The 12th series of Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens with a double whammy of sparkly spectaculars this weekend. Friday’s show saw six of the couples perform their nerve-shredding first dance in front of the judges, whilst Saturday saw the remaining nine couples take the dreaded walk on to the Strictly dance floor.
Show one was opened by TV presenter Caroline Flack and her dance partner Pasha performing a lively, feel-good Cha Cha to Michael Jackson’s 'Can You Feel It?'. The judges were impressed with Caroline’s energy, with Len comparing their dance to “a glass of champagne, fizzy and sparking”. They were awarded 27 points, with Craig’s six their lowest score.
Their excellent score was matched by pop-star Pixie Lott’s Jive with newby dancer Trent. Their routine to Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ even had Craig declaring “although it wasn’t perfect dahhhling, it was great”.
EastEnder’s hard man Jake Wood and partner Janette Tangoed to 28 points, the highest score of the night. Their fierce routine to Britney Spear’s ‘Toxic’ had the judges purring with delight, with Bruno declaring that Jake was a “absolute brute”.
It wasn’t such good news for Radio One dj Scott Mills and his partner Joanne, their Cha Cha to Robbie Williams’ ’Rock DJ’ wasn’t well received by the judges, with Len exclaiming that “it was a dance that might be better on the radio”, and Craig adding that it looked like Scott was “using a zimmer frame”. They were awarded only 16, the lowest score of the night.
Saturday’s show got off to another sensational start as Mark Wright and Karen jived their way to 24 points, dancing to Wham’s classic ‘I’m Your Man”.
They were followed by Alison Hammond and her partner Aljaz. Their Cha Cha to Chaka Khan’s ‘I’m Every Woman’ had the audience up on their feet, and had Craig proclaiming that the performance “was one of the most confident first dances we’ve ever had”. They received 26 points for their efforts.
But the performance of the night and the weekend was from Saturday’s singer Frankie Bridge and Kevin from Grimsby. Their Waltz to Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ received a standing ovation and the first eights of the series from Len and Bruno. Even Craig showed his softer side, calling it “beautiful, elegant and romantic”. Their total of 30 was five points better than their closest rivals.
The judges weren’t so kind to Mrs Brown’s Boys star Jenny Gibney and her partner Tristan for their Jive, not Masterchef host Gregg Wallace and Alionafor their Cha Cha, they both finished with 18 points, languishing close to the bottom of the leader board.