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I haven't found anything to back up the newspaper article which mentioned, in passing, that Kristina was leaving, so that may just be tabloid talk. Unless she wants to start a family with Ben, my feeling is that she would want to stay on the show. Whether the show wants to keep her is a different question. None of them have contracts beyond the end of each series, so we'll have to wait and see.I don't imagine Trent and Gordana being brought in, either - that moment has passed, I think. Not sure where the rumors of Elena Samadanova have come from, but that seems a more likely scenario. I'm a bit fed up with the Clifton Clan. I like each of them individually, (Kevin not so much), but as a group it's over the top. (I'm including Aljaž and Janette in The Clan, as they are so close, and to a small degree, Gio, as he is a close buddy of Jo). Something I have always preferred about Strictly over DWTS was the lack of factions amongst the pros and it feels slightly divisive now. I absolutely can't blame Karen and Jo for rooting for their husband/brother in the final, but it felt inappropriate to have - seemingly - half the Clauditorium being so loud in support of Kellie and Kevin, and the sucked-lemon faces when the winners were announced was not a good look for the show. It took the gloss off what ought to be a celebration of three months' endeavour. TPTB seem desperate for Kevin to have a winner, for some reason, so I expect, as with Pasha, they will keep giving him decent partners until it happens. ...

I'm sorry Aliona's leaving, but not surprised. Like Flavia and Camilla she's leaving at a high point and this series seems to have been a happy one for her, so it's a good time to go on her own terms. I wish her the very best. An article I read mentions Kristina leaving too. I've missed this if she's announced it, but it wouldn't be a shock. If Jo Clifton is brought back in, the Clifton Clan will be ever more dominant! Lots of changes ahead.... I wonder if Gordana didn't get a role this year partly because she looks very much like Aliona!

Thanks for clarifying, Morrigan. I am British, btw, so was aware of the flak he'd received, I just wanted to check it's what you were meaning. I agree with the part above. The BBC may not have a rule but there is a hardline cultural pressure, throughout the country, to conform around Poppy Day. There's a well respected news anchor on Channel 4 News who refuses to wear one on TV, though he wears one in private, because he sees it as cultural fascism (irony of that not lost!). The Royal British Legion, the veterans' organisation which mounts the poppy campaign each year, is abundantly clear that there should be no pressure to wear one - freedom of choice being paramount of the freedoms the veterans gave their lives for. Unfortunately, Strictly is the biggest entertainment show on TV and it's easy pickings for tabloid journos looking for someone to take potshots at.All that said, I'd be rather surprised if Tristan wasn't back next year, unless he and his wife have other things they'd rather do. He seemed to enjoy himself this year, especially with Zoë on ITT, and his and Jamelia's exit interview on there was one of the highlights of the series. I know he's open about his frustrations about music choices and producers micro-managing things, but he seems pretty sanguine over all. Anyway, I hope he's back.

I'm very, very happy with the result. Not sure my favorites were the best on the night - although their paso was magnificent - but they've given me thrills and spills over three months, so were the best 'overall' for my money (and I spent a fair bit of it voting... ). Congrats to them both and well done all the finalists.

Behind the scenes video https://amp.twimg.com/v/6aa9aa98-7c5e-4b9a-9ec6-ba0d97f86c9c

What makes you think Tristan won't be back, Morrigan? Not sure what you mean in the bit I've quoted either.I wonder if Kristina will call it a day after this series. She hasn't looked terribly happy a lot of the time... I'm glad they had Ola on ITT to give her a proper good-bye, although I was a little surprised given some of the things she's alleged to have said. I've like her very much in the past, but it was an untenable situation, so I'm glad she's gone. Katie will be revisiting her Viennese waltz as couple's fave. Apparently they weren't allowed to pick anything from the last three weeks. Hoping for a Jay victory tomorrow, but feel it's pretty open.

Update on the dances: Jay: QS/showdance/Paso Georgia: ??/showdance/Charleston Kellie: ??/showdance/Charleston Katie: no info on the judges pick or their own choice

Showdances in Training https://amp.twimg.com/v/08cb2cb5-a750-4fdc-b3cc-d69e53cce45e

Hee, Hee! It sounds like a terrible idea to me. I expect the judges will choose Latin for her improver dance. (They have a lot to choose from!!) If they were being kind, they might go for the jive which was pretty decent. As their own pick, the tango would be my preference, as she did that really well, but perhaps a tango is too similar to a paso... ? The Orff piece is so overblown that I just can't imagine what Anton has planned. It doesn't seem up his alley at all and Katie just isn't an overblown, out-there kind of chick! My mind is boggling.

Saturday 19th December, the Strictly Final will start at 6.35pm. The Final Results will also be on Saturday at 9pm. (GMT) The format in recent years has been: all four couples perform the judges pick. A dance they believe can be improved upon. The vote lines open after all four have danced. All four perform their showdance to complete part one. At the beginning of the results show the voting will close (or possibly a little earlier) and the fourth placed couple is eliminated. The vote lines reopen for the remaining three couples and online voting is reset (so three further votes). Votes from the first part are carried forward. The judges scores are for guidance only and do not contribute to the result. Voting closes fairly soon after all three have danced their favorite dance from the series. The winner is announced (no second/third place announcements). The music for the showdances: Georgia and Giovanni will be performing their Showdance to ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay. Jay and Aliona will be performing their Showdance to ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ by The Weekend Katie and Anton will be performing their Showdance to ‘O Fortuna’ by Carl Orff. Kellie and Kevin will be performing their Showdance to ‘Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line’ by Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. So far, we know: Jay will NOT be reprising his jive and will be performing the Quickstep as judges choice. Georgia will be dancing her Charleston (as couples choice, I think)

Katie was better, but still not great. Anita was the same. I don't have too much of a problem with the judges decision, although, like Craig, my preference would have been to keep Anita. I'm only really questioning the logic that the public rejected Gleb's style and choreography decisions. They always had a great reception in the studio and she had a lot of momentum from the non-dancer/plucky underdog storyline, and whilst Gleb has garnered some criticism for his 'style over substance' approach, he has gained a lot of fans, too and you can only vote positively, so I think - speculating wildly, because I can't possibly know! - that a different leaderboard would have seen a different bottom two.

Hmmm. My perception is that Anita had a lot of public support. Clearly not enough to overhaul Jay, Georgia and Kellie this week, but I think the judges had a pretty strong hand in that. I felt they helped Kellie who has sometimes struggled with the public vote and wonder if Kellie had been lower on the leaderboard, whether we'd have seen the same bottom two. All that said, Gleb needed to play the judges' game better this week, and they were never going to be forgiving...

Oh, goodness. It's too cruel at this point. Personally, I would have kept Anita over Katie. I feel that the story is all about Anton, which isn't quite right, but never mind. Four good finalists. Jay, Georgia, Helen and Anita would have been perfect, but the last six were all strong. I shed a little tear for Anita :-( Good bye Anita video https://amp.twimg.com/v/65dbf9a4-2e90-40b1-b278-03b94175585c

Jay's Charleston scored lower than Kellie's foxtrot and Georgia's Viennese, so I don't think it's a given they would save Jay, unless one of the ladies messed up in the DO (even though I think they want to keep Jay - the fix accusations make DO shenanigans a bit more tricky). I felt Kellie was being propped this week to keep her out of danger. Anita and Katie should be bottom two and I would keep Anita, purely because she and Gleb offer more variety for the final. Dots and Stripes - I thought Jay was brilliant in the Charleston and actually very loose and easy with it! Only the strange lift-not-a-mistake episode went against it for me. His VW was touching and sweet, but agreed with the judges, it needed more drive Loved Kellie's American Smooth, but not her rumba. It seemed awkward and off balance to my eyes. Georgia's VW was lovely. Cha Cha, not so much. Katie is very error strewn. I really think she reached her limit a while ago and isn't improving. Expected much, much more in the waltz.

I liked her singing it, too. Little Donkey is a very well known children's Christmas song. It will feature in every primary school nativity concert in the UK for sure! :-)I like this version http://youtu.be/gCNyldiwJ1A (I can see the 'likes')

Behind the scenes video https://amp.twimg.com/v/cb4dd4a4-5bc7-4e05-992d-4160d2892462

Training clips https://amp.twimg.com/v/53043190-05e0-40d9-a7b4-1321448631c9 No sign of Jay's Charleston yet. Most of them looking good.

Certainly looks like a foxtrot American Smooth from snippets of training.

Seems, from her Twitter, that Georgia is unwell. I assume they've switched to CCC to lighten the load a little. Hope she's okay. ETA: she has 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor

Semi-final songs and dances: Anita & Gleb will dance the Foxtrot to Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ as well as perform a Salsa to ‘Feel This Moment’ by Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera. Georgia & Giovanni will dance a Viennese Waltz to ‘Runaway’ by The Corrs plus they will dance a Cha Cha Cha, music TBC. Jay & Aliona are going to Charleston to ‘Doctor Jazz’ from musical Jelly’s Last Jam and perform a Viennese Waltz to Bryan Adams’ ‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman’? Katie & Anton are dancing the Waltz to ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ by Puccini as well as dance the Charleston to ‘Too Darn Hot’ from the musical Kiss Me Kate. Kellie & Kevin are performing the American Smooth to ‘Let’s Face The Music And Dance’ by Irving Berlin plus they will perform a Rumba to ‘Songbird’ by Eva Cassidy. Gio and Geo have had a late change of dance for reasons unknown. They were down for an Argentine Tango to traditional music, but the website was updated today (Tuesday) and Gio confirmed on Twitter they now have CCC.

The theming intruded too much on many of the performances this week. Georgia - Foxtrot. I found this utterly charming. Great hold. Teapots and furniture and chandeliers obscured the view - so annoying. Bruno was hopping up and down to see over the extras. Anita - AT. It was over the top and entertaining, but a really poor example of Argentine Tango. I agreed with everything Craig said about her flaws, although, to be sure it will have galvanised her support. It's a bit late in the day to START giving her a technical critique and the way he expressed himself was harsh. Kellie - VW. As a performance I enjoyed it. Good dress finally. Only a short section of actual Viennese unfortunately, so they should have marked her (Kevin) down for that. Jay - Rumba. I thought this was beautiful, tender and romantic. There were moments where I would have appreciated a little more intent (a few movements were apologetic), but it was a lovely interpretation of the song and suited Jay enormously. Katie - FT. I kind of loved it (the song really helped) but I don't think she sold it as well as I'd have liked. Needed to build more and be more 'showbizzy'. Nice, but It should have been epic. Helen - Paso. They did well to work with the song, but overwhelmed by extras and the 'frantic' theme. She was off balance at times. So, so sorry to lose her from the comp though. She was one of my finalists and the show will be poorer without a gorgeous ballroom number from her at the close. Lovely send-off dance. Will miss these two very much.

Behind the scenes at Friday rehearsals http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/1a6348f3-7700-4b22-87ee-9fe981260774

Training video https://amp.twimg.com/v/7ece6369-0b0d-495a-a2e9-241d9f418a1f

Week 11 Dances and songs: Anita & Gleb will dance the Argentine Tango to ‘Cell Block Tango’ from Chicago. Georgia & Giovanni will Foxtrot to ‘Beauty & The Beast’ from the show of the same name. Helen & Aljaz perform the Paso Doble to ‘At The End Of The Day’ from Les Miserables. Jay & Aliona are going to Rumba to ‘Falling Slowly’ from Once. Katie & Anton are dancing the Foxtrot to ‘Maybe This Time’ from Cabaret. And finally Kellie & Kevin are performing the Viennese Waltz to ‘Oom Pah Pah’ from Oliver. Anita's music has been done to death, but still a great crowd pleaser. Not sure it fits an AT as well as a ballroom tango. Will have to go and remind myself about Georgia's Disney number. Can't quite imagine Helen's paso - song gets a bit manic. I think Falling Slowly for a romantic, sad rumba is a great choice. Maybe this Time is fantastic. Oom Pah Pah is going to bring on another Kevin twee fest, isn't it?

Postscript to the dreadful Peter not-a-jive: Kristina said in her blog that he only had four hours rehearsal time that week because of all his other commitments and poor Janette was really stressed out about it.