I was reading about Aston, NS, and he has had dance training and experience, albeit not ballroom. So I suppose he has an edge, particularly against people like Susan, Charlotte and Mollie. Alexandra doesn't have dance training, she may have learned a bit in the musical she was in but no more than that (I'm an all time Alexandra Burke fan but that doesn't make me biased in Strictly). What did surprise me was Debbie McGee's extensive dance training! I had no idea about her, only thought of her with Paul Daniels. No wonder she is so good, so poised.
I remember Tom Chambers who won SCD some years back; he knew how to dance big time.
The judges have said that those with dance experience are marked more harshly and they give points to those who improve so we shall see.
I think Gemma is marvellous and Susan & Jonny are great. Charlotte and Mollie are so sweet, I'd like to see them do well.
Last year, apart from Ed Balls who was great entertainment but also actually learned to dance, I loved Rob Rinder who started as a rank beginner and improved week on week. He was so humble too, like a boy, really appreciated everything.