
Caroline Quentin in dance-off for first time
Not a massive surprise, considering she was second from bottom of the Saturday night scoreboard, but Caroline Quentin will dance again for survival.
Bill Bailey is safe
It was the ponytail wot dun it
Jamie Laing is safe
Fist punches and baseball-capped cuddles.
Ranvir and Giovanni are safe
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Dancing red light of doom
Uh-oh. Time to find out who’s safe and who’s in the dreaded dance-off.
Bruno rewinds Saturday night
Signor Tonioli dials in from Los Angeles with a recap montage. Top hats! Chef’s whites! Licked armpits!
Here come the judges
This is tuxedo-clad Anton Du Beke’s last show as Motsi Mabuse’s stand-in. But will it be his last appearance on the judging panel full stop, I wonder?
Frockwatch
Our co-hosts arrive, so time for our traditional couture comparison. Tess Daly is in black trousers and sparklyvest top. Claudia Winkleman is working a black mini-shift with 80s shoulder pads. A rare win for Tess.
Pros open the show
We begin with a group number from the professional troupe, led by Giovanni Pernice and Dianne Buswell, set to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. It’s a spinning, romantic waltz set in an orchard. Fruity. Brolly-ography too. Lovely.
And we’re off!
Roll clapalong credits. Except there’s no audience inside the Elstree Studios ballroom to clap along, so we’ll have to do it ourselves at home.
Take your sofa seats and top up your glasses
We’re about to go over to the Elstree Studios ballroom…
Erratic scoring caused a stir
Two 10s for Jamie Laing? Two nines for JJ Chalmers? But a lowly five for Clara Amfo? The scoring paddles went a bit bonkers last night.
But what bearing will it have on tonight’s result? Five minutes until that familiar ba-ba-daa theme tune…
Blackpool came to Borehamwood
The Strictly charabanc was unable to trundle north up the M6 this year, so last night’s special show brought the spirit of the Tower Ballroom down to Elstree Studios.
The professionals’ group number was a seaside spectacular. The couples’ routines, props and costumes added even more old-style Blackpool glamour. It was a welcome dose of sand, sunshine and sparkle on a nippy autumn night.
But whose glitterball dreams are about to be dashed on the Pleasure Beach pebbles? Ten minutes to wait…
When the going gets tough, Billy Ocean gets going
Tonight’s musical guest is Trinidadian-British R&B king Billy Ocean MBE.
Sir William Of Ocean will be crooning a medley of his classic Seventies and Eighties hits.
Fifteen minutes now until choreographic kick-off…
The lead changed hands again last night
Five weeks, five different scoreboard-toppers. Saturday’s pace-setters were Made In Chelsea socilaite Jamie Laing and his pro partner Karen Hauer, whose Couple’s Choice routine saw them streetdance their way to a near-perfect 29 points.
You’d have got good odds on that when “Jamie Biscuits” was hovering near the foot of the table a few weeks ago. Can he maintain his rapid improvement and become a true glitterball contender?
Twenty minutes until showtime…
Can Clara Amfo climb out of danger?
Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo was riding high after her charming Charleston topped last week’s scoreboard. However, last night’s disappointing samba saw her plummet all the way down to the foot of the standings.
The last celebrity to suffer such a dramatic drop was Casualty actor Patrick Robinson seven years ago. However, many of Clara’s fans were outraged and vowed to vote her out of danger. Did they succeed? We’ll find out soon,
It’s 25 minutes until curtain up…
Who’ll be riding home on a seaside donkey?
Eight celebrities reached last night’s Blackpool tribute special, marking the midway point of this shortened series. Only seven will progress. Yes, someone is about to pack up their bucket and spade because their Strictly holiday is over.
Tonight the fifth elimination beckons, as our pro-celebrity pairings find out who’s safe and who’s doomed to face the dreaded dance-off.
I’m Michael, your virtual dance partner for Sunday evening’s results show. It’s showtime at 7.25pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 7pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, social media reaction and acidic asides.
Please join me – and you can join in, too. You can email me on [email protected], tweet me on @michaelhogan or leave comments at the bottom of this blog. I’ll keep an eye on them all and report the highlights here.
On Saturday night, we saw yet another new face at the summit of the leaderboard, as Jamie Laing streetdanced his way to a near-perfect 29 points. Tucked in just behind in joint second place were spicy Latin ladies Ranvir Singh and Maisie Smith.
Down at the foot of the standings was Clara Amfo, in a dramatic fall from grace, with Caroline Quentin just above her. As usual, the judges’ scores will now be combined with the public vote and the two couples with the lowest combined scores will dance for survival – but will viewers agree with the judges? If not, the likes of JJ Chalmers or even Bill Bailey could come into choreographic contention.
Whose Blackpool illuminations are about to be switched off? Nearly time to staaaaaaart eliminating!
Source: The Telegraph Travels