New found appreciation for Gleb after the tour- he's been a brilliant sport! He really knows how to put together a memorable dance.

I think the one who will get the duffer next year will be Kevin, simply because hes had a very good run with strong partners over the last three years (though I dont think they expected Susanna to be as good as she was).

Anton is usless and should be condemed to duffers forever IMO.

If Gleb had a duffer who was a good personality and lasted halfway/Blackpool, then that would be ok. If he gets a ringer she better be nice ... as you and I discussed before.

BIB: I couldn't agree more. He let Katie down big time. I know that she had limits to her talent but even then ... if you watch their salsa it is quite clear he forgets the routine and that the final lift, upon which they end, was spontaneous. She coped so well with that.

Neutral..???.....I am assuming that you followed them right from the start ? My wife is a dancer and interested in SCD so I watched it with her virtually as A/G were voted off so had to backtract along as she was upset about it.It seemed a positive kind of partnership where she deferred to him in a dance setting but otherwise she did chat for England while he smiled and joked around with her.Obviously a pretty good relationship.Seriously if she wanted to learn to dance......her family is quite well off and so is she .She is a career woman first of all but she was going to dance to the finish line once she knew who she was dancing with.

And to Lana.......his English is extremely good.Its American English and accent with a hint of Russian.Very articulate.

No problem

I hear an accent but it isn't strong like some non-native English speakers. Giovanni's Italian accent is much stronger and more pronounced. A lot of the time Gleb's accent sounds rather American to me rather than anything else but that could just be my hearing.


I agree- I think their relationship developed over the course of the series & their exit interview on ITT was just adorable seeing how fond they really were of each other. I also noticed on the final at the very end as the credits began to roll when everyone was crowding round congratulating Jay & Aliona one final time, A & G were stood slightly to the side having a hug- seeming to thank each other for the series which I thought was lovely.

Very interested to see how Gleb fills his time between now & September if he comes back next year. From Twitter it seems he's off to do some shows in Canada in a couple of days time for about a week but not sure after that. Hopefully he'll still keep as active on social media so we're kept up to date!

Yes - neutral.

I think I get what you mean by the neutral thing, Maggie. In the beginning it was quite a businesslike and professional relationship, but as went on developed more into a close friendship. I think he might be a bit scared of getting too pally with his celeb after all those affair rumours in America.

I must be a bit naive about SCD.Seems its all going on in the world of dance re: news reports of other couples .I didn't see any extra interaction between the others.....can only go on this couple .Only time I see "neutral" which to me is normal in a dance competition,is in the off dance footage of the cha cha cha where Anita is nervous and keeps glancing at him to see his reaction even after the judges positive comments.Maybe he was uptight thinking they may go out early as she had never danced or had any training whatsoever .And he is ambitious.Seemed relaxed and very comfortable with each other after that .By November she made that "he is my world absolutely...." statement looking right into the camera .Seem very good friends.They must have spent a good 6 months together dancing .

He seems to excite admiration and hate in equal measure .Fans of X have stated that they voted 100 times each where they felt threatened of a Gleb win on this tour and it seems to have been a coordinated stategy organised online and in the venues.The first 15 shows were neck and neck.The stategy came into effect for the last 15.A Scottish woman called Celia amongest others, spotted it and called it on the SCD live tour FB.

In effect Anita has been good for him even with no dance experience .He will do well in all aspects and not just on SCD.In fact SCD may be too limited for his ambition.

I think Jay had a big enough army to win it all outright, so don't want to be too conspiracy-theoryish .... But I do think some of his fans are the sort to take it all extremely seriously and to power vote.

Agree with all that, plus the fact that new pros have to adjust to the whole Strictly experience, and as good as Gleb's English is, UK accents/humour/ slang is much different to American English.

I've seen a lot of people say they didn't take to Aljaz in his first season (which I haven't watched) because he seemed dull and serious.

Alijaz was very much overshadowed by the whole "Kevin from Grimsby" thing in his first series. The other new pros of that series took a huge backseat to him. I think he is one of the nicer pros actually, very good with all his partners.

Artem was always dull and serious IMO. Never did take to him, ever.

Interesting ... I've been wondering if I should go back and watch that series. I watched the Caroline Flack series after the 2015 series ended, but found it a bit dull in comparison.

Aljaz is great--I wonder why DWTS didn't take him instead of Artem (maybe Aljaz came after Artem left?) I liked Artem well enough on DWTS--he's quite funny and a technically beautiful dancer, but he's also not really my cup of tea. I think he made a different impression on DWTS than on Strictly--he was more a background player his first series, and the second series he was paired with a popular duffer so it was comedy rather than the seriousness he apparently is known for on Strictly.

I think Gleb did incredibly well with this considering- particularly on ITT he seemed to take it all in his stride and when he wished Zoe a Happy 80th Birthday or whatever it was I thought that showed just how well he got it. A lot of the foreign pros sometimes you have to really listen to understand them but Gleb I had no problems at all. Like I said earlier- I wouldn't necessarily have known Gleb was Russian just from his accent.

It was Artem's choice to leave Strictly for DWTS, it was because he wanted to become an American citizen or something like that and he needed to spend more time in the USA to achieve it (someone on the main forum will probably explain better). His last series was 2013, which was when Alijaz, Kevin, Ivetta and Janette first appeared so they did overlap. He reached the final that year partnered with Natalie, but she was an unlikable ringer and the public didn't take to her at all.

Would have thought so .Not that I had ever heard of him before but he has a lot of fans.Those fans obviously voted normally,like everybody else in the first 15 weeks hence why it was virtually a tie then changed tactics as they have stated themselves.So all it took was say 5 fans in the venue text blitzing to tip the balance and even then G/A were close second.Did wonder how they got the results faster than they announced it on SCD live tour.Now its clear.

I agree that Aljaz was overshadowed by Kevi, who I love with equal measure to Gleb for different reasons BUT for me the biggest downer about Aljaz that year was being with Abbey! The following year when he had Alison, what a transformation! Funny and witty. Really cheeky. Suddenly I got what everyone had been raving about the previous year. He was able to continue this playfulness with Helen although it was not as marked.

Re-2014: Pasha is a dull personality and I had no interest in him and Caroline as a dancing couple. Her win was for me as low as Chris Hollins is for others.

The best thing about the 2013 series is watching how Natalie Gumede, the ringer, develops as a personality and relaxes into dancing. Her final performance of the AS was sublime and it made Artem tearful too! My theory on her was that she joined SCD because she loved dancing and might have wanted to rejuvenate a dance career in some form. Then she suffered another injury about 6 weeks in, having started strongly. In the recovery from this, she found her rhythm and perhaps let go of the dance career wish that revisited her and loved dancing for what it was in the moment. Also 2014 gave us Mark and Iveta and their wonderful partnership with quirky dances like the hip hop cha cha cha. And we had Kevin's Paso which divides and excites/angers, depending which side you fall.

Just had to reply as I saw this same quote from you on the FB SCD page. The reason the Jay and Aliona thread got the result really quick was because there was someone from the thread at every date. I was there in Glasgow and as soon as they won I posted the result as did everybody!!!

No conspiracy involved!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pMFlYGVjg

That woman Mel G is hilarious ! She needs to be on SCD or her own programme .
Seems quite down to earth on GBBO but this really shows her in her element .Mel and Gleb make a good double act there.Nice to see Gleb and Anita so comfortable with each other .


I find most Russians tend to speak American English naturally and with that accent unless they were educated here in the UK .Russians generally relate more to the US as I think he does.In fact you can say that American English is the English of business and commerce and taught in ESL schools all over the world unless they are in the UK.



lol.....Tristan is Irish like my wife ! Can be difficult for non native English speakers to understand I suppose but we are used to that accent here.Its the Scots one that still throws me.Giovanni's English is really really difficult to follow.






And Huph....beg to differ .I posted in agreement with Celia but others have raised this issue.It is what it is.

Nice to hear it. I know Gleb was working with a teacher in America to get rid of his accent.

Joy Who do you mean besides Giovanni? I had problems with Tristan.

Gleb will return to England in March. http://www.essexairambulance.uk.com/...-air-ambulance

Thanks for the info Josh. I always knew many of them are fanatics.Now thanks to social networks you can even make a revolution.

How interesting. Isnt March/April the time when the pros get their new contracts?

Yes Giovanni's accent is much stronger than Gleb's. Tristan is just normal Dublin Irish.

I was going to post this in the Team Glita thread, but as so many interesting points raised on here, thought I'd post here as well!

I thought Gleb was always so sweet with Anita - hugely physically affectionate and tactile, from the very start. Week 2 onwards he was giving her lift-off-the-floor hugs, carrying her over to the judges, kissing her on the head and ruffling her hair at the end of every single dance.

I know a few on here picked up on how physically affectionate they were with each other and agree with everything said. I picked up on the fact that he was much more touchy-feely with her than any of the other male pros were with their partners, and vice versa, from the off (can't imagine Aljaz carrying Helen over and kissing her on the head/Kellie holding on to Kevin's hands the way Anita did)

Everybody I was watching with on Movie Week picked up on their behaviour after they finished their Ghost American Smooth. Gleb was very, er, stroky especially 4:02 onwards. Felt a bit intrusive watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBaZCZlvGoM

That's not to say I think anything illicit happened, whatsoever. Think he just had a lot of affection and pride in his fearless partner and that was a way of expressing it and vice versa on her part.

I also loved their unabashed flirtation at the end of the American Smooth. Both grinning from ear to ear, loving every last second.

He was (verbally) quieter at the start (on the live shows) - I get the sense that he was a bit shier in public situations and is the type to convey affection and pride through that kind of thing ^^ rather than long speeches, but by the end he didn't stop vocalising his admiration either.

I was gutted when they were eliminated. When they were calling people into the dance off, the minute they were down to the final three, and there was a big chance they'd be in the dance off, he took very good care of her. He moves her in front of him so he can put his arms around her and whispers something to her. Little things like that are a good indicator of character, I think.

Their clip in the 'goodbye Anita' video still makes me sad. It's extra poignant because, despite the disappointment at not making the Final - Anita looks crushed - I don't think Gleb could have been any prouder. His 'you're my finalist, you're my finalist, you're my finalist, you did so good, so good, SO good' gave me a lump in my throat. He posted a photo of them both captioned 'my champ' later on.

And in their final ITT, I thought it was lovely how Gleb randomly interrupted Zoe to tell Anita 'you made the show' and pull her into a hug. Her words about how she just trusted him from the moment they were paired and how he'd always be the man who taught her to dance were also lovely.

Really excited about Gleb's (hopeful) return but really going to miss seeing them dance together next year. He retweeted something about Anita being 'made' to dance with him and I'd agree. I think she was the only contestant as fearless as he was daring, they looked after each other and gave it everything so together they were dynamite.
He also says in just about every interview that they 'clicked from day 1' and mentions how funny she is- I think he appreciates humour. On ITT, the moments he's having the most fun are when he's laughing hysterically at her antics, whether it's the tango coffee cup tantrum or her cape-ology. I wouldn't like to see him with someone who binned half the routines at 9am on a Monday morning as too risky, or a humourless super-ringer.

I think these clips are great:

Gleb rewards Anita with, er, Gleb sweat ... https://www.instagram.com/p/_NHmgnn6...by=bbcstrictly

'Did your dreams come true?' in a bid to cheer up post- '6' Anita https://www.instagram.com/p/-7AHNOH6...by=bbcstrictly

https://www.instagram.com/p/9g4Ii9H6...by=bbcstrictly

https://www.instagram.com/p/8YuY8IH6...by=bbcstrictly

Hello Puckle_Fish and welcome. What a nice post! When I saw your name as the most recent poster I felt some trepidation that this would be another wanting to discuss the FB issue and J/A wins. I'm so pleased it's not that.

I know Anita's fans were gutted at the time following her elimination. I was supporting Katie (not Anton mind) and pleased Katie got through but I have to admit I missed Anita and Gleb in the final. Their relationship developed so nicely throughout the show and their chemistry matched their dynamism by the end.

I imagine that Anita is very 'boundaried' and that might have been a huge relief to Gleb who could be himself - funny, flirty and tactile - without any awkward situation. Anita is such a trooper that it was lovely she got one of the best looking and most adventurous SCD choreographers for her journey. I'll have a look at your other links later.

EDIT: Just checked the Instagram 'Gleb sweat' -

Mainly those with really pronounced accents. I don't have problem understanding Tristan as I'm a big fan of a certain now split Irish boyband (of whom one of their members is a Strictly veteran) so I'm used to an Irish accent. It's mainly the European accents like Pasha's & Aljaz's. It's not that I can't understand their accents- I just have to concentrate harder in order to understand as sometimes they pronounce words slightly differently to how we do as native English speakers. This is also true of the foreign female pros like Kristina & Ola if that makes sense.


Hi & welcome! Thanks for a lovely opening post! I 100% agree with everything you've said & I especially loved the part I've quoted above too- I have rewatched their final ITT so many times! I think by the end you could genuinely see the mutual affection & fondness they had for each other & it was lovely to watch! Thanks for those lovely clips also- I hadn't seen them before!

BiB: I realize Artem chose to leave, it just seems to me that Aljaz would've been the more likely choice to get an offer from DWTS due to his looks and his natural charm and his overall niceness. I noticed quite a few people on DWTS fan sites didn't like Artem.

MaggieMcGee, your description of 2014 makes me think I should watch it. Artem with a ringer sounds good, and I do like Iveta. The Aljaz-Abbey pairing had also been putting me off--seems too obvious to pair two young, beautiful people.

(On the other hand, I just read that Nastassja Kinski is going to do the German Strictly starting in March and I may have to watch that just for her.)