First rule of showbiz? People love it when things go wrong. Never has a lift been so botched – or, as Bruno pointed out, so dangerous. Ed Balls’ scrappy man-handling of poor, brave Katya Jones is what this weekend will be remembered for. Yes, he could do the lift, as he demonstrated afterwards. But he couldn’t do it when it counted. Still, this is the kind of authenticity people vote for. And Balls’, er, ballsiness could keep him in business for some time. Maybe even into the final.
Someone had to pay the price, though, and this week it was the charming and inspirational 71-year-old Lesley Joseph. She’s done herself proud, and I hope she sees it. She’s a great dancer and a fabulous performer but ultimately this is going to come down to a fight between virtuosity (Danny, Ore, Claudia and Louise if she can up her game) and novelty (Ed Balls, Judge Rinder with his faces, possibly Greg with his superhero lifts). With Laura out this week with a sprained ankle, it was always going to be Daisy, Anastacia or Greg in the dance-off.
Still, Lesley’s ousting was a surprise – and a major disappointment for Anton, who has seemed like a different person this series, the best he’s ever been. “You pushed me to be creative,” he said as they prepared to leave and it really felt like he meant it. I wonder if this will be his last series. It’s a shame they weren’t around for longer.
Highlights? Len pogo-ing to House of Pain’s Jump Around. Natalie’s face when she and Greg did not have to face the dance-off. Dave Arch conducting We Found Love in a Hopeless Place. Lowlights? The posing and pointing of the judges during the Goodman’s Department Store routine. (Make ‘em dance!) Greg’s robotic cha-cha. The growing numbers in the Strictly Convalescence Home: first Will Young (“personal reasons”), now Brendan (lung infection) and Laura (sprained ankle). Who will succumb next to the curse? At this rate, Balls is almost guaranteed a buy-through to the final because the rest of them are dropping like flies ...
Darcey: woman of a thousand hairstyles
Darcey is in a lovely mood this series and seems relaxed and happy to state what she really thinks. I’m almost missing her previous stilted and unsure self, when she used to go up at the end of every sentence and say “Yah?” She inadvertently caused one of this season’s top moments when she meant to say “Come back next week” to Ed Balls and said “Come back next year”. To which Bruno replied, “I’m gone.”
Bruno: the jack-in-the-box
A classic Bruno-ism: “I would like to see it again, don’t you?” (To Danny Mac’s rumba.) His French speaking was also hilarious, particularly when he felt the need to translate it. His reaction to Balls is consistently pleasing: “You always take us to places we never expect.” Likewise to Judge Rinder: “It was something to behold.” Rinder took this as a positive, of course. (He takes everything as a positive. I want what he’s on.) No, Judge … he meant it as an insult!
Len: the diamond geezer on a farewell tour
Len’s gone demob-happy now we’re nearing the halfway point, ribbing Anton (“Pull it together!”) and AJ (“Your samba walks were slow and oily”), praising Greg for his “Cuban breaks here, there and everywhere” and landing the champion one-liner of the series to Balls: “That’s the trouble with hitch-hiking. You always get a dodgy lift.” His demonstration of the toe-heel swivel and the story of the broken banister on Len’s Lens were vintage Len. How on earth will they replace him?
Craig: the great choreographer trapped inside a pantomime dame
Craig has gone into simmer mode. He was eerily kind this week (on a couple of occasions, he marked higher than Darcey.) His verdict on Ore seemed over-generous, but there is something about Ore that he loves. He’s not a fan of Louise: “At least you got a free trip to Paris out of it.” She is going to fall into the judges’ drop zone if she doesn’t up her game next week.
This week’s verdict
Daisy paid the price for not being in a sexy costume. Hopefully she’ll bounce back next week. Greg needs to pull something dramatic out of the bag. Anastacia is having a miraculous resurgence. (Get well soon, Brendan.) Ed Balls continues to delight in his cack-footed way. But will it start to grate? If he doesn’t drop Katya on her head first.
