He did have just a slight advantage having starred in Top Hat for 18 months. No wonder he looked like a professional dancer, he is one.
Must admit that I was rooting firmly for Cassidy and would definitely have voted for him had the general public been allowed....

True. For me Flavia was also the same, always showcasing the celebrities. I am sure some would disagree.

This post makes me slightly nauseous!

Really? Makes me want to yawn excessively and wonder if there is a new edition coming out soon or whether the old one is going to be recited incessantly.

Tom Chambers seems to have improved loads since he was on Strictly and now looks like a professional dancer, despite being much older. Harry has also got much better.


Cassidy Little is way better than the people on DWTS who have artificial limb(s).

Also much better than Anthony this year who had one arm (sort of)....

As I said in a previous post, Tom Chambers starred in Top Hat for 18 months in the same part that Fred Astaire played in the film, so you could say he is a professional dancer.

I was interested in the choice of professional dancers noticed Gleb was notably absent from the show and vt does that mean anything I wonder, only male to be absent possibly

having just caught up with the Strictly Christmas Special I have to say I really enjoyed it

lovely to see so many old faces back on the dance floor and I enjoyed every dance (but 1)

Lisa Snowden was a delight, I had totally forgotten how good she was at ballroom and I thought she was amazing seeing as she hadn't danced for 7 years!

Abbey was my favourite in her series and she certainly didn't disappoint with a beautiful waltz

I have to admit I don't know much about Cassidy but I thought he did a wonderful jive and Natalie looked as gorgeous as ever

Harry Judd - wow, I had actually forgotten how brilliant he was at ballroom and he and Jo looked totally amazing together

Never liked Tom and I didn't like him on the Christmas Special either - sorry - Oti is a dream tho

the less said about Allison and Robin the better, more side by side turning from the side by side master! sorry

brilliant show, very pleased Harry and Jo won, I thought they were the best on the night

Her latin was awful, Brendan was a dick that year and she's the sort of person who tends to be a bit of people pleaser (she has to suck up to assholes she works with Johnny Vaughan who was also a complete arse on ITT so didn't have the personality to dissociate herself from Brendan) which by some can be perceived as being insincere. Her and Brendan played the system by doing one good ballroom dance and the lousy latin one didn't matter when they came against Austin in the dance-off which resulted in him going out - whatever your opinion on this he was really popular and it was result that many didn't want. She was also over-marked on occasion. You can't deny that Tom and Camelia's showdance wiped the floor with Bacofoil either. I'm not saying it's right or wrong although I'm afraid I wasn't wowed by her - but these are the reasons.

Actually they might do - they have found that with some overweight people that they'd don't seem to have the ability to feel full.

Yes it was - if you want to go with the best all-round dancer that year winning it ought to have been Rachel.

Back to the day job pretty much - he's drumming with McBusted at present I believe.

Not the parent you want to take after in the looks department when the other option's a model is it?

Maybe genetic? I've often wondered if the neurological connection between belly and brain is a bit slow with dogs too, for example. Mine stay 'hungry' (How??!) until maybe twenty minutes after they've eaten -- no matter how much I gave them. Then they zonk out completely satisfied and sleepy. Maybe the brain that doesn't recognise when the belly is full has a survival advantage -- albeit one now superseded by modern living

Get over it - it's seven ruddy years ago - and that's a ridiculously over-simplified statement. Actually Lisa was pretty lucky that most people's latin was as poor as hers that year - I'd say that the only real contenders were Rachel who was all round the best dancer but was a tad bland, and in terms of personality Tom and Austin. I think the fact that Lisa was obviously favoured by the judges set a lot of the people against her - most people really wanted Tom and Austin in the final and no it isn't because they were male it's because they had most personality out of all the people who could dance.

Nah - she was no slough in the dance department either.

Very tough call and much would have depended on the pros they got.

I agree actually I think Harry can work with anyone but Jay I'm not sure would have got where he did with any other pro - I think they complimented each other really well.

I wasn't a fan of Abbey's by any means but the woman does a damn fine waltz. I thought they were all food tonight well apart from Alison who was obviously punching above her weight (sorry no pun intended). I guess with all of them it shows they have different strengths.

I think there's a lot in that and I think it's why some slimming clubs recommend sitting down for a meal and eating slowly - its gives the brain time to catch up. I've got weight problems and I have on occasion been hungry, stuffed my face and then felt bloated when it all caught up with me about half an hour later. I definitely have that lag between eating and feeling full up.

I agree. In Aliona's first series, when she was paired with Rav Wilding, her choreography was more about her - in the Ola Jordan "if he can't dance well, then dance around him to distract attention from how bad he is" style. But that was Aliona's first series and it it often takes pros a series to settle in and learn how to choreograph for Strictly, unless they've already worked on one of the other Strictlys/DWTS elsewhere in the world and have experience from that. Since then, I think Aliona has showcased her celebs very well.

I do think that some of the routinues that Ailona did for Harry well all a bit flash over cash - she seemed to get a bit carried away with concepts during theme weeks but I think she's done a good job of balancing the theme with content this year and she certainly has managed to put Jay in the centre of the choreography rather than her.

Well I used to go on holidays to a dancing hotel which taught dancing etc. They thought Lisa was a gorgous ballroom dancer with great posture. I agree loved her
dancing.
By the way who won the Christmas special last year 2014 cannot remember.

I'm pretty certain it was aliona with Louis smith with their quickstep