I hope you don't go anywhere issfan, I enjoy reading your posts and it's good to remember how great Laura & Gio were together on the dancefloor during their time on the show

Good morning . Everyone knows that I am not a fan of Giovanni's but I am Laura's fan
and I was supporting them to succeed, because that is what a true fan does.
I have always felt Giovanni dances on 6th gear. I think he has to change to please the particular partnership and current climate, meaning depending on the current competitors.

I don't know where this "Giovanni gets more criticism" is coming from, all we are discussing our point of view to get our celeb to the final. It's fair to discuss choreo and other dance related stuff, nothing personal at all. If the allegations were reversed, I would be the first to defend him. So critisising a person for not showcasing the partner's strength is different from believing allegations of bullying could be true. I see that all recent posters have said they don't believe those allegations. That is the main thing.

I have said that I will never be a blind cheerleader for any celeb. I have critisiised Laura
for unfollowing Gio and not thanking him in public, I have also said she should
have more humility.

It's funny how people only register what they want to take away. I remember a few weeks back, Ochre was furious with Laura that she wasn't grateful to Giovanni and didn't thank him on the weekend that she got injured and she should invest more on the dance partnership.

Dervia, I thought you were joking about the badge, I think I should buy one wear it
with pride.


Enjoy Strictly.

Good morning, IssFan Please don't stop contributing on this thread. We need positive people like you on this thread.

Morning Sarah

BIB1 Completely agree with all you've said there.

Unfortunately the allegations have been rehashed in full in the DM today in an article on Laura attending the press night for the play 'Nice Fish'. She does look lovely in the photos and is pictured with the producer Joshua Andrews. Laura has also complimented Mark Rylance on his performance on her Insta.

BIB2 I was, well certainly very annoyed

Laura has modelled for her good mate Ashley Roberts new footwear line Allyn. I remember Ashley in the audience for their Waltz.

Most looking forward to Ore, Louise, Claudia and Ed tonight. Still enjoying the show, I always remain invested

I wasn't suggesting anyone be a blind cheerleader - I've certainly criticised both celebs and pros - and I think that's totally fine.

I'm leaving you all to it now - or I'll find myself getting sucked into discussions when I'm trying to wean myself off the forum!

EDIT - just seen the DM link - it doesn't look like they are backing away from the claims

Thank you Ochre and Sarah777 I appreciate your comments. You will have gathered I am pretty passionate about this partnership. I now remember another reason why I was convinced all the stories were untrue was because Laura was asked in reply to that disastrous now deleted tweet to comment on the original story. Her reply was 'couldn't be further from the truth' . Sorry folks I can't give you the proof but it satisfied me at the time. However I feel my views are just prolonging the discussion which I don't want. I like reading and contributing to this forum so I will return in the future I am sure.

I will leave this parting thought. I will be shot down I am sure just as I was in the Georgia/Giovanni forum but I always have to speak my mind. I believe the lazy tabloid journalists snoop around social media and listen to interviews to get ideas for their so called stories. Two or three days after a similar discussion took place on the Georgia/Giovanni forum the original Sun story appeared. A coincidence? I will leave that with you all.

Sorry to see you go Issfan. You certainly have my support in not prolonging a discussion that has created more heat than light on this thread. From my point of view, it might be worth revisiting if any actual facts come to light.

I am looking forward to the show tonight.

Just out of curiousity, I wanted to ask the thread a question about the original pairings.

Laura is a self-confessed superfan of the show, as we know. Who do we think she wanted to be paired with? I am thinking back in the spring, when she signed up for the show.

The only pro dancers who were tall enough, I think, are Brendan, Pasha, Anton, Gio and Alijaz. I guess that Gleb would have been a candidate as well - it was quite some time before he confirmed that DWTS was his destination. Neil, Gorka, AJ and Kevin are a little too short I think.

Did Laura ever give any hints on this?

I don't want to discuss any other threads here.

It's DM reharshing the same story. If they were not backing off, they would give more
evidence or something new. As Dervia and Issfan would say, just filling the page.

Sun's source was 'An insider' and Daily mail's source 'A source close to Giovanni'???

Hi Ochre . Please let go of your Cliftons and come to Ed & Katya. We need all the support.

Thank you. So pleased to hear I am not alone in wanting to move on.

Re Laura's partner choice Pasha I think one of the smaller pros. Size wise Brendan is taller than Aljaz and Gio I think. . He may have been better for Daisy. Aljaz is a fraction bigger than Gio too so he may have been slightly better for Laura. I honestly don't know all the actual heights of the male pros. I think Gio is 5.10 and Anton is 5.11 I don't know exactly how tall Aljaz is. I think Laura would have fared a bit better with Aljaz in terms of the public vote as there would have been no connection with the past. Having said that In spite of all the problems I have no regret re Laura and Gio pairing. For me they were the couple with the chemistry this year. Such a shame they didn't get to do more slow ballroom, the rumba or the AT.

It strikes me there have been a lot of mismatched couples this year size wise. I think the personalities/story has become more important than size. Lesley/Anton springs to mind. I think too the tour has a bearing. It is not run by the BBC but it is important for the success of the tour to have the best couples from the present show on it. That means if a pro does their own show as Brendan does now and is therefore unavailable for the tour they don't seem to get a contender. It may also be the reason Aljaz got Daisy as Laura was not available for the tour although I think she was paired with Gio for the storyline more than anything else.

Maybe the source was a fly on the wall.

I think Alijaz is about half an inch taller than Brendan, maybe? Gleb was quite tall, maybe the same as Alijaz.

I am not thinking so much about what we know now.. but its also interesting to 're-pair' all the celebs with the benefit of hindsight.

I was wondering what Laura would have liked, and which of the Strictly Stereotypes she saw herself fitting into. Did she ever mention it in early interviews - I am not sure that she did.

OT Gio posting clips on Twitter of Ed Balls in a dressing gown giving his finest Blue Steel model pout (For clarity - that is Ed doing a Derek Zoolander - not Gio )

I need a warning before I see that in my timeline.

Not to my knowledege but I didn't really know her before Strictly. I suspect the tabloids would have made something of it if she had. I think probably the fear for the celebs is that if they do voice who they would like and don't get that partner then their actual Strictly partnership will get off to a bad start.

Agree! And it's so foolish. It's not what I'd be talking about with Mark Rylance there in the same room. Fabulous actor with some strong views on Shakespeare.

It's so hazy, isn't it? A 'source close to Giovanni' could be anyone claiming to know or like him. An 'insider' could literally be anyone within doors. None of this is attributable. So we're left with our own people-watching skills. Some of think they'd be a little fiery. Some of us think they were fine together. I don't think anyone believes Laura was a bully, no matter how intelligently sharp her tongue might be. Bully is a foolish word.

Why can't we be at peace on the matter?

And no one go! No one!!

Common sense prevails! I might stick around.

Ha Ha, don't Jo and Kevin need the support on here though? I love Ed and Katya, can't wait for their Tango and Cha Cha challenge tonight But Ore and Louise are my favourite dancers left in and I think Ore particularly may need the votes this week even though I'm expecting a strong performance in their Paso.

The middle Miss Ochre is a huge Claudia fan so we'll be giving an online vote to her too

I'd be very happy if Ed and Katya do make the Final though, if there were a 'Pro of the Year' award I think Katya would deserve it this series and Ed deserves to be there just as much as Christopher Parker did way back in Series 1


At the beginning of the series Laura said she wasn't surprised to be paired with Giovanni and that he was one of three Pros she thought she might be partnered with, I presume the other two were Brendan and Aljaz due to height. I think if Neil's tall enough he would have been an excellent partner for her.

On the issue of the Strictly Tour and other joint appearances Laura and Brendan may have been a better match from that point of view. Laura is booked for her play and as you say Brendan doesn't do the Strictly Tour as he has headlined his own very successful Tour for a number of years so there would have been no disappointment with Laura not doing it. Laura not being keen to do constant joint appearances also would have suited him as he has a young family and is also very well established both on and away from the show in his own right, he's not looking to make a name for himself. Brendan would likely also have appreciated just how much time she was able to give to training as he has worked with celebrities with far busier day job schedules than Laura in the past.

As I love Daisy and Aljaz's partnership so much I just can't imagine Laura having been partnered with him and too many comparisons may have been made with his partnerships with Helen and Abbey as well.

I actually thought Laura did quite a few appearances with Giovanni including going to the world dancing championships at the AlbertHall which was a more informal evening out than the award ceremonies she attended with him. She also went to see Vincent and Flavia's show with him too. Not too sure where that story came from. There are quite a few pictures of them out and about on the net which was made much of by the tabloids re the romance rumours. Some of the other seemed to do less unless the tabloids were less interested in them.

The events that I noticed that other couples attended but not Laura and Gio were a couple of film premieres, and the Soap Awards, where Tameka Empson received an award (and fell off stage and injured her back and her knee). Gio went solo to the Soap Awards. I noticed more the lack of TV and radio interviews as I think they can make more of a difference in getting out the public vote.

Laura was definitely partnered with Brendan and Anton as two of her three possible matches during the Roehampton meet up days. Most of her time was with Brendan, who was initially matched to her 'on paper'. The producers did not want to go ahead with that pairing after trying it out for two days at Roehampton. Maybe it didn't work well for Laura - I remember someone posting that the celebs are asked for their input after the trial days.

I wonder what storyline Laura saw for herself. This year's Katie Derham? Anita Rani? Or Helen George? Anastacia won the audition for the role of 'Getting Brendan to the final', as it turned out.

And looking forward to the Big News from Giovanni, being revealed tomorrow.

Could it possibly be........a tour? Just a wild guess etc.

Enjoy the show everyone.

You seem to know more than me about these things than me. Laura did carry on with her day job which may have restricted her a bit. I was happy she was at things that others were 't at so was happy she made a few appearances with Gio. Apart from Loose Women she didn't appear on TV interviews etc but just assumed they were not interested in her as much as some of the other contestants.

BIB - you might be right about that. It's the most simple explanation - Laura wasn't able to get the TV and radio time as other contestants were booked in preference to her.

Right... there is a TV show starting soon I do believe

Regarding her day job, prior to her injury Laura had a lot more training time and a far more flexible schedule than a lot of Strictly celebs. And when she was busy she still put in the time like training on Sundays around her New York trip. She really gave training her all, probably ended up pushing herself too hard physically.

Gio was spoilt in his first year by getting a celeb in Georgia able to commit all her time to Strictly. Unrealistic to expect that of every partner and he could get an East Ender or Newsreader next year with a crazy schedule, someone like Kellie juggling it all with a young family. The best pros adapt and willingly work with it.

Laura spoke very warmly of Brendan and all the advice he'd given her before the series.

I absolutely loved Louise & Kevin's gorgeous gorgeous Waltz tonight. Louise, Laura and Daisy's Waltzes have been my favourites this series.

Claudia's lifts incredible. Loved Ore's Paso but worried and Ed Zoolander was awesome Voted Louise, Ore, Claudia.

Personally I loved Laura and Gio's waltz. It was not only smooth but they had the chemistry to draw you into the story. That night you could see Laura was completely lost in the music. Fabulous.

Claudia's lifts were incredible tonight but she doesn't emote which is essential for AT. Did not expect to like Ore's paso to that music but I did. He looked very stylish. Danny's samba was incredible but I don't love him. I feel I should because he has produced incredible footwork but I never feel the music gets under his skin. I also don't think his moves flow seamlessly into one another but it was an amazing performance nevertheless.

That was a great waltz indeed. Very emotional. I just don't get the same connection with Louise and Kevin unfortunately - all very neat and tidy though. Danny's Samba was the dance that I rewatched, together with Claudia's AT, so they were the picks of the night for me. Jo and Ore did a tremendous job with the music and theme - I would really have loved to see them dance to traditional Paso music. I am not sure that either Danny or Claudia are musical - they have good timing, which is different. Hadn't thought about that until I saw your post.

Nice to see the clip of Gio and the gang explaining the rules of the Cha Cha Cha-athon - wish Gio had been taking part as he really enjoyed the Quickstepathon last year.