Strictly Come Dancing Week 6 - Halloween Week

First of all, I must apologise for not posting a recap of Week 5.  The time just got away from me and every time I remembered it needed writing, I was distracted by something else.  So many apologies to anyone who reads my ramblings.  So just to sum up last week in a few sentences, Joe got his first 10 for his Paso, Debbie is back on form after a fabulous Rumba and topped the leaderboard, four couples were joint bottom (Brian, Susan, Simon and Ruth), Anton DuBeke blinded the nation with a bright pink frilly shirt, Bruno Tonioli was absent from the panel due to prior commitments and Craig Revel Horwood fell off his chair impersonating the aforementioned Bruno.  I think he's been on the happy pills as he wasn't his usual scathing self to most contestants but you have to check this out. Seriously, never seen anything so funny.

So the results last week on Sunday, the bottom two were Simon Rimmer against Brian Conley in the dance off.  Both performed badly in the dance-off, Simon fell over and Brian forgot the routine.  In the end, all four judges chose to save Simon and Brian left the competition.

So onto this week and Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.  Yes, it's Halloween week on Strictly.  This means more amazing costumes, lots of practical jokes and Craig.  Yes, Craig was back to normal this week, it was pretty unnerving watching him be nice to people.  There were some fantastic dances in the mix as well which always makes for good viewing however, there were a lot of horrors.

Although saying that, first up was Jonnie and I'm glad to see his sense of humour showing.  What else could a partial amputee be other than a pirate?  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save his Cha Cha Cha and the rest of him was as wooden as his leg.  Not his best dance at all!  Next up was Ruth as Samantha from Bewitched and it's a pity her dancing isn't as good as Anton's rabbit impression.  The judges think she's improving but I thought Jonnie's leg had more life in it.

Then it was Simon's turn and his American Smooth was anything but.  Again he was wooden and how he has remained in the competition this long is a miracle.  His best bit? Having to not speak during the judge's comments because he had a mouthful of dry chicken.  That'll teach you to eat your props!

Finally, we got some decent dancing next and it came from Gemma.  She and Alijaz did a Jive dressed as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  For someone whose own mother described her as a baby elephant, she is light on her feet and her kicks and flicks were pretty impressive to an untrained eye.  I hope she goes a lot further in this competition.  Speaking of going further, my mate Joe was on next.  Now I have mentioned before about Joe being very up and down in consistency from week to week.  He'll have a good dance then he'll have a bad one, another good, then bad etc.  So after having a storming week last week with an amazing Paso, I was expecting a bad week for him but I was delighted to see another fabulous routine.  Even dressed as a spider couldn't make me stop watching his Foxtrot, I loved it.  He's another one I want to see stay for a while longer.

Next up were a pair of cheeky devils, Mollie and AJ.  Dancing to Kylie Minogue no less. Their Cha Cha Cha was a lot better than Jonnie's but she does need to loosen up.  She's said many times that she prefers to be in hold in the ballroom dances, she's not keen on the Latin.  Next up was Alexandra and she was dancing the Tango.  Her routine was pretty good, which is fairly consistent for her, although she had a bad week last week with her Samba.  Her eyes freaked me out this week though as she had a contact lens in one as part of her costume (she was a zombie) but it gave me the shivers.

Davood was next, his dance was the Rumba and he's the first male celeb to dance this so far this series.  It's known to be difficult for male celebs to dance, not sure why but that's always cropped up every year.  Now I'm no technical expert so I am only going by what the judges said which was that it lacked much Rumba content, but as a dance to watch it was a nice routine.  Next up was Susan and she was dancing the Foxtrot to Killer Queen by Queen dressed as the Queen of Dragons from Game of Thrones.  Enough said really, not her finest hour and the studio singers could NOT sing the song, it was an appalling version.  Poor Freddie Mercury must be spinning in his grave.

The last two dances of the night belonged to Debbie and Aston.  Debbie was first dancing the Charleston and was incredible.  The legs on that woman are in better condition than many people half her age, she's amazing and thoroughly deserving of her near-perfect score of 39 (you meanie Craig, only a 9).  She was followed by Aston and he did the Paso Doble.  On paper, it didn't sound like it would work.  A modern Paso with contemporary hip-hop moves to the Nirvana song Smells Like Teen Spirit.  It sounds like a recipe for disaster but this is Aston and as much as I don't like him, he made it work and bagged himself a couple of 10s from the judges.

So by the end of the night, the spooky scores on the devilish doors were 

Debbie & Giovanni		39
Aston & Janette		38
Alexandra & Gorka		35
Joe & Katya		32
Gemma & Alijaz		30
Mollie & AJ		27
Davood & Nadiya		25
Ruth & Anton		22
Jonnie & Oti		20
Susan & Kevin		18
Simon & Karen		16

So the results show on Sunday night and the scariest thing about it? No not Craig Revel Horwood (I do like him really) or Shirley Ballas (can't stand the woman).  It was a performance from the group Steps.  I think I've been sucked into a Time Warp, oh no they've just reformed.  Oh dear lord!

Moving swiftly on!

Into the dance-off were two completely different couples.  Simon and Karen (no surprises there) but they were up against Mollie and AJ.  I really can't understand how she was in the dance-off.  I admit she's not the best in there but there was no way she was in the bottom two surely.  Anyway, they both performed again and in a unanimous 4-0 vote, Mollie won out over Simon and finally, justice was served and Simon Rimmer is eliminated.  I don't dislike the man, but he should stick to cooking as he is good at that.  Dancing however, not so much.

So next week is week 7 and all couples will be hoping to impress the judges and viewers in the hope of surviving to the following week which is Blackpool! Everyone wants to dance at Blackpool Tower but unfortunately, one couple won't make it.  I bet it's Ruth, poor Anton never usually gets to Blackpool.

Until then everyone, keep dancing!

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