Strictly!

[miasmum]

Ossie, I love the way when the music stops he looks around as if to say "was that me?"

[jenniren]

Loved Strictly last tonight

Jay is amazing, he and Aliona should go far. Also love Helen and Aljaz. As for Anita and Gleb (loved their dance), phew doesn't he scrub up well!!! Kellie and Kevin were great too. Felt really sorry for Georgia and Giovanni, not a good idea for him to upset Len, hope it doesn't backfire on them.

Peter's a bit of a disappointment, they keep saying how good he is but I think he lifts his knees too high and it makes him a bit stompy. Katie and Anton didn't do so well this week, shame hope they stay in, I think she's got a lot of promise.

Can't stand Jamelia, saw her on the Bear Grylls thing and she was an absolute nightmare, bet she's giving Tristan a hard time. The rest were okay, but also rans really.

Not sure who'll go out this week, Carol's definitely in danger, but tbh Daniel and Kirsty weren't very good either. Think Jeremy should be fine for a bit longer, he's having so much fun and it's infectious.

[Osc]

Yes we loved it too, it was great the way things swung around. I noticed the judges were actually judging instead of making mostly encouraging noises, perhaps as it is week three, they know they need to be a bit more constructively critical. Bruno surprised me with many pertinent comments. At least Anton took the blame for Katie's poor performance, he possibly realised that she was just not up to the cha cha, when she walked down off the stage, I thought she would at least do "walk walk cha cha cha", so simple, but she must have been struggling with it. I'm a bit sorry for Tristan because I think Jamelia will just do what she wants. I don't like her and I know lots of people don't, so I'd say she won't last long with public vote, so unfair for my lovely Tristan

I think Jay's jive will go down in Strictly history as possibly the best dance ever, just amazing!

[Gal]

I thought Georgia did really well, was a bit surprised at the remarks Len made (although I didn't hear what her partner actually said) but she seemed very graceful and just 'right'.

It was a show stopper that dance of Jay's wasn't it? He did seem a bit shell shocked as he didn't smile or speak afterwards...

I always think it puts people under huge pressure when they are touted as winners from the start....Peter is great and I think the negative publicity he's had this week (a court case?) may have put him off his stride a little....hopefully it hasn't and he can swing back.

[Osc]

I thought Georgia did really well, was a bit surprised at the remarks Len made (although I didn't hear what her partner actually said) but she seemed very graceful and just 'right'

No, Len was correct, virtually no rumba content in there, it is not enough to look graceful and have the man drape you this way and that. I was glad to see the judges remarking more on content or lack of it this week, the contestants should at least be learning basic steps so they can understand how the dance works.

[Gal]

Thing is Osc, you know dancing...I don't, I just thought Len was a little OTT in his remarks, he usually leaves the more cutting remarks to Craig. Of course they have to have critique in order to up their game, but I thought he came across too harsh for Week 3 - and after all, Georgia can only do what her partner teaches

[Osc]

Georgia can only do what her partner teaches

That is true and the criticism was aimed at her partner, who I think drew Len's ire on himself for shaking his head at what was said. Sometimes pros think that by doing flashy stuff, the judges won't notice a lack of content, and although that sometimes that does work, mostly it shouldn't. We were delighted last night when the judges mostly said much of what we were saying Darcey though, her marking was a bit odd, giving undeserved 6s.

[TheOstrich]

The Daily Mirror, I think, has published a piece outing Jay as a "ringer", someone who has attended dance school from age 13 .... a bit like Denise Van Outen (wasn't it?) got castigated a couple of series back for similar. Well, Denise quickly lost popularity despite some excellent performances (the "Walk like an Eqyptian" Charleston for example), so it remains to be seen what happens over Jay.

Agree about Darcy's marking, Osc ....

[miasmum]

Here we go again......

I bet Georgia went to Stage School and did dance. I bet Peter and Jamelia had dance training when they were singing. I bet Helen and Kellie have both done dance training during their acting school times. Of course some have more training than others, there is a world of difference between the acting and singing celebs and the sports and journalist ones. Strictly is never a level playing field.

Kellie Bright

Bright has been acting since she was 11, appearing on stage in shows such as Annie and Les Misérables, before landing a place at the Sylvia Young Theatre School.[1] As a child actress, she appeared in several different series' on British television in the late 1980s and the 1990s, including T-Bag and Maid Marian and her Merry Men. In 1990, at the age of 13, Bright was cast as Joanna Burrows in TV series

Helen George

According to an interview in the Metro newspaper, as a child, George wanted to become a long jumper, although she also had a phase where she wished to become the first female manager of Aston Villa football club. George decided that she wanted to work in musical theatre at the age of fifteen, when she was in a production of Les Misérables.[2] She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London and the Birmingham School of Acting.

Now do we honestly believe they don't do dancing in musical theatre school?

[Osc]

Exactly Shell! This comes up every year and is beyond boring now. Just because you have had some training in one dance genre does not mean you can adapt to the discipline of ballroom and latin dancing. I've always done some kind of dancing - ballet, tap, modern, even some ballroom in my early teens, but it took me a long time to become basically competent in ballroom and latin, and that is all I am after 12 years. Although I do know that if I was younger and had the concentrated teaching that the celebs get, I could be very much better because I have the basics - most of them don't even have the basics.