Mine too. Interesting and exciting choreography and the partnership still had a way to go.

I wish Claudia and AJ every success in the future.

I'm now switching my allegiance to Danny and Oti.

I felt she often got undermarked and I'm sad to see her go

Well done Claudia and AJ! My favourite pairing this year by a long way too!

They have impressed me with their creativity and positivity throughout the competition and that will definitely be missed in the final next week. To be able to come out in that DO with that smile and energy, despite the disappointment she must have been feeling, and to smash it regardless was a real credit to her and AJ. Dance of the night for me, and one of the best Quicksteps I've seen on the show. Fabulous!

Love this thread

Just wanted to add my well wishes to the ones already on here. I'm gutted Claudia and AJ were unable to make the final (for reasons beyond their control) and like others have said, the final has lost a bit of sparkle for me now. Their showdance would have been amazing I reckon.

Great partnership, and they produced some of my favourite dances of the series.

I shall now be voting for Danny Mac as if my life depended on it .

I agree with this (although it would have been an outside choreographer for the Charleston). It took me a while to warm up to them but with hindsight, I think that was the show's insistence on pigeonholing them as cutesy-wutesy babies. The last few weeks I ended up voting for her, alongside Danny, and I'm disappointed she didn't make the final. She seems a lovely switched on person mature for her years, and I wish her every success in her competitive career and beyond.

As almost everyone else has said in this thread Claudia has come out of this very well. I will be really interested to see if her undoubted dance ability has a positive effect on her gymnastic routines - especially the floor

I am a bit sad we won't see her do a showdance as with her abilities I am sure it would have been amazing . Disappointed with the judging as its hard to escape the conclusion that she wasn't wanted for the final for some reason. Her quickstep was her best dance and better than some other dances that got 40 (or 39!) points. At least we got to see it twice.
In fact ironically we got to see the 2 best dances of the night again in the dance off- that surely cant be right can it.

All the best Claudia and thanks for being one of the most likeable and entertaining contestants on the show

Well put, I remember years ago some friends talking about their son who did various sports. They said how he was used to taking instruction from the trainer / coach and acting on them so when he took up another sport was soon doing very well. Also I would think they are taught not to talk back to judges because it will go badly against them though of course there is an appeals system in most sports where a formal protest can be lodged.

Her parents can be very proud of her.

Yes, me too. I am an avid gymnastics fan so I will hopefully be seeing Claudia a lot in the future.

Both Claudia and AJ did themselves proud last night and over the entire series. I never once heard them complain about the scoring, comments, themes, music, costumes etc. They just got on with it and acquitted themselves beautifully. Think other celebs and pros over the years could learn a thing or two.

I really wished they had made the final but at least we got to see them do all their routines, barring their showdance (which would have been amazing I'm sure!) and that QS was their best dance imo.

I love watching Claudia when I watch Gymnastics and while it didn't work out in terms of her reaching the final I hope she wins lots of gold medals at the Olympics /Commonwealth Games so she can have a SPOTY nomination in the future. Claudia and AJ have been a sweet couple and I've been a big fan of them

Hear, hear!

I will miss them too and look forward to following Claudia's gymnastic career. Very talented young lady and came across very well in interviews particularly her leaving one. Wasn't keen on AJ at the start of the series but he has grown on me and I hope he will be there next year.

I will miss them too and look forward to following Claudia's gymnastic career. Very talented young lady and came across very well in interviews particularly her leaving one. Wasn't keen on AJ at the start of the series but he has grown on me and I hope he will be there next year.
Last edited by flique : 12-12-2016 at 14:05

They produced two of the best dances ever on Strictly. Best AT ever. Best Quickstep ever. Should have got 4 tens for both of these.

Lovely sentiments on this thread, and I'd like to say I agree with everything said here. Both Claudia and AJ were supremely professional throughout, and the final will be a little less sparkly without them. Good luck to them both post-Strictly 2016.

I still for the life of me can't understand why what AT didn't get at least one 10. At least with the QS they got two 10s but both routines were spectacular. Judging dancing is so subjective and done according to taste and I think the judges just didn't warm to Claudia's dancing as much as the others.

I also think they both conducted themselves impeccably throughout the whole thing- never complaining about scores, music, costumes etc and always being really upbeat and enthusiastic on the show. Other celebs and pros over the years could learn a thing or two.

I felt genuinely touched at their interview with Tess and seeing their journey video and not many couples do that for me. They seemed to have formed a lovely friendship and hope it continues outside of Strictly.

Well done indeed!

By no means my favourite couple this year, I was impressed with Claudia's rapid improvement since her Lion King-salsa. That and her QS were excellent as was her Charleston and its these three dances I shall most remember her for. Its just a pity her rise came too little too late to make a real difference.

Re AJ, though he can be a little frenetic, he did well to reach the semi's in his first season. Bodes well for the future as he grows in the Strictly experience.

Congratulations to AJ and Claudia for getting to the semi finals. I was sad to see them go. That QS is the best one I've ever seen and they seem lovely people too. I hope AJ is back next year.

I would like to add a word about AJ.

We keep hearing about height differences, but in their last quickstep, AJ proved beyond any shadow of doubt that it is more than possible for the taller man to adapt his hold to accommodate his shorter partner without losing any of the elegance essential for ballroom.

Well done, AJ. [Anton (remembering him with Lesley) could do well to take a lesson from AJ].

I loved that Len publicly congratulated him for managing that in the Quickstep, you could see how much it meant to AJ.

I don't think AJ has gotten enough credit for how well he as done in his first series. I wasn't sure about him at first but think he's been a brilliant addition to the show and hope he is back next year (hopefully with Chloe getting a partner too!)

Also, lovely exit interview on ITT from them both- think they are one of my favourite Strictly partnerships!

Sadly I don't think either of them got much credit for anything really. Glad they stayed in long enough to produce some fantastic dances and challenge people's views about them.

Yeah I think they were often overlooked by the judges, not intentionally, but think they just didn't warm to their dancing as much as the other couples.

Loved what AJ said about their QS not being out of place in a competition and he should know!

A poster on Saturday night described it as a proper competition Quickstep too. I've not watched ITT yet tonight, I haven't recovered enough from the emotion of last night