SCD Series 21 Discussion Thread

[*Wallace]

I'll do two more Youtube posts for this series. First I'll do the usual mid-week Youtube stats update post.

Week 13 Dances Views + Likes:
1. Ellie & Vito - Showdance: 333,750 views / 1.7k likes
2. Ellie & Vito - Paso Doble: 184,430 views / 677 likes
3. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango: 168,896 views / 1.3k likes 
4. Layton & Nikita - Showdance: 151,947 views / 1.4k likes 
5. Bobby & Dianne - Samba: 127,901 views / 676 likes
6. Bobby & Dianne - Showdance: 119,705 views / 981 likes
7. Ellie & Vito - American Smooth: 114,596 views / 650 likes
8. Layton & Nikita - Quickstep: 104,666 views / 889 likes 
9. Bobby & Dianne - Couple's Choice: 42,515 views / 537 likes

Top 3 Likes:
1. Ellie & Vito - Showdance
2. Layton & Nikita - Showdance
3. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango

Bottom 3 Likes:
1. Bobby & Dianne - Couple's Choice
2. Ellie & Vito - American Smooth
3. Bobby & Dianne - Samba
 

[*Wallace]

OK I want to try to figure out my couples rankings of this series. It's been a struggle, particularly in the middle/lower end part but hope I got it figured out, so I'll post it now.

Favorites:
1. Layton & Nikita - If it hasn't already been said, I think we should definitely have Layton in contention of amongst the best male dancers ever on Strictly. I had high expectations for him and he certainly delivered nearly every time. Maybe ballroom was his weakest forte but it was still better than most people's. I guess it looked weaker in comparison as he pretty slayed every Latin and specialty style. I love how Layton just got to be unapologetically himself, referenced it a few times and deliver outstanding dances each week. I would try to list my standout dances from him but it would nearly be everything he's danced (except the Samba/VW/AS). BUT if I had to narrow it down to a select few, I'd say my favorite dances from him were his Quickstep, Salsa, Argentine Tango, Couple's Choice, Paso Doble, Charleston and Showdance. He was never going to win (for reasons we know why) but he deserved making it to the final. I also always thought Nikita was a fantastic choreographer in his first two seasons so it was great seeing what he could really do with an amazing dancer like Layton. I loved their partnership, friendship and love/appreciation for each other.

2. Ellie & Vito - I always had high hopes for Ellie pre-series and I thought she delivered. She started off fairly good and did well the first 4 weeks (including her underscored Samba) - I think she was always in my Top 4 or so those weeks. But it was that Week 5 Paso that really changed the game for her. Then her Week 7 American Smooth was what made me see her as a contender to win. But yeah she delivered so many strong dances in Latin, ballroom and specialty styles from Week 5-13. I would say the times where she danced her Salsa/American Smooth/Charleston/Argentine Tango was my peak love for her where I did have her as my favorite at that time. I do think she lost a little bit of steam with some of her later dances but not enough to lose her winner potential. She & Vito were a great and fun partnership. It was fun seeing more of Vito's OTT personality and they really gelled well together.

3. Bobby & Dianne - I always really liked and rooted for Bobby & Dianne and found them to be a really fun and rootable partnership! I've always loved Dianne and tend to root for her & her partnerships most of the time. Then Bobby was super fun too! LOL some of the things he said on the main show and ITT were absolutely wild and had me chuckling - I love how un-media trained he could be. I did think Bobby held his own and did really well as someone with no dance experience.  I think that tipped things in his favor early on of being a potential winner. Yeah he had his technical flaws in his dances but I thought delivered a lot of enjoyable and quality performances. Of his earlier dances, I did really enjoy his Samba & Viennese Waltz. I don't think he ever had a truly bad dance but he did have a stagnant stage of not really improving in the middle of the series, which worried me and had me think he wouldn't get much better.  Luckily, I do think he really stepped up his game around Blackpool andwould have his strongest dances of his journey - such as his Jive, Couple's Choice & Quickstep. He came into the final as an underdog but I thought he delivered a strong night of dancing and kept up with Layton & Ellie. I really enjoyed all of his dances there. He peaked at the right time. Yeah there were times towards the latter few weeks where I didn't think he would make it to the final but I'm glad he got there.

4. Angela S & Carlos - Angela had one of the wildest and choatic journeys this series for me, imo... and I stan her for her! I mean that in the sense that it was hard to predict how she would do as her dances would turn out all over the place. When she was at her best, she was up there and could compete with Layton & Ellie. When she was at her worst, she was at the bottom of the pack (or middle in the early stages). I was letdown by her ballroom as I expected her to be much better in that genre. I think I only really cared for her Waltz. Her Latin... was all over the place. I really liked her Jive & Paso Doble and thought those were really good. Then I wasn't a fan of her Samba & Cha-Cha and found those messy. Then she absolutely crushed and slayed her specialty dances, like the Charleston & Argentine Tango. I liked Angela S & Carlos but I also feel he kinda let Angela down as I felt she could and should have been better. I was sad when they were eliminated as I wanted her to go further but at least she made it to Week 10.

 

Second tier faves:
5. Nigel & Katya - Hmm my #5/#6 are kinda interchangeable as I really like them and like them more than everyone from 7-15 but not as much as my Top 4. Nigel did start off with a bang with his Paso Doble. His run kinda reminds me a bit of Will Mellor's, where they are middle aged actors that start off with an amazing Week 1 dance but never really recapture that magic until about Week 8 or so. It was a shame how Nigel made a lot of mistakes and had nerves that affected his dances as he is a very good dancer. Katya is an amazing choreographer and I love that she got to showcase her choreo+Nigel's dance ability. Their Couple's Choice was my standout favorite from him (and of course the Paso). But I did enjoy a number of/most of their dances like the Salsa, Tango, Quickstep and others. It's such a shame he sustained that injury that took him out of the competition which was so sad and unfortunate to end his run. I do think he had a strong chance of winning as it seems like the public vote was on his side even though his journey wasn't quite winner's strong.

 

6. Annabel & Johannes - Hmm my #5/#6 are kinda interchangeable as I really like them and like them more than everyone from 7-15 but not as much as my Top 4. I will say Annabel definitely grew the most on me from pre-season to post-season/after her elimination. She pleasantly surprised me with her Cha-Cha. Then after that from Week 2-6, she had a mix of decent dances that were nice or just there but didn't really do much for me. She really came into her own with her Week 7 Couple's Choice which was amongst my favorite dances of hers. I also loved her American Smooth & Viennese Waltz - I thought she shone most with the elegant dances. I did not expect her to make it all the way to 4th but I'm not too mad she did. Annabel also had a really lovely partnership with Johannes which helped me warm to her.

7. Angela R & Kai - I did think Angela R was often overscored but I still liked and enjoyed what she brough to the show. She's a lovely lady and was a joy to watch. She did do better than I expected - and I enjoyed her most of her ballrooms, Charleston and Argentine Tango. I also enjoyed her partnership with Kai and thought they got on well. I do think she lost some steam during her last few weeks, so her making it to Blackpool and ending her Strictly journey there was a perfect time for her to go out. I also didn't think she outlasted those better than her or got robbed by those worse than her.

 

Super tough + interchangeable rankings (still unsure on these rankings), but while not favorites, I still liked them:

8. Eddie & Karen - LOL I don't know how to rank the couples from #8 to #12. But I do feel kinda most partial to Eddie & Karen so I'll give them 8th. Ugh Eddie was someone I was really looking forward to but his Strictly journey didn't go the way I had hoped. I loved Eddie's bubbly personality and found him to be so fun and likable. He had good natural rhythm and seemed to have potential. However, I don't know... most of his routines with Karen didn't really land or work for me. I'm thinking mainly because of Karen's choreo. His Latin should have been better and his ballroom was usually disappointing and didn't resemble the actual dance. However, at least they had that Men in Black Couple's Choice, which I did love.

9. Adam & Luba - Oh Adam! He's one of the biggest personalities of the cast. He was so OTT and like an excitable energized puppy, that it cracked me up often times. I get how he could come off annoying to people for that, cause he was A LOT. As for his dancing, he started off meh but then really grew and got better as the weeks went on. I thought he shone most from Weeks 4-6 with his Waltz, Couple's Choice and American Smooth. Sadly the Rumba took him out, which I was fine with. But I'm glad he had some good dances under his belt.
 

10. Zara & Graziano - Zara was someone I was interested in seeing how she would do but then I heard she was a bad dancer pre-series so that had me worried lmao. Then the Cha-Cha happened and that kinda proved that theory, lmao. But what I did like about Zara was her love/superfandom for the show and she did have a legit growth arc she had. I felt she was getting better and better the first 4 weeks of her run. I thought her Viennese Waltz was her best dance and a beautiful moment for her. lol then the American Smooth happen and she gave us those massive lifts with barely any dancing in that dance. I think she left at the right time at Halloween and am happy she made it that far. Although I also wish she could have improved faster but again she did well and improved well for a non-dancer.  Also, not to forget but I think she's absolutely gorgeous too.

 

11. Amanda & Giovanni - Ugh Amanda & Gio are the toughest couple for me to rank. Based on dancing, I would have them higher. Based on personality, I'd have them lower. So I guess I just balance it out here? I don't know. Amanda was a lovely dancer and she was much better than I expected. I enjoyed her dances and thought they were all fairly good. My favorite dance of hers was her Rumba. However, I didn't find her personality fun and found her a bit too serious. I guess they took the show/partnership as more of a business deal of produce high quality dances+perform them well but I didn't feel much joy in the partnership? It was really sad how Amanda had to withdraw but I do wish her well and hope all is okay with her. Although at the same time, it felt so abrupt, odd and as did the aftermath of it. I did think the standard quality of dancing decrease and was worrisome without her for a few weeks. I do wonder how long she would have lasted if she got to be in the season for the long haul. 

 

12. Krishnan & Lauren - Ugh I kinda hate and feel bad for ranking Krishnan so low because he IS actually one of the celebs that really grew on me through the course of the series. But I guess not that much, lol. I didn't care or think much of Krishnan pre-series or for his first two dances, and same with Lauren (though I did think both seemed nice). But then I started to notice him really embracing the Strictly experience and having fun with it - I did genuinely enjoy his Charleston and Quickstep, as my favorite dances from him. I never really loved his dancing as a whole, but as a personality and performer, I did find him so fun. That made his partnership with Lauren fun and helped me like her. He did last a little longer than I wanted and I also feared how long he would have lasted but at least he didn't rob anyone super good. I mean, you could make a case of him ~robbing Adam~ if you want but ehh I wasn't bothered by that.

Then the last three:
13. Nikita & Gorka - Aww Nikita was sadly my biggest disappointment of the series and I feel really bad for that. I was really looking forward to her at the start (and pre-series). She seemed so fun, bubbly and up for the show. She's also gorgeous which doesn't hurt  either haha. Sadly, she wasn't really a natural dancer and didn't do too well. I was wanting her to grow and become a dancer so bad - like I was hoping she didn't get eliminated on Week 2 so I'm happy about that. But I didn't think her growth was happening so I was fine with her going the following week. Maybe on a series with weaker dancers, she could have fared better? I don't know.
 

14. Jody & Jowita - Jody was a nice guy but also not much of a dancer either. I did think his journey was an interesting one. He had two decent'ish/okay ballroom dances with his Quickstep & American Smooth. Then his Paso wasn't good (poor guy having to do that style the week after Nigel's). Then he had a terrible Salsa (the same night Nigel performed his). I did fear a little he would have overstayed his time due to his backstory so I was fine with him going when he did.

 

15. Les & Nancy - Yeah this was an easy one to figure out. Les did seem like a nice and charming older gentleman. But his dancing was terrible, which was to be expected. His Tango was better than his Samba but he still had the two worst dances of the series for me. I did fear he would have lasted longer due to his legacy as a celeb so I'm glad that wasn't the case (and the legacy votes went to the better Angela R instead).

[*Wallace]

This will be my final Youtube post of Youtube views of this series. Here's the full week Youtube stats update post from last week's dances as well as the Top 20 Most Viewed dances of this series.

 

Week 13 Dances Views + Likes:
1. Ellie & Vito - Showdance: 365,905 views / 1.9k likes
2. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango: 204,795 views / 1.4k likes (+1)
3. Ellie & Vito - Paso Doble: 202,816 views / 724 likes (-1)
4. Layton & Nikita - Showdance: 177,809 views / 1.6k likes 
5. Bobby & Dianne - Samba: 145,684 views / 739 likes
6. Ellie & Vito - American Smooth: 135,066 views / 708 likes (+1)
7. Bobby & Dianne - Showdance: 130,036 views / 1k likes (-1)
8. Layton & Nikita - Quickstep: 129,980 views / 974 likes 
9. Bobby & Dianne - Couple's Choice: 48,101 views / 576 likes

Top 3 Likes:
1. Ellie & Vito - Showdance
2. Layton & Nikita - Showdance
3. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango

Bottom 3 Likes:
1. Bobby & Dianne - Couple's Choice
2. Ellie & Vito - American Smooth
3. Ellie & Vito - Paso Doble

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Top 20 views of dances of the series:
1. Layton & Nikita - Cha-Cha (week 4): 948,032 views / 5.4k likes (=)
2. Bobby & Dianne - Samba (week 3): 737,534 views / 4.4k likes (=)
3. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango (week 8): 684,716 views / 5.9k likes (+2)
4. Layton & Nikita - Quickstep (week 2): 662,076 views / 4.9k likes (=) 
5. Angela R & Kai - Rumba (week 4): 621,250 views / 1.2k likes (-2)
6. Ellie & Vito - Paso Doble (week 5): 547,298 views / 2.8k likes (+1)
7. Angela R & Kai - Cha-Cha (week 1): 533,173 views / 1.9k likes (-1)
8. Layton & Nikita - Charleston (week 12): 510,312 views / 3.2k likes (new)
9. Layton & Nikita - Paso Doble (week 11): 497,007 views / 4.3k likes (new)
10. Ellie & Vito - Argentine Tango (week 10): 492,844 views / 3k likes (new)
11. Layton & Nikita - Samba (week 1): 486,764 views / 2.6k likes (-3)
12. Ellie & Vito - American Smooth (week 7): 449,958 views / 2.2k likes (-3)
13. Ellie & Vito - Salsa (week 6): 432,107views / 2.3k likes (-3)
14. Layton & Nikita - Jive (week 7): 402,514 views / 2.6k likes 
15. Ellie & Vito - Charleston (week 9): 399,667 views / 1.9k likes 
16. Ellie & Vito - Cha-Cha (week 12): 394,289 views / 1.8k likes
17. Angela R & Kai - Charleston (week 6): 384,583 views / 1k likes
18. Nigel & Katya - Paso Doble (week 1): 374,225 views / 3k likes 
19. Layton & Nikita - Salsa (week 5): 371,504 views / 2.5k likes 
20. Ellie & Vito - Showdance (week 13): 365,905 views / 1.9k likes

Top 3 Likes:
1. Layton & Nikita - Argentine Tango 
2. Layton & Nikita - Cha-Cha
3. Layton & Nikita - Quickstep

Bottom 3 Likes:
1. Angela R & Kai - Rumba
2. Angela R & Kai - Cha-Cha 
3. Ellie & Vito - Cha-Cha 
 

[Abe1818]

On 12/19/2023 at 3:28 PM, *Wallace said:

A  And LOL at Jay being a "woobie." I don't know what that means but that sounds hilarious.  And lmaoo at the "Vito lying about / the show lying" part on Ellie.  

 

Basically a woobie is basically a contestant or a character usually male and good looking that people feel sorry for  (and usually have a mob of fans to come to their defense.) because they go through unfortunate events and hardship. Like you could say that Nigel was the woobie of the season because of him being "undermarked" and dragged by the judges.

 

I mean Vito & the show did lie though.. Every week it was like "OH Ellie is so bellissima. She has never danced a single step in her life!"

 

Also thinking of posting my couple rankings and might do a rewatch of the past dances to do a weekly ranking to see if my thoughts have changed!

Edited December 26, 2023 by Abe1818

[*Wallace]

15 hours ago, Abe1818 said:

Basically a woobie is basically a contestant or a character usually male and good looking that people feel sorry for  (and usually have a mob of fans to come to their defense.) because they go through unfortunate events and hardship. Like you could say that Nigel was the woobie of the season because of him being "undermarked" and dragged by the judges.

 

I mean Vito & the show did lie though.. Every week it was like "OH Ellie is so bellissima. She has never danced a single step in her life!"

 

Also thinking of posting my couple rankings and might do a rewatch of the past dances to do a weekly ranking to see if my thoughts have changed!

Ooooh okay, thanks for explaining this because I never heard the term before. But I do know of these situations and seen this quite often, with the male celebs you mentioned.

 

Ahh yeah I know what you mean as there was the narrative I noticed in later weeks. Luckily it worked for them.   

 

Oooh yayy looking forward to what your post-series rankings would be!

[*Wallace]

Oooh and the Christmas special aired yesterday (on Christmas, of course). I'm looking forward to watching it sometime this week (hopefully tonight but if not, sometime this week).

[*Wallace]

The Christmas Special Thoughts!

I watched the special last night so I'll post my thoughts now. Aww the opening Christmas group dance to "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was really fun and cute. I also didn't realize there was a Dan and a Danny in the cast, lol. lol Danny doing all of those lifts. Of this group dance, Tillie probably looked the most promising to me so I'm even more excited for her individual dance.

Dan & Nadiya - Jive: Lol Dan Snow being apart of the Strictly Chistmas special is just so perfect. lol his comments of doing so many stories traveling around the world but dancing on Strictly is more scary. Lol oh wow, he's really serious of doing a history documentary on the Strictly Christmas specials with that intro. With him being so tall, it makes sense for him to be paired with Nadiya.  The producers giving him a Jive certainly is tough and not easy on him, ooof. Omg wow he gets to dance to my favorite Christmas song, "All I Want for Christmas is You." This was a cute and fun dance. The Gingerbread theme/character he got to play was fun and worked for him. I thought he had fun with performing the dance and did well with the lifts. His dancing was a little stiff and on the tame side. He had some decent kicks/flicks at the start but with this being such a high energy dance, I do think he lost some steam towards the end of the dance. He did have timing issues that the judges pointed out. He was winding down... and yeah it was a tough dance on a very tall beginner but he tried his best. OMG Craig commenting on Dan splitting his pants aka "trousers"... yikes. Watching this dance also made me really miss Nadiya as a pro here. This dance getting three 7s for the first dancde on a Christmas special is fair. And then.... Anton continues to be overgenerous with that 9 but for a Christmas special, meh.

Keisha & Gorka - Viennese Waltz: Ugh my episode link pretty much skipped Keisha's intro video & dance, which is upsetting and a shame as I was most looking forward to seeing her dance. Hope I can find video of that footage, but I watched the dance on Youtube. Ooh actually I found a different link so yayy *watches that* Aww Keisha being so nervous to dance in front of her bandmates and commenting on taking longer to learn dance routines than them. lol Keisha & Gorka's rehearsals were so funny to watch and aww Keisha is really adorable with how shy & bashful she was with learning the dance. LOL Oh dear, Gorka's singing at that karaoke. Thankfully Keisha showed him how it's done with her performance. I thought this was a really nice and pretty dance. This dance had a nice grace and elegance to it. I thought she did especially well at the start with the side by side dancing. She did decently in hold but something did feel a bit off with her frame/in hold position, I think with Craig mentioning her left elbow being too low. It was something really noticeable to me. I also thought she was on the timid/quieter side with her performance. I wanted more.... performance and connection but I think it's because of the nerves she had and with this being her first (and only) Strictly dance, so that's fair. But other than that, I thought she danced it well. I also think she has potential - I'd love to see her on a main series as I think she could actually grow. I see the scores she got is a 33 (three 8s and a 9). I think those are decent but not great scores for a Christmas special, but it depends on how the judges will score. I thought the scores were fair. 

Danny & Jowita - Cha-Cha: Ooh Danny is a former rugby player and he's got the Cha-Cha. This should be interesting to see how this turns out. Aww Jowita is so adorable and fun in the way she teaches Danny.  I love her energy and excitement. lol the segment with the cheesy Christmas jokes. Lol okay so Danny plays Santa, but it's going to be a tight outfit, so he's supposed to be like a sexy Santa or something? lmaoo this Rocky inspired intro. They go so extra cheesy with these intro videos. Oooh they're dancing to "Celebration" - the first non-Christmas song that's squeezed into a Christmas theme. Okay you know what? For a male athlete, I was expecting this to be really stiff and quite bad. It was far from perfect but he did so much better than I expected. I liked how he really embraced the dance and had so much fun with the dance, which I was not expecting. He performed it well and danced the routine quite decently. He tried moving with rhythm and attempted hip action - not quite all the way there but the effort was there. And he did an impressive job with the lifts, which I was expecting him to do well with. But they were some pretty cool lifts Wo. I think for this one and only dance, he did better than most rugby player's first dances. Wow three 9s and a 10 is really impressive. 

Tillie & Neil - Jive: Ooooh yayy Tillie dances to "Underneath the Tree." Love that song! Ugh this episode link doesn't have her intro video or the majority of the dance. But okay thanks to my other link, I got to rewatch this properly. Oooh Tillie plays a bad girl on Waterloo Road. From this intro, she has a really cute, fun and bubbly personality - and she's really lovable and rootable here. Oooh they have a cute elves theme. Ooh lol I did not know there was an Elf musical - lol at the Strictly Come Elfing intro. LOL I just love how Neil makes such a fool of himself in the intro videos. Oh wait, is that... Tom Chambers in that intro video? If so he kinda looks so different now. Tillie was adorable in that segment. Wow Tillie also getting a Jive but I see much more dance potential in her so I think this will work in her favor. And after seeing the dance, it does! This was a really fun, high energy and entertaining dance and she kept that up through the entire dance. I thought Tillie danced and performed this really well. She had very good sharp kicks & flicks in there. The cartwheel move was really cool. Yeah I think with more time and training, I think she could have been even better and certainly could be a dancing force. But still even with this dance she delivered, she did better than most people would do with their first dance. Yayy for the judges loving this and giving this dance such high praise! lol Craig's milking of the "it wasn't great" comments only to say that it was incredible. But yeah this was a really impressive first dance from Tillie. I'm sad now that she's on the Christmas special instead of the main show. I would love and hope we get to see her on the main show as she has what it takes to be a great Strictly contestant. Yayy for her getting a 39! It wasn't quite a 39 for a regular main show dance but for the Christmas special, it's totally deserved.  

Sally & Graziano - Foxtrot: LOL this intro video of how Sally was announced for the Christmas special. I nearly thought and questioned if it was legit but of course it wasn't.... right? Sally seems nice and likable. But lol awww her comments of her dancing and lol her wanting the headlines to be "Sally survives the Strictly Chistmas special." I think the Foxtrot is a good style for Sally to dance. I also really like their outfits. She looked so elegant. The executed the lifts well and I liked how much in ease she was with most of the lifts. I think one of the big and long lifts she did look a little scared by it. She also had moments of being timid and careful in the dance. I think I would have liked for her to have more ease in her movements and a little less stiffness. But she had more moments where she moved and danced it well. This dance was very soothing and pretty. lol Craig mentioning all of the rule breaks in the dance and how that there aren't any rules for this special, lol. LOL Motsi's "ate too much but everything is good in the world comments." Um what? Her one ballet dance story at 5 was cute. Well done to her getting two 9s and two 10s. 

Jamie & Nancy - Quickstep: LOL Of course Strictly got to have their resident EastEnders star in the Christmas special. Aww he started on the show at 12 and has been on there for 17 years now. LOL at all of Nancy's "don't look at me" while they rehearsed the Quickstep and how he just wanted to keep looking at her. Oooh Emma Barton makes a guest appearance here. Jamie was a great surprise for me. I came in with no expectations with him. He comes off shy, timid and not really into the Strictly experience. But he danced this well with good/decent technique and he had a lot of great showmanship.  He performed this really well and had great fun with this from start to finish. I loved all of the dancing Jamie & Nancy did before they got into the Quickstep hold. It was a great way to start and build up the dance. Then he provided a good frame and good fast paced footwork as he did the Quickstep parts! Then there was a lot of non-Quickstep parts like those lifts where he twirled around and lifted Nancy and then all of the side by side dancing and then that handstand move. Wow I can imagine how much the judges would have criticized this on the main show. I loved all of the speed he had during the Quickstep parts, which he handled well. All in all, this was really entertaining and a showstopping dance to end the show. lmao Jamie wanting horrible comments from Craig as he felt he wouldn't be Strictlyfied without them. Oooh he got the perfect 40, which is incredible and well done to Jamie there!  I think this was all enough to give Jamie the win here, so he gets my winner's prediction. He's another one I would love to see on the main show. 

Rankings:
1/2. Tillie & Neil - Jive
1/2. Jamie & Nancy - Quickstep
3. Sally & Graziano - Foxtrot
4. Danny & Jowita - Cha-Cha
5. Keisha & Gorka - Viennese Waltz
6. Dan & Nadiya - Jive

Overall, I Thought this was a pretty fun and enjoyable Christmas. In fact, it was kinda too good to be a Christmas special. No one stood out as terrible or as a no hoper which made the special even better. Even the weakest Dan, was better than a number of one-timer Christmas special celebs in past years. Many of these celebs (if not all) would be fun and enjoyable to see on the main show. 

Other Notes:
The Sam Ryder performance was fun. I did spot Kai & Luba and Lauren & Giovanni dancing in this! This was an all around fun performance and everyone did well here.
- Okay time for the winner announcement. I would guess either Tillie or Jamie but moreso gonna guess Jaime to win it.

And ooooh yayy my prediction was right that Jamie & Nancy won it! It's not shocking and I definitely expected that. He was the biggest surprise of the night and delivered such a fun and entertaining dance. I would have preferred Tillie to win but Jamie would be my second choice.

- The Final group dance at the end of the show was a lot of fun. Loved seeing the couples all dance together once again. Not only that but the judges also danced in there too. I loved seeing Anton & Shirley and thought they danced it wonderfully. LMAO craig really be camping it up for his sections of the dance.   I loved seeing everyone have so much fun here. 
 

[Abe1818]

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Edited January 1 by Abe1818

[Abe1818]

Want to do this before the New Year comes so here's my couple rankings.The rewatch rankings can wait until next year

 

Favorites:

1: Layton & Nikita: He's not only one of the best ever male dancers to grace the strictly stage but one of the best ever dancers on strictly, period. Besides the VW & AS he was pretty much incredible at everything and slayed almost every single week. Nikita really got to go all out with him and showcased his best choreography yet. My favorites from him were his Argentine Tango, Charleston,Showdance &  Quickstep but he has so many amazing ones.

 

2: Ellie "Never Danced A Step Before" Leach  & Vito: Queen of never dancing before! Love Her!!. In all seriousness though, even though she wasn't as a dynamic dancer as Layton was, I thought Ellie was absolutely amazing. She was consistently good at Ballroom & Latin each and every week and is a very worthy winner! I think my favorites from her were her Week 5 Paso, Finale American Smooth, Cha-Cha and her Charleston.

 

Second Tier of Favorites: (Aka the people who were inconsistent, kind of lost steam and had a run of dances that were nice but not really standout until having a breakthrough in week 7)

 

3: Annabel & Johannes: I had a feeling that Annabel would do a bit better than what people were expecting after she was quite decent in the launch show but I was not expecting her to give one of the best routines of week 1 with her Cha-Cha. However in week 2-6 it felt like she was holding something  back. Although I did really enjoy some of those dances like her Waltz, Jive & Tango and even though all of her week 2-6 dances besides the jive could've been upped by 1/2 points more imo, It still felt like she needed something to energize her. Then her beautiful couple' choice came along and  she really started to improve more and more each week. Her & Johannes's partnership was beautiful to watch and I loved them together. My favorites from her were her Viennese Waltz, Paso Doble, Couple's Choice & her American Smooth.

 

4: Angela "Flash A Bit Of Pink" Scanlon: A chaotic queen. The way she went from having absolutely zero core strength in her tango to serving potential dark horse with her Jive & ended up slaying everyone with her Charleston. Only to kill that momentum with a scrappy Viennese Waltz & A repetitive American Smooth and then  gives us a solid dance with her Paso and gives us another Latin mess and a disrespect to Mya and goes back to delivering another solid dance with her Samba & Waltz, respectively. Her slayage at Blackpool with her AT and finally regaining some momentum  only for it  to come crashing down completely  with a mess of a Cha-Cha-Cha.  Seriously speaking though, I enjoyed Angela S very much and loved her personality. Her & Carlos had a nice partnership although some of the choreo was a bit odd. My Favorites from her were her Charleston, AT & her Jive.

 

5: Nigel & Katya:  Nigel came in hot and completely exceeded my expectations with his incredible Paso Doble for Week 1. Then he kind of got weaker and weaker with next two dances and made a comeback with his Salsa. From there, it felt like he was always on the cusp of a huge moment from him but the mistakes crept in and something stopped it from happening. His Charleston felt like it was going to be a moment from him after the training footage until the injury.My favorite dances from him were his Paso, CC & his Salsa.

 

6: Angela R & Kai: I said most of my thoughts on her in another post but I really enjoyed what Angela R brought to the show. While I do think she wasn't as wildly overscored as some people do, I think that some of her dances could've been 1-3 points lower imo. So slightly overscored rather than wildly overscored. I also kinda didn't mind the overscoring given that she wasn't winning and plus she was outdancing people who are like 50+ years younger than her . She kind of brought out a new side to Kai and I enjoyed it. Even though she went out at the right time , I wouldn't have minded her making week 10 if Amanda didn't withdraw. Also my favorite dances of hers were her AT,Charleston & Foxtrot.

 

Third  Tier: (The person who I prefer to the bottom 8 but prefer my top 6 over for reasons.)

 

7: Bobby & Dianne: Like I said in a previous post, I liked Bobby off the floor however on the floor was a different story. I feel like for majority of the season, Dianne didn't really fix his flaws at al and kinda had some misses for me with the choreo. I also feel like most of his dances were slightly overscored to me. However even with his major flaw not being fixed until the semi final, I do think starting Blackpool week he showed some slight improvements. I could drag them much more but I have no energy to that right now so.  Anyways my favorite dances of Bobby's were his Quickstep, Showdance & I guess his Contemporary...

 

Fourth Tier: The  dancers  who weren't amazing but still fun & enjoyable and had at least 1 dance I enjoyed plus the TERF who was like the 2nd/3rd best dancer when she left.

 

8: Adam & Luba: I feel like at times he could be slightly annoying and he started off okay but he did have a improvement arc until he got culled off with the Rumba. Also glad to see Luba make it past the first 3 weeks for once. My favorites dances of his were his Waltz & American Smooth.

 

9: Krishnan & Lauren: As the competition went both Krishnan & Lauren grew on me. Krishnan was better than expected and my favorites dance from him was his Quickstep.

 

10: Stiff Queen Zara & Graziano:  I loved that Zara was a huge fan of the show! You could tell she had so much passion and love for it. I felt like Zara genuinely  got better after that stiff Cha-Cha-Cha from week 1 and she ended up giving her best dance with the Viennese Waltz which I enjoyed. Only to completely destroy all improvement and  completely forget about dancing with her stiff lift fest  American Smooth!

 

11:The TERF Amanda & Giovanni: As a dancer, Amanda was really good unfortunately. She had really good technique and was very focused on the details. I felt at times since she was so focused on the details and so competitive most of her dances were lacking that letting go feeling. As a person, the less I say about her the better.. I feel like her best dance and my favorite dance was her Viennese Waltz.

 

12: Eddie & Karen: Eddie was fun! Sadly some of the choreo strayed away from Ballroom & Latin  and he didn't really vibe with the Ballroom dances. His Couple's choice was by far his best and easily my favorite of his dances.

 

5th Tier: The Tier of not good dancers

13: Nikita & Gorka: Nikita was gorgeous but sadly she was a disappointment. Not really a dancer unfortunately I guess my favorite dance of hers would be the Charleston?

 

14: Jody & Jowita: Jody had a decent start with his Quickstep and the gave us Latin messes like the Paso & Salsa. I guess my fave dance of his was the Quickstep which was a pleasant surprise.

 

6th Tier: LES DENNIS

15: Les & Nancy: #FREENANCY #RINGERFORNANCY2024 Les gave two trainwrecks and easily the worst dances of the season. Poor Nancy

 

 

Edited January 1 by Abe1818

[*Wallace]

Great review of thoughts & rankings there, Abe!  It was all in depth and fun to read.  I love that we got so many similarities in thoughts as well!

[Abe1818]

I'm Late but Fleur is pregnant!! Congratulations to her and her husband.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1jtK-von2E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

[*Wallace]

29 minutes ago, Abe1818 said:

I'm Late but Fleur is pregnant!! Congratulations to her and her husband.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1jtK-von2E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

Oooh I heard about this earlier this week but forgot to post. But wonderful news! Congrats to Fleur & her husband.  

[*Wallace]

Has anyone heard the latest Strictly drama regarding Amanda & Giovanni?  It sounds like something that's getting / gonna get ugly within time as more info comes out. I don't reallly know what to make of this. It does give insight on how their partnership came across (and why she didn't show up for the final).

Amanda Abbington ‘requests Strictly Come Dancing rehearsal footage with Giovanni Pernice’ amid legal advice
 

Amanda Abbington has requested rehearsal footage from her time on Strictly Come Dancing amid rumours of a feud with her former professional partner Giovanni Pernice, a report has claimed.

 

The actor, best known for her work in Sherlock, was a contestant on the most recent edition of the BBC celebrity dance competition.

 

However, she withdrew from the competition after a few weeks, citing medical reasons for her departure.

 

On Saturday (6 January), The Sun published a report that claimed Abbington, 51, has asked for video recordings of her practice sessions with Pernice as part of her allegedly seeking legal advice.

 

A source told the publication: “The BBC have received a request for the footage they hold of Amanda and Giovanni. It is known as a data subject access request.

 

“There is a feeling that the recordings will lift the lid on what really goes on behind the scenes on Strictly.”

 

The alleged on-set insider added that the atmosphere in rehearsals “can become very tense” before describing the Italian ballroom professional Pernice as a “perfectionist” who “can be incredibly full-on”.

 

The Independent has approached representatives of Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice for comment. The BBC declined to comment when contacted.

 

Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/amanda-abbington-strictly-dancing-giovanni-pernice-b2474536.html

 

 

 

And then another article I found, pretty much has most of the same stuff but some additional stuff as well.

 

Abbington did not return for the finale of the series before Christmas, amid reports of friction between the pair during rehearsals. Pernice, a former champion on the show, is known to be intensely competitive and quite the taskmaster with his celebrity partners.

 

Now, The Sun newspaper reports that Abbington has requested the video footage of her rehearsals with Pernice, as she takes legal advice, and that she believes the footage could support her claims about how their interactions caused her stress. A source has told the paper that Abbington has been diagnosed with PTSD.

 

The paper quotes a production insider saying: ““The BBC has received a request for the footage they hold of Amanda and Giovanni. It is known as a data subject access request. There is a feeling that the recordings will lift the lid on what really goes on behind the scenes. Things in rehearsals can become very tense.

 

And another article:  https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/strictly-come-dancing-contestant-demands-101423612.html

 

Meanwhile, the paper says Abbington needed therapy after leaving the show, with an insider quoted: “It has taken her months to get over what she went through. It was a real shock as she was initially so excited to sign up to the show to learn to dance, but instead she experienced an ordeal.”

[*Wallace]

I was wondering about the tour dances for this year's tour. I finally found them out for those that are interested. 

Ellie & Vito: Paso Doble & American Smooth
Layton & Nikita: Quickstep & Paso Doble
Bobby & Dianne: Samba & Viennese Waltz
Annabel & Graziano: Samba & American Smooth
Angela S & Carlos: Charleston & Argentine Tango
Angela R & Kai: Cha-Cha & Argentine Tango
Krishnan & Jowita: Cha-Cha & Quickstep

Some thoughts:
- Ellie's choices make a lot of sense. I felt like her doing the AS was to be expected and would have been shocked if she didn't do that on the tour. The Paso was her breakthrough moment so another dance that makes sense.
- I get Layton's Quickstep as that was (one of) his best ballroom. I'm rather shocked he's not doing the Argentine Tango - thought for sure he would have done that. But the Paso Doble makes for a perfect tour dance at the arena so in that sense, I get that choice.
-Bobby's Samba definitely seemed like the obvious pick. That's like his biggest crowd pleaser dance. I'm shocked that he didn't do the Quickstep for the tour as I could so that going well on the tour. But I'm kinda pleased with the VW getting some love as that was one of my favorite dances of his from the first half of his run.
- Really surprised that Annabel is doing her Samba on tour. It was a surprise as she did better than expected, but I probably would have expected her to do the Jive over that one? The Couple's Choice would have been great but also probably would have been too emotional to do each night. Her AS is a perfect choice and one of my favorites from her so yay for that pick.
- Angela S has the two perfect picks, as her Charleston & Argentine Tango were her best dances.
- Angela R's choices makes a lot of sense. Her Cha-Cha was one of her most memorable dances and it was fun + AT was her best/highest scoring dance. Though I also could have seen her doing her Foxtrot or something, but maybe that wouldn't have been tour engaging enough?
- Kinda surprised Krishnan didn't do his Charleston over his Cha-Cha. I guess the Cha-Cha would be fun in the comedic fun way? His Quickstep was his best dance so that makes perfect sense. 

So overall a few disagreements but I agree with most of the choices.
 

[taylorkat]

No Argentine Tango for Layton?  That dance always gets robbed.

[*Wallace]

Some more tour updates. The 2024 Strictly tour just ended earlier this week ( :bye2: ). Layton & Nikita are the overall winners of the tour - winning 19 shows and getting runner-up on 8 shows. Bobby & Dianne were 2nd with 8 wins and 15 runner-up finishes. Ellie & Vito were 3rd ith 3 wins and 7 runner-up finishes.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3P834joEgB/?img_index=1

 

 

Sadly for everyone else, I don't think anyone else won or got runner-up in any of the tour spots. A bit of a shame there as I like it when everyone has their moment to shine.

[FrogLenzen]

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68346057

 

 

[*Wallace]

Whoa... that's so sad and heartbreaking.  R.I.P. Robin Windsor. 

[Ariel1989]

So sad, he always seemed like such a nice guy when he was on Strictly and really got along very well with his partners.  He was a strong supporter of Layton as well and called out the social media bullies.  An overall wonderful and loving person.  Rest in peace Robin

[Ariel1989]

Two pieces of Strictly news:

 

Dave Myers, a contestant from series 11 and paired with Karen, has sadly passed away at age 66. 
 

In better news, Amy has revealed that they have found no evidence of disease!  She can’t get the all-clear for five years due to her cancer being hormone-fed but for now great for her!

[*Wallace]

Oh goodness, not another Strictly death so soon after Robin's.  That's really sad to hear about Dave Myers' passing.  He wasn't the best dancer but he was really fun and had a fun partnership with Karen. RIP Dave.  

 

But the Amy news is really wonderful to hear!  Wishing her all the best!  

[Abe1818]

FLEUR HAD HER BABY!!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5MCze3ISlN/

[*Wallace]

Oooh lmao I guess I forgot to post in here but Nikita Kuzmin did Celebrity Big Brother UK earlier this month and finished 2nd! Congrats and well done to him there, but poor guy is always so close to getting a win!

[*Wallace]

7 hours ago, Abe1818 said:

FLEUR HAD HER BABY!!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5MCze3ISlN/

Ooh when I saw an update posted in this thread, I was thinking "Hmm could this be about Fleur having her baby?" But yayyy congrats to Fleur & her husband on their baby!