lilian

Yes, Floz you are quite right, I misled you slightly. Although Gareth and Maria were dressed in the red outfits they performed the number on the TV when Gareth wore the striped trousers. ( I hope that makes sense). Yorksheather, I think you are going to the afternoon performance today (I wish I was going with you), I would advise you to leave home in plenty of time as the build up of traffic yesterday was horrendous and several people arrived late. However, I am sure you will enjoy the show. I was tired when I went to bed but I couldn't sleep as my mind was so full of the show. I really, really, enjoyed it and it was worth every penny. It was worth every penny just to see Gareth and Maria and they got a very good reception. I only wish I was going again!

I went to see DOI this evening at Sheffield and it was fantastic. The arena was full and the show started at 0730 and finished at 1030. A man was on first to warm up the audience and he was very good at his job. There were no banners anywhere much to my disappointment. Kyran Bracken was on first but unfortunately he had two falls. In fact one or two of them had stumbles but not Gareth he was brilliant and looked fantastic. They all do two performances, one in the first half and another in the second half. They are marked for the first one but not the second. For his first performance Gareth did the same one he did in the semi final on the TV and he looked great he wore a silver top and white trousers. The judges marked him 25 and he came fifth in the leader board. ( he also came fifth in the line up for the bolero, he was beaten by Chris, Suzanne, Claire and Bonni Langford with Suzanne and Chris performing Bolero with Suzanne going on to win). His performance in the second half was the one in which Maria wore the red cat suit and Gareth the red T shirt. That was also very good. The striped trousers were also seen in one where all the artists perform together. Torville and Dean performed about three times and also did the flying performance. There were also performances by professional skaters which were brilliant. The judges were the same with the exception of Ruthie and, of course, Jason got several boos. Near the end the skaters shake hands with some of the audience. I think they have worked quite hard this weekend with a performance Friday night, two today and another two tomorrow. I think some were quite tired and the judges mentioned that they had still to get used to dancing on a larger rink than they are used to. However, it was still great and those of you who are going to later shows are in for a real treat. I hope I have given you some idea of how the show went, but I am also tired and going to my bed. Night, night. Lilian

It was the right result. Suzanne was a worthy winner, there can be no dispute about that. What happened to Samantha Mumba?

I don't understand why there is all this wringing of hands. Nobody died. Gareth didn't reach the final but hey, he reached the semi final and we can all be proud of him and he can by very proud of himself. Jason said the same on This Morning, he congratulated Gareth and said he should be proud of himself as he has had no previous ice skating. Gareth has done extremely well, he has had very good remarks from the judges and he hasn't made a fool of himself. WELL DONE GARETH YOU HAVE DONE US AND YOURSELF PROUD. Zaarah will be the first to go next week as she has no public support. In the poll done this marning Zaraah had 18%. Suzanne 36%, and Chris had over 4o%. I expect Gareth received far more votes than Zaarah last night but he didn't have the support of the judges. I think Gareth should have skated to a slower song and should have worn something more colourful. Gareth can now relax as he worked so hard these past few weeks, have some fun and then enjoy the tour. There is no need to be sad about anything.

That may be Gareth's favourite song but I don't think it suited him or the performance. I think the judges were fair in that the other performances were better tonight. However, Gareth has done very well to reach the semi-final and we should all be proud of him. At least I will save some money next week as I won't be voting.

Wonderful, wonderful, what a great performance. Gareth looks so much more graceful on the ice than Chris and Gareth and Maria are great together.

Thank you Nat. Lovely photos. Well so they should be with all those good looking people in them!

Going back to this missed lift. I am not sure if it was Gareth's fault or if it was Maria who chickened out. What does anybody else think?

Thank you for your great report and lovely photo of you with Gareth and Maria. I enjoyed all the noise you made. Well done and please keep it up. Look forward to seeing your other photos especially the ones with Gareth's family. You are a great girl and thank you again.

To me Suzanne comes over as very conceited. However, perhaps I am jealous and I have never warmed to Chris. He doesn't seem to have much personality. Who are these people who keep voting for Greg just to spite Jason. It is just not fair to the better skaters. Greg should have gone long ago but I fear he will be in the final.

Gareth was again super and looked gorgeous as usual. However, I am worried he could be in the skate off next week with Zaarah. Suzanne and Chris will get through and also Greg although he doesn't deserve to be but people keep voting for him in order to spite Jason. So, next week we need to vote, vote and more vote. P.S. Zaraah did not do the jump in the skate off but was better overall then Linda.

Gareth was really, really, good. Well done. I felt so sorry for Steve Backley's little girl. She was heartbroken to see her daddy go. There is a thing going to get Greg into the final just to get Jason out. I don't know how long it will succeed but it is a shame for the better skaters if Greg beats them.

Gareth did well but it seemed to me that his heart wasn't really in it and he seems to be going backwards instead of forwards. However, surely he can't be beaten by Steve, Greg or Linda which brings us up to the semi finals. I am not really sure whether I want Gareth to be in the final because Chris is unbeatable and I can just see the newspaper headlines "Gareth Gates runner up again". I think the final will be between Chris (the winner), Suzanne and Zaraah. Everybody else is just keeping Chris company till he gets to the winning post. It must be disheartening for the rest of them. Gareth really needs to get his confidence and sparkle back.

I think Gareth and Chris should have a lot in common. They both hail from Yorkshire and also the same city - Bradford. They are more or less the same age group and I even think they look a bit alike! I wish them both well as they seem nice young guys.

I think Gareth was great but it is difficult to skate first and I didn't like the music. Not as exciting as last week but the boy done good. People have ridiculous voting patterns. The people who keep voting for Aggie should examine their consciences because she is NOT GOOD. The way this is going on I can see her and Greg in the final which makes a mockery of the whole thing. I think Chris Fountain, although I don't like him, is a wonderful skater and if he keeps on like he is doing, in my opinion, a sure winner.

Gareth was absolutely fantastic and Gareth and Maria gave a great performance. Quite the best. However, I think it makes a joke out of the competition when Aggie and Greg are still in it. Aggie could possibly win it if the people of Scotland keep voting for her! What a tragedy that would be!

Chris Fountain can skate but he skates by himself with no regard for his partner. He appears surly with no charisma or sex appeal and his legs seem short. He has no grace and just blusters along. Gareth and Maria were graceful, skated in tune together and were just gorgeous! Of the women I liked Suzanne the best.

Congratulations Gareth and Suzanne. I am so happy for you. Gareth, you deserve the best and Suzanne seems a really lovely girl. I wish you much happiness in the future years ahead. You have been through a lot of nonsense from the press Gareth so let us hope that is all in the past and brighter times beckon. Well done and great news. Lilian

I tend to agree with GG Fan that Gareth does look very thin and not very well. I hope he is OK. He also looks lonely. I don't understand why Gareth has to go out at night on his own. Where is Suzanne these days? Othere people go out with their partners. On a different tack. Why is Gareth's album no longer on sale? It isn't on sale in HMV in Harrogate. I don't know about other places. Perhaps somebody could please check? Lilian

Apparently McFly are replacing Ghosts who have pulled out. Lilian

I think the album is blooming marvellous and deserves to be a BIG HIT. Gareth I love you and you are rtight to be proud of your work. My favourites are Potos of the Other Side, New Kid in Town and Electric. Love it. Lilian P.S. I haven't seen many reviews of it but they have all been good.

I agree with everybody here about Gareth on the JR show. I think I now love Jonathan Ross)! They were both great together and gav everybody a lot of fun and laughs. I even enjoyed the Jordan bit. I thought it was wicked. Gareth wsas being so serious and then Jonathan sprang that on him. Gareth took it well and laughed along with everybody else, proving that he has a great sense of humour. He must have impressed many people becauase of his speech, his confidence (he didn't show any nerves at all) and he wasn't intimidated in any way. Perfectly at ease as though he had been doing chat shows for years. He really was amazing. Well done Gareth and I hope your single is as successful. GOOD LUCK ALWAYS. Lilian

P.S. It is only the paragons of virtue (I don't think) wo work for the talboids who create all this press hysteria. In the cold light of day all that happened is that two people slep together One sold her story the other told a lie. BIG DEAL. All this in a country where people jump into bed together at the drop of a hat. It is just laughable. Just as well Gareth didn't murder, mug or rob anybody. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

In my opinion Jordan should apologise to Gareth. She is the one who broke the promise between them. As for Lorraine Kelly, I used to think she was great but now I am not sure. If she thinks Jordan, who is only famous for showing her false boobs, is a national treasure it doesn't say much for this country if that is all we have to look up to. As I said before this is all ancient history and should have been dead and buried long ago. However, they do say that all publicity is good publicity and it also may win Gareth a lot of sympathy. There is nothing we can do. The best thing is to ignore it all. I still think Gareth should NOT apologize. Lilian

It takes two to tango and why is it that Gareth gets all the blame? She knew she was pregnant, she was an older woman and she chased him. She admits that herself. I don't really think the general public are so obsessed with this topic as the media and they won't let it drop. As Gareth said in his documentary let it be put to rest. Why is it they keep harping on and on and on about the same whole thing We all know about it, the press know all about it, Jordan knows about it, Gareth knows about it. Please let it drop. It is all ancient history now. As I said before, that was then, this is now. Let it be put to rest. All that happened is that two people slept together, one sold her story and the other denied it. Big Deal. The first man in the histyory of the world to sleep with a woman and lie about it! Just as well Gareth wasn't sleeping with a man. The media would have had a field day with that one! P.S. The poor kid would have been hounded to death.