I think he's a good dancer and had more than his fair share of bashing this year again.

Aliona - Middler - she shouldn't get another Contender, but has also served her time with Duffers, so it should be somebody to get to Blackpool or thereabouts

Aljaz - Middler - did well with Helen as a Contender this year, so a Middler for him next year to test him a bit more

Anton - Middler - by the latter stages this year, you could tell the strain was getting to him, so a Blackpool-ish Middler seems about right for him

Brendan - Middler/Contender - maybe time for Brendan to have a chance of the final again, definitely not a duffer (and somebody who has mental strength please)

Giovanni - Middler - we've seen what he did with a Contender, so now time to see how he is with somebody less gifted

Gleb - Duffer/Middler - this year he had what some would classify as a Middler to start with and got her to definite Contender levels, so would be good to see what he's like with somebody not so good

Janette - Duffer - she's had 2 potential Contenders in a row, so is now maybe due a duffer

Joanne - Contender - we need to see how good a teacher she could be, there were glimpses of it on ITT, so let's see what she can really do

Karen - Contender - she's been brilliant with Duffers, so really deserves a Contender

Kevin - Duffer - must be due one soon surely

Kristina - Middler

Natalie - Contender - as with Kevin (but in the opposite direction) surely she must be due one soon

Oti - Middler/Contender - we need to see a bit more of her

Pasha - Middler - did well to get Carol as far as he did this year, so maybe somebody a bit better next year

Tristan - Contender - I want to see Tristan with a Contender to see what he can really do

Darren Gough was still a duffer at the end.
Just slightly less duffery

Aliona - Duffer
Aljaz - MOR
Anton - MOR
Brendan - Contender
Giovanni - Duffer
Gleb - MOR
Janette - Duffer (unfortunate but she was the second highest female pro this series)
Joanne - Contender
Karen - MOR
Kevin - Duffer
Kristina - MOR
Natalie - Contender
Oti - MOR
Pasha - MOR
Tristan - Contender

True.
I rewatched Tristans jive with Jennifer Gibney the other night. Though she was a 'duffer' i thought he did really well with her and did a good routine to suit her abilities. I'd love to see him with a Georgia or Anita.
Though i actually think Jamelia was better than she was given credit for. Their charleston is one of my fave dances of the series.

Len's comments on his hand position. Funny handshake innit?

Aliona- Duffer- Winning pros normally get duffers the following year and she's won twice now so she'll probably back to duffers, possibly forever.

Aljaz - Middiler

Anton-Duffer-they were nice to him this year probably because they gave Carol to Pasha but he'll probably be back to his old style of partners next year.

Brendan- Middiler

Giovanni- contender- runnerups often get contenders the following year sort of as consolation prize.

Gleb -Duffer- I think the producers will just want to see what kind of weird and wonderful things he'd come up with if he had an Anne Widdiecombe

Janette - Duffer- I think they might realise she might not be the best teacher or choreographer but getting rid of her might risk losing Aljaz so safest option is to stick her with a no-hoper.

Joanne contender- She's a world champ and in her two years she's been given a duffer then nobody. She's proved herself to be quite popular on Choreography Corner and hopefully they'll realise her worth.

Karen contender- She's not had a real contender yet and her relationship with Jeremy made her quite popular so think they may try her with someone who can actually dance.

Kevin Duffer he's been in the final three years in a row he's well overdue a duffer. Although I am starting to wonder if the producers might just keep giving him good dancers who lack just enough popularity to win. Just to see how many times in a row he can be runner up before he snaps.

Kristina- middler

Natalie - Contender- like Aliona this year she's well overdue one.

Oti - middler

Pahsa-middler


Tristan - Contender- I think Jamelia was supposed to be a contender for him this year but she turned out to not be as good as everyone thought.

But they don't because they don't have to. They have head start. Then the judges expect the non beginners to be just as good as the ringers or even better. Never did understand the logic.

The pros I really want to see with contenders are Joanne, Natalie and Oti.
I'd rather see Anton and Janette with duffers/middlers than contenders -- I'm not wowed by either of them.
Kevin's reached the final three times in three years, even though he's not actually won, so I suppose it's time he had a middler or duffer.
I don't really mind who else has a contender, middler or duffer.

I definitely want to see Tristan and Joanne with contenders. In the interest of fairness Kevin needs to be given a duffer or older lady, I think he'd probably be very nice with them and this forum would then implode

Because Clare Sweeney was such a beginner...

The trouble is - at the start of the series no one really knows just how good the celebs will be.

Generally the sports people start from a low base - but have the work ethic to give it their best shot and will work hard to improve (Iwan being the exception rather than the rule), and generally throw themselves into it heart and soul.

Actors and actresses tend to have studied at least some form of dance at stage school so do have a head start - and least they know how to learn routines, have a knowledge of some basic steps, and are pretty uninhibited

Musicians have usually got some musicality and get the importance of timing and moving to the beat. TV presenters etc usually do ok as they are used to "performing to a camera etc.

Women have an advantage over men as most little girls will have done some dance classes as little girls, although with the growing popularity of street dance more boys are starting to dance as well

But - and its a big but - anyone who want to do well has just got to throw themselves into the training and throw away their inhibitions. Anita did so well this year as she just went for whatever Gleb threw at her with no self consciousness at all as did Kellie. Doing something like Strictly means that to do well - a competitor doesn't need to worry about potentially making a prat of themselves, and just do it

That said - I DO think that the judges need to accept that the absolute beginners have a steeper hill to climb at the beginning and they should be given some allowances - Craig's obsession with hand shapes and positions in the early stages is unfair on complete beginners who have a lot more important stuff to worry about than a sticking up thumb!

And Jill Halfpenny...

Aliona should get a duffer - probably one that is actually dead. Give Craig something to really complain about.

Kevin should get a Ringah - get to his 4th consecutive final and lose again.

Natalie should get Nigel Farage and then spend the entire series telling us what a lovely person he is.

Oti should get Idris Elba and confuse the hell out of all the racist voters with ovaries.

Made me laugh.

Your facial expressions were WONDERFUL in that Tango, but you need to do something about your THUMBS darling, they were sticking UP.

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but I think he does have a fanbase which means he's valuable to the show. My mil votes for Anton every series regardless of who he's partnered with

Oops well spotted only 3 contenders i will swap 2 and give Karen and Natalie contenders. Didnt notice a thread on this so naturally started one

They have always had people with a theatre, dance or stage school background - right back to Caire Sweeney and Jill Halfpenny in Series 1 and 2.

Problem this year is they've had too many I think. Stops the beginners too much.

The dance-off in the later weeks also often favours the trained as the judges choose the best dancer.

I thought about this as well and I think this year it led to a different kind of competition with multiple contestants with some prior training. However as Anita proved, you don't need prior training to rank amongst the top. ..... if Gleb would have paid more attention to her feet and got rid of those faults then I think she would have been there right to the end. By the end of Oct then I do think that the intensive training of SCD supercedes the majority of previous training anyway and of course it's specific to what they are dancing.

Aljaz - Middler
Anton - Joke contestant
Brendan - Middler
Giovanni - Contender (finalists should get a contender after 1st final)
Gleb - Duffer/ contender
Janette - Duffer
Joanne - middler
Karen - duffer (she is better with duffers, people forget Nicky and Mark were "contenders" on paper)
Kevin - DUFFER
Kristina - Middler
Natalie - middler with potential or hidden contender (I think she is best at developing)
Oti - Contender
Pasha - Middler
Tristan - CONTENDER (I would love to see him with a proper contender, but I worry he would be disappointing.)


However in Natalie/Janette cases is a lot todo with height, so I believe it will depend what height contenders/middlers or duffers are.

No he would be awesome. We need more Tristan, we need a Tristan showdance!