Strictly Sunshine

Welcome back to the land of dance, camp and glitter! Strictly is here with a very interesting selection of people and loads of excitement to come for the series. It's the vitamin D injection that the government may/may not insist on you having to get through the winter. We even got a super-sunny opening number with the pros living it up in a street food market, bring me a margarita and let's get down to business!

Jamie and Karen

I was not expecting Jamie in the coveted first dance position! Does this mean he's getting to final? It's not a given, but this fun little number showed some possibilities. He didn't look great during the launch show but Karen has clearly whipped him into some sort of shape in the past couple of weeks, there was more rhythm for sure. I also loved the reinvention of the song as an 80s party anthem, especially when it gives us Karen starting 2020 with yet more amazing outfits. A promising start for a beginner. 

 

Caroline and Johannes

I don't think I've seen an interview with Caroline yet where she hasn't mentioned her dancing experience, she's owning it and it seems to be a good tactic. She's clearly confident out of hold with great arms and knows how to perform her moves, but she'll need to do more work on the stuff in hold. This was a lovely performance and exactly what we wanted, even if the CGI porn train was quite a distraction! 

Max and Dianne

I don't normally approve of a week 1 tango, but Max seemed to grab the technicality of this fairly well. He seemed to adapt to hold well enough and was in time, very very bent knees though. Plus compulsory blue-steel tango face. Like Craig though, I was left wanting a bit more, he's going to have to express a bit more in the latin dances. Rubbish tango song, but that's what we've come to expect in the past few years.

Clara and Aljaz

These two are very much on my 'Ones to Watch' list, so I was very excited for this and Clara's tinsel outfit. This was a brilliant opening cha cha! It was all you wanted to see, with cheeky accents and a great relationship between the two of them. She has some rough edges but clearly a lot of raw talent and I can't wait to see what Aljaz can bring out in her.

Jacqui and Anton

A week one foxtrot with Anton, you say? Well blow me down with a feather. This wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't very good either. Jacqui had a fair stab at doing this rather difficult ballroom dance though, so I wonder what she has for week 2 to build on it. However it was also ridiculously prop-tastic and the fireworks were needed to wake things up.

JJ and Amy

Oh this was schmaltzy, but we could do with a bit of that right now. Amy knew just how to pitch this and gave JJ a good waltz but nothing too advanced for week one. I saw rise and fall and a good stab at musicality for someone with no performing experience. Good tactic with the judges to go for classic and lots of basic steps and in lovely classy outfits too, it felt a bit old school. There's a long way to go but we might have a contender here.

Maisie and Gorka

What. A. Frock. This was an old-school Strictly samba dress and all the better for it, just bring us the camp we want! As expected, these two came out all guns blazing with the kind of energy we love to see. Gorka must be having the time of his life after being benched last year. Yes, it got a bit wild at times and that impacted on the technique, but the girl has rhythm and boy can she shimmy! Ballroom will be a different beast for her, but I'm excited to see it. 

 

Jason and Luba

Can Jason shrug off the lumbering male sportsman tag? Possibly. This dance was actually quite bonkers, there was skipping about and dad dancing interludes when I was expecting, well, something smoother. He was light enough on his feet but also a bit hunched. He does however have enthusiasm in spades, so maybe he'll be better at party latin? 

 

Ranvir and Giovanni

A Beyonce paso in week one for someone with no dance experience was....ambitious, but they certainly gave us good frock! Extra points to Ranvir for coming out on her own too, Gio wasn't going easy on her. This dance was about 80% attitude and 20% technique, her footwork wasn't that great but she performed it much better than I was expecting. I was even occasionally distracted from Gio's weird emo fringe. 

Nicola and Katya

Another highly anticipated dance, this didn't disappoint. A lovely peppy quickstep that played to Nicola's strengths with lots of flying around the dancefloor and changing of direction. The switching of hold was also pretty impressive. I'm sure there's lots more to come from these two and Katya is ready to dish us up all sorts of choreographic treats. 

Bill and Oti

The return of champion Oti Mabuse here to bring us sunshine for 2020 and she's also bringing the unexpected delight of Bill into our living rooms for the winter. This was a joy from start to finish, Bill might not be a boyband ringer, but he has rhythm and musicality and is clearly hell-bent on having a marvelous time. I'm already desperate to know what dance they're doing next week!

Harvey and Janette

The young upstart was in the pimp slot so he needed to impress, but this boy can move! As with a lot of people tonight, it wasn't technically perfect, but the raw materials were certainly there. He was fast and bouncy and clearly very suited to the jive. A bit flat-footed at times, but I don't want to be too Craig about it. A good way to finish off the night too, there's clearly lots of excitement to come this series!