I agree.

This.... why put Katya in such a drab, ugly dress? I thought they had tried really hard to get technique right and although it wasn't the most exciting dance of the night; it was far from the worse IMO.

Excellent post, agree wholeheartedly .

Hmm , possibly . I can understand a politician being wary of sequins and lycra, but this was a waltz so he nothing to fear from a nice swallow tailed jacket in a muted grey .
But then look at his partner Katya . Again with the dull drab look . Poor girl must have felt like 'accidentally' chucking hair dye or a make up palette at Daisy's stunning waltz dress .
I think Ed has one foot out the door TBH. He doesn't have the stamina and joosh and experience that badly dressed Kelly had last year to balance out his lack of James Bond good looks .
I like him and I hope he stays in .

Judges were very harsh, IMO.

No, he's not a big celeb whose connections you can exploit - but he deserves basic respect (looking at you, Craig!)

Agreed with those saying that he outperformed his narrative, but the judges had to adhere to it.

what does ed ball dancing look like? Is it like a space hopper?

I think Ed Balls was a refreshing change.

However I think his marks were fair. The routine was quite simple (mainly closed basics). It looked more varied because of the dancing in shadow and then in hold. (Clever choreography from Katya.)

Even so, I think it was an achievement for him performing when most other celebs were younger and/or experienced performers. It must have been very very daunting. I'd like to see him stay in a bit longer and get a chance to develop and relax.

You make it sound like Ed is not complete owen.

Brendan's blog says Ed looked good in rehearsals, definitely not bottom. I think nerves must have got to him a bit, although it still wasn't a bad attempt (and more varied in steps than I thought on rewatching it)

I thought Ed did a great job and didn't deserve to be bottom of the leaderboard.

This photo from Neil Jones shows just how hard he's worked on his posture from the first show.

https://twitter.com/Mr_NJones/status/780000221459836928

Think the same - a total beginner learning to dance.
No previous dance training, no 'show business' experience - though suppose he's experience of talking on live TV - a bit like Anita last year ( though she was younger and more agile).

I thought Ed did pretty well, though I get the impression he did better in rehearsals and was a bit cross with himself on the night.

Think Jeremy Vine said celebrities lose a lot when they actually perform on the show due to nerves.

ETA Nice tweet bobbla from Neil Jones.

Do think there are a few too many with dance experience this year - 'ringers' ,sorry .

I like a few who can already dance to make the early weeks more interesting, but this year most of them seem to have had at least theatre training.
It tilts the balance of the show too much.

I agree, and I really hope he stays in beyond next weekend.

I thought he did quite well & actually tried to learn the dance rather than just go for the laugh and make a mockery of it. That will probably means that he goes fairly early though because people do like a gimmick or flashy. I'd like him to stay long enough to see him do a couple of dances - jive and salsa comes to mind...

Do you think that he will.

Nice to see a positive thread. I also thought he made a fair job of it and the fact that there are several (generally) nice comments about him may mean he could stay for a few weeks.

I hope he stays in too! Vote for Ed!!

He's getting my votes as I love an underdog doing their best!!

For as long as he stays on i will only be watching Katya.

He actually looked pretty decent from the snippet of training they showed on ITT. Unless he drops his partner or has a wardrobe malfunction doesn't appear like he'll make a total show of himself.

Yes, I saw that and was pleasantly surprised. Light on his feet and in time with the music. I might give him a vote if he keeps that standard up.

Seconded.

I have everything crossed for Ed this weekend. As others have said, he has zero performance, sporting or dancing experience and I thought his waltz was a good effort. Charleston looked ok from what I could see on ITT last night, if he dances it well on Saturday I will definitely vote for him.

Go Ed!

I've just got back from holiday and deliberately didn't watch any of Strictly while i was away, preferring to wait until i got back.

From what some people had told me, and looking at internet comments, i was expecting Ed and Katya's Waltz to be a shambles, but was pleasantly surprised at what i saw.

For a first week dance, i thought that Ed did really well, considering the expectation from some of a poor performance from him.

A lot of the public love an underdog, so Ed could stay a little longer than expected, even though he has more energetic and faster dances to come, but could also pull a few surprises out of the bag with some nifty moves, and stay on his own merits!