Waltz Goin' On?

We're past Halloween, rejoice! In fact we're halfway through the series, that walkdown on the stairs is starting to take less and less time. Speaking of which, we're GUTTED there's no Natalie and Artem this week. That jive routine looked amazing and I was dying to see the whirling dervish step. Best wishes to her, she'll need all her steel for Blackpool!

Ben and Kristina

Shall we learn to do the jive or shall we mess around learning to do a backflip? Actually, I won't be to cross because there was a lot more jive content in there than I was expecting. And a fairly decent execution too, I can't imagine he would have done any bouncy latin number that well a few weeks ago. Never going to be his best, but it looked like they'd worked at it. Ridiculously over-marked as ever. And hilarious costumes - is he going to be a different member of the Village People every week now?

Sailor boy, it was OK. Now we all know the rugby boys can't jive. (AHEM, has everyone forgotten Austin springy-feet Healey?) I'm still waiting for Ben's breakthrough dance. So his dancing can match the overblown scores he's being given. That sounds bitter, yet I do still like the partnership. And Kristina's costume was adorable. And Ben looked good in his sailor suit. And please god no, not the Native American Chief. 

Fiona and Anton

Thank heavens that scarecrow debacle is over, although they've gone back to 1980s shredded wheat hair for her. And I'm not happy that the nation was not warned about that Anton knee-slide right into our living rooms! Song 2 will forever be Jodie and Ian's paso! Classic paso choreography, fine, but it never really got off the ground and seemed a bit dull. Fiona looked a bit awkward, Anton was...Anton.

Fiona wasn't too bad. Anton made me want to grate my own eyeballs and serve them on salad. 

Abbey and Aljaz

Fine, put her in a Liza wig, but spend more than a fiver on it wardrobe department! And what's with the sugar pink? Totally incongruous to the image! Pah! Training footage of this looked amazing, so hopes were high. I can't say it was knock-your-sparkly-socks-off as good as Sophie's, but it was pretty good! Liked how it was a bit cool, not a manic gurning number, a bit more West End. There was swivel and the monkey step with their ridiculously long legs was a delight!

This was not as natural as Sophie's nonchalant dolly-charleston but it was more than decent. A bit Fosse, a bit West End, and as Frankie says, a little more toned down than we have come to expect from the all-face-no-dance routines we have seen since the Beeb insisted on throwing in this odd little dance. I suspect (nay, hope) this was more than enough to keep her safe. Abbey looked as though she were trying really hard not to sing along in this. Like Regina George does Jingle Bell Rock (before Gretchen Wieners messed that up.)  I'll even concede that the use of a hat in a charleston is a tolerable-use-of-prop. 

Mark and Iveta

I love these two, they're such a brilliant team. The skilled clown and the not-so-evil genius! Thought a rumba was always going to be a sticky one for him, the men usually just pose. But good to see great arms and lines from him. And it was a masterclass in deadpan! Iveta spangling around in that catsuit, Mark giving us the evil eye, all while being a bit bonkers. These guys have to stay in and get to do more ballroom!

In an evening of toned-down, propless dances, this smacked of incongruity. Iveta is completely and utterly bonkers. This has worked in previous weeks but it didn't sit well this week. 

Susanna and Kevin

Princess dress alert, in fact, that whole thing was a fairytale! What a gorgeous waltz, wonderful choreography and sweeping music. That pivots sequence was amazing, I don't think I've ever shrieked over some pivots! Goes to show you don't need props and gimmicks to bring down the house.

Just ooh. Criminally under-marked (or, if we are going to be picky, everything else criminally over-marked), this was beeeaa-uuu-tiii-ful (imagine that word in a Dick-Van-Dyke-does-Bert-in-Mary-Poppins voice). This is exactly what the show should be about. No gimmicks, no props, no stupid costume. Just choreography and well executed dancing. These two have shimmied their way back up to being one of my favourite pairs again. Keep at it, Kevin. 

Dave and Karen

Umm...yeah, Scotland, woo! Quite liking Karen's Vivienne Westwood style dress though. This was one of the oddest collection of things I've seen, the concept was barmy but you got the impression Karen had tried to choreograph an actual tango. It was better than his recent latins, but that isn't saying much. Will it get the Scottish vote? Is that their only hope? I know it doesn't matter as he's at the bottom, but sixes was ridiculous!

You know they're desperate if they're trying to tap into the Scottish vote when neither of the pair is Scottish. If Dave manages to survive another week, what are we to expect? Dancing a Charleston dressed as a leek? Or a Argentine Tango in the style of Riverdance? The content wasn't as bad as you'd at first think, but in this case, the gimmick made it look worse. Had he a regular dance get up and La Cumparsita, his scores would have been higher. Methinks. 

Ashley and Ola

Ola, it's taken you seven weeks to realise you needed to go to the Hollyoaks set for extra training? Or did the BBC not let you until now? Ashley is dressed as the now departed Michael Moon from Eastenders. This was a crazy fast quickstep and, like a lot of his faster numbers, a bit manic. The energy stayed throughout and it was a good routine. Still needs a bit more polish, but the boy done good!

Nice but a tad flolloppy. I reckon if Ashley could put a little teensy bit more time into training, he could be a contender. Waiting for his breakthrough dance. It will come, I am sure.

Sophie and Brendan

Brendan has been ridiculously excited about this AT this week, it's been quite amusing. LOVED what they did with the music, just perfect for the number. These routines are really quite complicated and I felt like I could sense that a bit from Sophie, remembering all those jigsaw legs. She did seem a little bit tentative, but definitely a return to form after struggling the last few weeks.

Great track and good dance. But it wasn't the glorious comeback I would have liked. Did Sophie peak at Charleston? Quite possibly. But I maintain, her quickstep will be the one to watch. 

Patrick and Anya

Wow, Patrick gets the pimp slot! This had better be good...oh of course it was! This as exactly the kind of routine they had in mind when they thought up the American Smooth. Busting at the seams with Hollywood, classic song and show-stopping fling-them-over-your-shoulder lifts. And well done to both of them for upping their game in the last couple of weeks, there was no falling asleep in that one. We won't talk about the lift-flub. Although, Darcey, you can't give a 10 to something when it had a mistake and you pointed it out!

If this deserved a ten, then Susanna deserved two. However, that aside. Craig is right - he is  the best of the male celebrities and personally, I would love to see him go from strength to strength. I forget he's there every week yet he has given us some marvellous routines. He looked so happy dancing the American Smooth and I hope that ten has given him the confidence to come out every week with that pizzazz. I love an underdog. I would love Patrick to keep going like this and make the final.