So pleased that Danny and Oti have made it to the final.

I hope that they enjoy their final week of training.

No matter what happens, they have been a great partnership this year.

Danny and Oti fans, please vote for them!!

Thanks GoinGaga. Claudia and AJ should be there as well; they were robbed.

The salsa did hem no favours , the AS excellent , not sure how the voting went was it for the dancers or for the dances,
No Len did the big thing he lends his veracity to a couple and it does make a difference what he says, I honestly think that the standing ovation he gave Ramps gave him the push to win the public vote

Lovely tweet. I put in extra phone votes this week because of the website problem but will be voting like mad for D&O next week...hang the phone bill!!!!

Thanks GoinGaga. I agree neither should have been in the dance-off and we did see the two best dances of the night repeated. Claudia would have brightened up the final too and I am looking forward to seeing her perform in her real job...I have a feeling she will brighten up those gymnastic competitions from now on. They might be extra sparkly!


It was horrible seeing them pitted against each other feeling they should both go through.

I did too. I hope the vote was closer than we fear and people just didn't think they needed to vote.

The audience gasped when Danny and Oti's names were mentioned. I just hope viewers at home were shaking their heads too.

Thanks GoinGaga..just so sad Danny and Claudia were up against each other as both should be in the final.


I wonder if people gave up as the website was down for so long, and its expensive for phone calls I was trying to keep phone voting for the final only!!


I know...everyone was shocked and his poor mum was in tears after they were saved.

My phone bill is not going to be good! 😳 Bless his mum she must be so proud.

Are Doti the underdogs now? Maybe this will take the pressure off them.

Nice post from Harry Judd:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BN5Cl9eDPUK/

https://youtu.be/Fme2lNfL36A

The last clip of Danny is why he's my favourite. He's a good egg as they say.


Lovely post. Thanks for sharing.

Having watched both the early spoiler (Ore through, Danny in the D/O) and the final spoiler, (Claudia out) as they came in on the spoiler thread, I've not watched the results show yet.
After Daisy went out (not the best dancer but she made me smile), Claudia became my number 2 favourite.
Still don't quite understand the judges scoring last night, nor the voting, but I refuse to go down the 'fix' route as I truly don't see what point there would be fixing a show like SCD.

I'm delighted Doti are through, of course, but tinged with sadness at losing Claudia.
Next week will be the only week I'm unable to vote as I'm away. I've usually been away for the semi final, but watched it live on the iPad (FilmOn is great on holiday). Most times, whilst eating my evening meal (such a classy bird me, in my lovely all inc hotel)
As the snooze factor is over, some bars may show the final, but I'm just not sure whether I can bear to watch.
Did have a 'voting' buddy last year, who had my BBC ID and voted for me (have since changed the password as they're supporting someone else this year).

Sorry to ramble on, it all feels a bit 'meh' right now, BUT #InOtiWeTrust #InDannyWeBelieve ... and I trust + believe their show dance will be a thing of beauty!

One of the blessings of Danny being in the dance off is that we got to see the AS again live(ish). I think the jump and catch was better the second time round.

I have managed to get a recording of the samba, complete with VT at the beginning and the judges' comments and votes at the end. I will let you know how to access it shortly - not tonight though!

Thanks for sharing too, he is a good egg. 😊

No problem.

Just catching up ..............................gutted for them and feeling very deflated. Delighted, of course that the are now in the final, but can't believe they were beaten in the public vote by Louise and Kevin, who were below them!!! Damm. I'm just hoping that people thought they were safe.................Hell, it's getting very emotional!!!

Well, at least we have the final to look forward to. I don't really know what the hell I want to see..............I think the style of the showdance may determine what dance they choose themselves, and I can't even guess what dance the judges will pick. Whatever dances they do, I hope they can enjoy this final week................

In all the years I have watched Strictly, I don't think I have supported a couple that have produced so many brilliant dances, dances I re-watch again and again. They just seem to have it all for me, and it's like I was completely hooked from the start. I had no choice in the matter............... They have given me so much pleasure these last 3 months...........sorry.............feeling a bit emotional myself!!!!!! Get a grip woman!!!!!!!!

After their dance off experience, I think that Danny and Oti might take the view that they will enjoy their last week and whatever happens, happens. I think that they are just glad to be in the final.

Someone who was at Kristina and Gleb's show tonight tweeted this:


https://twitter.com/clrhmly/status/808076786307399684

That's nice to read. Thanks for sharing.

Hopefully those people will vote for Danny and Oti.

It will be interesting to see how the whole "dance background" narrative gets handled by the couples in this final week of promo interviews.

If it's anything like the past, it'll be along the lines of "Ore- <jive playing in the background> you're so good despite having no dance background..." etc etc and "So Danny, <samba playing in the background> how much has your dance background helped you to be so good?" whereas for Louise, who hasn't had a standout dance that got the nation talking, I can see her dance background (DBG) not being discussed and thus not being a minus held against her by those that mind such things.

I know her DBG is well known to folk here on DS, but I have colleagues who are casual viewers of the show who voted for Flackers, never realising that she had DBG, and thought Simon Webbe & Frankie Bridge were the ones with the dance advantage being pop singers. *shrug

I'm pretty philosophical about the final- I reckon it's close between Louise and Danny (I'm pleased Ore's in the final, though I'm not rooting for him to win), but I'm hoping that the shock DO will work in D'Oti's favour, since it could galvanise their complacent supporters who thought they were such obvious winners that they didn't bother voting; it also places them in the unusual position of being somewhat of an underdog, giving them a sympathy bounce, plus Alesha was in the B2 when she got to the final 4 as well.

Ore will definitely play the no dancing card all week. I don't care about that because he was been pretty good from the beginning.

I don't know how Louise will play it.

I love Danny and Oti, but I think that their chances of winning are slim. To be in the dance off the week before the final suggests that not a lot of people are supporting them. I don't think that them being in dance off will benefit them.

It's interesting how we can all read this dance off so differently. I think Louise has the best chance of winning but the forums, papers and social media are filled with people shocked Danny was in the dance off and saying they'll vote for him now/people furious about losing Claudia and switching their votes to Danny. The dance off is definitely going to benefit them; it's just whether it'll be enough to help them win over Louise and Ore.

I haven't watched Strictly since the judges' choice was introduced. Do we find out what it is before the final e.g. on Waite's warm-up or is it kept quiet?

Hopefully it does benefit them.

I think that we find out the judges' choice on the night.

I also think they will gain votes from being in the D/O. Enough to win, hmmm not sure, but we can pray.
Pretty sure we knew in advance last year but that could be my memory playing tricks.
Anyone else remember for sure?

The final is played in real time so no spoilers! We will just have to grin and bear the wait.