Following Rachel and Vincent's Tango, Rachel now holds the highest amount of record scores in regular compeition. Previously Alesha held this record having had the previous joint highest score for the Tango.

Here's the list of who holds which record.

Rachel Stevens (Rumba 39, Foxtrot 40, Tango 39)
Mark Ramprakash (Salsa 40, AT 39)
Alesha Dixon (Cha Cha 39, VW 38)
Jill Halfpenny (Jive 40)
Colin Jackson (Quickstep 39)
Zoe Ball (Samba 38)
Matt Di Angelo (Waltz 40)
Gethin Jones (Smooth 38)
Austin Healey (Paso 38)

Good for her.

Rachel has earnt those high scores with a mixture of moving and technically competent performances.

Alesha had a very different style and was utterly brilliant in her own way. But she's not untouchable.

Cheese, chalk .... chalk, cheese (I know which I'd choose in my sandwich).

Rachel has been grossly overmarked. There is no way her tango was better than Zoe Ball's. Matt Dawson's waltz was amazing.

Why?

Zoe Ball's Tango was rather special, but technically it wasn't any better than Rachel's (look for the 'gapping' in hold).

And the differing interpretations of the dance offered by both was a matter of personal taste. Rachel's softer, more subtle approach might not have been your cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it was overmarked.

Rachel's Tango was clearly not perfect, and deserved 4 9s, but was quite badly overmarked. Zoe's was better technically and in terms of performance IMO.

Superior technically in what way?

I phrased it wrongly, but I quickly identified Rachel's mistakes as soon as she made them, and I thought they were quite obvious, whereas I think Zoe hid any mistakes she made better, because I couldn't spot any, even after watching it loads of times.

Those records are meaningless.
The judges overmark just about everyone.
Note that the winner of the first series holds no records.
That's because they scored more appropriately in the early days.

It's surprising really that Alesha never achieved a 40 in the competetion

I don't think it is surprising that Alesha never got a 40.
She was great but not technically perfect so it's fair not to get a 40.

Nobody would get 40 in my book except for maybe the final.
Honest to God, 30 is 75% of 40. In virtually any other discipline 75% is a damned good mark.

I just deplore the gross devaluation of the marks this series. It makes me cross.

Even crosser than Miss Hissyfit-Cole.

Thanks for posting that QuizMike - fascinating!

I am a Rachel and Vincent fan and its great to see something positive about them instead of the vicious bitching we have had in the last few days.

Rachel deserves those, but I would have alesha anyday

Interesting stats QuizMike, can you tell us which were the professional partners for the record holders. I wonder if any have three or more ?

Anyone would think Rachel was the best dancer ever on the show :yawn:#

Maybe she is the best dancer whose feet can't be seen in ballroom dances .

Here you go...

Vincent (Rumba 39, Foxtrot 40, Tango 39)
Karen (Salsa 40, AT 39)
Matt (Cha Cha 39, VW 38)
Erin (Quickstep 39, Paso 38)
Darren (Jive 40)
Ian (Samba 38)
Flavia (Waltz 40)
Camilla (Smooth 38)

Thanks, I should have realised that Vincent would have had three as he is Rachel's partner. There's not much room for improvement on these figures.

how true!!! And as for Arlene witnessing the most erotic tango ever - was she watching the same dance?

she is the best dancer we've had.
I loved alesha, gethin, mark r and jill in there respect series but no one had been technically great at both latin and also ballroom like rachel has.

The only latin I can think of, of Rachels, that was particularly good was her Rhumba, and it wasn't exactly a fast and difficult dance....

Fast doesn't equate to difficult.

In fact, the slower dances are more of a challenge because they are more likely to expose errors.

The Rhumba is notorious for being difficult. That Rachel put in such a convincing performance is a credit to her and Vincent.

Precisely.
The absurd over-marking during this series has made the stats from earlier shows completely meaningless.
They have devalued the "10" mark. I know it was never considered a mark of perfection, but we have seen 10's for merely average performances this year.

well technically she is just as good as Jill in latin and just as good as Alesha in ballroom.
I also think she'll manage to beat Mark Ramps 39 score for the AT. Vincent is going to make sure he has great choreography and i can honestly see her getting another 40.

But is technique the sole aribiter of who the 'best' dancer is? Surely presentation/artistic interpretation also comes into play - and that can be very subjective.

Absolutely.

And neither Rachel nor Alesha can please everybody. If everyone's taste has to be taken into account when marking, no 10 would ever be awarded.