Strictly Come Dancing 2010

[xGlowingAngelx]

Yeh, it's (almost) that time of year again, where my Saturday nights fly out of the window.

STRICTLY COME DANCING IS BACK!!!!! Tonight is the Launch Show, which will show us the Celeb/Pro Partnerships being paired for the firt time, plus Pro performances. The first competitive week is spread over the weekend of the 1st/2nd of October.

(There are rumours going around on Digital Spy of partnerships, but I'm not listing them here, because I don't know how accurate they are. I'll edit this after tonights Launch Show with the pairings.)

Celebrities Competing: (Now Edited with their Pro Partners)

Ann Widdecombe (British Conservative Party Politician) & Anton Du Beke

Felicity Kendal (Actress) & Vincent Simone

Gavin Henson (Rugby Player) & Katya Virshilas

Goldie (DJ) & Kristina Rihanoff

Jimi Mistry (Hollywood Actor) & Flavia Cacace

Kara Tointon (Actress) & Artem Chigvintsev

Matt Baker (TV Presenter) & Aliona Vilani

Michelle Williams (Former Member of Destiny's Child / West End Star) & Brendan Cole

Pamela Stephenson (Comedienne / Actress) & James Jordan

Patsy Kensit (Actress) & Robin Windsor

Paul Daniels (Magician / Television Performer) & Ola Jordan

Peter Shilton (Former England Goalkeeper) & Erin Boag

Scott Maslen (Eastenders Actor) & Natalie Lowe

Tina OBrien (Actress) & Jared Murillo

-

Not going to lie, I'm not exactly jumping with excitement at the line-up (with the exception of perhaps Patsy Kensit, because I <3 her, and Gavin Henson, purely because of his accent. <3) but I'm looking forward to it.

I'll be much happier when the Lauch Show is done with and the live shows start, but I wont be greedy.

Anybody else be watching? (Or am I the only one that refuses to stop watching? )

[Miranda]

Oh yes! Strictly rules! I love this time of year because of this show, I cannot believe its a year since the last one

[MasterHolden]

Although it hasn't begun yet, I hope Anton du Beke gets eliminated first; knowing my luck, he WILL be the first one eliminated, as a good number of Strictly fans still haven't forgiven him for his racist jibe towards Laila Raouss last year.

[xGlowingAngelx]

There are rumours going around that the reason Anton was paired with Ann was because the BBC wanted to "punish him" for the race row last series. (I'd forgotten all about it until I read that.) I don't know if that is the reason, but honestly? I don't care. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with racism at all, and I'm glad the issue was addressed last series when it happened, but everyone has moved on. Anton apologised, Laila forgave him, and the series moved on. The viewers obviously didn't hold it against Anton, because they lasted for weeks after the row anyway. It was a horrible situation, but I certainly don't think it should be held against Anton for the rest of his career.

Personally, I'm glad he was paired with Ann, but for reasons that are nothing to do with any racism. Ann's hardly going to set the floor alight, is she? (Even her arms in the group dance were all out of time, it was awfully distracting). I'd rather Anton was paired with someone with at least a little potential for some comedy, than paired with someone like Kara that could be held back in the Latin, because Latin isn't Anton's strong point. Race Row or no Race Row, I just can't see Anton ever winning it.

As for who is eliminated first..... It's a tough one. It wont be the worst dancers on the night (because it's Strictly!). If I were a betting woman, I'd bet on the first elimination to be either Tina, Patsy or Kara, because they have the new Pros, and last year proved that new pros aren't always popular, unlike the likes of Erin, Brendan and Ola that already have longer standing support teams to back them, regardless of whether they have good celebs or not. Look at last series, Ricky was easily one of the best contestants, but I think a lot of people were put off because they didn't care for Natalie. Aliona hardly proved a hit, because she and Rav were bottom 2 both weeks there were there (although I loved them!). And Katya had a popular celeb in Phil Tufnell, but was knocked out before the fnal stages.

Having said that, Kara and Tina both showed potential in the group dance, so they could score well which could keep them safe. Patsy seems like a nice, genuine woman, which could easily have viewers rooting for her.

(Speaking of Kara, I cannot believe the rumours that she's been banned from training for a week because she had minor experience previously, dancing for the sports relief. Give me a break! Most actresses will have some form of training anyway.) If she's any good, regardless of previous training, I'll root for her.

Apparently Gavin was a bit of a mess in the group dance, but personally, I thought the whole dance was a mess! LOL. They all looked completely out of their depth. (Except Tina, Kara and Michelle) I'm not writing them all off yet though, because I need to see them individually first.

Based on first impressions, I'll be rooting for Kara, Tina, Michelle and Goldie (who looked surprisingly light on his feet from what I could see of him during the group dance!) That may all change if they're no good on the night, but we'll see.

From the group dance, I'd say Brendan could be the only pro with the chance of winning twice. (To be fair, he and Ola are the only pros remaining to have won before!). No offence to Paul, but I can't see him being great. LOL.

There's a video released from the BBC of Michelle & Brendan training. I think they're releasing a few leading up to the show. (YEY!) Just to wet the appetite.

OMG, Look, I rambled! Sorry. This is what happens when I start talking about Strictly!!!!! LOL.

18 DAYS!!!!! <3

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

It's good to see that professional dancer Natalie Lowe is included in the line up for the latest Strictly Come Dancing. She was an amazing dancer when she appeared on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars and she partnered Tim Campbell (aka Dan Baker HAA) amongst others whilst on the show. I hope that she will be a great influence and will teach her partnered celebrity enough knowledge to see them advance and achieve the best result possible.

Although I won't be able to watch it, I look forward to reading this thread from week to week to see who has progressed and who has been eliminated from the series each week.

[Lesley Bee]

After watching the launch show, i have to say i think the pairings are quite good. Although i think Vincent and Kara would have been great....but oh well, he is just such a great dancer and hes been so close in previous years

I do feel really sorry for Anton though, i think in some ways they are trying to push him out the door. Im trying to think though of one really good partner that he has had and i cant think of any (no disrespect to his partners of course )

Oh and im totally gutted that my favourite pro dancer, Matthew Culter, is not in it this year

But anyway roll on October

[MasterHolden]

After watching the launch show, i have to say i think the pairings are quite good. Although i think Vincent and Kara would have been great....but oh well, he is just such a great dancer and hes been so close in previous years

I do feel really sorry for Anton though, i think in some ways they are trying to push him out the door. Im trying to think though of one really good partner that he has had and i cant think of any (no disrespect to his partners of course )

Oh and im totally gutted that my favourite pro dancer, Matthew Culter, is not in it this year

But anyway roll on October

Tell me about it, Brian Fortuna and Lilia Kopylova aren't in it either. Apparently, those two, along with Matther Cutler had quit the show following the revamp. The only two of the five that stayed despite the revamp were Ian Waite and Darren Bennett.

[xGlowingAngelx]

Brian, Darren, Lilia and Matthew were huge, risky losses. Darren & Lilia were probably their most popular couple, Mattew was hugely popular and Brian managed to become a favourite after just two series, so it's baffling why they opted to rid of those. Personally, I think they should have put Erin & Anton in the Troupe (Because they're at their best doing the pro work, IMO). Alas, it wasn't to be.

Having said that, I'm hugely excited to see this series unfold. The three new Pros will be interesting to watch. New Pros don't always take off (like Hayley. I don't think Natalie, Aliona OR Katya proved overly popular last series either.) so that will be fun to watch. I hope the GBP give the new Pros a chance though. The majority seemed to write all three of last years newbies off without giving them a chance (Ultimately, I think that contributed to the fact the best dancer didn't win last series.)

Has anybody been watching the training videos the BBC have put on the website? I was watching Matt Baker & Aliona's before and they're training for (Dance in spoiler tag for those not wanting to know)

The Cha Cha Cha

and I spent most of the time watching being awfully distracted by Matt's hand. It's exactly the same as Chris's was last year (To quote Len "They're ladies hands"). I seriously hope Aliona puts that right eventually. I knw Chris went on to win it, but he still had the same hands in the final that he did in week 1, and it drove me crazy.

I'm still REALLY looking forward to seeing Michelle & Brendan. I've got a huge soft spot for Brendan (and of course, it's the nostalgia, because he was the first winner back when it was so new and fresh) and Michelle looks like she could be fun.

I'll miss the first Saturday show live, because we're at a party (I can watch the Friday one live), so that's not fun. But I'll watch them both on the Saturday.

GAH. I CAN'T WAIT.

14 DAYS.

[xGlowingAngelx]

Anybody else watch the first weekend?

I thought it was a great weekend. Personally, I thought it was the best opening weekend since about series 5. It was fun! The celebs seem a likable bunch. A bit quiet, but I expect that in the first couple of weeks.

The weekend was quite surprising. The ones I expected to be great (Tina, Michelle & Goldie) turned out to be quite lacklustre, and the ones I expected to be a letdown turned out quite good (Matt, Pamela, Scott & Gavin)

Didn't like the use of props (Tina/Jared, Matt/Aliona & Paul/Ola.) because I found it all a bit DWTS. Strictly has never needed Props before, and I don't think it needs them now. They were "cute" but unnecessary. (Likewise, I think the Wardrobe Department ate a bit too much candy. Those outfits were certainly something. LOL.)

Having said that, I loved Matt and Aliona's Cha Cha Cha. SO much fun. Pamela was absolutely beautiful. Scott was unexpected, in a good way. And Gavin was a huge surprise because everyone was expecting him to be awful (he was apparently a bit off in the launch Show). Yet he danced quite gracefully.

Ann Widdecombe wasn't great, but surprised me because she showed quite a sense of humour. So long as she allows her personality to show through, she and Anton could stay a while, because this is Strictly .

I have NO idea who could go first, because they all have another dance yet, and the leaderboard could totally be jumbled around.

Yeh, I really enjoyed the weekend. I think the show will really pick up next week, with everyone dancing on the same night and given that we'll have a taste of everbody in both the Ballroom and Latin. I think this series could be a good one. Strictly deserves a really good series. It hasn't had a fun, amazing one since about series 5. Here's hoping.

[Miranda]

Final tonight people! Matt, Pamela or Kara?

Did anyone see Artem dancing a sexy rumba with James? So, so funny. James was the girl and was trying to stroke Artem's hair and kiss him, while Artem was almost crying with laughter.