i can’t believe we’re over halfway through the current series of strictly come dancing and i haven’t blogged abut it yet. it’s not because i had my fill of it last year when i blogged about it week in week out for tv scoop (because that was f-u-n) it’s just that i’ve been busy. i understand you might not care whether or not i impart my observations on the current series, but i do - it’s tradition!

so brace yourselves for my opinions of the competition as it now stands…

first of all, i LOVE alesha. love, love, love! she has the right attitude (work hard but have a sense of humour) a great personality, she’s doing brilliantly and she and matthew have a great relationship. (he seems really sweet, doesn’t he?) her dances always make me smile, and her waltz, cha cha and jive were inspired.

i did like kelly a lot, too. she’s very talented, but must surely have danced a bit before, right? she seems nice enough, but maybe a little too ambitious, and brendan is always cocky as heck. their performance this week was good, but not up to SCD standards and they haven’t set the dance floor on fire yet. so they’re not my favourites but good telly all the same.

my new second favourite is matt. i find his faux-’umble act a bit trying at times, but when he dances, he’s grrrreat. and flavia is wonderful in every way: great teacher, great choreographer, she has an otherworldly quality but with great control and she’s such a fabulous dancer. she’s really special and they have brilliant chemistry. i hope they make the final!

unlike john barnes, who i couldn’t care less about (in dancing terms; i’ve got nothing against him otherwise). i think he’s WAY overrated. he did a couple of not-bad latin dances but that’s about it and this week he wasn’t up to much at ALL. plus, i don’t rate nicoles’s ballroom choreography much, although she’s a great little jiver.  if he left, i just wouldn’t be bovvered.

ditto that last sentence for kenny. i know he’s trying but… he’s trying. his billie jean routine was entertaining, but it wasn’t a cha cha. this week, his american smooth was his best dance yet, but no way was it an 8. bring back gabby!!

now letitia, i’ve grown to like. when she first rumba’d onto the screen, gurning like a saucy picture postcard, i wanted ehr gone. but i’m really impressed with how well she’s doing, and you have to admit darren is a fantastic teacher and choreographer.

i’m not as enthusiastic about gethin as the rest of the nation seems to be, but i will admit, camilla has done a good job with him. i just find him a bit bland. his foxtrot and quickstep were good but if he left, i’m not sure anyone would really notice… plus, my friend who used to be a professional dancer says camilla is too floppy and not controlled enough, so now i find myself scrutinising her trying to spot where she could be better, it’s all very distracting…

and then there was… er, kate. oh dear. thank goodness she was FINALLY put out of her misery last week. she seems like a nice person, and her klutziness has comedy value for sure, but she was terrible, and i don’t know what that paso outfit was supposed to be (an emetic?) plus, anton was turning into a right stroppy madam.

although it’s a long run, i’m never sick of SCD when the series ends, so i’m vairy excited that they’re taking the gang on tour early next year. do you even need to ask if i’m going? of course i am! i’m not looking forward to seeing what christopher parker will be bringing (*maybe* he’ll have improved?) but denise lewis, zoe ball, matt di angelo and even darren gough should be fabulous.