It would be nice to see older people given credit for trying really hard, even if they cannot reach the heights they might have when they were younger (no offence Brucie).

Sometimes they do really well- like Carol Smilie. Others -like Dennis Taylor- tried and reached their own level. They should be given credit for that. I would like to see the judges being more gracious to the older contestants, provided they have tried their best.

When you get a lot of celebrities all thinking they can do well (like this year), maybe there is going to be a harsher atmosphere.

It is not supposed to be entirely about winning. It's supposed to be about 'The Journey'.

The only other problem is the professionals. They want to look good and if you are given a celebrity with very limited potential, you should not have to take abuse if you are both doing your best.

Yes I must confess I could not bear to watch Wayne dancing & ended up FF his bit. However that was more due to my personal revulsion at his wierd looking cosmetic surgery & dyed black hair tbh (admitedly he could not dance either- imo).
The problem is in the US version they keep bringing in these "models" who are young, slim & beautiful but they just have not got the fan-base to get enough votes at the begining. If I were a prof dancer & got paired with one of them I'd be thinking "oh no I'm out".
It will be interesting to see out of what I call the "vain girls" - yes I know, I'd be vain if I looked like any of them it is true, (Gabby, Alesha, Penny & Kelly). If they all dance as well as I think they are going to, who has the biggest fan-base.

I can't stand him - I am from USA, grew up there in 60s/70s have been in this county for 25+ years - I remember him being around in the 60s on the pop scene - he had blonde hair, then no one heard of him for years and then he suddenly reappears with that horrible unnatural black hair and fake tan saying that he was really a 'Native American'. Have never liked him since - so fake!!

That may very well surprise the BBC! People featured in the tabloids and Heat magazine aren't necessarily admired by the public. We'll see.

Have to agree with you re Wayne Newton too.
Had no clue who the dickens he was at the beginning - apparently a "Las Vegas Legend" - but he was just incredibly fake in his entire appearance, so not a character you could warm to, apart from not being a good dancer. IMO Gloria Hunniford, who was probably around the same age, made a much better effort on SCD, she really got into the character of the dances she did and it looked fun.

On the subject of people being mean to the older contestants, I remember Craig RH being horrible to poor Gloria - can understand why he might want to give her low marks, but he was just spiteful.

I do like the way the professional dancers are always so positive about the partners they're given. It must be (internally) a huge disappointment to be given a partner you feel is unlikely to go far, but they do seem to put a good front on about it.

I think the show would lose something if older/less fit contestants were dropped, but I think you have to accept that the older/less fit contestants are very unlikely to be contenders and/or are just there for (genuine, not cynical) entertainment. It's obvious from this week's show that three of the women are going to be very hard to beat...

As for older/less fit contestants being paired with your favourite pro... deal with it.. as long as they get a contender some of the time (as Camilla & Flavia & Nicole have done this year), then it's not that bad.

(I wasn't that bothered by Karen's early exit this year - another year of Karen love on the forums would have driven me nuts... *ducks*... although I did support last year's winners...)

Maybe older pros are needed to balance it out

The older and less fit dancers should be commended for entertaining us. It's good to see them do something else.

But now the show is down to who they can get for the ratings.

Kelly Brook is clearly The Chosen One.