Zoe certainly realises it and I respect her for being honest enough to admit it. I remember her saying in the ITT interview that when you came first, you couldn't judge what the public support was like. Coming second and then ending up in the final two made it plain that the public support wasn't there as much for them.

(I'm still a Colin and Erin supporter, but fair's fair!)

if he said this then he really has a cheek!!!! What pure arrogance, so if Zoe doesnt win, they've already got the excuses and violins lined up! Thats really got my bloody boiling!!

If there's one thing that still unites Ian and Zoe, it's their dedication to win.

It doesnt matter what Ian is or isnt, sexuality or otherwise. It doesnt matter what relationship he did or didnt have with Denise Lewis, or whether he and Zoe are bosum buddies or sworn enemies. (tho they seem pretty good friends to me)
Neither does it matther whether he gets on with her husband or knows her great aunt ada

What matters is that he is an exceptional dancer who has taken a novice and brought her up to an amazing standard, further than even she expected, and that they give us great enjoyment and entertainment when we see them on Saturday nights, as all the other competitors do.

Perhaps its time we just let them get on with it and enjoy it ourselves with out endless speculation, bitching, nastiness or whatever.

As far as I can see he is a lovely decent human being who absolutely lives for dancing and certainly is not arrogant.
Lets leave them in peace shall we to do what they do best.
And lets keep enjoing SCD and ITT without getting so het up and tense about it.

I admit I am guilty of this at times, and hope no one will take offence at my comments.

Shappy - great location, one of my fave places too, lovely view from my window.

I think that Ian is pushing zoe to get the best out of her but if he pushes her to had people could go of him and that could be a dangous place to be in so near the final

I'm not sure that Elizabethjo's post does actually say that Ian said that, does it?

I'm not a particular fan of Ian & Zoe's, have no dislike for them either, but it woulds be unfair for him to be judged on that if its not actually what he said. And think of your blood pressure!

No Ian did not actually say that. He realises the pressure they are under. Zoe being the last female celeb in the competition. The references to the voting public was my generalisation of what we talked about. Also that view was expressed later the same day by a professional dancer, one who sees far more than the rest of us having been there himself previously.
Ian realises the pressure and is rising to it. They were great on ITT tonight. He said he was not in the least upset by Zoe interupting him and anyone could see from them together tonight and the training clips that that is true. He also doesnt mind her laughing at the music. He takes it all in good part.

Zoe needs to stop whining so much. She has had an easier ride of it compared to James ( for example ) and she clearly has an amazing talent. Ian is no Anton ( in terms of sheer charisma when he hits the dance floor ), and doesn't interview well, but he isn't helping them with his remarks on ITT and SCD. Ian clearly gets frustrated with her, but I don't think they let that get in the way of their training.

It is a shame that Patsy went out, as her competitive spirit and their version of the American Smooth was a delight to watch.

I won't vote for any of them based solely on their interviews and press comments but Zoe is really grating on me, almost as much as Arlene ( which is saying a lot ) and the ITT show has the unfortunate side effect of emphasising the personalities and soap opera as much as the dancing. So we are judging them on both things. Perhaps Claudias' production team could take a fresh look at the earlier episodes of the show again and take note of the growing emphasis on personalities over performance and try to hold it in check a bit more next year?

Top of the pile in terms of sheer ability at the moment are clearly Zoe and Colin ( with Colin being undermarked ). In terms of improvement in performance Darren ( but again, his goofy-dog act and continual chirpy self deprecating quips about Billy Elliot are getting a bit wearing ) is top of the pile.

James is making the same mistake as Zoe, although he isn't whining as much ( but only just ) his constant mentioning of "we are the underdogs" this week would have seen him out for sure but for the cretinous Arlene's comment on the last ITT show.

Claudia deserves more respect from her guests, and certainly Graham Norten and Arlene could have shown less bad manners.

I used to find Norten amusing, now I think he's just an over-rated t**t. The whole Extras episode with Len Dennis taking him off "oooh look at this massive p*n*s I found on the net" had it on the nail there.


So on Friday I would say, because James and Zoe haven't kept their "personality" slate clean this week:

Safe: Colin Darren
At risk: Zoe and James
Out: James

What I'd like to see based on dancing ability/progress ( expectations from previous shows ):
Safe: Colin Zoe
At risk: Darren James
Out: James

What I'd like to see based on whether they are getting on my nerves or not from the ITT shows:
Safe: Colin, Darren
At risk: James, Zoe
Out: Zoe

But no, the final looks like it will be a straight fight between Colin and Zoe, and I think Colin has more dedication and professionalism and will ( and probably should as a leading man ) win.

Sorry about the long post, I've restrained myself from posting on this forum until now and I had a lot to say. Thank god for page down eh?

what a great post cheesemaster ! sums it really.. for me anyways

Do you know, I re-watched ITT from Wed last night and all the interviews last night and have come to the conclusion that, frankly, the premise of this thread is simply false - they obviously do get on well and are determined to give us a fab show tonight. My admiration for both has grown, although am still torn between them and Darren and Lilia.

that's what i decided too libby. there were plenty of hugs (coming from both directions) and they seemed much happier. they were probably just having a bad day on ITT which is perfectly acceptable and shouldnt have caused anywhere near the amount of fuss that it has. they actually went up loads in my opinion last night and i have decided to probably cast my one vote that i am allowing myself in their direction, unless someone else is completely breathtaking on the night.