My Lilia girl crush ....

.....might just be reaching Marian Keyes proportions...

Seriously how good were the Divine Mr C and Lil' Lil tonight. Constructive criticism, positivity, giggles and helpful pointers. It looks as though Joe might be able to do slightly more than plonking around (I hope so for his sake); Phil and Zoe are looking promising; and alas, Aliona still seems to be overdancing. I was really interested to hear Lilia making comments about the disconnect between Craig's upper and lower body. I had started to think that he had a very loose lower back, or lacked core stability, so it was interesting to hear what Lilia was saying. Get him to a pilates class - it's not just for girls!

One of the more interesting comments tonight came from Lynda Bellingham about the nerves that contestants feel on the first show. She described it as coming out of your own little training bubble, where you have been so focused on how you are doing, and suddenly you are confronted by how everybody else is doing and start to see how you might fit in with the pecking order. I thought that gave a real insight into the whole Strictly process, not just for the celebs, but for the pros as well. It must be really difficult for the pros to have a benchmark for how well their celebs are doing and to measure the level of difficulty to give them in terms of choreography. They have spent a month building up the celebrities' confidence and bigging them up, and suddenly there is the harsh reality - there is no easing into this - the competition starts here! And if they have misjudged the level of the rest of the competitors, it could be bye-bye Strictly for this year!

Chris and Ola are really adorable - it seems to be a partnership of equals and he is bringing out a side of her that we have not really had the chance to see before. This year Ola seems much more confident in interviews, so much more positive overall somehow, and more relaxed as well. Ola seems to be enjoying her Strictly experience more this year, and it seems as though Chris's attitude - easy going, yet hard working - is playing a big part in the change.

Last, but by no means least, we had Natalie and Vincent. I think that Natalie is probably, personality-wise, the best match for Vincent out of all of his partners, because she plainly adores him, but knows just how to take him. She listens to him, works her socks off, but knows just when to take the mick out of him. It is a really balanced relationship (I felt that he needed stronger personalities than Louisa Lytton, and Rachel Stevens, although Stephanie Beacham could have given him a run for his money). Props to Natalie, she loves Strictly, is putting in the hours, takes the show seriously, but like Phil Tufnell, she doesn't seem to take herself at all seriously.

So many favourites and it is only week 3 - Phil and Katya, Natalie and Vincent, Chris and Ola, Zoe and James - soft spots for Ricky and Erin, and still keeping fingers crossed for Jade and Ian. Seems that I am supporting half the field already, so I guess Saturday will be a busy night on the phone!