We thought they were boring - it turns out they're not really.

DAVID - Still silent but nice.
newbie - Here's hoping we get another young and attractive girl.
JOYCE - Quiet but seems nice
GAZ - Brummie, seems like a talker. Should become a big character.
KATH - Another cool older lady.
PHILIP - Kind of obvious. Very big!
KERRY - Bubbly, kind and positive. likes the sound of her own voice!
ROY - Hasn't been there long. Not said much yet.
ANNE-MARIE - Instantly likeable.
JAMIE - The Daddy. Not much else.
VIKKI - Silent, but seems nice and is inspirational.

ALAIN - See 'Joyce'.
RITA - SMILE!
PENNY - Seems wise, and judging by today a no-dealer!
JOHN - See 'Joyce'.
JEANNIE - See 'Roy'.
STEVE - Stern.
DEE - I know people think she's boring but I think she's lovely.
JACKIE - Nothing said so far and hasn't smiled once.
MILES - See 'Joyce'.
THERESA - All good fortune. See 'Joyce'.
BARRY - Seems funny and a bit strange.

Why?

She's in a wheelchair

I call winning an Olympic gold medal in a wheelchair inspirational. Not sat in a warm comfy studio with the potential to win a quarter of a million pounds.

There are a few characters emerging though, and all it takes is a few to liven the shows up.

It does make you wonder what they are looking for when they do the audtions for contestants as some of them have all the charisma of a shop-floor dummy.

Yeah, just because someone is disabled doesn't mean that they're an inspiration; if that's the case, why don't we all go out and start praising Heather Mills.

...Saying that, Vikki seems nice.

I agree, you have to be careful not to patronise Vikki.

That aside, they're still a hellishly boring bunch. I'm sure some more interesting types will appear soon.

Ratings of how much I like them out of 10.

DAVID - 5/10
?-?/10
JOYCE - 5/10
GAZ - 8/10
KATH - 7/10
PHILIP - 7/10
KERRY - 10/10
ROY - 6/10
ANNE-MARIE-8/10
JAMIE-7/10
VIKKI -6/10

ALAIN - 6/10
RITA - 7/10
PENNY - 7/10 [maybe only because she said she'd no deal that 32,000, it makes
JOHN-6/10
JEANNIE - 6/10 [hard to judge, since she only just joined]
STEVE - 6/10
DEE - 8/10
JACKIE - 5/10
MILES - 6/10
THERESA - 6/10
BARRY - 7/10

Even though this bunch aren't the most exciting lot we've ever seen, there's still quite a few games I'm looking forward to. Here's my list with reasons why:

Kath: She's an absolute legend. End of.
Philip: He's Noel's mate and looks like the guy from the Halifax ad.
Kerry: "I know £25 grand seems like more than £22,500, cos it is!" Quote of the week! Her game should be fun!
Rita: See Kath
Penny: I want to know if she really would no deal with a high red, low blue finish. She could be a bit like Lynne (10p/£75k finish.) which would be great.
Dee: A bit quiet, but she's got a certain sparkle in her eye which gives me the feeling her game will be good.
Theresa: She's brilliant. For some unknown reason she's my favourite at the moment.
Barry: I like him and I read an article that has a spoiler that makes me think his game will be good.

I like Vikki too. She seems nice and it's nice to see someone with a disability in the wings. I say that as someone who has a disabiltiy. She makes me think that if she can go on DOND, I can too.

I have to say that both Tanweer and Charlie were tons more interesting when they played than when they were on the wings (i.e. virtually silent)!

I'm not entirely sure about this lot at the moment, but if all the players' transformation from the wings to their game is like Tanweer or Charlie, we are in for some very interesting games. Here's what I think about the current batch:

David- nothing much to go on
-------------------------------
Gaz- instantly can't stand the guy, has a real look of cockiness
Joyce- again, can't get anything from her
Kath- really nice, might become a bit of a legend
Philip- really wise guy, i actually think he'd make a better daddy
Kerry- bubbly, a bit ditsy though, her game should be a cracker!
Roy- not sure yet...
Anne-Marie- love her, absolutely gorgeous and nothing 'plastic' about her
Jamie- diamond geezer!
Vikki- seems nice, but is literally silent

Alain- again, not sure
Rita- smiley, i think she could be a huge character
Penny- a gambler, looking forward to her game
John- no idea
Jeannie- first impression, seems nice
Steve- don't like him, he's too stern
Dee- very warm, looks a bit mad
Jackie- i just like her for some reason...
Miles- a bit strange, but a bit moody
Theresa- a bit posh, reminds me of Chrissie
Barry- can't stand the man he's just irritating, and slightly cocky

Joyce stands in W4 you lot and Gaz stands in W3

It's probably a better line-up than a couple of weeks ago, but what's missing is probably a stand-out character, like all the best eras have had - a Pat M, Harry or (sorry Daniel!) Bunney, to give a few examples. Someone who really steals the show, and you can't wait for their game while at the same time you want them to stay in the wings for as long as possible.

While you don't want one contestant to dominate proceedings too much, having someone like that around can help generate a good atmosphere and a lively bunch of contestants in general.

I agree. I think the ones with potential to be the stand out characters are Kath and Rita. However, no one has been given the opportunity to stand out. Noel doesn't really chat to the other contestants in the wings as much as he used to.

I like lots of them at the moment! Rita and Kath do seem like legends...Anne-Marie is like an Irish Sarah...Barry is a legend, as is Philip...Theresa is cool and posh...Leila hasn't done much but provides me with hours of amusement because I have to sing "L-E-I-L-A Leila" and chuckle to myself every time she comes up...Roy had the £250k on his first show so is automatically great...Jeannie is really sweet...Penny and Alain are just cool...Vikki is cute, albeit slightly overshadowed by Anne-Marie since she joined...yeah, the current 22 are great. I'm looking forward to most of their games.

rita.. doesn't seem legendy to me... maybe for the spock hair, but that's about it... that said, i appear to miss loads when i'm watching this show, so maybe she's done or said something really witty?

nobody has really stuck out of me as a contestant since bunney left.

we need a nice balanced person, not to quiet on the wings, and not going to scream everytime they open a blue box when they have their game... (there's nothing worse)

Kev - Not done anything yet.
Leila - Don't really notice her.
Gaz - Reminds me of Howard for some reason.
Joyce - Seems nice. Was a bit of a black widow in her earlier shows.
Kath - Legend. Was called Rita.
Philip - Seems nice. Could replace Jamie as the daddy. Legend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roy - I like him.
Anne-Marie - Seems nice.
Jamie - Current daddy.
Vikki - Seems nice.

Alain - Another potential daddy.
Rita - Legend.
Penny - Gambler. Looking forward to her game.
John - Don't really notice him.
Jeannie - Seems nice.
Steve - Don't notice him much.
Shahid - Only done one show.
Jackie - Was called Vikki. Not done anything, but I like her for some reason.
Miles - Seems nice.
Theresa - Posh and seems nice.
Barry - Has a ponytail. Looking forward to his game.

Well after an exhaustive scientific analysis of the current crop of players here are my results :

PHIL - Very big
RITA - Very small. I keep looking for pointy ears.
ROY - First time I've noticed him really
KEV - Likewise
MILES - John Major's grandad
JAMIE - Attractive
GAZ - Some young blood at last
SHAHID - Some more young blood - brings average contestant age down to under 100
LEILA - Reminds me of Daphne off Frazier
STEVE - Hunk of the show
JOYCE - What a chatterbox !
VIKKI - Silent beauty
ANNE-MARIE - Very attractive indeed
PENNY - Mumsie
KATH - Bubbly oldie
JOHN - Cleggie off Last of the Summer Wine (sadly gone off)
JEANNIE - Should have stayed in her bottle
JACKIE - Sort of nice 'ordinaryness' about her
BARRY - If Peter Stringfellow were dead he'd be turning in his grave at that hairstyle
ALAIN - Somebody nudge him please to see if he's still alive
THERESA - Elegant and composed

This concludes my scientific study on the current state of gameshow contestants

Philip's beginning to remind me of Dennis. His game should be good. I just hope he wins more than Dennis did.

OK, I officially love the current group of contestants. Leila, Gaz, Kath, Philip, Anne-Marie, Den, Alain, Rita, John, Jeannie, Alison, James, Theresa and Barry are all awesome, and there's not really anyone whom I dislike. April > January...

The Newbie in the hardhat added some humour today. I've forgotten her name though.