Zoe Ball to present "Takes Two"

Twirlie wrote:Well I think I must be the only one watching ITT who actually likes Zoe Ball (except perhaps you, fiftynotout). I always have. OK so she's different from Claudia Winkleman who was fantastic, but she was never going to be the same so all this weeping and wailing over the difference is totally beside the point. The Beeb were also always going to give the show a makeover of sorts to suit whoever was the new host. Personally, I think they could have done a lot worse. After Claudia, Zoe - in the words of You can call me Sir from now on Forsythe - is my favourite! So There!!!

You and fiftynotout are not are not alone Twirlie. I like Zoe too, and enjoy her on the radio as well. It is true she has a breathy style, but that's just how she is - like I've got blue(ish) eyes and have a sibilant "s" when I speak; neither of us an help it.

Anyway, yes she is different to Claudi - but who was ever going to be the same, and would we want them to be? And I totally agree (and have said so before) that they could have done so much worse. Zoe is a seasoned live TV presenter, albeit with a very different style to Clauds (fringe aside - but she's had that sheepdog fringe since her children's Sat morning TV days - definitely not copying Clauds on that one). Her interview technique is different - not wrong, just different. She can dance, and has experienced the Strictly short trip to Aldi (or whereever) so she has a different viewpoint. Hence Waites' Wednesday Warm up with her rather than Lenny's manhandle Clauds across a two feet circle. There had to be some changes because of their differences.

I agree that not all the changes are necessary or improve the show (the lame costume round up after the event rather than the preiviews on the Friday panel for example), but Zoe is not the villain in that. I have ben watching some old clips of ITT on youtube and the biggest difference is how long Clauds had with each couple. They may have been later on the series where there are less couples - I don't honestly know - but each couple was getting 6 -8 mins on the sofa. But that's not Zoe's fault (and if she had longer she would probably be less breathless...)

So Twirlie, I'm with you - after La Winkelman, Zoe is my favourite

No I like her too Twirlie. I didn't particularly used to like her but I have warmed to her on ITT. I don't think it's suffered for the swop at all - which has surprised me.

I love Waite's Wednesday Warm Up! I think it's great that they have a natural partnership and she can instinctively do what she's told when he wants to demonstrate something. It means that together they can actually explain things that are otherwise hard to explain. Between them they have actually cleared up a couple of things for me that I have previously been confused about.

Really enjoyed tonights ITT, especially Audleys rapping, Holly/Artems VT (snotty handshake eww), Chelsee/Pasha's VT (with the change of trousers), Alex/James' chase around the floor.
Friday panel much improved (won't mention Daniel..). Altogether, best show yet I thought.

Me too, Jingle. I enjoyed it and thought the Friday Panel was an improvement on last week.

I think Zoe has been the best replacement we could hope for, for Claud - very high and tottery stilettos for someone else to climb into, in my opinion.

I also think she works well with the material she's given.. yes, there are some naff elements, but there always were! And that's down to the production team.

No, it's not the same as with kooky Claud, who did have a great spontaneity which I loved, but I think Zoe is a true Strictly fan and she's got all the other credentials needed as a presenter. Her breathy delivery is a matter of style.. perhaps other people found Claudi's screeches of laughter annoying? I just found them infectious!

All a matter of personal taste, but I'm still an ITT fan and enjoy getting my Strictly fix,between shows!

I don't think Zoe does a bad job all things considered...Claudie leaves very hard shoes to fill. Most of what I dislike about ITT this year has nothing to do with Zoe- it's all in the production, ie they've c*cked up the Friday Panel, Hilary's nowhere to be seen, and we've had wet lettuces like Chris de Bore as guests- where's Miranda when we need her?

allsewnonbyhand wrote:I don't think Zoe does a bad job all things considered...Claudie leaves very hard shoes to fill. Most of what I dislike about ITT this year has nothing to do with Zoe- it's all in the production, ie they've c*cked up the Friday Panel, Hilary's nowhere to be seen, and we've had wet lettuces like Chris de Bore as guests- where's Miranda when we need her?

I agree! Especially the bit about "Hilary's nowhere to be seen"... Do you think she got locked in a dark BBC cupboard in the basement at the end of last season and nobody has realised she's in there??? And Miranda has been very notable by her absence. Another uber fan who has been missing the last couple of series is Marianne Keyes. Although she probably flounced off stamping her tiny size threes in disgust when Lilia went (and who can blame her?)

And wet lettuces indeed - Chris de Bore/Bleurgh and Daniel O'Dazed.....Which stone did they look under and disturb them from their 100 years sleep?

Yes Marianne Keyes is another one I have mourned for- we did speculate that she was not very well in herself at the moment, she has in the past spoken openly about her depression
The calibre of guests has been very poor IMO

The only thing that really bugs me about Zoe is that her nose seems to be a different colour to the rest of her face!

Other than that I'm fairly indifferent to her.

Little Ms Hit wrote:The only thing that really bugs me about Zoe is that her nose seems to be a different colour to the rest of her face!

Other than that I'm fairly indifferent to her.

I'm going to be staring at her nose tonight now!

I missed the nose completely - too busy gawping at the dress. I hope Zoe was well rewarded for wearing her Halloween costume on TV

Why did they make CRH apologise? I didn't hear anything unsuitable for younger viewers, or am I being really non-PC?

No, Kate. I don't think you are.

CRH's reference to a virgin in white (or something alone those lines) wasn't offensive, (IMO that is).

When you think of the suggestive and downright lascivious remarks Brun o so frequently makes makes on the main show, which is watched by children, I think CRH's remark was inoffensive and in context within the discussion.

p.s. I admired Zoe's willingness to get into the Halloween spirit and dress up as a sequinned skeleton!
I only wished I had the chutzpah and the figure to do the same!

I don't think anyone made him apologise - I thought it was entirely his own doing. I also couldn't understand why. Thought the remark was innocent enough compared to many that go out on the main show!

Now who noticed CRH's endorsement of Russell as a finalist? There is only one way Russell can repeat his samba, as he said he would like, and I'm sure CRH knew that full well when he said it!

Jennifer Gray. What sort of elixier of life is she on? Looked amazing and without any platypus lips or implanted water wings in sight. Seems a lifetime ago since Dirty Dancing. Daughter bought me the 20 year commemerative CD and that's about forty years back (well, maybe not quite.) Mind you, Cynthia Rhodes was the one that floated my boat.

Yes, I can understand that, LostT!

I seem to remember wishing I could look like (and dance like) Penny Johnson (her role in the film) - much more alluring and sexy than 'Baby' in the movie. I thought the rehearsal scene with the 3 of them one of the most sensual scenes in the whole film.

Now, I would give my eye teeth to look like Jennifer Grey - I know she had the nose job done, years ago, but I think the rest of her looks pretty darn good and I know from last season's DWTS that she can still cut a rug (as we used to say about 40 years ago!).

What a waste of time! Obviously a filler, but surely they could come up with something more challenging; alternatively give harder clues. Female with brighly coloured hair..mmm..now I wonder who that could be?

Suggested clues e.g.

Who, in 1997, was invited to go to the US to be a member of the Kaiser Dance Academy and now lives in Los Angeles?
Who has achieved an art major excellence in Fashion Design, Costume Design and Painting?

Then we might learn something...

For me, it was the custard clue that gave it away.

Strange what useless facts the brain retains!

But I do agree with you about giving us some of the more aspirational info and interesting background about each of the 'hidden' dancers.

After all, this isn't one of those 'guess the answer and phone in at £1+ a shot so at least one of you 10,000+ uneducated divvies are bound to get it right' sort of quizzes, is it?

Yes, the custard was a giveaway!

Don't really enjoy the 'guess who' slot on ITT. I much preferred looking around their houses last year (especially what was in their fridges....in most cases, not much). Guess I'm just plain nosey!

I used to enjoy Strictly "cribs" as well.

Have caught up with last night's ITT.

I don't like him much, but the more we see of Robbie's Waltz, the more I wonder why it scored so badly. Karen seemed to imply his technique was very good, so did he really lose all those marks just for not emoting with the dance enough? Maybe they're trying to build up the 'underdog' vote for him or are (somewhat artificially) trying to make him the j.ourney contestant.

I like that Alex gives as good as she gets with James. They're actually not a bad partnership. But her Quickstep was not as good as Anita, Robbie or even Jason's dances. Each time we see clips of it, I wonder what the judges were watching.

And what has happened to Hilary Alexander? The fashion segment used to be something I looked forward to but now I can take it or leave it.

I think 'Who am I?' would work better if they'd used a wider pool of possibilities - including the celebs and judges as well. A mix of little-known trivia and interesting factettes, avoiding the obvious custard clues, would help.

I'm still in two minds about whether reviewing the frocks after the event works. I can see that it has the benefit of being able to display the frocks in the studio and look at the detail, and show the finished articles being worn by the celebs, but personally I preferred the sneak preview element of talking about them beforehand. Like the Friday Panel, the success of the Fashion Panel is so dependent on the calibre of guests for me. Julien MacDonald's enthusiasm was entertaining, and Ben de Lisi is a good guest - and not just because he echoed Hatlady's answer on the Chelsee dress question! Sadie & Jemima were a dead loss last night imo. We need some Hilary to give the fashion panel a boost!

Overall, though, ITT has seemed better to me over the last few weeks - less frantic now the number of couples has decreased, and some funnier VTs from the couples in training. Janet is much more likeable than James!

Never thought I'd actually say this as I've always liked her, but Karen Hardy has become very "animated" of late. She gushes wildly at everything and if you cut her arms off she'd be speechless. She was almost like a clockwork Barbie Doll on meths in places last night. Calm down Karen dear, it isn't a commercial.

I'm with you, there, LostT.

I've been an admirer of Karen throughout and have really enjoyed her insights into choreography in the past. I even thought, at the time, that if they had to replace Arlene, then she would have been a better choice, given that she's an experienced judge.

Now, since her elevation to the sofa and the red button commentary slot I feel she's caught celebrityitis and is very much more conscious of her image and has almost become a cariacature of herself - emphasising those traits which I put down to enthusiasm and exuberance in the past.

I don't want to join the 'KarenMeMe' lobby, but unless she does calm down, there's a real danger I'll find her appearances a turn off rather than a 'must watch'

Loved Waite's Wednesday Warm Up again last night. Fleckerls and straight cha cha legs are both things that The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman has suposedly tried (and failed I
mo) to explain in the past - a few seconds on the subject from Ian and all is clear!

Now - dare I say it? I am actually enjoying Karen more this series. Whilst I loved Claudia and thought she was irreplaceable I have changed my mind. I actually think Zoe gets far more useful information oiut of the likes of Karen. Ian and the fabu-u-lus darling one than Claudia did and I am enjoying ITT this year from a learning more about dance pov more than I did previously.

Lucielle wrote:Guess the pro. What a waste of time! Obviously a filler, but surely they could come up with something more challenging; alternatively give harder clues. Female with brighly coloured hair..mmm..now I wonder who that could be?

The 'guess who's in the costume' filler teaser is the converse of the above - but just as bad. How the dickens are we supposed to guess who's inside? Tonight I did think it may be a woman on very vague evidence ie the relatively gentle movements - but it could quite easily have been a man. OK, that's the gender but which female pro. It's beyond me. I can't come up with any solutions to improving this one - except replace it with something more interesting.

Littlebear wrote:Loved Waite's Wednesday Warm Up again last night. Fleckerls and straight cha cha legs are both things that The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman has suposedly tried (and failed Imo) to explain in the past - a few seconds on the subject from Ian and all is clear!

Agree - Ian's warm up is one of my favourite and most informative parts of ITT (though I have to admit, I'd LOVE to see him back on the show proper....would be happy to sacrifice James or A.nton for him)

Overall, think ITT has improved greatly since the early weeks, and Zoe's made it her own now. Interview with Russ and Flav tonight was great fun.... now, if she could only drag the funny side out of Jason I'd be 100% happy.

The only two parts of ITT which I really don't like now are Points of You and Widdys Question Time, where she keeps talking over the answers

There's a botox-enhanced monster taking frocks with Zoe on ITT at the moment.

When was it decided that women with lips that looked like they'd been stung by twin bees was a glamorous look? I missed that meeting.. Sorry for being the clueless male, but as far as going through pain to make yourself look good, this idea was total shite to begin with.

All of which was a rather unnecessary rant to say - PLEASE bring back Hilary.