Dancing on Ice 2020

Hi Everyone - and a very Happy New Year to one and all

I thought it was a great first show tonight -  fantastic pro and group routines - I loved the aerial routine and I'm so glad that Dan Whiston was a bit more prominent and received a credit at the end.   I actually liked all the contestants!!!   (no repeat of the detestable GC last year!) and no 'Love island' C listers either!!!!.     I also enjoyed the addition of Jon Barrowman to the ice panel -  I wondered if I would miss Jason Gardiner, as every panel needs a CRH!!!  And I hope the judges aren't going to get too 'nicey nicey' as a result - but I do like Jon, he was very professional and as usual the panel gave very constructive criticism I thought.    One thing that struck me about tonight was that all the contestants had been taught to do a little bit of solo skating which I thought was really good - usually they are glued to their pro on the first week. Also quite high scores for the first week - it's usually 3s and 4s but hey ho.

I was pleasantly surprised by Joe and by Lisa - they were both so much better than I thought they were going to be and I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa's performance - she was a world away from Beth in Coronation Street. The obvious Ringer was Peri but as this is not SCD - I didn't care (and let's face it we had James Jordan last year) and I'm sure I am going to enjoy watching Peri as long as he can put some expression and performance in - which was lacking tonight. Jayne and Jon were spot on when they said that he is used to doing tricks and being thrown around - very different to putting in a dance/skating peformarnce - but I'll enjoy seeing him get there I think.

After the first three couples being real naturals it was almost refreshing to have Ben the magician giving more of a conventional week 1 DOI performance, although I was surprised at the highish scores that he got. Tricia is a lovely lady but not surprised at the scores.

So what of the same sex couple - Matt and H?  Well I thoroughly enjoyed the routine but I did think it was very masculine and the bits that were the 'girl' lifts didn't really look right - so not sure how they are going to get over that and also  (as we have said in connection with same sex dance couples) will be interesting to see how they will cope with 'light and shade' and the kind of routines that have a definite male/female kind of dynamic...………..but it will be interesting seeing what they come up with next.    Was it the 'historic moment' that the show was craving?   Not sure really -  it is not unusual to see a male dancing with a male in ice shows and due to the freestyle nature of DOI I don't see it so significant as having a same sex couple on SCD - where dance rules apply.  So we shall see...……………………….

Looking forward to what next week brings...……………….

Hi there, and Happy New Year to all. Great to see you've started the thread Mauve - I haven't read your post yet as I've recorded DOI and will watch and post during the week. My youngest moved to the other side of the world this year - he came home for Christmas so I've hardly watched any TV (not even Strictly xmas special). He leaves again tomorrow   so I've a lot of programmes to catch up on, including DOI. Can't believe Christmas has been and gone so quickly, I'm definitely feeling the January blues.

I hope others join us here too. Last years DOI was really good, let's hope it's the same again this year.

Hi there!
Found you this year.
I loved last year and am looking forward to this year. Admittedly it was to watch James.
I thought they did well. Did more of a training sessions I think this year.
I can take John Barrowman in small doses but love the others on the panel. No standing or squawking. Just comments aimed to help.
Hoping Radzi does well.

Hi Moova and Jingle

Can't wait to read your detailed comments on the programme...…………...happy watching!! Although I had some reservations about the highish scores I thought it was a good start and hope the second show will be just as good.

Glad you found the thread Moova - you know you are absolutely right about the panel - it kind of brought it home to me how 'over the top' the SCD judges were this year at times. 'squawking' sums it up perfectly!

Jingle - you must be missing your son - sounds like you had a lovely time over Xmas. I didn't actually get around to watching the DOI Xmas Special so skipped to the first show last night...……………….I feel it is just the tonic to banish those January (and post Strictly!) blues...……………..

Can you imagine Jayne leering at say Wes from last year ?

Whereas Shirley

Totally Agree

I finally got around to watching DOI - overall thought it was a good start, though Perri looks head and shoulders in front of the others so I hope there'll be an element of competition.
I've realised that I've heard of all the male c.elebs bar one (Ben) but have only heard of one of the females (Caprice, who I seem to remember was rather good at winter sports on the Jump).

I totally agree with both of you re. the judging panel - it's so nice to hear mature and helpful critiques, and what a contrast to the Strictly pantomime panel. Anyhow, a few thoughts...

Joe - wasn't too keen on the use of props and backing skaters at such an early stage in the series, but I was impressed by the amount of solo skating he managed, even though it was quite wobbly
Perri - enjoyed his routines, and as predicted he was especially strong in the dance moves and musicality. I liked John's comment to him about the need to perform rather than rely on tricks - wish someone had said the same thing to Karim in week one of Strictly.
Lisa - some impressive solo skating, although I found her routine quite forgettable
Ben - I didn't think the routine suited the Evanescence song very much, but loved the stage lighting for this. He did well to avoid falling at the end.
C.eleb group dance - it was difficult to judge anyone as the routine was virtually all in hold.
Trisha - oh dear, can't see her remaining too much longer
H - well, as expected the same-sex element turned out to be rather unremarkable. However H seems a pretty strong skater so I think he'll go far in the competition.
Absolutely loved the aerial pro dance, just fabulous. I particularly like the way it's choreographed to focus on individual couples doing individual moves, whereas the Strictly group dances often tend to focus on the whole group doing simultaneous moves.  

Well it'll never have the lure of Strictly I guess, but I thought DOI was a good couple of hours entertainment and hopefully there'll be some competition for Perri among next weeks contestants. Is it mean of me to say I'm much happier to have Radzi than Michael Barrymore.

No Jingle you aren't being mean at all!!

I agreef with you and it will never be SCD for me - but I love it for a nice relaxed winter Sunday night diversion of music and dance...…...particularly as I started recording it to make sure I could cut out a lot of the ridiculous commercial breaks.... the main bugbear with ITV shows of course.

Agreed re Michael Barrymore. I found the chat with him very difficult to watch. I was not living in this country when he was at the height of his fame so only know bits about him.
I do fast forward the ads too and some of Phil and Holly.

I enjoyed the show, although the pro routines didn't have the same wow factor as week one, plus I only recognised a couple of the contestants (Caprice and Radzi).  But it's still an enjoyable watch nonethesless (pre-recorded and ff through the adverts of course, I don't think it'd be watchable 'live' with all those ad breaks).

Maura - most of the routine was spent holding on to her partner, so will be interesting to see how she gets on skating solo. I've never seen Love Island, but realised the bloke in the audience supporting her is AJ's little brother Curtis (those brothers seem to be everywhere at the moment!)
Lucrezia - thought this was a very typical week 1 routine, virtually all in hold or being lifted. She doesn't look very confident on the ice, an early exit maybe?
Kevin - something about the way he moved reminded me of Todd Carty! Despite that, if he can avoid elimination in the next couple of shows I think he has the right attitude and confidence to improve
Caprice - Lovely light performance, great synchronicity, this was the skate of the night for me.  I was surprised when Chris said she'd never skated before, I thought I remembered her being good at winter sports when she appeared on the Jump a few years ago (although I remember she had to leave that show due to serious illness).
Radzi - hmm, I didn't like his outfit or the boring staging for this at all. It looked like his routine was thrown together as an afterthought by the producers. I think he has potential though.
Libby - lots of speed over the ice and great choreography, although I thought she was a tad overmarked.

The skate off was a no-brainer, Trisha looked very shaky despite having the extra week to rehearse her skate off routine.

Hi all
Bit late with my post - I've had a manic week.   My thoughts mainly echo yours Jingle -  the second show didn't quite hit the dizzy heights of the first one for me - but still enjoyed it although it seemed as though most of the better skaters were amongst the group that performed on the first week.

I didn't think there was much to choose from between Maura and Lucrezia although the judges seemed to like Maura's routine better.   Both were full of distracting lifts and lots of 'support' (literally) from their partners.   I suppose Maura (who I didn't take to btw) did go for it a bit more and Lucrezia's nerves showed, but I was sorry (although not surprised) to see her in the skate off because for a non performer she did well and some of those lifts were scary - fair play to her - I thought the lift at the end was brilliant.

I actually would have preferred Kevin the footballer to have been in the skate off - I totally agreed with whichever judge said that the ball was used in the routine for too long -  it was fine at the beginning but then seemed to detract from what they were doing.    I was disappointed in Radzi - very slow and ploddy - I too felt it could have been down to the choreography and I am keeping in mind that he has only had a few weeks on the ice and hadn't skated before, so again all credit to him and let's see if he can catch up with the others.

My personal dance of the night was from Caprice - she was so elegant and made such lovely lines.  It was a treat to watch the routine.  It's funny as last year I found her pro Hamish a bit ungainly as an ice dancer and he seemed more like a figure skater, however I felt his height matched better with Caprice than what it did with his partner Saara last year, and he just seemed altogether more graceful and they gelled well I thought.

I was blown away by what Libby achieved - don't know how she does it.   She didn't just cope with it, she put in a great routine with perfect timing and synchronicity - I really like her pro partner Mark and he must be teaching her really well.

Looking forward to the two groups skating together - there's lots of potential there and plenty of competition for Peri. Also looking forward to 'Musicals Week' this week...………………………………….

Very behind with thoughts.
Not taking to Maura in general.
Felt sorry for Radzi he was on a trip to nowhere coming in late. However preferred his dance off to Caprice’s. Perhaps Caprice should have just left, whatever the problem was with Hamish felt uneasy atmosphere.
Don’t know Lisa as don’t watch soaps but all credit to her.
I like Perri.
Rest are bit forgettable which is not like last year.

The panel seem so much more relaxed with out Jason. Barrowman isn’t my cup of tea but they all seem to get on. He and Ashley in particular have that bit of a jokey relationship.

Still enjoying the show, but the Caprice situation is quite bizarre. I'm assuming the producers have watched all the training footage and 'cleared' Hamish,  and if that's the case I really don't understand why she's been given a free week and a new partner. I remember there's been a few accusations in the past on Strictly, such as Steve Backshall and O.la, and  Danny John Jules / Amy. but never to the extent of allowing a partner swap. It's all quite odd and I agree Moova, it spoils the atmosphere. It's also a shame because I'd thought Caprice might've been the main competition for Perri, but definitely not now.

I think there's a chasm opening up between Perri and the rest of the pack, although the judges' over-scoring a few skaters, like Libby and Lisa, hides the size of the gap.

I was interested to see how the same-sex combination would work out, but in truth I don't think it's working that well. I don't like the twin-style outfits that they're given each week, and the fact that H doesn't have to attempt lifts makes it feel to me that he's getting a much easier time than Ben or Joe etc. And the lifts which Matt is able to do are rather underwhelming.

I was pleased to see Ben significantly improve this week, he deserves to stay a few more weeks I think. The two weakest seem to be Kevin and Maura.

Nice to see T & D back on the rink - still going strong in their sixties!

Yes forget to mention Torville and Dean. They showed what stars they still are. I really enjoyed the routine.

Moova 12 wrote:Very behind with thoughts.
Not taking to Maura in general.
Felt sorry for Radzi he was on a trip to nowhere coming in late. However preferred his dance off to Caprice’s. Perhaps Caprice should have just left, whatever the problem was with Hamish felt uneasy atmosphere.
Don’t know Lisa as don’t watch soaps but all credit to her.
I like Perri.

I'm very behind with my thoughts too!! Had a post all written up after musicals night and then felt a bit under weather beginning of last week and it just seemed to pass! I also meant to post to see what you thought of the Caprice situation. I agree Jingle - bizarre in the extreme. The announcement last week was so strange and then to think she is still in the show! Poor Hamish. I've seen various accounts of the 'situation' some on the side of Caprice and some on the side of Hamish - but the pros all seem to have rallied round him and there haven't been any complaints from his previous partners, so I wonder what happened? She definitely has potential so can't blame him for pushing her a bit, but I thought that's what a good skater would want? Very confusing. I'm sure he wouldn't still be in the company if he was in any way guilty - he actually seems quite a gentle guy but why then has she remained? She clearly doesn't have the public on her side as the routine itself did not deserve to be in the skate off. I don't think that such an arrangement would work with SCD as the company are so closely involved with each other. Very strange...…….and disappointing as I thought she was really good on the first week but now don't know how I feel towards her...……………

Thinking back to musicals week - I was disappointed that Lucrezia exited. I felt she had really improved and I would have put the footballer out personally. I still feel there was not much to choose between Lucrezia and Maura (who I also haven't taken to) but L just didn't pool the votes like the 'Love islander' is doing. I feel Maura is still relying on the big lifts and being held up by her partner which the judges seem to skirt over but the scores and comments were a bit more realistic for her last night.

The footballer definitely had a lucky break last night with Caprice being voted into the skate off! He's the other one that I'm not wild about. I mean who skates to a 'Clash' n umber with a cheesy grin on their face He also still seems quite slow over the ice whereas others are speeding up a bit now which is good to see.

The jury's out for me on H and Matt. I actually preferred what they did on musicals week as there was lots of side by side and it was more masculine although the timing was out. Last night was a bit of a hotch potch for me, I appreciated that there was some intricate steps but timing again needs to be worked on and the lifts still seem too girly for me - don't know how they are going to get over that one?

I felt that both Ben and Joe turned in respectable performances - Ben has really improved, so glad to see that. Libby is still doing great stuff and I'm still full of admiration but I think the cracks showed a bit last night. I do like Perri and I thought the 'Lion King' n umber last week was really excellent - straight out of the West End. I did feel last night that he is still not getting the expressive performance into his face and upper body - I think one of the judges mentioned this and they were spot on for me - he lacks emotion and that I feel is his challenge. My personal favourite for the last two weeks has been Lisa - I feel she dealt with a difficult n umber well last night - eg acting as a drunk but also trying to skate well - I really enjoy watching her.

I feel that some of the scores are too high for this point in the contest. The 'wow' for me last night was Torvill and Dean - I can hardly believe that they are in their 60s!!!!!!!!!!! Great stuff

Sorry for a bit of a long post...………………..

Rather an empty show last night, with Libby off sick and Caprice just off (i do feel sorry for her new partner Oscar, she didn't give him a chance...I know we don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but I can't help feeling Caprice has been a massive diva).

Thought Lisa was very very tentative, even before her fall. Maybe she's had a busy week at work or something, but her routine didn't look rehearsed

I'm guessing that the filler of Kem in the castle in the air was just to use the prop they'd made for Caprice's routine. A pity because it looked nice - whereas the costume which they'd given Kevin for his Aladdin routine looked like it'd been bought from a pound shop. I wonder had they assumed Kevin would be out of the competition before this week.

I think both Ben and Joe are improving very quickly, and are probably in joint second place in terms of skill. However they're still a mile behind Perri - it feels like there isn't much element of competition this year.

Couldn't believe the high scores for Maura, she was holding onto her partner for almost the entire routine.

Oh dear, the swan lake routine just didn't work. I remember J.ames Jordan doing ballet last year which was brilliant, but H just looked heavy and inelegant, not helped by those feather culottes. I do feel that he's getting an easier time on the show than his male peers, it didn't seem fair that he scored as high as Ben. And I don't think Matt's sulky comments before the skate off were very wise either.

Am I the only one who thought Perri had fallen over, although it wasn't mentioned by any of the judges? I thought the choreography was a little chaotic for his routine, although his performance of the judges' challenge blew the others out of the water.

Wasn't that keen on the Disney on Ice routine, I'd rather watch one of Dan Whiston's creations.

The weakest skater left, but I do think Matt and H need to re-think their performances. They probably need more side by side dancing and to forget about lifts.

Overall it was a rather strange show with the two absences. Hope Libby is able to rejoin next week, the show seems a bit jinxed at the moment.

jingle wrote:

Couldn't believe the high scores for Maura, she was holding onto her partner for almost the entire routine.

Oh dear, the swan lake routine just didn't work. I remember J.ames Jordan doing ballet last year which was brilliant, but H just looked heavy and inelegant, not helped by those feather culottes. I do feel that he's getting an easier time on the show than his male peers, it didn't seem fair that he scored as high as Ben. And I don't think Matt's sulky comments before the skate off were very wise either.

Am I the only one who thought Perri had fallen over, although it wasn't mentioned by any of the judges? I thought the choreography was a little chaotic for his routine, although his performance of the judges' challenge blew the others out of the water.

.

So Many of your thoughts echo mine Jingle - thought exactly the same about Maura. I also definitely thought that Perri had fallen over but it wasn't mentioned and perhaps was part of what was a bit of a strange routine for me! Although as you say, the judges challenge was skated well and he is a real natural on the ice skating wise.

I thought it was a real shame about H and Matt as I thought that the solo skate the H did at the beginning was one of the best and he has improved greatly but as you say Jingle, the concept just didn't work at all and GBP voted with their feet! If they were setting out to do the famous male Swan Lake that was done a few years back they should have had the courage to have used the classical music - because the music didn't go with the dance. The male costumes in the ballet were actually quite masculine - sorry but H looked like a woman in drag, the costume did him no favours and Matt's costume with the braces didn't go with the ballet concept at all!! The fact is that they just can't dance like a man and a woman, because they are not. However, I suppose they can't just do lots of side by side all the time, so they have to rethink it a bit somehow. I have really warmed to them but I too didn't like Matt's comment about 'people not getting it'...…………….

I wasnt' at all surprised to find that Caprice had pulled out - particularly after the skate off situation last week and the fact that everyone seems to have rallied around Hamish including his old partner from last year - Saara. Goodness knows what happened between them, you read a lot of rubbish in the tabloids about this show, but I do think it was very ill conceived of the producers to let her carry on and think it would work! I think she should have been 'let go' in the first place when she and Hamish split. It was only week 2 and by now would have been old news instead of rumbling on as it has. I suppose it is like SCD - the producers will take any publicity...………. I am disappointed though from a skating point of view as she had the potential to be really good.

As for the others - it was definitely Kevin's time to go. My favourite routine was actually Joe and Alex last night - it seemed to really flow and he has improved so much (just as an aside - why did they give Alex as Maid Marion a blue dress - when the traditional Lincoln green would have been better and would have matched with everything else in the dance). Ben has also improved. It was a shame about Lisa's stumble - I really like her but I thought she seemed a bit wobbly from the beginning. I wish they would give her more flattering costumes tbh.

I really enjoyed the Disney routine but it did feel like a bit of a strange show...…….hope Libby is back next week.

It's a pity but the show hasn't really grabbed my attention this year, maybe because there's just no competition for Perri. I think Joe and Ben are the next best skaters, although Ben doesn't seem to have public support. I guess Maura must be popular to escape the skate off, but apart from the judges challenge she didn't do any solo skating at all last week (and how I despise that headbanger, I always look away).

Although I was interested to see how the same sex partnership progressed, I don't think it worked very well. Maybe partly because H has quite a solid build, so high lifts were never going to feature. I didn't like the matching costumes, it was hard to distinguish between them. But also I felt they were a rather prickly pair with a sense of entitlement, which definitely put me off. Strictly next? Personally I think a female partnership may work a bit better, in particular I could imagine Katya or Karen taking up the challenge very well.

Back to DOI, I felt most of the contestants showed they were rather weak at the actual dancing component. Joe's attempt at disco was surprisingly limp, and I didn't get a sense of salsa from Libby's routine. Thought Ben drew the short straw with morris dancing, although he didn't deserve to be in the skate off. But I LOVED the Hamish and Vanessa pro routine, and glad to see Hamish given the limelight after the mess with Caprice.

I'm really liking the constructive and 'sensible' panel of DOI judges, I really hope the Strictly panel calms down a bit this year.

jingle wrote: I felt they were a rather prickly pair with a sense of entitlement, which definitely put me off.

I'm really liking the constructive and 'sensible' panel of  DOI judges, I really hope the Strictly panel calms down a bit this year.

Exactly - on both counts!!!

I also absolutely loved the routine with Hamish and Vanessa - it made the night for me. I had started off by liking H and Matt and was genuinely interested in how they would play things and what they could do, but after things went pear shaped with the Swan Lake thing I feel they got even more prickly and I felt that their routine lacked any punch this week so wasn't surprised that they ended up in the Skate Off. It was a shame as I thought H was quite a good skater - I totally agreed with Jon when he said that the routine was not sharp enough and could have been so much better - but they seemed to have either just run of steam or they had decided not to try too hard as 'no one got them'...……...

Like you Jingle, I didn't think dance week lived up to the hype - It was a difficult one as I didn't think anyone did badly but no-one really sparkled for me. I think I probably liked Libby and Mark's routine the best - but then again it was probably partly because I really liked the music. I feel James J really helped Perri get a bit of authenticity into his routine and for the first time I thought I saw something from the neck upwards! But he still has a way to go on the emotional performance front for me.

Agree that Ben and Joe continue to up their game each week. Ben really didn't deserve to be in the Skate Off but that Morris Dance routine (which wasn't) was just heinous!! Thought Joe made a respectable attempt at disco -once again Lisa was rather disappointing with the Charleston routine, she does seem to have lost a bit of confidence which is a shame as she is very good - perhaps she isn't getting much rehearsal time with the day job - at least they gave her a better costume this week.

As for Maura - what a weak attempt at 'Flamenco' - although I liked the guitar bit at the beginning of the track. I can't understand what the judges see in her - I agree with you Jingle that she is still doing far too much in the arms of her partner - hardly any solo skating - an over reliance on lifts and tricks and although I admire her for attempting the head banger I feel it was just a red herring.

I haven’t posted as I am decidedly underwhelmed this year. I really enjoyed last year with James Wes and Brian. Perri is best by a long way. I agree with sense of entitlement from H and Maura. Maura was too self pitying.
Holly needs a vest. Really leave something to the imagination!

I agree, its not a great year, probably because there is such a gulf between Peri and the rest of them - James was also good from the off last year but somehow I felt it wasn't a given with him and some of the others were really good too- I think they were just more closely matched. I am going to stick with watching it until the end though as it will get more interesting from now on.

However, I must say I did enjoy this weeks show more than the last couple of weeks - I always find props night interesting and I think there were some very creative routines - however, Maura was finally exposed and I felt the right decision was made even though it has to be said Libby had a few wobbles in the skate off. I was so glad that Torvill and Dean saved her and for me it was right. Maura barely used her prop and used it weakly when she did - admittedly she did actually try to skate a bit more on her own, so well done for that but she's never looked comfortable unless in hold and the lifts and tricks were wearing a bit thin at the expense of the skating to me - and obviously GBP felt the same way! Personally I just could not stomach her sour face anymore when things didn't go her way, so no love lost from me...………

Libby and Mark did really draw the short straw with that huge suitcase and to be honest I think they did their very best with it and had some good moves. I couldn't help admire Perri for the way he flung that trolley round! He obviously has some real strength in him which you needed with that prop!! I felt that Joe coped well with a fiendishly complex routine but it looked like a real struggle for him to get through it and I was waiting for him to make a mistake. I loved the concept of Lisa's routine and again felt that she was coping so well with a difficult prop until the slip at the end! Fair play to her for taking it in such good part - she is so down to earth and I do really like her. So to the one that I enjoyed the most which was Ben - for me he is showing a real confidence on the ice and I thoroughly enjoyed the seaside themed routine which I felt showed excellent use of the prop and was balanced and enjoyable - really fitted the brief.

I didn't think Ben would be a contender at the beginning of the series so it just shows...……..

Just watched the semi finals and have to say I'm mighty aggrieved by the skate off. I thought Ben was significantly better than Libby, he had a much more complicated routine, more solo skating and overall had greater smoothness over the ice. Even though Libby has achieved so much during the show, I've felt that she's been over-marked and saved over the past few weeks and it does feel like a bit of a fix. Ben was my favourite, I loved his Titanic routine from last week, and I think his standard of skating was second only to Perri.

As a result, tonight's show has left me quite grumpy and disinterested in the final. The only saving grace of the semi final was Perri's second skate which I thought was absolutely spell-binding - it did actually move me to tears. Quite beautiful.

Hi Jingle (and Moova too if you are out there!)

Totally agree with you Jingle about Ben versus Libby. I felt that it was pre-ordained from the start of the night as soon as Ben was undermarked on his first routine with the solo skate. I thought it was a really good and confident skate where he showcased everything he has learned - did a great solo to great music and did some new stuff too - it was really on point for me then I couldn't believe it when he got some '9's when everyone else was hitting the 9.5s and 10s. I did however get where the judges were coming from a bit with the second skate - everyone else chose slow and meaningful - his was fast and theme-like and there were a few wobbles - I think they threw the kitchen sink at it and maybe it could have been a bit 'less is more' with this one - nevertheless I think he should definitely have gone through on the Skate off. I really respect and admire Libby and loved her solo skate and what she has achieved - but for me Ben was the potential finalist.

In fact I would have liked to have seen Ben in the final over Joe - I know he has also progressed very well through the weeks but personally out of the two of them I enjoyed watching Ben more - I find some of Joe's stuff a bit laboured and whilst both skates were good - neither of them stood out for me - but he has obviously got the public vote so fair play.

Rewind one week - and although I didn't put a post up, the musicals week was actually one of my favourite shows - I thought the routines were very enjoyable and everyone had upped their game. Lisa has been one of my favourites but sadly petered out ( a bit of a Scott Maslin scenario!) she was a really strong skater and good performer but just never progressed and improved - it was right that she went out at that point. One thing I loved about that show was the medley of show tunes that the professionals performed.

Lastly - like you Jingle - for the first time I unconditionally enjoyed Peri's second routine on Sunday - they had obviously concentrated on this one rather than the first one but it paid off and I absolutely loved it.

I hope that you do decide to watch the final and we can have one last round of comments before we call time on the thread? Whilst there's been some really enjoyable routines here and there and I enjoyed the 'J' that some of them have been on - It has been a strange and somewhat frustrating series on a few fronts. Disappointing and once it finishes I won't miss it tbh

If DOI were Strictly then I'd be outraged with the result, but in truth I was only mildly annoyed at Joe's victory. It was maybe embarrassing for Joe that Christopher Dean had praised Perri's bolero as the 'best ever' on DOI, but que sera.
I quite enjoyed the final, though the constant 40s were a little wearing, and really there wasn't any competition in terms of skating and dance ability. I think the lack of a rival for Perri was an issue throughout the series, nobody got anywhere near his talent. The second best skater imo was Ben, and I wished he'd been in the final.

Ah well, it was watchable entertainment on a Sunday evening, but lacked the sparkle and quality of last years show with J.ames Jordan. The whole Caprice saga was a real shame, and the pioneering same-sex partnership ended up being a bit of an anti climax in my eyes. Finally, while I did like the very constructive and calm judging panel, I did feel it may have benefited from just one villain. Yes, I missed Jason!

Thanks for the company Moova and Mauve. Only half a year till Strictly...can't wait!

Hi Jingle

Yes I echo most of your thoughts, but I did actually really enjoy the Final as a piece of entertainment. I thought that overall there was some great skating throughout. The 'stand out' routines for me were the ones they did in the first round that I think had been choreographed by Torvill and Dean and I also enjoyed the T+D and professionals dancing with the single camera on the ice. Whilst no-one came close to Perri it was good to see how much better they all performed their 'favourite' routines in terms of speed across the ice and confidence.

I was slightly taken aback by the result but obviously it was the power of GBP and that same factor that on 'Strictly' ensures that whilst an out and out 'ringer' might get to the final - they won't win. Like you Jingle - I would have much preferred to have seen Ben in the Final.

I felt that Perri did have to learn some things over the series - such as learning to emote and about artistry - it was all very different from the dancing that he usually does - but I felt he finally cracked it in the latter stages although as you say Jingle - he didn't have much competition.

I mostly enjoyed the judges and their critiques (I really like the format of giving the score first and then giving the comments - nowhere to hide) but I too missed Jason Gardiner who was so much a part of the show for me. I also really like Phil and Holly and their more straightforward presenting style which doesn't rely on badly written jokes or arguing with the judges.

So Jingle and Moova - (and anyone else who might have been 'lurking' ) have a lovely Spring and Summer - most importantly keep well and see you later on in the year for more 'Strictly' madness...……….xxxxx