How many of the record top-scoring dances are deserved, in your opinion?

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)

I haven't included scores from Christmas specials here, as couples can include lifts in routines, and the judges are even more generous than usual (but feel free to comment on Christmas special scores if you wish)!

I, for one, didn't think Matt di Angelo's waltz deserved 40, and Lisa's cha cha was similarly overmarked. I was disappointed that Rachel's 39 overtook Zoe's tango record too.

As for deserved scores, I agree with Jill's jive and Mark's salsa for a start. Zoe's samba and Rachel's rumba are also among the best.

Any thoughts?

one answer .... all of them

All of EM!!

The only ones I have a slight quibble with are:

Rachel's Tango - I think it's pretty forgettable and have preferred at least 3 others (zoe, alesha, austin)

Matt's Waltz - Again, forgettable and I preferred those of Alesha, Gethin & Lisa

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
Nope

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
It was good, but probably not the best

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
Sorry, I found Zoe and Ian's better

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
Rachel yes, Lisa no

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
I never bother with this dance haha

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
I dont remember this >.<

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
Hell no - Alesha's was a million times better

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes, im happy with that

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
No questions

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
It was good, I have no complaints

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
I dont remember this dance >.<

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
All time favourite. Worth a 50 in my eyes

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
Mark's was better than Rachels. Idk why he didnt get 40 CRAIG

I think the marking system can be defended in term of its ability to rank the couples reasonably fairly in any given week.

I don't think it's a particularly good method for making valid comparisons between series.

Of those I think the Viennese, the Samba, the Rumba, the Jive, and the Argentine Tango are the best examples of their type, or close enough that they deserve the record (I do think Rachel should have the AT record ahead of Mark). As for others probably not, although I'd only take it off Mark on the grounds that it didn't really feel like a salsa.

none of Lisas. How does she have 3 records Terrible.
Also no way was Matt Di angelos waltz the best ever. Gethin, Alesha, Jodie and Rachel all did much better jobs.

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
Preferred Alesha's myself

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
Colin, Alesha, Matt DA, Denise and Tom were all better IMO

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
Zoe and Austin did better with this IMO

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
Fair enough

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
Most definitely, by far and away the best VW on SCD

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
Matt DA's was better

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
No, Alesha's was so much better

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
Best Latin dance ever on SCD, so yes

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
Best male performance on SCD, so yes

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
Yes, best of a traditionally poorly performed dance

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
Yes, though I also enjoyed the Salsas danced by Tom, Matt DA, Gethin and Alesha

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
Mark's deserved 40

I think that's a fair point actually. The way the show is going, the marks will get higher and higher until a 40 really doesn't mean anything (some people might argue that we've already reached that point). It's often hard to compare a 39 from one series with a 39 from another.

It might be interesting to think of your best example of each dance, and compare it with the record-holder...

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo - no, no, no. It was romantic, yes, but there have been far better and more touching waltzes. It was largely in part a reaction to the previous week's blunders.

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon - I didn't think this would get full marks on the night, but actually I really love it. In part for the dress. Ok, so quite a bit for the dress. But Denise's was also up there.

TANGO - Rachel Stevens - one of the most memorable tangos, so yes deserving

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon - Apart from Zoe's and Jill's I had a hard time liking any of the foxtrots until these two. Of the two though, beautiful though it was, I felt Rachel's was a touch too dull to be 40, whereas I thought Lisa was deserving.

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon - it will take something to beat this.

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones - God, really?! I barely remember this. So I guess not deserving.

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon - I liked it, and her footwork and leg lines are beautiful. A couple of arm placements bother me, but I felt one of the most technically accomplished cha chas. Alesha's was more dramatic, but she had some dodgy lines. Jill's perhaps more deserving however.

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens - no rumba even comes close.

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny - comment not needed.

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey - Good grief, no no no. Jill's paso I think is perhaps the only truly brilliant one we've seen and one resembling, you know, a paso.

SAMBA - Zoe Ball - totally deserving. Always makes me smile.

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash - Ummm, I only remember his and Matt's (oh and Cherie's for those two minutes I spent my life looking through fingers). So I guess maybe.

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens - Rachel's was exquisite. I never really got Mark's AT and thought it a bit too much performance, not enough steps. Whereas Rachel combines the two perfectly.

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
Not awful, but there are loads of good Waltzes to choose from so I don't think it would get a majority vote in support (except maybe on DS ). My favourite is Matt Dawson's.

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
No, I don't think it matches up to either Denise Lewis, or Colin Jackson.

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
Having seen it live on tour, yes I think it is deserving. It didn't come over half as well on screen.

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
Yes to both I think.

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
Yes

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
I think this belongs to Colin Jackson, followed by Matt di Angelo.

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
No, no, no! What about Jill Halfpenny?

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes, and definitely having seen it on tour.

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
Unquestionably

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
No, not to my taste at all. The best authentic Paso is Jill Halfpenny's, by a country mile.

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
Good party atmosphere, especially on tour, but it doesn't match Jill's technically I suspect.

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
Yes, but possibly shared with Matt di Angelo (minus the weird shimmying)

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
I think this is a really fair tie- Mark's blew people away with the performance, but Rachel's possibly had better technical content. Although in fairness she possibly had a slight advantage being paired with Vincent!


I think that's a really excellent point.

I think I agree with you mostly.

Waltz - it's hard to tell because the waltz mostly doesn't have the wow factor but at the risk of losing Mavian cred Gethin's and Alesha's waltzes were probably better. Matt D's is very good too though - and the record probably should have remained his.

QS - I did quite like this I think but the fact that I can't remember if this the one done to "Walking My Baby Back Home" or not tells me that it didn't wow me that much. I have to say that Colin's, Matt DA's and Denise's were much more memorable and good to watch - although Matt's trip deprives him of pole here.

Tango - having seen this live it comes across better than on the tv but I have to say I prefer Zoe's.

Foxtrot - I have trouble remembering most of them to be honest. My favourite was probably Tom's in spite of the flaws in it. I also think Goughie's stands out for being one of the few which isn't boring. Rachel's in particular I thought was flawlessly performed but dull as ditchwater. Gethin's and Leticia's were good last year.

VW - I'm probably in the minority of one here by not being that wowed by Alesha's VW - prefered Gethin's actually and loved Kelly's too.

Smooth - Had Brendan not been a tit and put the extra lift then this would have been his and Kelly's. I think the vote goes to Colin for this though - honourable mentions to Matt DA. Tom's impressed this year and had she not stumbled during it Lisa's.

Cha Cha Cha - Lisa's is the most overmarked dance ever - and the one that it actually makes me angry at how overmarked it is. This belongs to Alesha no matter what the stats say.

Rhumba - one of the few later ones which is actually deserved the only real competition comes from Cherie whom I'd say had she done it later in the competition might have been up there with her.

Jive - It's good and it deserves it's status but I think Louisa's is actually slightly better.

Paso - difficult one I love it but can see what Len means about style over content that said few Pasos are impressive. I don't rate Goughie's much - my favourites are probably Jill and Louisa's although apart from Dom's I have fondness for all of last year's in spite of their flaws (Tish loses momentum with hers about halfway through when she has a minor wardrobe malfunction).

Samba - I think this is unquestionably deserved - the samba is a very hard dance which very few shine at.

Salsa - again deserved although in a fair world it would share the honours with Mavian one.

AT - Mark's is deserved not so sure about Rachel's although it is good doesn't quite have the impact of the Maren one.

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40) - Definitely not deserved. 38 or 39 at a push but not a 40.

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40) - No way!

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39) - Probably

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40) - Neither of them deserved a 40.

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38) - She deserved more and Mark R should have been the record holder.

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38) This was absolutely beautiful, nearly as good as his waltz. He deserved 40 for it! (Gethin fan - moi?)

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40) Never!

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39) - Yes this is about right.

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40) And so is this!

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38) 39 or 40 would have been more appropriate.

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38) Can't remember this one.

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40) - Yes!

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39) - Only Mark deserved to hold the record and he should have got 40.

Good thread!

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
No - prefer Alesha's - only just though

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
No - been done better several times

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes - absolutely fabulous

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
No - been done better several times

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
Yes - one of my all time favourite SCD dances

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
Matt & Flavia were better and but for the illegal lift Kelly & Brendan should have this record

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
NO, NO, NO - done better by so many others, but Alesha's was the best ever on SCD - another of my favourite SCD dances

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes - totally fabulous

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
Should be joint with Louisa

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
Best ever by a male celeb on SCD

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
Not a memorable dance for me - I can't remember any sambas at all!

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
Yes, another all time favourite - in my top three

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
Mark's was better than Rachels - one of the best male celeb performances on SCD and should have been 40

I know this discussion has already been done to death, but this thread really does show how Series 6 spoiled SCD.

Over marking throughout has made a mockery of these records. 6 out of 13 of these records are now held by Series 6 celebs and imho only 3 of them are deserved.

The records don't really mean much I guess, but Tess does bring them up in the red room every series and it is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth for a long time.

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)

Unlike lots of people, I really did think this deserved 40 - it was absolutely beautiful. Special mention though to Alesha and Lisa Snowdon for theirs - I adored both their waltzes.


QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)

Not a 40 for me - I liked it but wasn't full marks in my book. Colin Jackson's, for me.


TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)

This was lovely - but am unsure if it deserves the record! Zoe would get it for me - and honorary mention to Austin in Series 6 - I loved his tango!


FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)

Both beautiful - I guess its about right.


VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)

This deserved the record in every way - a dance you did not want to stop watching - enchanting both visually and emotionally.



SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)

Again, Colin Jackson's was the best for me, followed by the sensational one Brendan and Kelly did.



CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)

Were they having a laugh that night? LOL! Alesha's cha cha by MILES!



RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)

I may get lynched for this - but I didn't think this deserved the record. My favourite rumbas on Strictly are Colin Jackson's beautiful one - and I thought Matt Di Angelo did an amazing rumba - fabulous use of his arms and I think he and Colin should share the record for this - its a hard dance to do especially for the guy celebs - and they did a fabulous job.



JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)

It would be hard to challenge the fact that this deservedly gets the record - Jill was and still is sensational - but I got the greatest joy out of Vincent & Louisa's jive, along with Christine and Matt's! (I know neither were perfect so am not suggesting they got the record!)



PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)

At the risk of being an old dance-purist fart, I didn't think this had much paso content! But I'm not exactly an expert! The best paso on Strictly for me was Letitia's although she went out of it a bit halfway through, and I also loved Louisa Lytton's.


SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)

FAB and I loved it - deserves the record - this is a hard one.



SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)

Preferred Matt di A's.


ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)

Unquestionably Ramprakash should hold the record - and it should have got 40. I loved Rachel's but felt Ramprakash's had more style content and evoked more emotion in the viewer.

This was 5 foot 5 Camilla deftly climbing onto 5 foot 11 Gethin's shoulder to do a heartstopping airplane spin. They did it again at their eviction.

16-stone John Barnes nearly dropped Nichole, and Andrew very nearly dropped tiny Ola. You ought to at least give Gethin and Camilla credit for risking industrial injury. I liked it -- terror ending in relief.

In that case perhaps we ought to consider Kenny and Ola's AS as well

Ha! Yes, Kenny should have the record.

Don't get me wrong, soulmate, I liked Gethin and remember his waltz very well, but the AS must have totally passed me by. I'm not really one for big spectacular lifts. I have trouble lifting a pen, so I appreciate the skill/strength involved, but it's rare I get that excited over a lift. Like some others said above, I reckon Kelly should have the record if not for that damn third lift.

Great thread!

Personally, I want a 40 to mean both technically very good and with a wow performance that you remember years later. With this in mind, I agree the scoring has been inconsistent between series.

WALTZ: I think should go to Gethin, also I thought he did get a 40 for his waltz in the final? Everyone was a bit scandalised that Alesha didn't get 40 for anything in the final, but the other 2 finalists (Gethin and Matt?) both did.

QUICKSTEP: Has to be Colin Jackson for me!

TANGO: I would say Zoe inches this one with her passionate and agressive performance. Rachel's was memorable for the music choice and choreography, but I feel she put less of herself into it.

FOXTROT: A tricky one, the nature of the dance makes it less memorable generally. Loved Letitia's.

VIENNESE: I won't argue against Alesha holding this one, although Kelly's was great too. I though Mark R looked like he was going green throughout!

SMOOTH: I seem to remember Colin's being amazing, was Erin in a gold dress? That might have been the first year they used the AS, so it might have been the spectacle of it all. Sorry Gethin, don't remember yours!

CHA CHA: No, Lisa's was a good effort but not record holder status. Alesha's was fantastic, but as a cha cha it technically wasn't all there, it was very much her own style. I love doing this dance, but I am now having a hard time thinking of a great Strictly one.

RUMBA: Will let Rachel have this one, although the first time she did it was the best, didn't think she did it as well in the final or Xmas special. Matt dA was the best male performance. Zoe's in one of the Xmas specials (I don't remember it from the series) was also beautiful.

JIVE: Jill all the way. I know what people mean about how enjoyable Louisa and Christine were to watch, but the technique wasn't there and their routines were much simpler. Thought Matt dA's jive rather underappreciated as well.

PASO: Not Austin for me. Much as I loved it, it was mostly wow the audience stuff. My favourite has to be Darren Gough.

SAMBA: Loved Zoe's, that's fine.

SALSA: I preferred Matt dA to Mark R, although that could have been down to Flavia's feathers! I'm don't know much Salsa, they were both great performances.

ARGENTINE: I think Rachel's on technique. I wasn't sure if Ramps was playing 'intense' really well or just wooden, I felt Karen carried the dance.


Looking back like this reminds me how brilliant Series 3 was in terms of talent.

Can anyone think of any decent cha chas we've seen?

Gethin's Smooth was to The Green, Green Grass of Home!

American Smooth

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
No, I can think of a lot that were better and this didn't deserve 10s.

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
Definitely not. Slow and gapping. Plenty of better quicksteps out there.

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes, but I would put Alesha's there too.

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
Maybe to Rachel (Alesha's should be there) but definitely not to Lisa.

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
Yes, one of my favourite ever dances, deserved a 40.

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
Can't remember it either.

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
My brain exploded, I can no longer answer questions.

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes, and undermarked too!

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
Definitely

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
No. I don't call posing, stomping and shouting "dancing".

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
Can't remember it.

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
Yes, yes, yes.

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
Definitely deserving.

Well take a look at the You Tube clip - in the post above yours!

WALTZ - Matt di Angelo (40)
No way. This was a reaction to the meltdown of the previous week and relief that he'd got through the dance. Alesha, for one, did a miles better waltz.

QUICKSTEP - Lisa Snowdon (40)
Not a patch on Colin Jackson's. I also loved Alesha's and felt it was one of her best dances.

TANGO - Rachel Stevens (39)
It was good, but Zoe and Ian's for me is the best tango ever on Strictly. It was passionate, it was technically strong and had the performance.

FOXTROT - Rachel Stevens/Lisa Snowdon (40)
Rachel yes, Lisa - very good but not that good.

VIENNESE - Alesha Dixon (38)
Yes, stunning dance.

SMOOTH - Gethin Jones (38)
I can't actually remember this dance but the a smooth that always stands out for me was Colin's. Kelly's was good too, apart from the illegal lift.

CHA CHA - Lisa Snowdon (40)
No, no, no * 1000. Overmarked, sloppy, unbelievable that this has the record. Been done better countless times.

RUMBA - Rachel Stevens (39)
Yes, but I also loved Colin's. For me the best male rumba every. I would have had them tied.

JIVE - Jill Halfpenny (40)
Without question - technically proficient and you could see she was loving it and putting her all into the dance.

PASO DOBLE - Austin Healey (38)
No. A very enjoyable performance but not a technically strong paso. I liked Louisa Lytton's. And I would have loved to have seen Alesha's without the mistakes.

SAMBA - Zoe Ball (38)
Yes. Primarily because the samba has never been done very well so she doesn't have much competition.

SALSA - Mark Ramprakash (40)
Yes. Was never a fan of the Mark/Karen partnership but this was brilliant.

ARGENTINE - Mark Ramprakash/Rachel Stevens (39)
Again yes.

No thank you I don't spend my time trying to oblige people who bark orders and rudely roll their eyes.

As a matter of interest, perhaps the fact that NOBODY can remember Gethin's AS makes a point in itself...