Karen Hardy said something similar on ITT tonight. I'm paraphrasing a little, but basically she wants him to relax and concentrate on the dance steps rather than him feeling that he's got to come out and put on a show every time.

Humpty, did you listen to the Scott Mills interview by any chance yesterday? (I posted the link to it in #170) I thought Robert sounded very subdued and fairly disillusioned about being on the show. Certainly he wasn't as animated as he usually is but not in a good way.

I missed that...thank you

Yeah, I do still wish he would drop his comedy responses in the proper interviews though - at least enough to let us get to know him a bit better. As I said, from moments I've seen from him and stories I've heard from other celebs he seems to be a really kind, genuine and supportive guy - that won't come across if he just plays to his caricature all the time. He may think its expected of him now. And I'd like to see a more serious dance from him too, I think he has got natural talent to show off.

I've just listened to the Scott Mills interview. It made me feel somewhat uncomfortable and totally explains why there seemed to be some distance between Rinder and Oksana on the last live show. He is a funny guy and I loved his first dance but I am twitching a bit here.

He dropped her. On her head. And his first reaction was to make a joke to her about it. And then he seemed surprised that (quoting) 'she got cross about it'.

I am wondering if he lacks a certain something in the empathy and compassion department.

It takes a great deal of trust for the professional women to let the untrained celeb men lift them into potentially risky positions. I just hope that Oksana is being treated with the right amount of care - she seems very sweet natured.

I think his answers were maybe said 'tongue in cheek' in his usual style - and is exactly why I think he should be more himself and not try to be funny as I think he is going to be interpreted negatively by some.

As for the bit in bold, personally I wouldn't say he is lacking in empathy or compassion, certainly nothing I've seen to make me think this. He seemed genuinely touched by Lesleys dance (who I think hes particularly fond of - or is close to as he likes a lot of her pics) and I've heard more than one celeb talk fondly of him behind the scenes in terms of his kindness and support (can't remember who now - think it was Naga, I saw him squeezing her hand supportively on Saturday when she got a bit emotional about being saved) - and Laura has said hes been a help at building peoples confidence - offering them money every time they say something positive about themselves or something like that. I wouldn't say I've saw him lacking in empathy at this early stage (from what I've seen) but I would like to see less of him 'in-character' in interviews and just be himself, so we do get to know him better.

And I'm loving Oksana so far

A fair point. Maybe its just a case of humour striking an off-chord.

He's cracked a few jokes about 'if you break your dance partner, you have to pay for them'. Its kind of funny..but.... I wonder how those sort of jokes land with his Ukrainian dance partner - she might hear his remarks more literally and miss the irony.

I think you are right that a few 'straight' interviews would give more insight.

Yes, I agree with you Humpty. For a start I think it's worth remembering this is an appreciation thread, but also I think Rinder's tongue is quite frequently in his cheek, and from what I've seen he certainly isn't lacking in empathy or compassion, and that was without actually knowing all the examples you've just listed above!

Yes, its this tongue in cheek humour, which is why I'd be keen for him to be more himself in interviews, as people will judge him on it, and we've been hearing nice things about him behind the scenes.

BIB - yes, I agree thats worth remembering!

I don't mind him keeping his camp comic persona for the show. I feel like that's "him" to the same extent that everyone is showing themselves (ie the Strictly version of themselves). But only for the talking bits--otherwise, I want him to be able to do non-comedy dances.


No. I was quite disappointed when I heard that was theirs.


Thanks--that needed saying (in general, not in regard to Humpty's post.)

Appreciating Judge Rinder - he is funny and a fresh face this year. Just hoping that he talks about his professional lady partner with a bit more thoughtfulness.

You can appreciate someone and still say that dropping a woman on her head needs to be discussed with a bit of care. He is on safer territory joking about Craig's Botox where some of his remarks have genuinely made me howl with laughter.

Actually on Judge Rinder the TV show, he comes across as a very compassionate and just person. Sure he doesn't suffer fools gladly, but he is can be very empathetic - one case in particular I am thinking of involved a lad who used to take a lot of drugs and had a problem with authority, but Robert was able to talk to him with genuine understanding and support, as well as being totally and utterly fair. That's not an easy thing to do at all and I admire him for his ability to do this.

Anyhow, I digress from Strictly. And so, onto this week's dance - how does everyone think the VW looks in training?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=BEcnC0Xj3vk

Hiya! Did you catch their interview on ITT? Oksana said she "listened to the judges feedback" and is working on technique and posture this week. Looking forward to it

I have concluded that my reservations are probably due to the fact that Strictly want to see 'Judge' Rinder i.e. a Komedy Kontestant so he feels obliged to be 'on' all the time. I suspect that Rob Rinder would have related to dropping Oksana in a different way and maybe made a more compassionate comment.

Its the old debate on DS about 'is it Judge Rinder or Rob Rinder' I probably wish that Strictly had booked Rob Rinder - then he could invoke the Judge for a comedy routine when it worked, but do the interviews slightly straighter. It would be nice to see a deeper side of him as I've caught the odd thing on Radio 4 and he seems an interesting person.

Edit: Hoping their Boom bang a lang VW routine goes well tomorrow - I am expecting something Oompah-tastic

Hello! Oksana is a very wise lady. Here's hoping those are the things that will help people take them more seriously this week.

For the Halloween week, with Rinder's partner Oksana and her big grin, she reminds me of Margot Robbie.... as with Rinder's exaggerated facial expressions too, they would be great as Suicide Squad versions of Harley Quinn & the Joker.

BIB - even before we knew Robert had dropped Oksana, I had felt that there was something missing.

I think there is something wrong - watching them in the Clauditorium last week and then tonight it is very strained, Oksana has a smile which doesnt appear genuine like it did the first 2 weeks,

I read somewhere that she was very serious about the competition and enters to win. Maybe she is recognising that she won't win with Rob, and that in fact there doesn't seem to be any improvement at all week on week.

If there were to be a second couple to quit, I'd lay my money on these 2. Something is amiss. They stand out like sore thumbs amongst the rest. I am really disappointed because I love JR and thought he would bring some of that steely character to the show and be a true contender.

I wonder if it's more the sense of fierce competition that there seems to be in Strictly this year and the fact that Robert and Oksana are getting stitched up with poor musical choices. They just don't seem to be given a proper chance to shine.

Certainly up in the Clauditorium tonight they seemed very animated and happy after theirdance. Robert has a nice bromance developing with Greg as well. I'm appreciating that Oksana really is teaching Robert to dance well, and the judges are starting to give him credit for it.
Last edited by sunshineband : 15-10-2016 at 21:42

I noticed the announcer called him BOTH "Judge" and Robert Rinder tonight. I don't think he has done that before. I think it is a good call. It's time for him to show himself as a person, not just a "personality".

Think I'd like to have seen their dress rehearsal of this dance. It wasn't too bad, but I think they've done it better.

I think that's it. If we're getting fed up with the poor choices, how must Oksana feel? She was previously involved with DWTS, and as far as I can remember, the only celebs who do comedy routines there are the ones who can't dance at all. Their week one cha cha cha was so full of dancing and got them so much attention, so maybe she envisioned a different path for them. I think the Strictly producers have a lot of influence on what the music/dance/theme is (Tristan gave quite open interviews to fan sites), so maybe she's frustrated.

Yay! On they go to another week, and their dance is the Jive.

Surely they can't be stuffed with another awful tune four weeks in a row? Fingers crossed for something decent, lively, and relevant. Will did a 50s jive, Ores was 60s themed, so maybe it'll be a 1970s style of the pattern continues?

I just hope that for The Jive, Rob can move to the next level and tighten up his steps to give the necessary precision to what is usually a pivotal dance for the stars. I think hes a great character and also a very decent fella and Oksana is marvellous in her first term on the show. I hope very much that, given a compatible tune, they can shine. Come on Rob !

I'd love to see Robert dressed like Travolta in Grease and Oksana as Olivia


I hope he can pull off a fantastically fast jive with some lifts and tricks. He seems fit enough. Fingers crossed there's not much faffing about or over use of props.

Ditto! I'm guessing some kind of bugle will be involved but apart from that, it should be a decent theme, World War 2 costumes and good music. Fingers crossed they will dsnce fairly early on too so Robert doesn't have time to get nervous (though not in the graveyard slot please!)

The lovely happiness between them is back!! great to see on ITT yesterday.

And wow............20 pushups......with claps for the last 10????

Worrying tho that they are not rehearsing at all Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to his JR filming schedule.

Here is Benedict Cumberbatch giving a running commentary on his friend Robert's jive on Radio 1 this morning. Very funny.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EFC1...ature=youtu.be

Sooo funny! And here's an interview with Robert on the Scott Mills show when they played him the commentary. He gets a bit lost for words

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5_8LM-JJcA

There's also a reference to the costume for this week's dance which sounds like it could be flashing some Rinderflesh again