Strictly Come Dancing: week two – live – UK Times

And now it’s Ellie and Vito – who, when it comes to vibes, are one of my fave pairings this year.

They’re waltzing to “Your Song” – specifically the Ellie Goulding cover. Well, the Strictly band’s cover of Ellie Goulding’s cover.

This is properly lovely. Vito is such a gent and Ellie is moving so softly across the dancefloor. I know I said waltzes can be boring earlier but I love this – and them – so much.

Here’s what the judges said…

Motsi: “Wow, wow, wow. That was a real surprise! I loved the fluidity, the timing was brilliant. It’s really beautiful, a party dance – that’s a samba we love.”

Shirley: “It’s the dreaded samba, right? But this is one of the better sambas I’ve seen in a long time.”

Anton: “I have to tell you, I just… it was brilliant! I loved it. I hate the samba but I loved that.”

Craig: “It could have done with a little more tone. And I thought there could have been some more hip rotation but you did a classic range of steps which I loved and you danced them brilliantly.”

Alex’s scores are: 7, 8, 8 and 8 – a total of 31. Aamzing!

After waltzing her way to a respectable score of 21 last week, it’s Alex’s turn to take on the much-hated samba tonight.

She’s dancing to classic track “La Bamba” with partner Johannes and not doing too badly! There could be more hip action and she doesn’t look fully sold on it being a fun experience but her fast footwork is great.

All in all, not a bad samba – but I’m sure she’s glad it’s out of the way.

Here’s what the panel said…

Anton: “That was powerful. I love that old fashioned dance coming together with this very modern take on it. You’re very talented so for you, it’s about refinement. I want you to keep the power and passion but I need refinement and quality of line.”

Craig: “I thought your turns were a little bit up and down but I’ve got to agree wirth Anton – power, power, power. I love the idea of putting a passionate tango on top of the waltz.”

Motsi: “I feel you have improved on refinement. I love the fact you have the control of these explosive moments, then come back to your partner. What I need is that when you connect with her on the ballroom part, it’s more together.”

Shirley: “Maybe I’m more old school but the melody of that music was refined and soft, and I found [the dance] a little too much. I get your power, I love everything about you, but I would like to see more refinement and the beauty of what you create.”

Lewis’s scores are: 7, 7, 6 and 7. A total of 27.

A serious contender for the Glitterball is up now – Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope, who is paired with Katya.

They wound up in second place with a fast-paced jive and now it’s time for a gear change, as they’re waltzing to “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims.

Lewis has started the routine solo and he’s bringing the drama, which I’m a fan of as waltzes can often be a little… well, plain. Will the judges like this additional flavour or complain it’s not super traditional choreo? We shall see…

Well Jimmy is certainly smiling! He seems very happy with his performance and clearly loved it.

Here’s what the judges said:

Craig: “It was a little bit heavy, I’ve got to be honest. Those hips were swinging so much they were hitting the front row.”

Motsi: “There was joy in the hips, joy in the face. I love the fact you enjoyed yourself. I would love for you to work on your leg action but you’ve got a Latin feeling and we love it.”

Shirley: “You have what we call, this is the feeling you will get on the streets of Cuba. It’s not all so structured. I don’t agree it was heavy, I’d choose the word grounded. You’ve got a great chemistry together, I thought you did a grand job.”

Anton: “I loved it! That’s exactly the cha cha I like. I don’t want the straight leg. This is how it’s supposed to be. Thank you very much.”

And the scores are: 6, 6, 6 and 7 – a total of 25.

It’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s turn to cha cha. He’s vowed to break the (male) footballers’ curse of traditionally being pretty terrible and having ended up joint third last week, he’s off to a more than solid start.

Tonight, the ex-Chelsea star and partner Lauren are performing to “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”.

And it’s not bad at all! There’s certainly some hip action (which can’t be said for most of the male footballers who’ve preceded him on the show…).

Karen didn’t look as comfortable there as she did with last week’s jive, but she’s still very much one to watch in the competition.

Motsi: “Thank you for sharing with us about your curved spine, it’s something we’re going to have challenge because it’s a ballroom dance and there’s a certain posture you need. This week, I could feel the nerves. There was a slight jitterbug with everything you did.”

Shirley: “The things I liked – you’re going to do a great paso that comes up I can tell. You’ve got this thing where when you go out, you’re competing and you’re so precise.”

Anton: “You can open yourself up. You’re very square which made you come very close, but open slightly, go on the angle. This will give you naturally a bit more space and you’ll feel more relaxed. You’ve got so much to offer and you bring so much. You’re going to be a powerhouse in this competition.

Craig: “Tango should be a wide frame so there’s more air between your bodies. I found the whole thing a little bit skippy and it should be on one level. Some awkwardness in the underarm turns but you were driving that, my darling. You hit some amaing lines.”

The scores are: 4 (ouch!), 5, 5 and 6: a total of 20.

That’ll be added to Karen’s 31 from last week.

Here comes Karen – the undeniable standout star of week one.

The ex-England player and her partner Carlos Gu closed the show with a football-themed (of course) jive last week, and shot deservedly straight to the top of the leaderboard. Having shown herself as one to watch, tonight Karen is performing a tango to Dua Lipa’s “Training Season”.

In her VT, Karen has discussed how having a curve in her space – a condition she’s had since she was a child – makes some of the moves difficult.

Here’s what the judges had to say…

Shirley: “You certainly know how to push your strengths, which is personality and narrative – that’s going to carry you a long way in this show.”

Anton: “I don’t think there’s any fear of not being entertained! Your timing is immaculate. When you’re doing ther jive section, your free leg was working beautifully so you’re halfway there.”

Craig: “I’d like to see a little bit more weight over the toe. It looked a bit flat from here. But what I did love about it was that you kept it deliciously compact.”

Motsi: “I would love to speak about the upper part of the body because that’s important as well. It needs to breathe and be a little more flexible. But you’re always entertaining with a lot of class and I enjoy that.”

And the judges scores are: 4, 5, 5 and 5: 19.

Added to last week’s 24, that’s an overall total of 43.