Hi daziechain

I'm voting for Louise and Ore now but I do love Oti and would be very happy to see her and Danny win, or Claudia & AJ.

I've absolutely loved watching Ed & Katya and my anticipation for his Tango and Cha Cha challenge is huge but I've stopped voting for them. I want to see three of the top four dancers left in the Final.


Have to disagree Sarah, I think Laura looks truly radiant in the photos from last night, her eyes have got some of their sparkle back. Gorgeous gown.

Great pics in the DM article on Laura attending the ITV Gala including with Emma Willis (which Laura's posted to her Insta) and having a laugh with Dermot on the red carpet

Just noticing today how the Daily Mail have rephrased their account of the fall-out between Laura and Gio/Strictly. I've marked in bold the things that caught my eye in the article. There is the odd interesting phrase.

The headline uses the phrase 'drama' rather than 'feud'

The article text...

She may have just completed a stint on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, but Laura Whitmore is still one of the darlings of ITV. The TV presenter made a triumphant return to the red carpet on Thursday night for the ITV Gala, putting the fallout of her Strictly exit to one side for the evening.

(fashion write up follows with pics... then back to Strictly )

Following her exit from Strictly Come Dancing two weeks ago, the television personality was plagued by rumours that she and Giovanni had fallen out.

Insiders close to the beauty and her dance partner disagree about the source of the tension between Giovanni and Laura.

It is known that Laura is a friend of Giovanni's ex-girlfriend, actress Georgia May Foote, 25, who he dated after her own appearance on the show in 2015.

Laura and Giovanni left in Week 7 of the competition after a bottom two dance-off against Ore Oduba, who is due to compete in the Blackpool stage of the ballroom show next week. (DM cut and paste clearly out of date here!)

Laura struggled to fight back tears on her elimination after an awkward timing issue during her samba to the Gipsy Kings' Bamboleo with partner Giovanni Pernice.
..................

That is a very big change since a week ago. I still am inclined to think that this one was sorted out by a few letters being sent out.

The allegations made last week by the DM source sympathetic to Giovanni clearly don't stand up to any challenge or scrutiny. They were quite simply a malicious attempt to damage Laura. I am heartened to sense it hasn't worked to any significant degree.

I am less confident than you about that.

The BBC (ummm....probably) appear to have sorted this one out quietly.

I am fed up reading about how Laura and Georgia are good friends. There is a difference between good friends and acquaintances - which going from their social media before strictly started is what I would think they were.

Yes - it feels strange. Laura however said in several interviews that Georgia was a 'good friend'. So she hung that label around her own neck.

On the other hand, in the 'secret' phase pre-Strictly announcements, there might have been a few get-togethers that were kept off social media. It is possible after all. To me, 'good friend' really means someone who is a very solid friend through the good times and the dark days. But in modern usage, it's someone you have taken a selfie with

The papers in question would have run and re run those nasty stories and many more would have joined in. I too think the BBC have quietly sorted it out probably via their Legal. Dept.

Less confident than me about what?

Less confident than you about your point of view as you expressed it in your comments, which I quoted.

But we have do slightly different points of view on this topic.

Clarifying whether you meant you are less confident the bullying and abusive texts allegations were untrue or that you are less confident Laura hasn't been damaged by them to any significant degree before I answered.

The allegations made last week by the DM source sympathetic to Giovanni clearly don't stand up to any challenge or scrutiny. They were quite simply a malicious attempt to damage Laura. I am heartened to sense it hasn't worked to any significant degree.

I don't feel that I could make the points that you have made with much confidence.

Laura has gone on public record stating they are untrue and in fairness to Giovanni while he hasn't denied them he hasn't gone on record to state they are true either so what reason or evidence do you have to support the allegations? Even if you don't put any faith in Laura's word whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty.

Any serious allegation of this nature that is made publically without evidence is malicious as it's clearly designed to damage the person with whispers and rumours.

I am getting a growing sense of colleagues and true friends sticking by Laura and of a common sense attitude prevailing so far in public opinion, along the lines of they may not have got on but she's not a bully or abusive.

I never believed it. The evidence I needed was that on her final night judges were harsh on Giovanni, normally the judges know the gossip and would have told Laura to listen to Giovanni, like they have told so many other couples. They were disappointed that he didn't showcase her talent. That is big and Craig took a dg the week after also.

Neil still tweets and jokes about his family and Laura. Some anti Laura people will always jump and say .........

I was talking about the main picture for the media, she wasn't smiling and looked sad.
With Dermot she looked very happy.

I noticed all of that regarding the Judges too Sarah and very much agree. Heartening isn't it to see some Strictly people, Ore too, keeping in public touch alongside support from her MTV, ITV and other media friends and colleagues.


Ah sorry. I want to know what Laura and Dermot were giggling about

BIB - Same here. I like Dermot, he is funny. Glad she had fun.

Ochre - we simply have a different point of view on this. As I keep saying, I don't know why Laura and Gio don't get on, but it seems that they don't. It looks as if a compromise has been reached with the Daily Mail - that is as far as I would go in drawing any tentative conclusions today.

Its fine to have different points of view on the thread.

BIB - Totally agree. Just for clarification, do you believe these allegations about Laura??

I have said this before, I actually think they got along. Might have argued about stupid things, but they were fine together.


Laura looking very Chic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNPP7PBh6SI/?hl=en

I agree it has been sorted out probably by the legal dept in the BBC but I don't agree we should be re writing what the DF or any other tabloid writes about this story. . Nor should we still discussing it. This particular story is finished. At best the tabloids exaggerate a story at worst they are prepared to write complete.lies. In this case the later is true in my opinion. There was nothing in Laura and Giovanni's body language during their final interview to suggest any frostiness. If anything the oppositye was true and that is coming from someone who has studied the body language of many couples on Strictly. You do not sit as close as they were sitting if you have fallen out. The time for pretending to get on is over by the time you get to the final interview. Vote winning tactics are a waste of time. If you want to see frostiness look at Brendan and Anastaci's final interview!

Different points of view on dances and daily gossip of course but it's rather dubious to insinuate you believe there's some truth to unfounded serious allegations against Laura on her own Appreciation thread.

As long as winking insinuations regarding that cease I'll be very happy to continue discussing it elsewhere but leave it here.

Or post a separate App thread just for Laura so there's no conflict with Gio fans, I'm easy on that.

It seems that they don't get on. What does that mean?

Not very convincing in my book. I have yet to see one scrap of actual evidence to support this point of view and believe me I have looked! Remember the same journalists were trying suggest Laura and Giovanni were more than dancing partners just two or three weeks earlier. Both can' t be right.

I'm voting for Ore. I always support the beginners over the pre-trained or experienced, so in many ways it's been a really good year for me with Laura's tango and waltz, and Ore's AS, jive and rumba. Between the two of them it's a great set of dances.

I like seeing a journey, but also enjoy the unevenness of someone getting it, then losing it, or having an aptitude for ballroom but not latin, or the other way around... Keeps things fresh and I don't feel hoodwinked as I would do by the ringers getting everything right all the time whilst lamenting how very hard it is to camera.

Do I sound very hard-hearted if I say I don't care?

If they produced those dances whilst squabbling (multi-lingually), hats off to them!

Last year I supported Anita and Laura this year, for the same reasons. I like Ed and Katya's partnership and hope they win. Like Greg said, he much older than the other contestants, but trying very hard and deserves his place there.


BIB -

There is a big difference in believing that they weren't friends and believing that Laura
could have bullied him. That is the Elephant in the room.

I for one believe that they got along and produced some good dances.
It's our loss that we never got to see her dance a VW, Rumba and an AS.
Those allegations were just lies made up by some anti Laura brigade.