Strictly Come Dancing: week nine – live

1 month ago 15

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Judges’ scores for JB and Lauren: 8, 9, 9, 9 for a total of 35 points. Mid-table.

Judges’ comments for JB and Lauren: Anton says “swept across the floor with great control and lovely technique, slight problem with head position, otherwise super”. Craig says “slightly fighting each other but loved all around this humungous floor with ease”. Motsi says “effortless, full of content, no playing around but balance issues at times”. Shirley concludes “so much to like, timing a on point, get your posture in place and sky’s the limit”. Eights and nines?

JB and Lauren’s quickstep

JB Gill has been tied at the top of the scoreboard with Tasha Ghouri for two weeks in a row. After last week’s firecracker samba, the ballroom boy is back in hold for a fairground-set “Rickstep”. Flying around the bigger Blackpool space will take some stamina. His pro partner Lauren Oakley has competed here since childhood, winning titles along the way, but this is her first time with a celebrity partner on Strictly. An energetic routine that’s as much fun as the song and perfectly suited to the sprung floor. Hurrying to keep up in place, perhaps, but a pacy and stylish number with tight timing and lovely group promenades. Running around, sure, but it won’t let you down, hurt you or desert you.

Song: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. The 1987 chart-topper had a resurgence in popularity 20 years later, thanks to the bait-and-switch “Rickroll” online meme, reviving the Lancastrian crooner’s career in the process. Written and produced by the Hit Factory team of Stock Aitken Waterman, it was heavily inspired by Colonel Abrams’ hit Trapped.

Judges’ scores for Pete and Jowita: 4, 7, 8, 8 for a total of 27 points. A bonkers four-point spread but bottom place as it stands. Latin is “like looking for your keys all the time”, says Pete.

Judges’ comments for Pete and Jowita: Shirley is lost for words and says “good isolation, clean neckline, Cuban breaks, I’ll never forget this evening”. Anton says “we just saw you butt cheeks and Shirley hasn’t been the same since, cha cha was lacking but the dance was brilliant”. Craig says “trousers are quite shocking, darling, you fought the dance, unco-ordinated, behind the beat, bent leg but huge fun”. Motsi concludes “I loved it for all the wrong reasons, what was happening here? You went all in”. Sixes and sevens, do we say?

Pete and Jowita’s cha cha cha

After last week’s barefoot contempo-waft Couple’s Choice, Pete Wicks goes from poignant to playful. All week he’s been grumbling about this striptease routine, insisting he’s “less Magic Mike, more Tragic Pete”. He’s playing a Blackpool tram conductor, arriving on a party bus with passengers in hot pink PVC. Well, Strictly is never knowingly under-camp. Takes forever to start dancing but those trousers try to compensate. The contest’s lowest scoring dance on average, the cha-cha-cha is technically tricky. He needs straight legs, to keep it compact and contained, transferring his body weight while maintaining timing. He’s striking poses and lacking fluidity. Flat-footed and off-the beat but game for a laugh and decent partnering skills. A hen do of a dance.

Song: I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred. The 1991 hit equalled the record for the most weeks at number two on the UK singles chart. It was stuck there for six weeks in a row, held back by (Everything I Do) I Do It for You by Bryan Adams. It’s seen a revival in recent years, thanks to being inserted into songs by Taylor Swift, Drake and Beyoncé. Not a bad trio royalty-wise.

Gratuitous Gorka six-pack gag there. We’ve all got one, Gorks, we just don’t go on about it.

Judges’ scores for Wynne and Katya: 7, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 31 points. Bottom as it stands. Dance-off danger, I fear.

Judges’ comments for Wynne and Katya: Anton makes a Widdy reference (drink!) says “magnificent, you gave it everything, you looked exhausted two-thirds of the way through so form lacked towards the end but you sold it”. Craig says “disagree, he kept the energy going, ambitious but flat-footed, left foot lacked swivel, what it missed in technique it made up for in entertainment”. Motsi says “commitment with joy on your face”. Shirley concludes “a Katya special, enjoyed it”. Eights?

Wynne and Katya’s Charleston

Last week’s dance-off survivors are now bookies’ favourites to go out. Can he defy the odds? We’ve not had a Charleston for five weeks and only three in the series overall, which seems like an oversight, so this is welcome. Wynne Evans has admitted that, as an 18st chap, training has been tough on his knees but the bouncy Tower Ballroom floor will help. It’s more of a dramatic Charleston than a kooky one, putting a dance twist on the opera Carmen. Risky lifts and plenty of tricks. Fan-ography and a hobby horse (as opposed to a hobby Blackpool donkey). Razzle-dazzle choreography by the ever-creative Katya Jones. Craig will have his eyes trained on that all-important swivel, of course, and it’s a bit heavy-footed but bags of characterisation and excellent entertainment value. Big head-banger spinning lift to finish. Oof.

Song: Carmen Suite No. 1: 5. Les Toréadors by Georges Bizet. One of the most popular operatic arias of all-time has become a Strictly paso favourite. Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton scored 39 points for it in 2013, right here in Blackpool. Two years ago, Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe scored a much more modest 23.