It's Raining 10s!

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside, we're back in Blackpool the home of ballroom!

And to kick it off we're having the biggest of opening numbers ever, it's a low-budget scene from a Baz Luhrmann film and a I love it. Kids! Old people! Abbey in a giant pansy for no apparent reason and pretending to be happy about it! Tess seems to have gone for showgirl with her super-slashed dress, but I could have done with a bit more sparkle rather than an Angelina Jolie leg attempt.

Sophie and Brendan
Could they not be bothered with Sophie's dress? It's a nice colour, but it's hardly got any detail on it for a SCD dress. But of course the random pink eyeliner is back. And why are there random people in the background?! Sorry, I haven't talked about the dancing yet, but probably because they're really distracting! It was a great quickstep though, very well executed. Not knock-your-socks-off but a great start to the show.
I told you she was going to do a good quickstep, didn't I? Now how was I supposed to know she'd have the sequinned socks knocked off her by Abbey less than half an hour later? This was perky. But the standout thing about it was Brendan's choreography. Just lovely. I don't think we are going to see better than Sophie's charleston though. Curses she danced it so early.

Patrick and Anya
Anya wins the dresses, all the dresses. That is a proper SCD samba frock, my dreams of feathers have been answered. Actually, I typed that before her shoe got stuck, damn you feathers! Great recovery though, points to you Anya and to Patrick for not freaking out! This was a cracking samba, a fast and varied routine and Patrick has definitely broken through the dullness barrier. Easily the best samba of the series.
Is Anya the new Lilia? Marvellous frock, just marvellous. I agree with Frankie. Muchos kudos for not freaking out by heel catching in dress moment. How did the judges not comment on that? I absolutely loved this samba. Go Patrick. Woo. 

Ben and Kristina
I am here to watch Ben and Kristina dance, not Kristina and some random people that look like ballroom dancing ninjas. The ways to not have Ben do a lot of dancing are getting even more elaborate, which is a shame since he's getting better and can do ballroom! This routine made me grumpy, too fractured for me and yes, I know he can do lifts. Like Bruno said, he was good at the VW bit, but I could have done with more than 10 seconds of it.
Ben is just great. At standing there while Kristina dances. 

Ashley and Ola
A cowboy paso, just what this world has been crying out for. So flamenco, so Blackpool. This actually was pretty good, I'd even say it was Ashely's most technically accomplished dance, and was pure paso behind the fancy dress. The fancy dress was putting me off though, Ola gives great paso, there's no need for gimmicks! Or line dancing accomplices!
Since when does a Paso need any other theme than Paso theme? This dance comes with its own theme. Leave it be.

Fiona and Anton
The Tower Ballroom is about the size of Blackpool Airport actually... Yet more annoying people in the background, sod off and stop distracting me! Excuse the pun, but this never really got off the ground for me. Great frock, proper routine, Anton in a funny hat and all that, but lacking in pizzazz. Starting to think Fiona has lost her mojo...
Meh.

Abbey and Aljaz
Absolute corker of a quickstep! This routine was brilliant, lovely outfits and such class by ignoring that they had to dance around a giant bucket. Fast footwork, great Charleston sequence and Abbey's face was a treat. I also love how she just can't resist singing along to the song at times, and I can't believe that song hasn't been used for a quickstep before, get in Aljaz! Craig gave Abbey a 7 but Ben an 8, yeah whatevs! Quite happy to see her get the 10s after that!
I never in a besquillion years imagined I'd be voting for Abbey Clancy for anything. Yet here we are, and I am seriously rooting for her to make the final. This was nippy. And it's not just because I was excited by a giant bucket and spade. But did you see? Enormous. And her feet were quick. And the song was happy. 

Mark and Iveta
Slightly disappointed Mark isn't in his Hairspray drag, but they both look delightful anyway. The odds were stacked against him this week, third latin in a row and with dodgy knees, but they pulled out all the stops and Iveta can choreograph anything. Captured the spirit of Hairspray and had loads of content, really want him to get through to next week to see if they can finally give him some ballroom. And it's his birthday, c'mon people!
I'm getting a little bored of it now. 

Susanna and Kevin
Ladies and gentlemen, witness the most paso-y-est paso that was ever paso-ed! This was insanely good fun, from the outfits to the circus music to the flamenco to the faces. You can tell Susanna really did spend the week watching Strictly Ballroom when she posted that DVD on Twitter. Kevin also has almost as much makeup on as Susanna, and that outfit is hilarious. Susanna isn't scared of anything, bring it on.  
SHOW ME YOUR PASO DOBLE! And boy, she did. Loved this. The reaction shows just what happens when you get a more traditional variation on a dance danced well. Through the roof. Now let's see a real salsa too. 

Natalie and Artem
They were always going to get the pimp slot! Where has Natalie's hair gone?! Really, where has it physically gone, I know it's a wig, but there's so much hair you can't just tuck it under. Wasn't quite sure what to make of this, there were flashes of genius and it was perfectly executed but it didn't wow me as much as I was expecting. Maybe it was the stop-start nature of the song? Saying that, Natalie's face was amazeballs, Artem was super-hot and I liked how they looked like a proper couple dancing.
If Enid Blyton were still alive, I'm pretty sure she'd be writing The Mystery of Natalie's Missing Hair. Right now. This was clearly good. But the song didn't connect with the dance for me. The band's arrangement of it, I didn't like. I love watching Natalie and Artem dance however, whatever they dance. What's next week...?