Sorry - but there is something about Tom that is just not genuine. He seems like he is acting all the time. Any dances where he has to put a bit of personality into it he just looks like he has a bad smell in his nose e.g. the Paso ,Tango and the Rhumba - he just looked like he was going through the motions - although the judges seemed to love it.

Bring on the Rebuttals/flames

i think that it's down to a very unfortunate chin.

I love his smile when he dances (in those he's allowed to do that). I don't think that is fake, I think that's his personality.

He does seem to "ham it up" in certain dances but I don't think he's fake.

He's no great actor and he may be a bit flakey but I don't think he's fake. I think he's a genuine, rather sweet guy.

His tango expression was okay, I feel. His paso expression was horrendous, but I don't think his rhumba face was terrible either. So seeing paso was done earlier than the Rhumba and Tango, I say he's improved.

His foxtrot face was cute at times, well-suited for the dance.

He overperforms at times, but I've come to admire how he approaches each dance with such gusto!

I think if I was going through motions I'd look as if I had a bad smell in my nose too.

I always think he looks a bit like Desperate Dan in those instances. I certainly doesn't enhance the performances for me, and indeed takes something away from them.

Apart from that there is something about his dancing that just doesn't work for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Craig called him a selfish dancer, and Lionel Blair said pretty much the same thing. I can see what they meant and it may well be that is what I notice.

I guess 'fake' is different from 'smug'...I suppose if this is the only reason people bash him he must be doing something right.

This is NOT the only thing. His foxtrot was really an improvement, but in terms of ballroom hold and head position and overall technical prowess, he's still not the best left in the competition. At least both girls had the male pros setting the frame for them.

I wasn't sure of Tom for a few weeks - probably as the wedding stuff was getting on my nerves!! But have grown to like him. Also the fact that many of the contestants & professionals talk about what a great guy he is says a great deal.

I did like him 'standing in' for that stroppy Brendan so that Lisa didn't look like an idiot standing alone with Tess.

I do find Tom hard to take, constantly referring to his wife (get over it). I do think he is fake most of the time and his faces remind me of Derek Nimmo. However, I was quite touched by his real emotion last night.

:yawn::yawn::yawn:

I agree ballroom wise he probably is the weakest remaining, although he is very good, because the girls are exceptional. Though what I will say is I feel warmth and a connection in his dances that I don't feel in Rachel's (minus her rumba) and, to a lesser extent, Lisa's.

I've always believed he's the strongest performer at Latin, both technically and performance wise (minus the Paso face ), and I think that has helped him throughout the competition. He's entertaining to watch, and technically good.

I think the OP is stepping away from the official party line:

Tom is smug
Rachel is bland
and Lisa is supposed to be the fake one

Not on OP, not on.

Me too, the first thing that came to my mind was that it was such a 'gentalmanly' (sp) thing to do. (his mam would have been proud of him )

I don't find him fake at all

It's semi final week though. Can't we muddle them up a bit for fun?

Tom is fake
Rachel is smug
Lisa is bland

Any takers?

Tom is just the epitome of the overeager schoolboy! He likes to lap the saucer of praise.

thats one of things i've noticed. Everyone has nothing but positive things to say about him.
I also love how over excited her gets sometimes its so cute , like when he got the 10s last night. He has a real love for dance IMO moreso then anyone else has had this year.

Personally, I wish a few more would "ham it up"..it creates a performance. What is dancing all about if its not about giving a larger than life performance ?..look at the professional dancers..camp as hell, but great fun.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about him. I dont dislike him, but he's an actor, dahling, and it shows.

Agree about the wedding and the new wife too. I only had one day's honeymoon before I had to go back to work, but I didn't go on about it ad nauseum.

You also weren't on tv with cameras pointed at you asking inane questions most of your working day.

I thought that too. I was very touched by that.

I don't watch Holby, so didn't know him from the tv before then. But there's something about him that endears me towards him. His exuberance for dancing, his relationship with Camilla and his dedication to trying to get it right on the night, does him credit.

I do think that sometimes Camilla can overdo things with the dance, (I agreed with Len about the Rhumba) but I think that's because she genuinely gets all enthusiastic about having a dance partner that can dance, so she gives it welly, so to speak.
For the main, I think it works, but sometimes she could reign it in. And it's that reason why I think, (emphasis on it being my thoughts) that some people think he's 'smug' or 'fake', as it can seem a little too over choreographed at times.

All that said and done, I really think that Tom has developed through the series, and that's why he's now achieving his 10's. They've been a while in the coming, but well deserved, finally!

So, in a nutshell (took me long enough to get there eh! ) No, I don't think he's fake.