All your points i agree with. I did not expect to like Ed either and how wrong I was also Ed & Kayta have really brightened up my Saturday evenings also.

It has nothing to do with him being a good or bad politician. I guess there are quite of lot of people like me, who do not agree with his political views, in fact when his wife is on Question Time I turn down the volume! She is very strident in her views..
So I guess I was a bit biased and did not expect him to be so nice, with a great sense of humour and so much fun to watch. This man was a serious politician with a wife who was one of the contenders for the current Labour leadership,
I and a lot of others will miss him next Saturday!! All the fun gone...

I also had certain pre-conceived ideas about him but that was more that I felt he was likely to be self-conscious and not make a lot of effort. Boy, how wrong was I???

He threw himself into it big style and totally immersed himself in the process of learning and performing every routine. The only one I did not enjoy was the one in Week 4, which was only ever going to be hopeless given the theme and the music.

After that, he was fabulous and brought every show to life.

I preferred his politics to his dancing - but I still loved some of his dances. In fact, I loved his Halloween cha cha (and I usually find the Halloween-themed show a bit of a bore).

Ed was a far better dancer than John Sargeant, Russell Grant and Ann widdecombe
He started off a complete novice, unlike most of the others, and he ended up a decent , competent dancer, not a clown or buffoon, as some have labelled him
He's learnt a skill that he will always enjoy, and I've enjoyed watching him.
He definitely did not outstay his welcome, as another poster stated

I will miss Ed. all the others are very good dancers, but to my mind they take the whole dance thing too serious, even to the point of crying. Good luck to Katya in any future series.
she deserves to win the glitter ball some day.

You could argue that he maybe stayed two weeks too long but a. Who am I to disagree with the public and b. Greg and Daisy were never going to win anyway imo.

Katya really did make lemonade.

Incidentally I'm glad we wont see a rumba but part of me would have enjoyed an Ed showdance in a weird way.

Agree

Yes it was, although I loved all their routines with the exception of Hallowe'en.
Last night when they were saying goodbye to each other I was also overwhelmed by Katya's genuine emotion. She is great fun and brought out the best in Ed without (IMO) making him look ridiculous.

Reading through the tributes on this thread and pretty much agree with all of them.
Who would have thought that a sacrificial week 1 supposed 'duffer' and a virtual unknown pro (in SCD terms) would have made quite the impact they did.
Saturday night will not be quite the same without the 'people's champions'.
And Ed was right...katya is surely a Strictly star in the making!!

It was on the DM last night "David Cameron leads tributes to Ed Balls"

Anyone would think Ed had dropped dead.

"Leads tributes" is a regular feature on the Daily Mail bingo card of stock phrases.

I think they have a giant Rolodex where the 14 year old interns go to find the standard phrases to use when they begin to colour in a new article.

*Puts hand up*

Another person who cried, here

Absolutely gutted.


Couldn't have said it better myself

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/ce...-a3404756.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/...-a3406136.html

Bugger! Ten weeks I've been voting for that so and so and now I've missed him and Katya on ITT!

iPlayer it is then.

They did the Gangnam Salsa live on ITT I must go and watch it again.

I am watching again and again. He follows her, looks for instruction, looks to be taught:
https://twitter.com/bbcstrictly/stat...10723099074560

So it was Yvette and his pal Jeremy vine who encouraged Ed to do Strictly ?
Kinda blasts the "Oh look at his wife in the audience , she's mortified watching him make a fool of himself , poor woman " theory out of the water .

Ed is one year older now than Mark Benton was 3 years ago when he did Strictly.

If you discount the acting ability and natural comic timing of Mark Benton (which Iveta used to great effect in their earlier dances to cover up any shortcomings), then they probably had a similar journey, just Ed was totally exposed from day one.

Katya is clearly the new Iveta in terms of creating entertainment in the dances.

Ed & Katya's best performed dance was easily the slapstick quickstep.

Ed & Katya's Gangnam style reminded me of "U Cant Touch this" by Mark & Iveta in it's approach and just all round "good to be alive" fun

Cameron for Strictly 2017

Katya's success and popularity is good news for her husband too. i imagine Neil will definitely get a partner next year

Right. Like pins, and tresses, and shares a sweet snap, and short-hair-don't-care, and "Pregnant" whoever it is??

i would have loved to have seen a showdance. They'd have thrown eveything at it, it would have been glorious.

Goodness, I had totally forgotten about Mark Benton, but I do recall his routines.
So let's celebrate the Benton Balls Theorem 'You don't have to be young but you do have to work sodding hard to merit your place on the dance floor, week after week" - that should knock out all the Jimmy Tarbucks.

And to be fair, Lesley Joseph did work really hard too, but then the female of the species has always been more committed than the male, but just a couple of notable exceptions.

The good news is that Ed hinted on ITT tonight that he may be on the tour. If so that will make the tour huge fun too! Ed you were brilliant !

Absolutely agree with everything above (including the brilliant quickstep!). Ed NEVER reminded me of Edwina; John Sargeant or Anne Widdecombe. Of all the previous contestants that he DID channel; Mark and Iveta was the closest. Loved Mark and Iveta and loved Ed and Katya.

Thought people might like to know that Ed and Katya's salsa is now the highest viewed dance this season on youtube.
Ed & Katya salsa - 599, 564
Robert & Oskana cha cha - 599, 369
Danny & Oti cha cha - 388,431

Just checked and Ed and Katya's salsa is in the Top 5 Strictly dances on the Strictly Come Dancing youtube channel
Jay & Aliona jive - 2,333,915 views
Jake & Janette salsa - 998,982 views
Georgia & Giovanni jive - 765,171 view
Georgia & Giovanni charleston - 652,457 views
Ed & Katya salsa - 599,564 views
Last edited by gritty : 28-11-2016 at 23:56