It Takes Two 2017

Well it's back!!!  I was looking forward to the first episode of the show but what a blow about KH not returning  the way it was announced so casually by Zoe left me a bit bemused and I must admit I didn't fully concentrate on the show after that.

Great to see Camilla and I'm sure that it will be interesting to have other dancers views as the weeks go on -I'd actuallylike to see L en on the show - (I think he would be funny and he's totally wasted on that awful quiz show - whatever possessed him?) but although I know that for some of you she wasn't your cup of tea, for me it won't be the same not listening to KH on a Tuesday evening, Does anyone know why she has left?   They kept this under wraps    

Cheers for the thread mauve.

I had the opposite reaction when Zoe revealed no more Karen Hardy by throwing an impromptu party! Don't get me wrong, Ramps & Karen are probably my favourite winners and I liked her well enough when she started out on Choreography Corner but I reached a point where I couldn't take anymore of her over-the-topness. And whilst I've never been Camilla's number one fan it was nice to have a calmer CC and a break from  the serial gurning.

The burning question is whether we'll get through an entire series of ITT without the Strictly Alphabet

Yes, I was similarly secretly pleased that KH hasn't returned and doesn't Camilla look well? Looking forward to seeing who else turns up.

I suppose I don't like change therefore I was so delighted to see Ian on the show tonight - wow those cha cha steps that he demonstrated!

It was an interesting Waites Warm Up - I have to say that although we only saw a flash of each couple's training, I felt that both the new girls were perhaps being a tad ambitious with what they were trying to get their chaps to do (Brian and the Rev) - I don't think that the Rev's music will help, if they must do the AS in the first few weeks then I think it should be a track that is classic and simple allowing some technique to be developed. Amy just seemed to be getting carried away and leaving Brian behind - even Ian said that he would have liked to see some actual cha cha.

Thought that most of the training clips showed a generally high standard - Mollie needs to work on getting rid of the wobbles.

Speaking of Mollie, I found her 100 x more engaging than Frankie and that's just from 1 ITT.

I've one grip though relating to when Zoe was asking Aston about his prior experience. I don't mind celebs with dance backgrounds. Have as many on as you like. But I need them to stop pretending that just cos they never specifically did a Foxtrot before, their previous dance experience didn't help. I mean it's not a coincidence they always end up at (or right near) the top of the table! Just admit it's an advantage, it's fine.

I didn't realise until I read a few more posts that we're only having Camilla for a bit, then getting someone else. I think this is a better idea as you get different perspectives and this helps keeps CC fresh.

Sid wrote:

I didn't realise until I read a few more posts that we're only having Camilla for a bit, then getting someone else. I think this is a better idea as you get different perspectives and this helps keeps CC fresh.

Good point S id

I agree about Mollie - she seems really nice and natural.

I know we only saw a quick flash but I thought Ruth looked quite good in the Charleston training - thought I saw some swivel - hope nerves don't get the better of her.

I thought the Rev was a hoot tonight and good to see Joe and Katya - totally off piste but has anyone noticed that Joe has got really long eye lashes???

They really do stand out mauve, it's like there's 3 people in this partnership - Katya, Joe and his lashes!

I agree about Ruth and reckon she's got a lot of those nerves out her system now so the Charleston should be better.

I love that this time of year Thursdays become synonymous with Vicky Gill.

Still trying to catch up as missed first show as away... KH gone Tbh I'm a Lil relieved as she had got to loud for me and a Lil to diva ? I liked Camilla always have and I'd hoped she would have had the whole series in choreography corner with say a guest each week....
Ian I love but again possible guest with? Say the lovely Neil?
The guys on the Beeb panel re SCD obviously want yes people around and those that do not rock the boat. I'm sure KH had her eye on the judges panel I also would have felt E,rin would have been ideal as L.en's replacement....

L..en may be having a break from tv especially after his awful new quiz show thing in early afternoon a real nose dive in ratings....

Zoe I'm glad to see and hope she isn't forcing the smile & wit to hide the denial of grief?


I'd like to see the Family panel return on ITT. They watch the show and give scores. I loved this.
Hoping see Rufus,Miriam,Pauline,Miranda, as guests plus Chloe & Neil having their own section too

I've been off-line since Monday (and I as I have no TV reception either wifi is the only way I can see any telly...) so hadn't seen any ITT except that first one on Monday until just now.

Can I just say:

The Friday Panel! Marian Keyes!!!! I LOVE her with all my heart And Jody and Melvin were brilliant too. I love it when a panel comes together and has a really proper discussion. A wonderful panel to kick off the series.

I would still love to see Miranda Hart, Rufus Hound and Marian Keyes all on the same Friday panel though. Then it would be SO fantabulous the entire episode would have to be given over to the panel (and we could dispense with the looking behind the scenes bit with Gethin that I find a bit snoresome. Gethin - yes. Obvs. Behind the scenes stuff- not so much....)

That is a dream panel diamonds! Marian Keyes is the absolute best. She's warm and funny and you simply can't get a bigger fan of the show than her. The Daily Mail were very mean to lay into her for expressing some of her "less favourite" pros / celebs on her Twitter feed. She's allowed an opinion on them just like any other super-fan! Her new buke is very good by the way.

I've always found Gethin overrated and dull both as a presenter and as a dancer when he was on the show. But I tend not to confess to that "out there" cos some of his fans make Brosettes and Directioners look like reasonable people

sax - isn't L.en's new show DIRE? I watched 5 minutes and turned it off in case I died of second hand embarrassment.

I'm feeling for Zoe a little, can't be easy to present ITT quite soon after her partner's death. She must be remembering this time last year when they were together.

Loved the chat with Shirley - she's my new favourite person.

One last thing, Oti's hair: WHAT IS GOING ON.

Totally agreed, a DREAM Friday panel I also love Marian! The three of them were fab together. Possibly only improved by the addition of Miranda.
I've been trying not to read too much into it, in case I'm looking for things that aren't there but our lovely Zoe quite understandably, seems like she has lost her fizz and she looks so sad behind the eyes. It's early days still, and her grief must be raw. I hope the strictly family will weave its magic to wrap her up and bring her comfort and maybe back on the road to happiness.

My favourite bits on ITT are the weds warn up with Ian, and choreography corner with whoever but glad to have a break from Karen, she was beginning to grate. And the Friday panel obvs. But the rest of it seems like it needs a shake up as it's becoming formulaic for me. Happy to keep the bits of the formula I like of course
Does anyone else feel this, or as Miranda would say, is it just me?!

Jo giving a shout out to Sophie's Charleston naturally makes her Queen of Choreography Corner (she was also excellent at the demos and explanations).

Sid wrote:Jo giving a shout out to Sophie's Charleston naturally makes her Queen of Choreography Corner (she was also excellent at the demos and explanations).

Agree Sid. I was surprised that Zoe was asking them what they were doing for movie week tonight (and Claudia was also telling Ruth what she was doing on Movie week during last night's result show). It used to be pretty secretive until the music was revealed. I hope Oti's not going to be too hard on Jonnie. He seems to have potential without the boot camp approach. It'll be interesting to see how the new Pro girls come across on ITT. I haven't been impressed with them in the training VT's so far.

Well, having now watched last night's ITT, I may still find Jo a bit annoying on a personality level, but by 'eck she is the business at explaining and demonstrating stuff. An amazing teacher I should think - I can see now why Oti went the whole way on his package holiday and didn;t have to get off the bus early; she can clearly put things across and get the best out of a person... Impressive.

Jonnie - adorable. I too have a little concern that Oti's approach might not bring out all that Jonnie has to give, but being a competetive athlete I think he should be able to rise to it.

I think I might be going off Pasha... was always a bit on/off with him, eg loved him wiht CHelsey and Kimberley, disliked him with Caroline. He just seemed a bit not there on ITT whilst Chizzy was sniffing and tearing up.

Simon - awww. Gotta love him. Just finding Karen a little wearisome now Not sure she is the best of teachers, though I will concede that she certainly got Simon to give good posture and foot-work. It might be her hair that is bothering me (it matters peeps, it so matters...)

Looking forward to choreography corner with Jo again. Tempted to say let's just keep her and not bother with anyone else. Only tempted though....

diamondsandpearls wrote:ust finding Karen a little wearisome now  Not sure she is the best of teachers, though I will concede that she certainly got Simon to give good posture and foot-work.  It might be her hair that is bothering me (it matters peeps, it so matters...)

Haha I'm not convinced about it either diamonds. It's like they decided they didn't have enough blondes and Karen drew the short straw.

diamondsandpearls wrote:
I think I might be going off Pasha... was always a bit on/off with him, eg loved him wiht CHelsey and Kimberley, disliked him with Caroline.  He just seemed a bit not there on ITT whilst Chizzy was sniffing and tearing up.

If someone told me I could change 3 Strictly results, 1 of them would be Pasha winning with Chelsee instead of Caroline.

I sort of know what you mean about Chizzy, whom I wanted to give a huge hug to. That said, the level of emotion within the show does seem to go up a notch every year. I mean Ore (and I wanted him to win in the end) literally blubbed his way through his entire series. I don't remember seeing celebs get quite so emotional quite so early on so maybe Pasha was just a little taken aback - and they hadn't really been partnered together long enough for a deep bond to form. I've also read that Chizzy has a history of depression, which probably means her lows tend to be lower than most people and she gets more visibly upset about things. As I said after the result, I think Brian would've coped better with going first.

diamondsandpearls wrote:Well, having now watched last night's ITT, I may still find Jo a bit annoying on a personality level, but by 'eck she is the business at explaining and demonstrating stuff. An amazing teacher I should think - I can see now why Oti went the whole way

Looking forward to choreography corner with Jo again.  Tempted to say let's just keep her and not bother with anyone else.  Only tempted though....

I missed ITT tonight but I do  like Jo on CC, she really does explain things so well and when she was on  the other year , she used to talk about the names she gave certain moves to help her dance school kids remember. As you say, a cracking teacher, a natural I'd say.

I must make a huge apology for posting all the time at the moment. I'm hoping you will humour me as I am making up for not having any wifi access last year from November through the the end of Strictly (and beyond...), so I couldn't post last year after the first few weeks of Strictly...  

So here I go again.....

Ooooh Joe!  I think several people are way ahead of me on that, and sorry for being so slow, but I didn't see him on ITT last week and there is too little time in Claud's balcony, so it was only on ITT tonight that I really got to know him.  Awww - how perfectly lovely is he? Totally, 100 per cently Afor him! (and Katya might come out of the Agin danger zone by association )

Sid, re Pasha and Chelsee - Yes! I never took to Caroline - she was one of that year's agins.  But I thought Pasha made a whole different woman out of Chelsee and it was lovely to see.  And she was good too.

And yes, Karen drew the straw to have hair made out of straw. I believe she is providing Brian's wig for the Strawman by donating the hair off her head....

diamondsandpearls wrote:
And yes, Karen drew the straw to have hair made out of straw. I believe she is providing Brian's wig for the Strawman by donating the hair off her head....

Bahahahaha

And yes, I'm quite smitten with Joe too.




Oh dear, Brenda's annual defensive rant came a bit early this year. Sometimes I think he has a valid point when hitting back but tonight he made a tit of himself. What's with the "keep your opinion to yourself" rudeness? Still, I bet Shirley was sat sharpening her nails as she watched.

When she said she wanted to see new and exciting things, I don't think she meant a fiendishly tricky move for a complete novice on their first Latin week. And anyway, Ed & Katya did the pepper pot thing last year (albeit with reversed roles) so it wasn't exactly new as such. I think B.rendan misjudged it and took it out on Shirley. I also wonder whether there was a touch of resentment there with his "I could happily swap places with her" that he didn't get the head judge gig.

Like I say, sometimes he's right and when he is I support him but he was obnoxious tonight. It was like old Brenda was back!

Haven't caught up yet with the show tonight - 'Waites Warm Up' is my favourite bit on the show.

Enjoyed Jo on choreography corner this week but can't wait to see who comes next............I'm also glad she praised Ruth and A nton's Charleston - there was a lot of swivel and Charleston steps which I thought the judges didn't really pick up on. I think she was also right in saying that the judges were harsh on Charlotte - the cha cha wasn't good but wasn't that bad - I hope Charlotte can come back from it.

Sid wrote:Oh dear, Brenda's annual defensive rant came a bit early this year. Sometimes I think he has a valid point when hitting back but tonight he made a tit of himself. What's with the "keep your opinion to yourself" rudeness? Still, I bet Shirley was sat sharpening her nails as she watched.

When she said she wanted to see new and exciting things, I don't think she meant a fiendishly tricky move for a complete novice on their first Latin week.  And anyway, Ed & Katya did the pepper pot thing last year (albeit with reversed roles) so it wasn't exactly new as such. I think B.rendan misjudged it and took it out on Shirley. I also wonder whether there was a touch of resentment there with his "I could happily swap places with her" that he didn't get the head judge gig.

Like I say, sometimes he's right and when he is I support him but he was obnoxious tonight. It was like old Brenda was back!

Agree Sid. Phew, I thought, steady on, she's going to be marking you again in a few days time. Let's hope the judges aren't in character for Movie week and Shirl's been cast as Helen Mirren's assasin character in 'Red'. Miaow - the Tom Cruise cat that got the soured milk. Unprofessional. Bad Kitty

Hope this isn't another apple-cart upset, but I haven't seen one night of I.T.T this year..... and.....I'm not missing it. There, I've said it! Yes, there are certainly some useful pro items to be watched in the show,  but overall I find it easier to be impartial not knowing all the nonesense that passes as contestant "news" and interest and the silly Blue Peter gsmes etc. Not seeing it  helps me focus on the present when watching the show without any pre bias or favouritism. Oh, and I don't have to watch Zoe gushing all over every single item like she's just invented T.V. Sorry if that hurts, but....

Oh, and I see my initial favourite Gemma, is all over the media for all the wrong reasons already...

Mr T I hadn't watched any at all either until last night when I watched 2 episodes recorded. I've since cancelled series link as well nowt changed! Zoe however was in Red top one show forgot who said Zoe stop wearing black. Next episode in red trim down side of each leg trousers....

Brendan had already said his piece on FB page so could have moaned Lil without the if you want me to judge then Yes Please approach. For me ITT bit same old scene and tired. I'd prefer each night a hidden camera footage for whole show from one of the training sessions... I'd love to see live feeds from the training rooms too daily.

Until the nu,bers drop like flies to say 6 ITT will not entertain me Unless taken over by Rufus and Marian as hosts

Oh, I need my daily dose of ITT! Yes, the formula is very samey, although I like that CC will change every week. Wasn't fussed on Camilla, but I'd love to see some of the other former pros make an appearance on it.

Given the rubbish scripted VTs on the main show, I think ITT gives a bit more insight into the partnerships. This week I've thought Mollie & AJ and Ruth & A.nton have looked very comfortable with each other, whereas some of the others have looked a bit more distant. I also really liked Joe's interview yesterday, he just seems like a really nice, well-grounded guy who wants to learn.

I'm very much a' j-word' voter and don't always want the best dancer to win, so I think ITT does influence me a wee bit.

Nicely put Jingle, I watch for the same reason. Saturdays are very much focused on the performance they just did (as you the VTs are scripted nonsense these days so you can't glean anything from them) and apart from obvious disappointment
or delight, you don't get much more insight. ITT fills in some of the gaps and you can pick up on body language etc. Plus, to be fair, there hasn't been any fuller crap so far this series - and I often watch on catch-up so I'd just fast forward even if there was.

jingle wrote:Oh, I need my daily dose of ITT! Yes, the formula is very samey, although I like that CC will change every week. Wasn't fussed on Camilla, but I'd love to see some of the other former pros make an appearance on it.

Given the rubbish scripted VTs on the main show, I think ITT gives a bit more insight into the partnerships.  This week I've thought Mollie & AJ and Ruth & A.nton have looked very comfortable with each other, whereas some of the others have looked a bit more distant.  I also really liked Joe's interview yesterday, he just seems like a really nice, well-grounded guy who wants to learn.

I'm very much a' j-word' voter and don't always want the best dancer to win, so I think ITT does influence me a wee bit.

I agree with absolutely everything you said Jingle - couldn't have put it better. For the very reasons you and SId cited, I had no idea what sort of a person Joe was until I saw him on ITT yesterday and fell instantly in love....

I originally stumbled across ITT by accident in the Claud days and she was very much the reason I watched and became hooked. However, whilst I was never agin (to use Marian Keyes great word) Zoe, I knew she had inimitable Laboutins to fill. She very sensibly has done it her own way, and though I can see she can come across as a bit gushy which irritates some, I am rather fond of her for being so genuinely enthusiastic about the whole Strictly thing, having such a great relationship with Ian Waite, and for being empathetic and understanding to the Tabloid love fodder. For sure, it gets a bit formulaic, but once a few have dropped out and there is more time for each couple I find I really, really enjoy it - even the pro's bota fogo competitions and whatnot....