I would have done:
Iwan Thomas & Natalie Lowe- I would have liked to have seen if Nat could have done better with Iwan than Ola did, or if Iwan was the problem.

Anthony Ogogo & Janette Manrara- Nowhere else for Janette to go, hence placing her here.

Daniel O'Donnell & Kristina Rihanoff- This was a nice little partnership and probably what poor Kristina needed after all the tabloid nonsense regarding her and Ben.

Ainsley Harriott & Ola Jordan- I would hope that this would be a good partnership and would allow Ola to relax a bit, she seems too strict at times.

Kirsty Gallacher & Kevin Clifton- She was this year's female duffer after Carol so I would like to have seen what Kevin could have done with her, instead of his typical finalist each year.

Carol Kirkwood & Pasha Kovalev- He was due a dud and got one, plus I thought they were a nice pairing, so no complaints here.

Jeremy Vine & Karen Clifton- Loved these two, was gutted they got to Blackpool instead of Jamelia. Jeremy's enthusiasm was great and Karen was brilliant with him.

Jamelia & Brendan Cole- To see the sparks fly. I honestly thought Tristan didn't get much out of her bar Charleston and Quickstep (the former was likely not choreographed by Tristan anyway) even though she danced very well in the Launch Show and Final Group Dances. I wonder if Brendan would have pushed her more and got some better results.

Peter Andre & Aliona Vilani- Aliona wasn't due the outright winner but someone with reasonable potential, so Peter would have been perfect. As with Tristan, I don't think Janette is the best teacher so I would like to see what one of the stronger pros could have got out of him.

Helen George & Gleb Savchenko- I would like to see what he could have done with an actual ringer and of the 3 female ringers, Helen would have been the best for him.

Anita Rani & Aljaz Skorjanec- Having won two years before, I don't think Aljaz needed another ringer but a dark horse with some potential so Anita would have been good for him.

Katie Derham & Anton Du Beke- I couldn't put him with Georgia, Kellie, Anita or Helen for obvious reasons. I wouldn't give him to Jamelia or Kirsty either and it was Pasha's turn for the duffer so no Carol either, hence leaving Katie for Anton. I would have preferred her to get Aljaz or Pasha, but that's how it works.

Kellie Bright & Tristan MacManus- I don't rate him as a teacher, but I would like to have seen what he could have done anyway. Plus he is very supportive and juggling the EE work with SCD would have been a struggle, so maybe this might work.

Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice- Too obvious and too good to even try splitting up.

Jay McGuiness & Oti Mabuse- Would have loved to see what Oti could have done with a complete ringer.

Ainslie would have been too tall for Ola and Kirsty too tall for Kevin. I wouldn't wish Brendan on Jamelia. If she were to be paired with another then Aljaz.

The producers largely get it right I think, the four who got to the final had the right pro's. Strictly should be focused on the celeb to give them the best pro to get them as far as they are able.

I would have put Peter with Karen Clifton.
Daniel O'donell with Janette,he and Kristina no,no,no.
Helen with Brendan,would have done a much better job.
Jay with Oti...Aliona is miserable and boring and I think oti and Jay would have been great together.....Apart from that the other I agree with!

Very interesting read thank you - some of your suggested pairings would have been great !

😂😂 Jay didn't think Aliona was boring or was I imagining all the laughs and fun they were having hmm maybe i'm hallucinating

Hi Joe, great thread.

I wasn't that keen on Jamelia, but I wouldn't wish that on her for anything.

I as a viewer did though.....what did he call her recently...an aggressive blonde Russian .

😂😂 next time I suggest you don't take things too literally, and I'm sure you viewed Aliona as boring what would you have suggested she'd done to entertain you more

I thought that was Kristina?

Peter may well have won with Aliona.

I'm just thankful Jay and Aliona were paired together. They produced the most memorable dances on Strictly. Ever!

Me too They were the perfect match.

Peter did not put enough effort in,Janette was frustrated with him.Jay would have won with any pro.

Blonde,Russian.. yes.....aggressive no......Aliona aggressive yes!

Got a personality

I'm afraid your wrong but wishful thinking eh wishful thinking

Nope.....I'm spot on!

Course you are

I would have swapped Katie and Georgia around but apart from that I think it was correct as it was

Aliona no personality your having a laugh right literally have you been present during the years she's been on SCD or do you pick and choose everything in your life to suit your unforeseen claims

It's all irrelevant anyway. A naturally talented celebrity got paired with the most amazing professional to produce a fabulous partnership. So good it's appreciation thread is now onto part 5, when no other has even filled part 1.
A partnership who's dances are still enthused about by many on social media daily nearly 3 months after the show finished. Awesome

Its all subjective of course but I would take issue with this. I think that this is the best ballroom dance ever done by a male celeb on Strictly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jIbaF53vrM

Also as far as female champs go Jill, Alesha and Kara were all better and have stood the test of time.

Oh I so agree that Quickstep was amazing. One of my favourite all time Strictly dances. As you say it's subjective. I still feel overall Jay and Aliona just pip Harry and Aliona as the best male celebrity female pro partnership. The fact it's the same female pro in both says a lot.

That's fine, as a fan of classic ballroom dances I feel the other way, Harry Judd also scored two 40's in his final, although Jay probably would have got one if he did the Jive.

Agree, but I think Jay and Aliona more than deserved their 40 for that final paso IMO