I go up and down with Kevin (although I must point out, I'm not one of the posters going around on threads complaining about him and insulting him personally!)

He was paired with Susanna Reid in his first year, and I really could not stand her and found the whole "from Grimsby" shtick really annoying. Thankfully it is long gone!

Then he was paired with Frankie Bridge, I warmed to him and by their showdance I was quite fond of him and was impressed at his choreo. I have seen that he is still good pals with Frankie and her husband and I think that's lovely.

Anyway, then his partnership with Kellie Bright happened and I found myself irritated by him again. Well, by them both! So frantic and "stage school", jazz hands, push to the front of the camera type behaviour. I just could not enjoy their dances, even though I could see they were technically good.

This year I've found myself enjoying Kevin again, he has a lovely partnership with Louise. So basically, I think Kevin tends to match his partner in attitude and energy, and that can be problematic when I don't like his partner. I have never denied he is one of the better pros for teaching and choreo, though. He always does a very good job (it's just not always my cup of tea).

Joanne and Karen I have always liked and I have never bought any of the favouritism theories. I would like to see Kevin dance with a duffer next year though as I'd like to see what he can manage with someone less able than his previous partners (I'm talking female equivalent of Ed).

A lot of times, Kevin gets away with some of the things that the other pros would be slated for. It's not entirely his fault but you can't blame some viewers to feel enraged about that whether or not they have a right to be. Just a small example, in their waltz last night there was a great bit of it being danced out of hold. ..now if someone like Brendan did that he would've been slaughtered for it by Len; in fact he gave him and Louise a 10; strangely enough he wasn't criticized for that. ..like I said this is just a small incidence but they've been plenty in the past.

He kinds of reminds me of Derek hough from dancing with the stars in that sense. Highly favored by the judges, gets away with breaking the rules in his routines and 95% of the time, the judges turn a blind eye to it because it's Derek Hough. The main difference though in my example is that in the US the public doesn't care whether or not he breaks the rule, they LOVE Derek, most Dwts fanatics do..... at strictly that's not really the case with Kevin. He's a very divisive pro.

Personality wise, he really seems like a great guy but he seems so OTT sometimes.


Now on to Joanne, I'm sure she's lovely but she's not exactly my favorite pro, far from it. Maybe one day she'll get a celebrity that is going to make me warm up to her. I do find her slightly annoying. .

I don't have a problem with Karen .

There's just something a bit ungainly about her to me, top half is fine but from the waist down always looks clumsy.

My problem with Kevin is, as many have said, he has never had a duffer. This year he should have been paired with someone like Naga. Now I know that its not his fault that he always gets a good partner but it does smack of favouritism and that they wont be happy until he has won.

I like Louise but I have to admit I don't want her to win this year because she is with Kevin. I know it sounds nasty but he has been in every final since he started and I don't think it is down to him being able to train anyone to dance. I just wonder what the other pros think about it.

Joanne I liked last year when she did choreography corner but I haven't warmed to her this year. She is obviously a great choreographer but there is something about her that I cant put a finger on.

Karen I have no problem with. I saw her on the tour last year with Ainsley and she was good.

I do think, however, it is not right to have three people who are related on the programme as, although they appear to support the other pros, they obviously want their relative to win and it has been proved on a couple of occasions with the OTT support.

I have to respectfully disagree with this. ALL the pros support each other, you can definitely see that. Brendan is often the one to shout "undermarked" after a dance, do you have an issue with that? Do you have an issue with Janette & Aljaz or Katya & Neil supporting each other?

Even if they do have favouritism for each other, what does it really matter? I don't think it could be seen as anything more than a minor annoyance - it wouldn't effect the show in any way.

I have to say that I have never witnessed Alijaz show over the top support for Janette or vice versa, the same with Katya and Neil. However, I did witness, as many on here did, Joanne and Karen shouting loudly that Louise and Kevin were undermarked a few weeks ago. Ive not witnessed them shouting that for any other couple. However, I could be wrong.

I have to agree with this. Not only was the dance out of hold a lot but there was also a small lift in there too - something which Len has knocked marks off in not only this but every other series gone so far with some couples.

He also criticised Artem in his first season for dancing the AS with Kara 60% out of hold as opposed to the other way around and even went so far as to refusing to go beyond 8 I think it was in the final in the end he must have felt that strongly about it but now it's ok and even in what's supposed to be a traditional Waltz because it's Kevin.

Now also to an earlier point I made about judges criticising pros for showcasing themselves and I bring it back because of the mention of DWTS. Most pros including Derek on that show have a huge knack of showcasing themselves and not their celebrity though Derek does do this the least and again he's someone who for me could turn up in a bin bag and stand there for 90 seconds and I'd still give him a 10 but my point is simply this ....

Len and Bruno have especially critiqued this and picked up on this with pros in the past. They actually did this with Oti last year though put the blame on Anthony for not stepping up to the plate so it didn't look as bad on her but on DWTS a few seasons ago all three judges, two of which were Len and Bruno made a whole song and dance for about 5-6 minutes criticising professional Lacey Schwimmer for prioritising herself ahead of her celebrity partner Lance Bass of N SYNC during their West Coast Swing dance. Whilst Bruno said that it "wasn't Dance around the Stars" therefore blaming Lance, Len put the blame firmly on Lacey telling her basically that though West Coast Swing is her speciality she should be offering the best of it up to Lance to dance rather than dancing around him thereby making herself look good.

Unfortunately Jo Clifton does the same and Len and Bruno give her and Ore constant 9s and 10s for it. Double standards

For his previous three series, I was ambivalent about Kevin Clifton. He was a bit over zealous with Susanna but, as it was his first series, I put this down to wanting to make an impression. He was calmer with Frankie, which I preferred. The partnership with Kellie made my teeth ache because, together, they were too much for me.

His choreography is often too frenetic for my personal taste but this does not mean I cannot appreciate his ability to dance and work with his celebrity. Any favouritism regarding partners, overlooking of dubious lifts or technique and perceived overmarking is down to TPTB and the judges. He can hardly be blamed this.

I did, however, attend the SCD tour this year. I was too early to check-in so put my bag in the luggage room and went to the bar for a coffee. I decided to put some things in with my bag before going out so made my way back downstairs where Gleb, Alijaz and Janette were chatting with three ladies in the seating area off reception. Kevin came through, eyes front and went out without looking at either the ladies or reception staff. I thought this impolite as, even on a bad day, a smile or nod of acknowledgment is not a lot to ask for. By now in the luggage area, so unseen, I saw Gleb, Alijaz and Janette leave. Each one thanked the reception staff, smiled and said goodbye.

I followed them out a few minutes later and there were some people with cameras by the tour bus. Strangely, chirpy chappy Clifton was back smiling and chatting. So not only rude but false as far as I could see. I realise we all have different experiences but this was mine and ambivalence turned to dislike.

As far as Joanne and Karen are concerned, I find their behaviour very immature but we're all different and it's irritating as opposed to anything more radical. Most of the time I find them neither particularly interesting, impressive nor entertaining just ... there. It's not dislike, simply apathy.

Would any of this stop me voting if they produced, what I thought to be, a "wow" routine? I don't know as that situation hasn't arisen.

For me, I don't like the way Kevin and Karen dance, though I think Karen improved this year.
I don't like how any of the Clifton choreograph, all 3 of them overblown and fussy intent on showing themselves off.
That VW last week of Jo's for example almost word perfect to what she said on ITT " I used to do the extended flekle in competition it always made the crowd go wow, I though Ore might be able to do it, so I put it in there".

The fact it highlighted his weakness his lack of being able to maintain his hold, and odd head placement didn't matter, it was all the "I " in there, that was typical, she choreographs to her strength not her celebs.

Kevin has Loiuse, a quiet character and gives her big dynamic dances that she could no more pull off than run naked across the dance floor. She has her strengths, use those.

Also Kevin is always there, every bloody week for 4 years, there is Kevin, no break from him ever, always bigged up by the judges where others wouldn't get the comments, scores or even the run of dance partners.

Oh how I wish the Two fat Ladies were still around and Kevin got Clarissa as a partner.Christmas would come early that year.

Perhaps BBC are trying to promote British professional. You're right, Kevin has not had a break and he is always in the last stages too.

He's done every single episode of Strictly for the past four series. Bloody hell, that's... erm... intense.

He's probably done more than Anton who's been in 14

I don't have a problem with the numbers of them. There have been a lot of married couples and dating partners on the show. The fact the numbers are bolstered by a sister isn't an issue.

I have found Karen and Jannette camera hogs in previous years but actually they have toned it down this year and I haven't had a problem.

No real problem with Jo, she had a differ, she had a sit out year and now a good partner. all acceptable.

In Kevin's first year he got a partner who probably wasn't expected to do as good as she did. The next year he got a stage school girl who had been in two bands that danced - ok, it was only his second year. However the third year he got another stage school girl and it didn't surprised me that Kellie could be a contender. After three years, you would have expected him to not get another performer, yet he did in Louise.

Word perfect it may be, the bit in bold is exactly why she did it - for THEM to stand out, odd head placement or not she did it as a talking point so I don't really think it's fair to say she did it for just herself when no I think she's been showcasing Ore very well and getting him to do a lot of content really, maybe it's his too long arms. Rarely has he danced around him as he's stood stock still. *shrugs* It seems you've taken your perspective from it as opposed to the actual end product of her words.

Fun Fact : If Louise isn't eliminated this or next week, it will have taken Anton his first nine series to dance in as many episodes as Kevin managed in his first four. (Admittedly those very early series were a lot shorter...)

No because if you are doing things that make the crowd go wow, then at least make them things that highlight your partner, has Ore got very long arms? Can't say I have noticed.

Has any other pro got to the final four times in a row?

BIB. Talk about wilfully misinterpreting something. Let me paraphrase Jo's comment in a way that you might not be able to twist:

'I know from personal experience that this move is a crowd-pleaser, I believed Ore to be capable of it so I put it in the routine as I wanted to give him a nailed-on crowd pleaser.'

Jo and Kevin are very talented, but for me they lack warmth and personality.

No other pro has made the final four times full stop. Kevin's the only one who's done three in a row. Ian, Erin, Pasha, Aliona, and Lilia all managed two in a row at one point.

Ore's a beginner but he's got a certain physical magnetism (just me?). I feel he has a lot of poise and watchability. So Jo's choreography has typically allowed Ore to be the showman -- the card-player, the singing-in-the-rain umbrella guy, the strong silent type in the rumba, the direct to camera looks in the middle of the jive etc. That's playing to his strengths. As the proper dance experts will tell us, learning technique simply isn't possible in a few weeks, so the pros whose partners are novices have to work with what they've got

For me, Joanne has loads of personality - bit Miranda Richardson levels an' all.

And Kevin is kind and a bit silly and tongue in cheek.


I suppose we all see different things.

Not just you, he has a spark of something very special, to me - but an absolute beginner and it shows to a greater or lesser degree, in his dancing, hence the inconsistency. I think Jo has coped brilliantly with having a talented beginner and some godawful music and themes an' all.