Strictly Come Dancing Week 9 at Blackpool (spoiler alert)

So the remaining eight couples have reached the dizzy heights of week nine and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom with it’s bouncy floor.  As always the setting was spectacular, there were a few surprises in there this week and even a moment when you just can’t believe what you’re seeing (even more unbelievable than Ed Balls dancing Gangnam Style).  The professionals and the celebs teamed up to dance a spectacular opening sequence, each celeb got a moment to shine on their own and sensibly Ed Balls stayed sat down.  But it was a sensational opening to the Blackpool show and the chandeliers were shining as much as the celebs smiles.

First up was Claudia.  Now I have always loved her and AJ when they dance.  However this week, they were doing the jive and for me, it wasn’t her best dance.  It didn’t seem as clean and precise as some of the others that we’ve seen but the judges seemed to like it. I hope she gets through as I’ve seen her perform much better than this.

Next up was Ore and he was dancing the Viennese Waltz.  It was beautiful and the amount of spinning he did was simply amazing.  Although I don’t understand all the technical terms, apparently it was an incredible amount of flekerls (spinning around on the spot), if it was me I would be dizzy but Ore didn’t seem too affected and impressed the judges, although I think the 10s were a little over the top considering the comments from the judges, Darcey in particular admitted there was a problem with his head control yet scored him with a perfect 10.

Louise has been outstanding over the last few weeks and this week was no exception.  She was dancing the Paso Doble and it was amazing.  It was very aggressive and powerful, the music was perfect and the choreography was stunning.  Simply wonderful and well deserved score.

However up next was Danny Mac dancing the Charleston.  It was cheeky and cheerful, very bouncy and fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable.  Finally the moment arrived and Craig Revel Horwood brought out that rarely used object, his 10 paddle and Danny Mac scored the first perfect score of the series, a full 40 points and very well deserved.

Now whoever followed Danny Mac would have a tough act to follow.  Unfortunately it was Ed Balls and what a comedown it was.  He was also doing the jive and whilst Claudia’s wasn’t that impressive, she was better than Ed Balls.  He was slow, flat footed and just awful.  Even the entertainment value had decreased and surely this has to be his finale.  If not, it’s just getting ridiculous.

Next up was my favourite star Greg Rutherford.  I got a shock earlier in the week when I found out he was only 30 years old, somehow he seems older than that but I guess it makes sense as he’s still an active athlete.  He was dancing the Quickstep this week but the music choice was strange as it was ‘Born to Hand Jive’, surely this is more suited to, well a jive?  Still I enjoyed the routine greatly but I have a feeling he may be in the bottom two tomorrow night.

The final dance of the night was Judge Rinder and he was dancing a salsa.  That man can seriously shake his booty.  It was fast, spicy and superb and really entertaining.  I enjoy watching him as he really gives it his everything and is very entertaining and the man can dance.  I would be happy to see him return next week.

So by the end of Saturday night, the leader board looked like this.

Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse            40

Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton 38

Louise Redknapp & Kevin Clifton   38

Claudia Fragapane & AJ Pritchard 36

Judge Rinder & Oksana Platero 33

Greg Rutherford & Natalie Lowe 32

Ed Balls & Katya Jones 23

So an amazing 40 for Danny at the top of the leader board and Ed Balls of Fire down at the bottom, I never know what to expect in the Sunday results show so I won’t even try to predict.

Sunday night and an amazing opening fifties style routine from the professionals and the remaining celebs but a stunning shock as the first couple into the dance off tonight is Claudia. Now as I said earlier, I wasn’t fond of her jive but I still didn’t expect to see her in the dance off.  It will be a real shame if she goes.

A live performance from Simple Minds performing their classic hit ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ and then it’s back to the red light of doom and this time it hits poor old Greg Rutherford so he will be joining Claudia in the dance off.  I fear this is the end for him as he’s not strong enough to compete with Claudia.

Another live performance this time from Rick Astley, he was a hero of mine in the 80s and he’s still pretty good to listen to.   And we are into the dance off and first up is Claudia, followed by Greg.  Claudia was strong and Greg just didn’t harness the happiness he had on Saturday night and it affected his performance.  In the end the judges voted to save Claudia and AJ so we have to say farewell to Greg and I am devastated to see him go as he was always my favourite and I’m in tears as much as poor Greg is.   Everyone seems to be so upset to see him go.

So next week will be a little bit darker for me but I shall continue to watch as it’s inevitable that it gets harder as the couples dwindle and the standards get higher.