The couples - part 2

Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna

Ali seems nice enough and has let it be known that she likes sequins, so that is a good first step. She might be the dark horse of the competition – but she could also just fly under the radar. Not good enough to win the judges vote, nor bad enough to get the sympathy vote. I fear she is a candidate for first female out. However, Brian knows how to work the social media to his advantage, and he was a popular new entrant to the show last year. Although his partnership with Heather Small didn’t really ignite the public’s imagination, his subsequent appearances on ITT did. I remember one delicious episode where Brian quietly, firmly, but with scrupulous politeness put Craig Revel-Horward in his place. Bliss!


Lynda Bellingham and Darren Bennett

Lynda has obviously been signed up this year as one of the “token women over 50”, but may turn out to be a bit of a surprise. I loved Cherie Lunghi last year, but her grace and class seemed to be largely interpreted as aloofness, or even disdain, which meant that she never really captured the public imagination. Lynda comes across as more down to earth, and “one of the girls”, so may succeed where Cherie didn’t. Her big advantage is her pro partner, who has choreographed sympathetically for a whole range of celebrities from the sublime Jill to the “never going to last long” Gloria Hunniford, the “never quite fulfilled her hype” Emma Bunton to the “far exceeded expectations” Letitia Dean. The only time his good taste seemed to fail him was in choosing “Help” for his quickstep with Jessie Wallace, but perhaps it really was a cry from the heart from poor Darren.

Natalie Cassidy and Vincent Simone

There have already been some pretty unkind comments written about Natalie Cassidy, which gets me rooting for her from the start. Chief among the bile spouted was Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail (women bashing in the Daily Mail, surely not?), who seems to have been half hoping for a starring role herself. (Note to Amanda Platell. Strictly is like a long lost friend, the one who has always been more glamorous and daring than us, who turns up out of the blue after a summer away, to keep us company through the dark months, regaling us with their exploits. There are some people, like Natalie, for whom I would fling the front door wide open; there are others, Amanda dear, for whom I would double bolt the door, and bury the telephone deep under a cushion.)

Anyway, I hope Natalie does herself proud, although I would prefer to have seen her partnered with safe pair of hands Darren Bennett. Nothing against Vincent, but I have a feeling he, like his dance partner Flavia, cope better with celebrities that they can really push hard, but I hope to be proved wrong.

Martina Hingis and Matthew Cutler

The SCD voting public seem to love their sportsman on a journey storyline, but just don’t take to the sportswomen in the same way. Denise Lewis and Gaby Logan both were slated for being competitive in a way that their male counterparts never had to deal with, and failed to win the public affections. Will being paired with arguably the favourite male pro change this for Martina Hingis? Or will her admission that she has only watched clips of the series on YouTube sour the dream? Will the presence of Alesha on the panel lead to extra scrutiny of the judges’ votes for any sign of favouritism, and mean that a second stab at the title remains out of reach for the delectable Mr C?

Jade Johnson and Ian Waite

The same comments apply for Jade and Ian really. But will they prove the exception to the rule with the public getting behind a Brit girl who will be representing us at our home Olympics in just three years time? I would dearly love to see Ian have a crack at the title, having been so near, yet so far with Denise and Zoe. In the past two series, his genuine friendship with Penny Lancaster and Jodie Kidd have endeared him to the viewers, so could Ian succeed where he has been just pipped at the post before? I have just caught a glimpse of their early rumba training - and she is looking good! My tip for last female celeb standing.

Zoe Lucker and James Jordan

This seems like lazy casting to me, in that the producers seem to be holding out for a re-run of Clare King and Brendan Cole from Series 4. I also object to the mooted “Battle of the Bitches” between Zoe and Laila. For the producers to try and transpose the characters that they played on “Footballers’ Wives” to Strictly seems unimaginative and clichéd (and not a little tasteless). Nothing wrong with good healthy competition, but to stage a “Battle of the Bitches” seems inappropriate for family TV. And it didn’t work last year, when the purported rivalry between Tom and Austen was exposed as claptrap, and Austen went all out as a Tom supporter after his own defeat.

But moving on, will this be the year that James Jordan redeems himself? Portrayed as a nasty bully in his first series, the elephantine public memory may have had something to do with his early exit with Gaby in Series 5. Things were looking up for Series 6, but then he became embroiled in Sergeantgate and received round condemnation from many quarters.

Laila Rouass and Anton du Beke

I am a big Anton fan, really I am. I love his ballroom and the persona that he has chosen to create for Strictly. He is as much a part of the show as the glitterball itself. But his Latin is the weakest of all the pros, and the public seem to prefer Latin dances over ballroom. Not entirely his fault, as he is the only male ballroom specialist on the show, and he came late to dance, starting at only 14, and giving up Latin after only three years. Most of the other pros seem to have started around the ages of 6 or 7, and competed in both disciplines until their early twenties, before specialising. So whatever Anton does, he will always be the weakest link at Latin. His chosen strategy seems to be to make sure that the audience is laughing with him, and not at him, by presenting cheesetastic dance routines, and appearing clad in all-in-one jump suits in primary colours, or satin shirts slashed to the navel. This may wash with, ahem, the slightly older lady who might struggle with any of the Latin dances, but Laila looks like a real firecracker with a serious shot at the trophy! Serious miscasting – possibly the worst of the series.

Jo Wood and Brendan Cole

Ignore the last sentence above. Nothing to say really – oh dear. Just oh dear.