Strictly Come Dancing was back this week, hitting the halfway point but feeling a bit of an anticlimax after the excitement of Icons Week followed by Halloween!
But we needn’t have worried. It was just as glittery and fun as ever, with the Strictly ‘journey’ (yes, we know, we hate that cliche too. But it’s a cliche because it’s true!) really beginning to make an impact on the contestants.
Sometimes we need a reminder that the true brilliance of Strictly isn’t just the sparkles and music. Though obviously that’s a big part of it! But also it’s lovely to see the contestants really changing and becoming different people.
And we thought we saw a lot of that this week.
Here’s what we thought of everything that happened in the ballroom as Strictly Come Dancing hit the halfway point.
Balvinder impressed
Winning our hearts this week was EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal. She shared some emotional memories of her mum, who died last year. And normally, our cold, cold hearts would have made us roll our eyes a bit at such personal stories being aired. But it didn’t feel that way – just as Lewis visiting his family last week didn’t feel forced or out of place. Maybe after 21 years of Strictly, we’re finally softening up!
Anyway, poor Bal has been in the dance-off three times so far, which seems very harsh.
But this week she danced her Couple’s Choice with partner Julian Caillon. It was a Bhangra-style routine, paying tribute to her mum and to her culture. And it was joyous!
Bal looked like she was loving every minute of her dance – and so did Julian who said learning the unfamiliar moves meant he’d had “the funnest week” of his entire dance career!
It was quite an emotional moment, showing just how resilient Balvinder has been.
And the judges loved it too. Motsi Mabuse gave it a standing ovation. Shirley Ballas said it was Bal’s “best dance so far”. But though Craig Revel Horwood said Bal “owned” the dance, he only gave her 7 points, while the rest of the judges awarded her 9s.
We thought Craig was being a bit unfair, there.
Personal growth!
There was more ‘personal growth’ (urgh, we can’t believe we’re writing these words – what has happened to us?) on show in Amber Davies’s routine with partner Nikita Kuzmin.
They danced an energetic disco-inspired Salsa, which won Amber two 10s – from Motsi and Anton du Beke – and two 9s from Shirley and Craig.
Actress Amber confessed that she’d found dancing ‘as Amber’ quite tricky with no character to hide behind. But whatever she did this week to make her dance more personal obviously worked!
Vicky wowed the audience and the judges
Meanwhile, Vicky Pattinson has completely transformed from a nervous wreck into a confident accomplished dancer over the last few weeks. She and partner Kai Widdrington danced an impressing Tango to Taylor Swift’s song The Fate of Ophelia. And she absolutely wowed the judges. Shirley said it was “the best dance of the night” and Anton said it was “absolutely marvellous”!
Vicky topped the leader board with an impressive 39 points. She scooped three 10s – from Motsi, Shirley and Anton – and one 9 from Craig. Obviously.
YouTuber George Clarke has been a bit of a dark horse this series. While he seems like a lovely chap, he’s been given some odd dances. His K-Pop themed Couple’s Choice in movie week was a real head-scratcher, while his Charlie XCX routine last week was clearly made to appeal to TikTok fans.
But this week, thankfully, he was allowed to break free from his social-media-star persona with brilliant results. We had a quick reminder in his VT when he was visited by three YouTuber friends, but once that was over, he danced a surprisingly lovely Viennese Waltz with his partner Alexis Warr.
“Some of the best footwork I’ve seen in a Viennese Waltz,” said an impressed Shirley. George was given 34 for his dance.
Odd choices in the Strictly Come Dancing halfway point
Speaking off odd choices, this week footballer Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu danced an amazing Charleston. It was brilliant – we really loved it. Karen’s another celebrity who’s really improving week by week and making the most of her Strictly experience.
But the music – a strange mash-up of Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin – seemed so out of place with the dance and the styling. It felt like when people on the internet match clips from films to the wrong music, like Dirty Dancing to the Muppets. Very strange.
Though the judges loved the whole thing. Motsi gave Karen her first 10! And she scooped 35 points overall.
And another poor choice of music left poor Alex Kingston – a real fan favourite – in tears. She danced a slightly nervy Paso Doble with partner Johannes Radebe.
Up in the Clauditorium, a tearful Alex confessed she struggles with numbers and counting, and so she uses the lyrics of the song to keep time when she dances. Except this week, her music was all instrumental. We feel like this could have been avoided? Its good to challenge the contestants but some things can’t be overcome.
Anyway, Alex got a group hug from the celebs and the professionals, and 30 marks from the judges.
And she avoided the dance off. Phew!
Strictly Come Dancing halfway point: Harry’s gone home!
This week the dance off was between La Voiz and Aljaz Škorjanec, and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and his partner Karen Hauer.
La Voix’s Foxtrot felt a bit flat, while Harry’s Samba didn’t quite hit the mark.
The judges voted unanimously to save La Voix, while Harry was sent home.
We’re sad to see him go, but we actually thought he’d be in the dance off last week so it wasn’t a huge surprise!
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing’s Alex Kingston reveals she is secretly battling sickness on the show
