A Value Offer, Shirley
'Money won is twice as sweet as money earned'
Hi Rob
Just for fun, here are my predictions on which Strictly professionals will perform well in 2017
A) The Katya’s Out of the Bag – Katya must have been disappointed last year when she found out that she was to be partnered with the firm favourite for the first elimination. She could have sat back and accepted the early exit, but instead she created a series of innovative and entertaining routines, pushing Ed to far exceed all expectations, and made Strictly ‘must see’ TV. Surely her reward for this will be a partnership with a male contender in 2017?
When female pros in their second year were partnered with celebrities aged under 45, their finishing positions were as follows: 5th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 12th, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 1st, 2nd.
B) Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year – Janette, along with Aljaz and Kevin, will be the 18th, 19th and 20th professionals to complete five years on Strictly. Each of the previous 17 professionals reached at least one final and/or had at least one top three placing in their first five years on the show. Aljaz is a former champion, and Kevin has been runner up on four occasions, however to date, Janette’s best finish is 5th place, and a semi-final exit with Jake Wood.
In 2016, Janette became the fourth professional to be eliminated first in a series before then winning the Christmas special in the same year. The other three professionals (Kristina in 2010, Vincent in 2011 & Aliona in 2014) went on to reach the Strictly final in the following year.
Not only did Janette win the Christmas special, but she also received a perfect score of 40. Only five other female professionals have scored a 40 at Christmas before being partnered with a celebrity aged under 35 in the following series. Those five professionals finished 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st and 2nd in that following series.
C) The Reign in Spain? – Gorka had an undistinguished rookie campaign in 2016, finishing in 14th place. His main headlines coming from an eventful night out in Blackpool.
Professionals who finish outside of the top 10 in their first series either do not return (Andrew, Jared, Hayley) or see a large improvement in their second campaign. These returning professionals finished 5th, 2nd, 5th, 2nd, 7th, 5th, 8th, 1st & 2nd
Gorka carried Anastacia to her best score (when he stood in for a poorly Brendan) and achieved a perfect 40 with Frankie Bridge in the Christmas special. These performances suggest to me that, if partnered with a contender, Gorka could be one to watch this year.
Top stats, James. Thanks for posting. We will start to discover this year’s contestants starting on Monday. Likely to be one a day over the following 2 weeks.
What’s everyone’s pre show selection for this series?
Ive gone ew on Joe Mcfadden. Seems to tick a lot of boxes, and id be surprised if he didnt go deep into the competition
Hi Stoney
This video, from a couple of years ago, suggests that Joe has room for improvement if he is to make it into the latter stages.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0361078
On the positive side, he has been paired with Katya, which worked wonders for Ed last year. I felt that TPTB would reward Katya with a good celeb this year, and was expecting her to be paired with Jonnie. Also, with Neil not receiving a partner, Joe will have the added advantage of having the support of two pros.
Hi James. Room for improvement is exactly whats needed to go on a journey. Greg had plenty of room for this last year but failed to deliver or get the producer help needed. Ore on the other hand got lucky on both fronts. My biggest concern would be the producers wanting a 3rd male win.