"Exciting, magical and petrifying all at the same time"

...That was Natalie' summary of her time on Strictly, and pretty much sums up what a lot of viewers see in the show - the excitement, the magic, and being able to identify with a couple going through highs and lows to do something completely out of the celebs' comfort zone. I am also sure that was why Natalie was as popular as she was with the public - because she showed that she was loving every minute of it, and yet was still realistic about her level of ability. The feel good story of the ultimate SCD fan surely warmed many a heart this autumn.

I have never seen Vincent so gutted either, and have warmed to him even more. Loved the quip that Natalie finished on "We are training for our waltz just in case", which was a great way of finishing on a high, and making sure that the interview didn't descent into too much schmaltz.

So farewell Vincenzo and your patatina - one of the most genuine Strictly partnerships this year.

So it is the return of Bruno Tonioli - mad, bad and dangerous for live TV. Can we stuff the filler segments for the rest of the series and just have a Claudia/ Bruno double act - it would be so much more entertaining.

As well as being funny, this segment was also very interesting, with both CRH and Bruno giving honest, and insightful opinions. It was refreshing to hear Craig admit that it was slightly unfair to have the couples doing different, new dances at this stage, and that he would have preferred them all doing the same dance. It was also good to hear them both criticising Laila and Ricky for not being able to deliver a clean routine at this stage of the competition. My feelings exactly. Bruno was spot on saying that Ali has finally been able to unleash another side to her personality. In fact if she can follow through with the characterisation and looser upper body this week for tango and samba respectively, she may lure me into voting for her.

As ever, I very much enjoyed the peek into the nuts and bolts of what makes SCD, in this case a look at the way the music is produced. I am still not convinced that the pros are given that much say in the choice of music (this year some of the choices have been stinkers), and that they are "guided" towards recent music. I do take on board however that there are many considerations in the choice of music, such as getting permission, cost of using the piece of music, whether it is strongly associated with a previous dance, and whether the band will be able to perform it adequately. It still puzzles me why the producers seem to set such store on picking modern tracks for the actual dances (in a misguided attempt to woo the younger audience), but have such old-fashioned choice of guest singers - Andy Williams, Rod Stewart, Spandau Ballet, Bette Midler, the Bee Gees - none of whom are likely to float the boat of anyone under 40.

The whole process of the music editor cutting the music down to 90 seconds, passing it to Dave Arch, who takes 4 or 5 hours to notate each song (the first few weeks of SCD must be a nightmare for him!), and then to the pro is interesting but most be a nightmare for those involved. First off, for the pro, having to choreograph the routine on a Sunday, and not having heard that edit before, and secondly for the band, who only get the music on the Saturday ie the day of the performance. That leaves band call and dress rehearsal for the singers, musicians and dancers to pull it all together. The BBC really is lucky to have access to top class dancers and musicians who repeatedly pull it off on the day.

Last but not least, a bit of pointless filler with dance mats, totally redeemed by Lilia's indignation at getting nul points. Priceless! Get those two decent partners for next year - this series has been suffering from their early exits.