*Strictly Come Dancing 2008*

[natalielongstaff]

so the worst dancer for the last two weeks won it !! what a triumph

 

[mandymouse]

I'm so pleased that Camilla won too

 

[PoppyAnna]

I didn't watch it live and now that I have watched both shows I feel the real loser was Lisa. I wanted Lisa to win, I liked Tom from the start and he was my second choice. Apart from Tom's stumble I thought he danced very well and his showdance and latin was awesome, really entertaining - Camilla geared both routines around all his strengths to please the audience and the voting public, and it worked.
I think as a viewer you choose either a personality you like or you go on dancing talent alone. The reason I liked Lisa was that she had a bit of both (she was the most improved with the least experience), but I probably really judge the individuals entertainment value to. Rachel is a stage dancer/performer and although not to the level that she got to on SCD, dance routines were part of her career. She was so desperate to win it put me off her from quite an early stage and although I know Tom danced poorly last week, I'm glad he won. Throughout the series he was never in a dance off, both Rachel and Lisa were, more than once.
When they gave the results Rachel soooooo thought she had won....

 

[mandymouse]

I thought Tom & Camilla's showdance was A-MAZ-ING !!!

 

[UKDEB]

Throughout the series he was never in a dance off.

I also liked Tom from the start and I have nothing against him personally, but he should have been in the dance off last week. Someone at the BBC panicked about another phone-in scandal and that allowed him to go on to win.

In his Argentine Tango, he did nothing much other than walk around. The girls' versions (and Rachel's in particular) were hugely complex and brilliantly executed. Also, the week before, when Austin went, he did the same in another of his dances - I couldn't understand why the judges marked Austin so poorly when Camilla had effectively been simply dancing around Tom. Usually the judges are very quick to pick up on that sort of thing.

 

[Dimplenose]

The real problems started when John Sargeant bowed out and the BBC carried on to have an elimination that week as well.

I admit Lisa was the best dancer last night but I found her sooooo irritating - just the snooty, smug look she has winds me up.

I'm glad Tom won (I'd have voted for him but DH would then have voted for Rachel) but I hope he's not remembered as "the one who shouldn't have been in the final".

(We also joked about Tom not wanting to meet Rachel's brothers in the car park after the show!!)

 

[PoppyAnna]

I admit Lisa was the best dancer last night but I found her sooooo irritating - just the snooty, smug look she has winds me up.

I didn't ever get that from Lisa at all - I thought she was the most genuine contestant. I got that much more from Rachel, she so thought so had won last night, she just didn't get it that the public didn't warm to her.

I didn't hear at any point what percentage of the vote Tom got, does anybody know?

Anyway, a bit of mother' pride - I'm expecting to see my DD on Strictly in about 20 years time, last night it was her dance school Christmas Party/Competitions and she came second in the under 6's CHA CHA CHA, oh and did I mention her dance teacher is John Byrne who danced with Claire Sweeney in season one :

 

[natalielongstaff]

I Anyway, a bit of mother' pride - I'm expecting to see my DD on Strictly in about 20 years time, last night it was her dance school Christmas Party/Competitions and she came second in the under 6's CHA CHA CHA, oh and did I mention her dance teacher is John Byrne who danced with Claire Sweeney in season one :

Aww bless her, well done to your dd

 

[MrsJobba1]

You no I feel kind of flat this morning

I must say I thought Tom's was the best show dance .

However I'm still sitting here thinking it should of been Austin
-(I know I'm a bit behind)

I loved watching him last night.

 

[Joanne UK]

I didn't ever get that from Lisa at all - I thought she was the most genuine contestant. I got that much more from Rachel, she so thought so had won last night, she just didn't get it that the public didn't warm to her.

I didn't hear at any point what percentage of the vote Tom got, does anybody know?

SCD don't release the voting figures but the figures were leaked the week that John Seargeant left. John was top was 1.7 million votes, Tom 2nd was 750,000 and Lisa and Rachel were both on about 300,000. Christine had 500k and Austin 700k.

If this continued to be the trend until the final last night then the public got the winner that they had wanted pretty much all along - with the obviousl exception of John, and Lisa and Rachel wouldn't have been in it had it not been for the dance-offs where the judges put them through. They have known for some time that they are way behind Tom in the public vote - if Rachel really thought she had a chance of winning when it was just her and Tom then I am amazed. As soon as the final leaderboard from the semi-final was shown and Tom had got the top public votes points again you knew it was game-over as the voting pattern hadn't changed in the girls' favour.

I think some changes need to be made before next year's show. Should they continue inviting celebrities like John to take part who they know will not be good dancers, or just invite people like Tom and Rachel who have dancing backgrounds? Personally, I think if they do that they'll take alot of fun out of the show as this year has proved once and for all that the public will vote for who they like not who the Judges say are the best. It didn't matter who improved the most or who tripped up, the public had decided weeks ago who their winner was.

 

[Pinky166]

I finally got round to watching it this morning. I really didn't want Tom to win, I have not warmed to him at all since the begining. To me he came across as really smug & I got sick of hearing about how he was getting married & then missing his honeymoon, it was ok at first but did we need to be reminded fifty times every single week....it's not as though he was doing the show for free!

I wouldn't have minded either Rachel or Lisa winning......I missed the last two weeks so have yet to discover what happened with Austin??? Sounds like he was robbed! I thought he was the winner from very early on.

Anyway, now roll on Dancing on Ice!!

 

[mandymouse]

I wouldn't have minded either Rachel or Lisa winning......I missed the last two weeks so have yet to discover what happened with Austin??? Sounds like he was robbed! I thought he was the winner from very early on.

Anyway, now roll on Dancing on Ice!!

I wanted Austin in the final too

I'm looking forward to Dancing on Ice too. Has anyone heard who's taking part ?

 

[natalielongstaff]

I'm looking forward to Dancing on Ice too. Has anyone heard who's taking part ?

Me

 

[mandymouse]

Me

And .......

 

[MrsJobba1]

not me

 

[Joanne UK]

The guy who played Mark Fowler - sorry don't know his real name. Saw some pictures in the paper of him being held up on the ice looking petrified!

Don't know if he's in the christmas special or the next actual series but he's in one of them.

 

[Pinky166]

The guy who played Mark Fowler - sorry don't know his real name. Saw some pictures in the paper of him being held up on the ice looking petrified!

Don't know if he's in the christmas special or the next actual series but he's in one of them.

Todd Carty is his name.

I have also heard Roxanne Pallett (Emmerdale) & Richard & Judys daughter?....well she is a well known celebrity

 

[PoppyAnna]

I don't like Dancing on Ice.

 

[PoppyAnna]

Last night I went to the O2 in London for Strictly Come Dancing On Tour.
My friend Jayne is Lilla Kopylova and Darren Bennett's agent.

Jayne arrived at my house at 5pm to pick me up then we drove to pick up our other friend Lynne five minutes away. The traffic was horrible and we got to the O2 a bit before 6pm. We had a meal and went to collect our guest tickets, backstage passes and programmes

Our seats we "on the floor". There are two rows of seats around the dance floor for friends, family and guests. We were sitting next to Jemima Kidd. I was five feet from the dance floor

The show takes the same format as the TV show, with the judges commenting and marking and at the end the audience texts in to pick the winners. The first half of the show was ballroom and after the interval was latin.
The dancing couples were:

Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup
Julian Clary and Lilla Kopylova
Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett
Gethin Jones and Flavia Cacace
Jodie Kidd and Ian Walker
Kenny Logan and Ola Jordan
Cherie Lunghi and James Jordan
Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone

The show is hosted by Kate Thornton (who I can't stand )

I dont remember all the details of all the dances (few too many vinos) but the show opens with Tom and Camilla doing the quickstep to "A town called Malice" which is a great show opener!
All I can say is WOW! The dancing and the costumes are fab

Rachel and Vincent.

The dancing is so good and they move to cover the whole floor for the audience so taking photos was proving tricky. I didn't take my DSLR, just my compact camera.

Lilla and Julian.

After their dance the banter between Julian and Craig is hilarious, catty queens galore!

Jill and Darren.

I loved their dance and the judges scored them well, although Darren said to us at the drinks after that Jill wasn't "feeling" the ballroom that night (which she admitted too) and didn't dance well! Looked pretty good to me

Cont.....

 

[PoppyAnna]

After all the ballroom dances we are treated to a professional dance. Boy do they move fast Sorry the photos are blury, they move so fast and the lighting is all over the place!

After this dance was the interval, we went upstairs for chocolate and soft drinks Lynne's sister, BIL, Niece and Mum had "regular" tickets and were about fifteen rows behind us so we had a chat with them during the break.

Second half of the show was Latin, it was hot, hot, hot!
(More blury pics, I'm afraid, but you get the idea!)

Tom and Camilla.

Kenny and Ola (hilarious in THAT diamante kilt ).

Jodie and Ian

Jodie is a lot less awkward in the flesh and dances really well.

Rachel and Vincent.

Rachel and Vincent are pure perfection.


Lilla and Julian camping it up.

....followed by another group dance by the celebs and pros

After the group dance and some audience participation/competitions we were treated to a mesmerising dance by Kristina Rihannoff and Matthew Cutler. I didn't take pics as I wanted to watch it really closely, I couldn't take my eyes of them - fantastic!

Cont....