Strictly Come Dancing

I thought Claudia looked dreadful tonight. That blue “sequins gown” looked cheap AF and the blanked out lips made her look like she wasn’t in the room. There’s a shampoo ad on at the mo where she looks stunning, could she maybe aspire to that instead of sixties bag lady?

We really do need to see the voting figures.

I don't trust it when the BBC keep these things.

Pleased for Kevin after so many finals - wouldn't be surprised if he bows out at the top like his sister did if Rock of Ages goes well for him.

It's always the wrong result when the best dancer doesn't win, but it was a terrible series so this result is particularly unsurprising.

Fingers crossed it does mean Kevin decides to retire - he's a good dancer but his choreography is rather boring and I just find him irritating. Even the moments after they won were all about Kevin until Stacey was specifically asked to speak. Her speech was lovely, but she pretty much got ignored in the celebrations after until right at the end, which I thought was rather unfair.

Completely baffled by those saying this was a bad series, it's been ruddy glorious from my sofa.

Yeah it was Staceys to lose and has been for ages. I don't see how it can be 'the wrong result' when it hasn't been an even contest. Ashley and Faye have a massive advantage and the public know that. They may not know the ballroom style but they are experienced performers with musicality, flexibility, the understanding of what it means to perform, used to taking choreography etc. All of that is a massive advantage over people who have never done anything like this before.

In Ashleys case her show dance really didn't help her either.

I do agree it's not been a great series and I think I maybe done with it. The judges don't help with their embarrassing dance on to set each week and then trying to outdo eachother during the show, except Craig who in fairness is just his usual self

Stacey was the weakest woman on the night. She was let down by poor show dance choreography. But her dancing in the other two numbers wasn't that great. And she grinned during the Paso - which is not what you do. Joe's grin in his was mentioned. Stacey's wasn't.

Faye was by far the most watchable dancer on the night. Yes, she has a strong performing background. But she is also a mum in her 40s.

I just don't think that Stacey deserved the win - she developed amazingly over the weeks. But I just don't see the appeal.

It is a taste thing and I never once took to her performances.

Oh I do - from a best dancer perspective I don't rate Ashley in the slightest.

One of the reasons I've disliked this series so much is the ridiculous over-hyping and furore surrounding her participation when as a ballroom and Latin dancer she really is nothing special. She over-danced everything and it was all just stage dancing, not ballroom or Latin danced properly. Possibly the most over-hyped contestant in Strictly history in my opinion.

If I were to rank Strictly contestants through the years by dance ability she wouldn't make the top 10, maybe not even the top 20.

Catching up! After that show dance it would have been embarrassing if Stacey hadn't have won.

Stacey winning was predicted but when Joe scored strongly I thought his fanbase may kick in and get him the win. Faye too would attract a lot of votes as the oldist finalist and from the Steps days plus Gio seems popular. But after several near misses Kevin was always going to get a lot of votes in what could be his last year on the show. His age has been mentioned a bit and with stage roles, his own tours opening up plus defending champ usually gets a dud the next year he might do what Camilla, Aliona ( 2nd win) and his sister Joanne did and quit as a champion.

Stacey is irritating with her accent but she is very hard not to like as she is natural and endearing before you consider all the really good documentaries she has done so she is as far away from what you'd think her character would be on just seeing and hearing her than she could be. I joke about her accent but I do like her as a person and she became a good dancer.

Pasha I've always felt is one of the very best dancers on the show and puts on fantastic routines but the support for Ashley just wasn't there.

It really is ripe for a huge shake up, but with it being the BBC it won’t happen until the show is on its arse by which time it will be too late. For me, the shake up would include:

Taking Anton out of the pro line up before it becomes a total piss take and give him It Takes Two, either solo or if we must keep Zoe then have him as her sidekick. Its unwatchable as it stands now.
Ditch the faffing and unnecessary stunts, flying, props etc except on Halloween and Blackpool.
Get rid of Tess.
Get rid of Shirley
Get rid of whoever has been in charge of costumes
Instead of one of the group dances on sat or Sunday night, get a regional ballroom or Latin team to do a routine, give them some lovely costumes and the professional musicians/singers and let them shine. This would be an amazing opportunity to showcase the very thing that SCD has presumably been nurturing over the last decade i.e a wider interest in dance.
Ditch that cringeworthy and pointless “meet your partner” episode where they all pretend not to know who they’ve got.
Reduce the number of cast members/weeks, it doesn’t need to run as long as it’s running now.
Keep Claudia but cut out the stupid jokes (although I do think they pared that back this series unless she was doing them on Sundays which I never watch)

I could go on, but I don’t want to give all my ideas away to the Beeb 😌