Strictly Come Dancing burst back on to our screens this weekend with Icons Week! There were messages for the contestants from some of their fave icons, some amazing hair, make-up and costumes, and some classic tunes.
Were the dances iconic? Hmm, we’re undecided!
It was a very closely fought competition this week. Lewis and Katya topped the leaderboard with 34 points while George and Alexis were at the bottom with 27. That meant there were just 7 points separating top and bottom, with everyone else in between.
Does that make it a bit boring? Maybe!
Strictly Come Dancing Icons Week
So who was the most iconic on Strictly Come Dancing Icons Week? Lewis and Katya started the show with their quickstep to Johnny Cash. They were ahead of the pack immediately scooping 34 points from the judges.
Lewis mentioned that Johnny Cash was his grandad’s favourite singer, and Katya said he’d played her his grandad’s records. It felt a bit early in the competition to bring out a story about a grandparent! But it clearly did the trick because Lewis is safe and ready to dance in Halloween Week.
Ellie and Vito danced a salsa to a Spice Girls medley. Ellie definitely showed she’s improving all the time. Her joy is so infectious and we loved her excitement when she got a good-luck message from Emma Bunton! They scored 28 points.
Vicky danced brilliantly
But our top fave dance of the night was Vicky Pattison and her partner Kai Widdrington. They danced their couple’s choice to Fight for This Love, by Cheryl Cole.
It was such a great dance. We’re not always completely on board with the couple’s choice. It mostly seems to involved bare feet, wafty dresses and sob stories. But sometimes it just works – and this was one of those times.
We also didn’t completely understand whether the icons the dancers were representing were their own icons or just icons in general. But Vicky most definitely sees Cheryl as an icon and her enthusiasm and passion really shone through.
Plus we really loved how thrilled Vicky was with her message from Cheryl.
Bad music choices in Strictly Come Dancing Icons Week
We know it was icons week but some of the music didn’t really work with the dances. Balvinder and Julian danced a really fun quickstep to Texas Hold’Em by Beyonce (and how amazing did Bal look?! But though the dance was great, it just felt a bit odd.
Similarly, Alex and Johannes danced a great foxtrot to Here You Come Again by Dolly Parton. It was really good. We loved it. But that dance with that music felt strange.
But we were VERY glad that Balvinder escaped the dance off this week, and we were also really excited to see ER star Laura Innes in the audience cheering on her former co-star, Alex.
When it comes to music and dance not working, the worst offender of the evening was Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. He and partner Karen Hauer danced an Argentine tango to Usher. It didn’t work for us. It was weird. But the judges awarded it 30 points. So what do we know?!
Don’t you just love Prince?
Remember we said we weren’t sure if Icons Week referred to icons in general or the celebrity’s own icons? Well, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his partner Lauren Oakley danced an American Smooth to Purple Rain. Jimmy, it was said, was a huge fan of Prince. But when he was asked about it, he simply said that in 1999, he listened to the song 1999 a lot.
Hmm. Should have mentioned your grandad, Jimmy.
Strictly Come Dancing Icons Week: The dance-off!
Anyway, we love Jimmy and we really love Lauren, and the judges gave them 30 points. But sadly his dance didn’t wow the audience and he ended up in the dance-off.
Jimmy had to dance off against Amber, whose cha cha to Ariana Grande also didn’t win over the audience. Despite Amber and her partner Nikita scooping 33 points, they had to dance again.
The judges chose to save Amber, and sadly Jimmy said goodbye to the ballroom.
We’re already looking forward to Halloween week, and we can’t wait to see the costumes!