I prefer it when we get to know them, it makes me appreciate their dancing more when we see their personalities.
I didnt really take much notice of Flavia or Matthew Cutler at all last year but i love them this year. I think because we've got to see their personalities i tend to look out for them more in the pro dancers and notice just how brilliant they are.

Yes, if you're Vincent and Flavia. I know you have a 'thing' about his lisp (rather lispist!) but I don't think he remotely looks camp even when he's lycra'd to the hilt. I think there's always a lot of oomph when I see those two dance.

TBH, the dancer who always looks the most camp to me (and he's not according to his well-reported reputation with women) is Brendan. I never think he exudes "manly"... just something about his moves. I'm not insinuating anything by this, just some dancers I prefer to watch than others. Matthew Cutler, for example - gay as a gay thing - manages to look quite manly I think... especially when he dragged Alesha across the floor at the end of their Ballroom Tango! Grrrrr!!

Suspicions that James (cold fish?) loses support due to his personality?
Brendan is considered arrogant so loses out?
Anton gets loads of sympathy votes (and old ladies?).
Matt dA (ditto).

If it were just a dance comp. (oh, no, it's jolly well not!) the personalities wouldn't count and we wouldn't get to know them.

There was a programme like that once.

"Come Dancing", they called it.
I knew it would never catch on.

yeah Matt C realised he was gay at some stage I guess

Was it really 9 years, Camilla must have been just a kid when they got together I'm glad to see they are friends again though.

^ me too.


Ditto!

Definitely not - even if I dont like someones personality
or whatever, I can still appreciate and marvel at their dancing ability.

I met Ian a couple of years ago in a club and found him to be smarmy and nasty.... makes me like his dances less subconsciously.... its only human.

Darren and Lillia are married
Vincent and Flavia aren't but have been together ages
Brendan and Camilla were engaged
Rumor has it Anton and Erin were once a couple

You obviously haven't seen Ian and Camilla's Rumba on their DVD The Magic of Dance then! Almost had me believing she'd turned him! He's pretty macho in the Paso as well.

I agree re. Matt's voice, and Ian has come across as a bit more camp this series with Penny than he was with Zoe, but he's so sweet, and so is Matt. In fact they are my two favourite male pros. I think it's being tall actually, they really both seem to have such fluid and elegant movement when they dance. I love it, though I know not everyone thinks tall is good for latin.

I'm amazed. Everyone else who's met him who's posted on here says he's lovely.
Last edited by SilverBird : 17-12-2007 at 19:36

I think Erin steadfastly denies this, but of course that may not convince people.

No, I said something like Matt & Ian are lovely guys and yes they are gay.. Didn't mention Anton......

You know I agree with you SB!! Ian & Matt are what I watch SCD for.

it doent put me off..it actually makes me enjoy watching them dance more because i see them as 'real' people

I struggle to put my finger on why (perhaps it is the content of some of the training and other background footage, but I feel that this series has been the best so far at giving the viewers more insight into the pro dancers' personalities, and there's been a bit less emphasis on the celebs, most of whom many viewers already know a bit about anyway. And for the most part, I have grown to like the pro dancers more, especially James, whose dry humour and insight I now appreciate.

I can't stand Brendans cockiness
Antons real name makes me laugh
Vincents just too full of himself


And every single time mathew cutler come on I end up saying "I cannot believe he is gay"

(I only found out in a spoiler thread about 2-3 weeks ago!! same one as pandas :P)





btw i don't care that they are gay! i just didnt expect mathew to be!! haha
Last edited by jane-hen12 : 18-12-2007 at 19:42

on the basis one has been married and another had an affair with his celebrity partner a few years back they can always be turned

In my dreams!

Matthew never looks gay when he dances but when he speaks he does sound a bit camp. But all in a good way!

I've never taken to Camilla, and that's probably why I didn't enjoy Gethin's dancing as much as I would have done had he been partnered with someone else.

Anton doing Latin cracks me up He's not bad at all, it's just that his ballroom image is so strong!

I can't really figure Darren's personality either. He doesn't seem to have as strong a personality as some of the the male contestants, and I don't find his choreography as interesting as the others.

In the pro dances my eyes always drift to Matthew C and Brendan (especially that pro jive - ). Among the females, I *love* Flavia as I find her choreography original and exciting. I also like Lilia and Erin.

I adore Matthew's gentle voice, now and again he camps it when him and Alesha are having one of their often moments of hilarity, but when he's being interviewed his voice is lovely and velvety soft. It suits his persona.

As for Vincent, I think its is a bit unfair about his so-called lisp. He has a strong accent and I think it is this which accounts for him sounding as though he lisps; but he doesnt actually.

Oh well, we're not all perfect and one man's meat is another man's poison - as the saying goes

Mind you, having said that, of all the male celebrities Brendon is the one that puts me off him with this arrogant air he has about him. Gives me the impression he thinks he is better than any of the other dancers.

The thing I love most about Strictly is the way it humanises the dancers and really respects what they do. I have grown up around dancers who have struggled to get the credit they deserve and who have endless tales of just being treated like a plastic object rather than as real people. For much too long, when dancers have appeared on shows, they been treated like extras. They work their butts off, do their thing and then get shoved to the background whilst some untalented famous person takes centre stage and all of the applause. ( I mean absolutely no comparison with Strictly celebs here).

I love the fact the pros are just as much a part of the show as the celebs - after all, they work so hard and are responsible for all of the wonderful routines we see. Also, they have so much to offer as personalities. They each bring something to the table.

I love getting to know them all a little more each series. The show is about learning to dance and I feel we learn the biggest lessons about what it takes to become a dancer, through getting to know the pros.

(Erin and Anton definitely never dated)

I find knowing the dancers better works both ways. There are some dancers I now like more and some I like less. I am less keen on Darren (not really sure why though) the more I see of him yet the more I see of James and Matthew the more I like them. Anton I have loved all the way through.

There's only one pro I dislike, and it's (*unpopular opinion alert*) Flavia. I really just don't take to her at all, and I'm not sure why.

This is true, I think the pairing has a lot to do with it because for sure I think Alesha has brought out Matthews personality more than ever. But then I am a tad biased I suppose.

Surely no one can dislike Anton, he's a loveable ijitt so he is . I love anyone that puts a smile on my face and Anton does that. Loved it when he showed that little old lady around a few weeks back, he was so sweet and gentle with her and treated her just like one of the girls.

I think the producers have chosen to show much more as well. Last year CarolCam was hilarious, but we didn't see any of that stuff on ITT - maybe because the producers didn't see them as contenders or Matt as one of the 'main' dancers who had been popular every year.