So it's back! Shinier, spanglier, and starrier than ever (or something like that).

So we are treated to a special launch show, full of surprises (or it would have been, had the good ship BBC not been leakier than your average household sieve, and a full list of celebs been available on the net the day before, and 10 out of 14 partnerships known from late Wednesday evening).

But wait, there are some surprises in store! A new set! How fabby and 21st century is that?

Tess has got a new stylist, and gone are the one shoulder, homage to quality street wrapper creations from last series.

Bruce has won his battle with the accursed autocue! We are restored to the full glory of the Forsythe circa 2006.....at least for the first link. It was downhill from then on in.

But there had to be some cost savings somewhere, what with the new set and the ever increasing premium for medical insurance on Brucie, and those were immediately evident with the female pro dancers' costumes. Someone had popped down to the market, bought a job lot of hankies, and dyed them. Brown. And then stapled them randomly to the dancers. Who deserve a whole lot better! The choreography started off so very well, with the couples using every inch of the new set, but it then became apparent that they were attempting a whole new genre of dance, called the cha cha chair dance. Looking woefully under-rehearsed and just plain random, all was revealed at the end of the dance, with the gorgeous Mr Cutler named and shamed as the choreographer. You could almost see him bawling "And this is for Nicole. And this is for the Bennetts. Here's one for Ian. And this is from me!" before heading off, allegedly for Dancing on Ice 2011.

And so to the first of the reveals. Eastender Scott Maslen is to be partnered with.....Natalie Lowe! Who almost took Scott, Tess and Bruce out in her cartwheels of joy at landng the series hunk. Oh Natalie, did you not learn anything from last year? You started off pirouetting with joy at being paired with Ricky Whittle, and you ended up coming second to a couple of lovely little dancing hobbits. Rein it in, my dear, rein it in.

Next up the result of a casting director's alchemy - "Is there a way that we can combine the intrepid Gethin Jones with the wholesome appeal of a Chris Hollins?". Step forward Matt Baker! And then pair him off with last season's least liked female pro. Oh well, I didn't appreciate Ola till last year, so maybe this year I am going to warm to Aliona. Although judging from the way in which the flame haired temptress launched herself at poor Matt like a heat seeking missile, he is going to have to lose his inhibitions a hell of a lot quicker than Gethin Jones ever did.

Another casting director's brainwave. "Let's get a retired goalie in. 'Cos the footie fans will love that. And if he's called Peter, we can do a repeat of Series 4 and put him with Erin". And so it came to pass that Erin gets to do another year of penance for that dummy dance in the 2005 final.

We got to meet the three new pros, who as a quick reminder are replacing Darren B (series 2 winner, Matt C, series 5 winner, and my lovely Ian who has been robbed more times than I can remember). And the replacements are Jared, who looks as though his balls have yet to drop, but who has doubtless been picked to appeal to the pre teens (He has been in High School Musical - yay! And Glee - squee! He can't dance Latin - is he related to Mr du Beke?) and two Fit Thugs. Who I can't tell apart. They all smouldered deliciously at the cameras for a group paso, apart from Jared, whose cape work made Kelly Brooke's from series 5 look stellar. Oh well, at least I can tell him apart from the other new boys.

Turning to the pairings of the first three lady celebs. The BBC have gone all out to land an A-Lister, and in so doing have reeled in Michelle Williams, the one from Destiny's Child who isn't Beyonce, and who isn't Kelly Rowlands. In the States on Dancing with the Stars, ex-girl band members who have done a bit of gyrating have gone down well - Mel B, Mya, Nicole Sherzinger. Over here, they have been dogged by accusations of previous experience and dubbed teachers' pets (Emma Bunton and Rachel Stevens). The only one to escape the curse of the girl band was Alesha and that was probably more to do with her partnership with the self-effacing and all-round lovely Matt C. So this year, the producers decided to pair the "ringer" with the self-promoting and abrasive Brendan Cole. You can tell already that it is all going to end badly, and if Peter Shilton and Ann Widdicombe outlast the American A-lister, they only have themselves to blame.

Little boy lost Jared got himself hooked up wtih Little girl lost from Coronation Street, Tina O' Brien. I can't see this ending well either.

I started to think that this really wasn't going to be a good year for the Jordans when Pamela Stephenson almost went belly up just walking down the stairs, but later in the group dance, she threw herself into the proceedings with complete abandon, absolute joy and some sense of rhythm. If she can keep this up, and the producers cut in enough footage of her younger madcap self, a bewildered James Jordan, and the Big Yin himself in the audience, she could be here well into November.

There were a couple of pro dancers, the first of which demonstrated the maxim less is definitely more. To the throbbing beat of Two Tribes, the pros did some sort of generic dance, involving Vincent and Flavia descending from the ceiling on a wire, lots of tumbling, some of it dodgy, attention deficit disorder style lighting, some random walking about, and some seriously under-rehearsed lifts. To my mind great dance happens when you have a happy combination of the right music, lovely costumes, great choreography, and dancers who have something to communicate to the audience. This was frenetic, frantic, and ultimately frazzled dancing. And Karen Hardy was responsible! OK, Karen, I know you should be a judge replacing you know who - but was that really necessary?

The dance troupe, featuring two male pros who deserve so much better, a dancer called Crystal Main, who seems to have taken the modern parlour game "What would your porn star name be" a tad too seriously, and three other dancers, did not cover themselves with glory. To the strains of Ballroom Blitz, they first jived, then quickstepped, around the studio. The dfference being signalled by a clumsy pulling down of the ladies' frocks from thigh skimming to ankle skimming. The staging and lighting all firmly said "These are the second class dancers and don't you be getting any ideas there!"

And so to the big build up! Sadly we all already knew that Ola had been shafted and Anton had got his just desserts.

To be fair, Paul Daniels did try to rescue one of Brucie's jokes gone wrong, and impressed me with a couple of words of Polish. He then dis-impressed me by not knowing that she was the reigning champion. Please, please, please let them be an early exit - and please don't let anyone on Digital Spy think of coining the phrase Team Pola.

I have a sneaking feeling of support for Patsy Kensit. She is my age, she hasn't had an easy ride of it with the press, and she comes across as wry and self-deprecating in her VT. She is obviously a contender for the shock early female boot, and for the speculation on the old showmancce front - will she find husband number 5? I think she deserves a bit better and have my fingers crossed.

Kara ("Oh my God z'not fair! She did a samba three years ago with the Ramps, she has past experience, it is so not fair") was paired with newbie Artem. I hope for her sake she can overcome the "S'not fair" vibe because I have her down as someone who could go all the way.

Goldie gets Kristina and the first real off-key moment of the series, when Craig Revel Pointless decided to announce, to a deathly quiet audience "Watch her footwork, because we all know what happened last year". With Joe Calzaghe in the audience, I can just imagine the fun at the after show party. Good job there are three weeks before the live shows start for make up to be able to disguise the fall out.

The monosyllabic Gavin Henson gets last year's dullest new pro. If even Phil Tufnell struggled to make Katya look exciting, then I dread to think of this couples' VTs. Tess proved that she is yet to read the BBC guidance on sexual harassment in the workplace by leering at Gavin's guns, and Katya compounded the error by prodding them as they walked off stage. Katya, I know you were new last year, but really, did you not learn that taking etiquette tips from Tess of the Tumbleweeds was a Very Bad Thing?

Yay - there is indeed a God! Flavia the neglected gets Jimi Mistry of the swivel hips and cheeky sex appeal. When Flavia's choregraphy is good, it is very, very good, and she just needs a partner who will trust her and make the best of it. FlimJim for the win!

No use in building up the suspense BBC- we know what happens next. Adorable Felicity Kendall gets he-adores-himself Vincent, and actually this is the pairing that I am most looking forward to. I so hope that they stay in long enough to do an Argentine Tango, because the combination of an AT maestro, with a confident, sexy older woman could blow the roof of TV Centre. Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed.

And so to the finale. Team Cola fans, we know who we are. We are guilty. Because when we voted in our droves for the fourth or even fifth best dancer of the series to win over one of the best dancers ever, when we voted for personality and loveability over proficiency, we sent a message to the producers. That message has been distorted and mis-translated, but it has resulted in Ann Widdecombe and Anton. We share the blame, we share the pain. She's not going anywhere till mid-November.

And so to the Christmas Special...

....Or which ones do you fink wuz robbed the most?

After an early panic that a triffid had got let loose in the studio and was about to start devouring my fave pro dancers (yes of course I had been drinking. It was Christmas Day. Bear. Shit. Woods. OK?), I realised it was Tess Daly with an enormous, potentially flesh devouring bow attached to her left shoulder and nibbling at her ear. That was ok then. Finish the series as you started it, Tess. I guess it is a symptom of the BBC cuts that they employed a Year 10 Arts and Crafts kid as your personal stylist this year.

Shock of the programme number 1 - Tess thinks she can do comedy. Really, Tess, leave it to the one with 70 years experience in the trade. The problem with your timing in the introductory shuffle says all you need to know about the potential problems with the timing in comedy....

Shock of the programme number 2 - where is the Darce? What have they done with the bit of class? Did Alesha finally finish her off in the after show for the final? Never explained. Well I missed you, Darcey.

So first up we have Ricky and Natalie. I always feel so sorry for the finalists of this years' SCD in the Christmas Special. They are obviously always knackered, have had no time to rehearse, and are only there because their contract specifies it. Ricky and Natalie jogged through their quickstep, threw in a couple of lame samba rolls to annoy Len, and got patronised by the judges into joint second from bottom.

Does Christmas get any better than this? Christmas Day, Erin dancing with Austin, doing a paso doble. None of this lame, let's do a waltz/trot/step to sugary Christmas music and pretend we are being creative for my girl Erin. She brings out the paso of attack, and proves once again that she is the most creative of pros choreographically. I think we have here proof perfect that Ms Boag is a Queen fan, because not only did we have One Vision from her earlier in the series, we were treated to a section of Bohemian Rhapsody as our Chrissie Pressie. It takes a brave woman to take a section from the middle of the song and turn it into 90 seconds of something special for the Christmas Special, but Erin sure did it. Only thing she could have pondered more closely. There is a reason Queen never performed that section live. So that reason should translate to the house band for Strictly never performing that section live. Just saying.

But it was wonderful, and the clever minx even sneaked in 20 extra seconds of dance as they walked across the stage to take up their position. By some Act of God, someone in the village was letting off fireworks, and in my red wine addled state, the bangers fitted perfectly with the timing of the dance. A-MAY-ZING. And worthy of 4 10s at least. 5 if they hadn't snacked on Darcey for Christmas lunch.

But then embarrassment in the Tess pit. The Tess-bot's handler had obviously had a snifter of sherry for lunch and was having a bit of a lie down, and therefore unable to prevent the sexual harrassment that followed. Poor Austin. Poor pecs. I would keep out of the way of Mrs Austin if I were you, Tess.

They was right robbed by those judges. They should have won!!

What happened next? Oh yes. Ali and Brian did a perfectly nice Viennese Waltz. Just like their perfectly nice Viennese Waltz in Blackpool. And their one in the quarter final. And I bet I know what they are dancing on the tour!

More malfunctions in the Tess pit. She cannot stop going on and on and on about the lovebirds. Even to the point of saying that they could do that as their first dance at the wedding. Or saying she has a nice hat. Reboot. Reboot the Tessbot with immediate effect.

Next up Gethin and Flavia - Gethin revisiting the old rivalry with Matt just for a gentle stir. And you know what? I actually loved them dancing together, and thought they were far better suited than Gethin and Windmilla. What might have been in Series 5, eh? I am sure that thought had crossed Alesha's mind as well, as she snidily greeted them with "I had forgotten how good you were", and refused to get her 10 paddle out.

She refused to get her 10 out for Rachel and Vincent' Rumba as well (oh now who was it that got the most 10s ever then, Alesha?), and you know what? Rachbot has improved! She now shows emotion, and can project that emotion to the crowd! Well done Rachbot, and you should have won! (Well apart from Erin and Austin of course).

And we ended with Team Cola - not at their best, but do you blame them? What we didnt' need was Len Scrooge sneering at their recent win, and rubbing the public up even more, on Christmas Day of all days..... Ramps or Goughie for head judge next year anyone?

And so in the David versus Goliath final ...

David actually won. Now there is a surprise!

For the first time ever this household was split on who we wanted for the SCD. Boyfriend was Whitlowe and I was firmly in the Team Cola camp. But call himself a fan! He only voted once for Whitlowe, whereas I got in a whole 16 votes for Cola...let's hope he starts talking to me again by Christmas Day at least.

Wow, Natalie Lowe's training methods verge on the kinky/cruel spectrum. But she gets the results because that quickstep will go down in Strictly history. And the lovely dancing hobbits foxtrot actually stood up quite well. He was making an effort to improve his hands, although their default mode is splayed, and to smile naturally. Definite signs of improvement. I was scanning the audience for the VSG, but no signs. Why only wheel her out for ITT and not the final itself?

And so the parade of losing celebs from across the series. There are some internet theories that state that Martina Hingis could have won the series if left in long enough (well so could Craig Kelly if eveyone else got injured and he was the last one standing), and that her performance was lacklustre due to illness. Well, judging on last night's brief return, she is still lacking in musicality, purpose in her movements and core strength. She also went wrong quite a lot. So that's that theory scotched then.

Oh Diddy Dunwoody and Lil' Lilia - sweetest couple ever.

Ravioli - proving again that he really was the victim of poor choreography, a pro with an over sized ego, and his own over sized thighs.

Oxo Mum and Goody Two Shoes - looking lovely and relaxed and as if she were finally able to enjoy dancing.

And what's this - Joe di Calzaghe and the Monroe-alike have actually improved quite a lot actually. But then they may have had more time for "practice".

I had been kind of dreading the gurn city that is the lindy hop, thinking it would really show Chris up, but he more than held his own, even without the Ricky/Natalie lift that went so horribly wrong. He wasn't outdanced at all, and I loved the whole dance and thought that the choreography was really witty.

Now I know that there was a bit of overmarking going on, to make it seem as though Chris wasn't actually that far behind in the dance stakes, but I thought the marks for the lindy and the showdance were justified.

And so to megamix 2 - Skippy and her Bush Kangaroo doing a VW and illegal lift, Zoe and Mr Presenter actually getting the timing right for their AS lift, and Flavia looking gorgeous in pink. But what no Tuffers! Ill in bed with flu..... Tufty, I can come round and nurse you. I'll even bring a nurse's uniform with me!

Next the real highlight of the evening - that Tango - the One That Might Have Been. Gorgeous and the only dance of the series to actually give me goosebumps. I still think as the only couple of the series to combine techique, performance and journey, they were a shoo in for the final, and could very well have won it. Poor, poor Jade and Ian.

And the first half finished with Alesha sticking two fingers up at Darcey with a "Screw your ballet pseudo jive malarkey last night. I can sing and dance and do comedy and help the aged all in the same routine!"

Megamix 3 had Ricky and Natalie showing us all how to do performance, and Ali and Brian doing lovely, gorgeous, floaty ballroom. But no Laila - cue the CONSPIRACY THEORIES!

Loved the Cola Charleston - was it worth 50? Well, no, but the probable winners needed a high score, and it finally feels as though Christmas might be here.

I know that Ricky is a really accomplished dancer, and his musicality is second to none, but best male dancer ever? Better than Colin Jackson? Better ballroom hold than Austin or Gethin? I just don't buy it personally, but understand the show's need to have a Best Evah every series. For me, I felt that his free arm has not improved all series, and the arm position in the New York section was still way out of synch with Natalie (and could have been easily fixed). He may have good hip action, but his torso is always rather stiff in latin. Anyway, Darcey managed to bitch slap Alesha back with her "I wish I could cha cha cha with you" to Ricky.

How clever is Ola with her choreographic decisions? Dirty Dancing track - lots of boxes ticked; appropriate lyrics (Do you love me - now that I can dance?) - more boxes; witty choreography; fun; good dancing with nothing beyond his ability; lifts well integrated into the dancing - many ticks. And the final big tick - a one armed lift, that no-one could have predicted Chris would be able to pull off. One of the best show dances I have seen

I always worry when a female turns up for a showdance dressed in a swimming costume. I worry about the waxing issues, and I worry that, just like Adventures in Bacofoil last year, they are about to emulate the acrobatics of the pro showdancers. I was wise to worry.

I think Natalie's choreo really let them down at this point. From the self-important, slow beginning on the steps, to the gynaecological lifts, it seemed to be just a cha cha with a shopping list of lifts and tricks added. I know that it was amazing to see Ricky spin with Natalie balanced on the nape of his neck, but I just didn't feel anything.

And so to the inevitable. Team Cola won!!! I know the internet will be full of moans about the death of SCD, and dumbing down, but for me, they saved a dull series. I think there is a balance between technique and performance, and the best dancers will have that. But technique on its own is not enough. And it is hardly as if Craig Kelly or Jo Woods has just won Strictly!

Dance is magical, and I want to feel part of that magic when I watch it as an audience member. I want to feel what the couples feel about the music, about each other, about the show...but more than that, I want to know that they feel the joy of dance.

Jumped the shark?

So, left floundering in the ratings by the X Factor, largely ignored by the media, and subject to constant criticism by even its most avid fans - what went wrong with SCD7?

The judging panel - or more succinctly, the way the judging panel was presented to the viewers. It was obvious after last year that something had to give in the judging panel, not so much as a result of the John Sergeant affair (I still maintain that it was part of the judges' brief to try and generate controversy and therefore public and media interest in the show in as many TV/radio/press interviews as possible, and that the producers were actually rubbing their hands with glee, with an all publicity is good publicity hat on, especially when Strictly hit the One o' Clock news...), but as a result of the semi final fiasco.

I can imagine the producers not being particularly impressed at quarter final stage, with two incredibly popular contestants, and two unpopular contestants, when one of the public favourites got voted out ahead of the least popular. When a carefully crafted semi final leaderboard threatened to put out the other public favourite, but actually resulted in the phone lines being frozen to avoid accusations of fraud, an embarrassing last minute backtrack, and public apologies from head honchos, the producers must finally have seen red.

I can imagine that the judges felt pretty secure, taking an all stand together position. After all, how many dancers also have enough "brand recognition" to be invited to judge the BBC's flagship autumn show? Well, the producers actually side stepped that rather neatly by signing up the one dancer that everyone in the UK has heard of, albeit a former ballet dancer, and taking it one step further by dispensing with the dancer bit altogether, and signing up a celebrity with a bit of dance knowledge under her belt as the other replacement judge. The message was clear - celebrities are ten a penny, and no judge on this show is safe.

But what could have been a good tactical move backfired spectacularly with the way that the decision was presented, leaving the BBC wide open to accusations of sexism and ageism. Surely by that stage the plans for So You Think You Can Dance were in an advanced stage (particularly as the auditions were held in October)? The BBC may not have wanted to reveal all about the show, but a little hint that actually Arlene Phillips was crucial in launching a new dance show to be screened in January, and therefore was being promoted rather than dumped, could have been a better way to play it. It might also have been kinder to Alesha to have presented her role as an experiment with a new style of judging, rather than as a permanent addition to the panel, to allow her to save some face if it all went wrong.

Strictly definitely needs some decent PR/media management for next year to avoid further fiascos. I hear Chris Hollins has a Very Serious Girlfriend who knows the odd thing about PR......

The selection of pros was another bone of contention. This series definitely missed some of the pros - big characters, good teachers and great choreographers - with Karen and Camilla leaving, and Matthew, Lilia and Darren all voted out early. At times, it has felt that Ola has been carrying the show on her own! I don't see why the BBC can't make more of an effort to recruit pros who are either British, or have been based in the UK for some time. Natalie, Katya, Aliona and Brian have all come in for a lot of bashing, and I am sure that it is because they all come from different cultures, and are simply not used to presenting themselves to a British audience. It seems actually rather cruel for the BBC to expect pros to travel thousands of miles to a strange country to work for four months, and as well as the dislocation and homesickness, to be subjected to a level of vitriol because they come across on screen as different.

Selection of celebs this year has also proved to be riddled with errors. Maybe it is time to introduce secret auditions to ascertain who has some dance talent, and make sure that a few of the people with ability who are signed up also come with a bit of personality. Last year, there were five celebs who would not have looked out of the place in the final - Cherie, Rachel, Lisa, Tom and Austin, all of whom had dance talent, and two of whom (Tom and Austin) got the public vote. Jodie or Christine would also not have looked out of the place as a wildcard in a three person final, and had bags of public support.

This year the real dance talent has been restricted to Ricky and Ali, neither of whom has lit a fire in the audience. The mid tablers (Chris, Natalie, Ricky and Tuffers) had all the personality, stage presence and journey stories, but ultimately were weaker dancers, and there was precious little in between to bridge the gap between dance and popularity. Laila was too random, and Zoe had a big "Shock early exit" arrow pointing directly at her from the get go. The only bridge couple were Jade and Ian - good dancers, improving technically and with a storyline to engage the public. And look what happens when the producers put all their eggs in one basket.

But the biggest blooper of all has got to be the fumblings that led to a two person final. Again. It is not as if a person dropping out is an entirely new scenario, and the rules this year stated that if a person dropped out due to injury, the latest couple to leave, or a previously high scoring couple, could be reinstated. So why didn't the producers introduce this option?

I realise that the day of injuries was a fraught day for the SCD team, with Bruce ill and Mariah Carey allegedly pulling out at short notice. But they must have had a contingency plan in place at the beginning of the series for "what do we do if anything happens to Bruce", (surely you have a contingency plan in place when your main presenter is an octogenarian?) and it should have been a simple case of following a pre ordained plan......

And as for a singer pulling out....well given the calibre of most of the guest singers this series, would anyone have really cared? And it is not as though SCD didn't have another singer close at hand, one who was currently touring, and rehearsing for a Children in Need appearance with the pro dancers, who could have stepped in at the last moment. Cue headlines of "Alesha saves the day" which might have been a bit of positive press for the poor girl.

So really these two issues shouldn't have been occupying too many brains, leaving the producers free to figure out how to deal with the obvious crisis, ie two injured dancers. After all, a presenter or musical guest down has an impact on that show only, whereas a dancer down impacts on the whole series.

And so to rate how this series ranks compared against all other series. For me, my al time favourite series is a tie between Series 2 and Series 5. Runner up is Series 4, then Series 6, Series 3, Series 1 (and I didn't even watch half of that series!), with Series 7 trailing in last place. Now that on a graph says that the brand is in serious trouble, and needs some major surgery for next year...

Don't get me wrong. It is still my favourite show, and the only one that I would never watch. And ITT and the wonderful Claudia has been on top of their game all series, without a doubt. But the sequins are losing their sparkle, despite the best efforts of the dancers, and poor decision making and a rather stale air about the format means that it has lost its innocence. The fact that I actually get more pleasure from analysing the mechanics than from losing myself in the shows, is rather telling.

But there is a faint glimmer there still, and after all, we do have have that one A-MAY-ZING show from this series. We will always have Blackpool!

So what do DJ Spooney, Gabby Logan and Zoe Lucker have in common?

The curse of James Jordan! Spooney went out early in Series 4, courtesy of sympathy vote for James and Georgina. Gabby and James went out criminally early in Series 5, and Zoe Lucker was arguably this year's shock exit, partnered with, of course, James Jordan. Who is married to Ola. Conspiracy theory!! Clean sweep for Team Cola in who they want to see win!

But to redress the balance, Lilia and Darren were bigging up Ricky and Natalie, and Lilia went to great lengths to stress that Ricky too has a fun personality and is not just technically brilliant.

My goodness, were Zandra Rhodes and Hilary Armstrong separated at birth? Voice, looks, mannerisms, spooky!

"You can ask for kittens, goats, anything you like really"

So said Claudia when enquiring what the Legend That is Bruce Forsyth asks for on his rider. What would ITT be like without the incomparable Claude?

I thought it was a lovely interview with Bruce, showing off his enthusiasm for the show and for the business in general. He was at pains to stress that he paid for his own champagne though (stung about newspaper comments about how much he earns?) and how come he gets about 8 tickets for his showbiz mates for each show, when the general public can't get in for love nor money?

He seemed to be doing his best to defend Team Cola as well - stressing their teamwork, improvement, entertainment value. I suspect this could be part of the BBC strategy of not getting too much egg on faces if they do go on to win.....the much revered elder statesmen of SCD has praised much of what Team Cola are about, so maybe a Team Cola win wouldn't look that out of place in the annals of Strictly.

I do think though that for the sake of impartiality, as well as his own reputation, James shouldn't really be on choreo corner (or midweek panel) at this point. It would be good to have as much objectivity as possible, and we do have quite a few pros who would do as good a job as James. The forums are alive with the charges of hypocrisy on James' part as it is, vis his criticism of John Sergeant last year compared to his support of Ola this year, so why give further material to the stone throwers?

It is difficult for him, but I do believe he is trying to be balanced, in admitting that Ricky is the better dancer, techically, but that Chris and Ola have a lot going for them. Flavia was brilliant on ITT - she is really coming into her own as a commentator - and I learnt so much about the technicality of the AT from her.

And as for the Master Class with a twist - Len looks like a saint compared to Bruce - who already seemed to be losing patience with Claudia after just one session. How many episodes has Len suffered?