Apart from Naga and Will Young, not an inspired line up so far in my view. Haven't heard of most of them. But I had no idea who J was either - I wonder if lightning can strike twice with Ed Balls revealing his inner Nureyev?

Thank you. I will do my best

Oh fgs why do you have have to turn everything into a drama about you.

1. It's called being polite but no I'm not sorry I disagree with you.
2. You had an opinion - I disagreed with it. Your opinion DOES NOT always have to be the definitive one, we are allowed to have differing opinions on things.
3. I have no problem with you - stop insinuating I do.
4. Don't worry I won't respond to anything you post again in case it upsets you.

I think the general consensus on the MF and on Twitter is that the average age is younger this year, and from that list, there is nobody so far aged over 50. Last year they had Daniel, Ainsley, Jeremy, and Carol. Add to this the fact that two very young pros have joined the show. So unless most of the remaining celebs are older, they have a point.

I don't know why they'd want to appeal to a younger audience anyway - Strictly is doing very well already, thank you very much, and aren't the 16-24 year olds out with their friends on a Saturday night anyway?

I fully expect the remaining contestants to be in the 'older' age bracket red. Lesley Joseph and Mr & Mrs Holmes for instance!

Hi Dufnut

Congratulations on being nearly well enough to go back to work - I hope you don't mind some advice from someone who's been there! Try not to rush going back, I did and regretted it. Its better to go back for half days only if that's possible, as half time with full days is much more tiring than knowing you can go home at lunch time. And don;t worry if it seems like your brain is going slowly, it will get better. Good luck!

Can I add congratulations to all the brilliant children heading off to University, and also to the new baby. I'm sure he will bring joy

https://strictlysupportgroup.wordpre...s-triathlon-2/

Been doing my voting duties Seems to be on the same basis as the RT poll - i.e. 25 is the magic number

*waves* Hi Dufnut lovely to see you back

It only seems to be letting me have one vote?

Yuk !! Let's hope to God they aren't - they'd be the ones I left the room for to do something else ! Just found out at work today the staff Christmas Party night out is 17th December I just hope I'm not heavily invested in someone this year like I was last year. I'll record it but it'll be the first SCD Final I've missed live. The irony is last years is recorded on my TV and I can't watch it back like the other shows because of what happened.

Have to say I'm a bit underwhelmed with the revealed celebs. I know it must get harder each year to persuade folk to commit to it, but I only like Will Young so far Time will tell I guess.

Just been back to the poll & it let me vote a la the RT poll. Don't know if it could have anything to do with the device you use to vote with???

I've started to collate the info for SCD 2016 contestants. Apart from height & age of celeb is there anything else anyone would like to compare (polite answers please!)?. And if anyone can help with the height of Aljaz, Gorka, Neil, AJ, Ore, Katya, Oti, Chloe or Oksana I would be very grateful & offer slice of virtual cake🍰🍰

I don't have a problem with older dancers, just naff ones. Last year it was such a surprise and delight to discover Jay - something that's turned Strictly on it's head and given TPTB such a headache this year. They've got their work cut out to even get near the commitment people had to him pretty much right from the start, and certainly from the Waltz. That's what sealed it for me.

How on earth can they cap that? Pretty much impossible in my view - J & A's partnership was a once in a lifetime treat for the show, and I think this year's contestants will rumble along as best they can. Will will probably win, unless TPTB want a woman this time. I don't know if Naga can dance or not, but she's clearly a replacement for Anita, whom many people thought was treated unfairly as well.

I'm not holding my breath on any of it, and will be delighted if someone does surprise us with immense musicality, elegance, charisma and style this year, but I fear it will be just another Strictly, same old same old....

....unless they do go for same-sex partners. The involvement of Will and maybe Judge R might point to this, and Borewood has hinted at it. Be interesting to see what happens.

If you venture onto the MF there is a thread discussing the pairings (which is even tetchier than our thread) and a number of the heights of dancers have been discussed. Apart from Alijaz they all seem to be pretty short. Also, maybe worth noting apparently 2 pro dancers will be sitting out and not having celebs just dancing in the troupe.

Just noticed that it's Gaby Roslin Is one of the presenters on The Saturday Show. Didn't she interview him on the National Lottery a little while ago?

SSL - Will is the only one I have bothered to follow on Twitter so far! This may change if I end up liking any of them enough to give them my free votes.

Whiffle - I will see what I can find out with the help of Mr/Mrs/Ms Google.

Edit: I'm guessing you've already checked Google because I can't find those.

Just wait for Ed BB - trust me, you don't have to agree with his politics but he will be good value. This is his biog from his website:

"Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Visiting Professor to the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Norwich City FC Chairman and contestant on Strictly Come Dancing 2016.

Dad, cook, pianist, economist. Former Cabinet Minister & Shadow Chancellor".

He is clever, funny, up for a challenge. He only started to play the piano a couple of years ago, he makes amazing cakes for his kids, he doesn't take himself seriously - he will be good.

...unless he's voted out after his Cha Cha Chancellor debut...

Extensively - hence the need for Hannahs' therapy cat re pics of Kevin!. But thanks for looking

Showing my thread ignorance here but how do I venture onto the MF??
Re BIB I was expecting that as 9 male & 8 female pros have been announced - 17 couples would be FAR too many

Completely agree with this BB how many other winners still have fans watching their dances on a daily basis?
Re BIB Nagra is in the paper today saying she would like to be partnered with Karen Clifton because she thinks Karen is a pocket rocket & full of fire & would be able to whip her into shape

At the top of page is black bar with Digital Spy and then TV Soaps etc

Underneath in grey you should see the following path, which are all hyperlinks:

Home / Forums / TV / Strictly Come Dancing / Strictly Come Dancing Appreciation / Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani appreciation thread - Part 6

Click on Strictly Come Dancing and it should take you to Main page where all threads are listed.

I've been in there (MF) again and I iz not liking it.
NAT--- yes will revisit. But some of the others well. .........Ooer. Nightmare city😂😂😂

Oh I know, some of the comments are a bit It can get a bit compulsive reading some of the threads though sometimes, wondering how far they can go until it gets locked

Yes, it can be a bear pit, even more so once the series starts.

I do comment sometimes, but try to keep to the less contentious issues! Last year had great fun voting for J and A every week in the "who was your favourite this week" poll. Some people were not happy that he won every week.😂

The "who was your least favourite" tended to vary.

I was never impressed with Ed on PMQs, or in debates that I saw him in (not that I saw him very often), but liked his stint on Sport Relief Bake Off - seems like a nice chap outside of politics.

Hope that he gets the chance to last more than one week.

My own post I know😕

Thanks Lola. This is perfect as it starts to analyse my post above. (And it saves me doing it for my own amusement ) Ta very muchly as we say round our way😂

Pretty much agree BB with the exception of the BIB.
No disrespect here but I see Strictly in its current format as Ballroom and Latin with partnerships set up as usual.
Think that's why I went off DWTS on a dancing basis.. As Len would say "Too much faffing abaht".

Thanks Lola

Priceless!