Oh yes Gary is definitely a ballroom and Latin expert. Intelligent - definitely, but so is Len if only people realised it. Sophisticated? Let's just say he's possibly more Prince Harry than Prince William!!!

He quit doing the Autumn DWTS that clashed with Strictly, some time ago, not only because of the travelling, but because of his illness (he had cancer) which made the travelling even more tiring that it was already. He doesn't appear in all episodes of the earlier series either.

He's already touting around that he thinks Ed was undermarked so it doesn't look like it.

i love him already

Can see point Gary was making to a point though in some dances Ed actually did some proper basic steps etc and some of his marking was a bit low - not saying that they should have been high at all but mainly Craig did mark him too low

i guess the thing is, as far as TPTB are concerned the judging mix they have at the minute works so even with Len going, they arent going to want to change that balance too much. NewLen is going to still be the one to grump about lifts (intermittently) and choreography (ad hoc but with possibly less walnuts).

Will be interesting to see who they do choose - but whoever it is I do hope they are not already connected with the show

For sure. We could do with a new broom even if it's a bit of a Trigger's broom with old bristles

I suspect you would heartily dislike Gary, sofakat. He'd probably be pretty safe choice for Strictly though.

Whenever I've seen a Len documentary, usually on BBC4, about dancing or music or some such he has come across much better than he has on Strictly, at times. This series, perhaps because it's his swansong, I've enjoyed him being more technical in his critique and also saying a bit more than just his stock phrases. I've liked some of his anecdotes too, e.g. pushing a matchstick to practise his footwork.

I very much hope the new person, whoever they be, is well versed in the 10-Dances and what is looked for competitively.

I remember seeing video of a talk he gave at Blackpool (about the benefits of repetition in practice, I think) and he was very good. Unfortunately we haven't seen enough of that side of him.

before strictly Len made a lot of instructional videos for teachers his ones on kids classes are legend

It's a shame. With some of Darcey's feedback you can see her using her experience of dance to support or critique the contestant. For example, I found her remark about Ore's arm movement initiating from his shoulder rather than just the arm illuminating. It put into words something I'd a sense of (from Pilates) but not enough to comprehend. I'm sure that Len's matchstick comment might have been useful to quite a few contestants over the years when dancing cha cha cha or rumba.

I think I need to consider taking up some sort of dance as a hobby. I'm more invested than a viewer but feel frustrated in my knowledge because I don't dance!

Taking up dancing would definitely give a different perspective. Pilates should give you a good head start.

Darcy was right but only told part of the story. Arm movement in Latin initiates from the rib cage. Order of movement/outward extension is: rib cage, shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand.

Good luck to him

Oh no, I'm lost now!! Is it breathe that involves rib cage initiating the movement?

Weil actually there are different schools of thought regarding rib cage movement, but all parts of the body are connected and a change in one body part affects the others. And yes, it is connected to the breathing, but also the hip settling.

Having just seen her on ITT with her sister, I would LOVE it to be Motsi Mabuse if they could tempt her away from Germany.

Thanks. Definitely something to do in order to understand.

Sounds like the same principle as a yoga standing side stretch.

Good luck - make sure you keep all your bits and pieces in the right configuration.

He said as much on the clip of him on telly I saw. He probably will quit DWTS next series when his contract there runs out.

Is that because the yoga stretch initiates from lifting the rib cage?

It'll be a while before I'll have the courage to learn a dance! I'm not doing one where my bits and pieces go awry

You wouldn't be doing that to start with. You'd just be stepping through it! So no excuses!

Fuschia: I'm not familiar with a yoga side stretch but suspect it is more pertinent to ballroom.

Hee, hee. It's a matter of confidence. I always wanted to be a dancer and don't feel I'm good enough. I suspect the side stretch would contribute to any extension of the arms, especially upwards and would assist the rumba.

I hope whoever replaces Len doesn't make those rehearsed unfunny jokes that he does.