SCD '23 #19: In which we're crowning our Strictly champion!

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Previous thread here.

Video thread. Please post videos on that thread, then link across to here to avoid buffering issues with this thread.

The anton gio programme was lovely. We watch it all the time - my 8yo is OBSESSED with both Anton and Gio.

What is going on about Giovanni?

all I know is he has such a kind heart to be honest as I met him he was quite lovely and kind man also he has been good for the deaf community and he was good friends with Rose who he won with and I met him he was lovely man

he kept eye on me to make sure I was ok when I went to see his show in Bromley I was sitting in the front row he kept eyeing on me make sure I was ok and we did signed together for Thanks you to everyone and he was such a good man I don’t really understand why he was labelled as bully? He not a bully to me

Hi Wilf, great photo!

Lots of speculation going on about both sides. Hopefully the truth will be revealed soon.

@RainbowWilf996 I wouldn’t worry about it. You know Gio better than any of the people talking about him, so ignore it!

Hopefully it will stop soon.

Certainly on the chat thread there seems to be a default position that GP is the devil incarnate which seems to be based nothing more than the fact that he’s a man.

the fact that AA has never actually accused him of anything or said anything doesn’t seem to matter.

Aw @RainbowWilf996 what a lovely photo. How lucky are you to have met him? He does seem like a lovely person. I'm pleased there are positive comments about Gio on here. I don't like to think of the wholesome Strictly being tainted. James Jordan and Brendan Cole were the ones to answer back to the judges, but in a seemingly panto villain way. All the other professionals seemed to be just that, professional. Even when the choreography was being slated.

Gio always seems to me to be easily the best choreographer of the current batch, and when I'm trawling YouTube videos of the best dances on Strictly his are.a regular go-to - particularly the ones with Fay Tozer and Georgia Foote. However, he can really only achieve that when he is partnered with very good, fit dancers and it is inevitable that it needs a lot of very hard work. I guess it may be true to say that he should know to tone it down with partners who simply can't achieve to the level he would like - on the other hand, if he didn't help his partners reach their full potential he would probably be blamed for that.

I think that people forget that Katya is just as much as a disciplinarian. Tony Adams came out and said that she gave him an absolute bollocking one day - but he admitted he needed it, and having been a footballer, she knew he would react to the hairdryer treatment.

So I don't think it's fair that GP is getting all of this blame, when other pros have admitted to doing the same.

I also find it strange the percieved "feud" between GP and Ranvir, when she admitted it lasted half an hour!

Ultimately, the producers need to find out more in their due diligence what each celeb wants to get out of the show, and how they like to learn - then match accordingly.

Some will be happy to be shouted at. Others will prefer a softly-softly approach. Some may be super competitive and want to win, others just for the exposure, others just there to have a bit of fun

Been reading about Gio, so the algorithm fed me some stupid article about Amanda's partner making a veiled reference to nasty people, or some such.....I do not understand why the pair of them don't say what they have to say, or else keep mum. It's so much pointless drama, and hurts Gio.

I agree @Lentilweaver piss or get off the pot as my old mum would say.

Did anyone watch Dancing on Ice and see Brendan Cole? He was very good, I expect he'll go far like James Jordan as must be a big advantage being a pro dancer as well as used to hard training schedules.

??
Brendan was on Dancing on Ice in 2022. He came second.

@Romeiswheretheheartis omg I thought he'd already been on it, I bet I've ended up
putting last years on and not realised!! Ignore me

That's exactly the kind of thing I do coveting Did you blindly click on ITVX by any chance?!? Brendan's Jersey Boys routine was fab and the one with the umbrella (Falling - I just looked it up) and his Carmen one (He did this in the finale and I loved it). I voted for him but he only got 29% of the vote out the three then 32% when it was down to two. Regan had half the vote.
Not caught up with this year's yet but noted they had Greg Rutherford and Claire Sweeney and Adam Thomas's brother Ryan.

If anyone is going to the live show in Birmingham starting tonight it would be great to hear a review esp of the pairings of Annabel and Graz and Krish and Jowita.

I didn’t go to see it (the only tour I’ve ever been to was the year Jay was in it) but Digital Spy tells me that Layton and Nikita won with Bobby as runner up. I suspect Layton and Nikita will win quite a lot of shows - they’ve chosen real crowd pleasers for their two dances and also both dances and ones where they are dressed similarly (the paso and the quickstep) so you get that wonderful energy of the two men dancing side by side.

Krishnan got the lowest scores! Annabel is doing her American Smooth and her samba, so no couples choice, and Bobby has swerved that one too. I would imagine that it’s not the mood the tour producers are going for!

@SequinsandStiIettos yes.. I clicked the first Dancing on Ice box on the player assuming it would be the new one

I'm hoping Nikita does Dancing on ice.. or Giovanni.. at some point presumably they'd have to wait a period of time as I don't think they could do both in a year with contracts / schedules.

When I saw the running order I thought that it was bad news for Ellie going last. Craig obviously wants to save a really good routine for the last celeb performance but people have normally run out of votes by then (voting opens at the interval. I remember the arena shaking with applause for Joe McFadden AT but he hardly won anything that year.

Apparently Lakita's Paso was amazing.
This is the running order.

Rhythm is a dancer opening
Krishnan - Cha cha cha
Angela S - charleston
Layton - quickstep
Angela R - AT
Bobby - Samba
Annabel - AS
Ellie - Paso
Blackpool Opening

Act 2
Barbie Medley
Krishnan - quickstep
Angela S - AT
Layton - Paso
Angela R - Cha Cha
Bobby - VW
Annabel - Samba
Ellie - AS
‘I gotcha’ pro number
Band showcase ‘Superstition’
Elimination
Closing -
‘House of Strictly’
‘This time I know it’s for real’

Blimey, Bobby's really racking up the tour wins. I'm not surprised about Lakita, I knew they had a solid fan base who'd show up for the tour, but Bobby left me so cold that I just can't see his appeal.
[credit to CatherineGT on Digital Spy for collating]

Birmingham:
Fri 19th Jan, Eve: W: Layton and Nikita; RU: Bobby and Dianne
Sat 20th Jan mat: W: Bobby and Dianne; RU: Layton and Nikita
Sat 20th Jan eve: W: Bobby and Dianne; RU: Layton and Nikita
Sun 21st Jan mat: W: Bobby and Dianne; RU: Ellie and Vito
Sun 21st Jan eve: W: Layton and Nikita; RU: Bobby and Dianne

Sheffield:
Tues 23rd Jan mat: W: Layton and Nikita; RU: Ellie and Vito
Tues 23rd Jan eve: W: Layton and Nikita; RU Ellie and Vito

Wins:
Layton and Nikita - 4
Bobby and Dianne - 3

RU:
Ellie and Vito - 3
Layton and Nikita 2
Bobby and Dianne - 2

Wowsers. I wonder how that makes Ellie feel. I know they all usually win one on their home turf and that People's Champions Susan and Kev did well but it's interesting that the series winners don't always storm it.
I just looked up past tour winners. You had:
Matt di Angelo/Rachel/Austin/Matt Baker/Harry/Louis/Natalie/Simon /Jay/Danny/Susan/Joe/Kelvin/Rose/Helen

So only a third of actual series winners (Harry/Louis/Jay/Kelvin/Rose) taking the tour titles too.
I was just rewatching Alexandra Burke's paso and AT. God, she was fierce. I don't think I appreciated at the time just how much she put her all into it. She didn't have one win on her year's tour, which with the jive (Proud Mary) and QS (Golddiggers Song) I find really surprising.

I went to that tour, and although Alexandra danced them well, neither dance translated well to the arena for some reason - the jive was a bit too static, and the quickstep choreography angles were designed for camera not audience.

Ah, thank you for that. Good to have some insider tea.
Neither Alex nor Davood won any, so clearly they don't fix it then for all to have one win. Who got your vote, out of interest?

Susan Calman & Kevin Clifton 11 37%
Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice 9 30%
Gemma Atkinson & Aljaž Skorjanec 5 17%
Joe McFadden & Katya Jones 4 13%
Jonnie Peacock & Oti Mabuse 1 3%

I can't remember 100% who I voted for but I think it was probably Alexandra because it was the last night of the tour, in London and it seemed unfair for her not to have one win in her home town. Susan won, which meant that she clinched the tour over Debbie.

As I previously noted, Joe's Argentine Tango absolutely brought the house down as the last dance of the night, but I think everyone had cast all their votes by then.

sad news from the Strictly camp this morning. RIP to Robin Windsor. I always thought he was an excellent dancer, and by all accounts a thoroughly nice lad.

That’s awful! He’s so young.