S12.E08: Week 8

[Occasional Hope]

I think maybe Jake could be in trouble tonight; he was well down the leader board.  It would be a shame after such a great start but he seems to have plateaued a bit over the past few weeks while Simon and Mark have improved.

 

Judy is now clearly by far the worst dancer, but obviously viewers like her and/or Anton, so I'm not convinced their time is up yet - though clearly they'll get sent home the second they fall into the B2 - especially now they've ticked off the appearance from Andy ;).  I'd actually rather see her continue, poor as she is, than the increasingly irritating Alison who just annoys me beyond bearing, but everyone else deserves to stay at this point imo.  Maybe Steve is the next worst.  According to the tabloids Steve and Ola aren't getting on, but they seemed OK together on screen,

[Guest]

I know nothing about dance, but this is what I thought:

 

• Simon and Kristina - I don't know why Simon was in the bottom two. Their dance wasn't bad at all! 7/10
• Caroline and Pasha - Very smooth and romantic but they're no Kara & Artem. 8/10
• Jake and Jeanette - Rumba is my favourite and this failed to excite me in any way. Boring. 6/10
• Judy and Anton - Poor thing I'm a bit embarrased for her especially when she's in such high spirits all the time. 4/10
• Sinatra and Brandon - Brandon's ass wins everything anyway, but Sinatra was very poised. Good job. 8/10
• Alison and Aijaz - I was seriously enjoying the quirky and fun nature of this! Good song choice too - fantastic! 8/10
• Mark and Karen - This man lacks charisma so I can't root for him, but damn that dance was smooth! 8/10
• Frankie and Kevin - A good samba but nothing we've never seen before. They rested on their laurels this week imo. 7/10 
• PIxie and Trent - These two are fantastic and I appreciate the vintage / narrative feel to it. These are the earmarked winners for sure. 9/10
• Steve and Ola - Kept tuning off for this one... did not hold my interest one bit. 5/10

 

Other comments:

• Tess's blue dress was really nice.
• When is Claudia coming back?
• The audience booing legitamate criticism from the judges is pissing me off. 

[Occasional Hope]

Good, Alison out. I was surprised to see Caroline in the B2 with her.

 

I'm afraid Judy's time has now definitely run out.

[Dots And Stripes]

 

• Simon and Kristina - I don't know why Simon was in the bottom two. Their dance wasn't bad at all! 7/10

They've been in the bottom 2 before, but not this week. Simon was the highlight of the week for me. I really like him and I hope he manages to stay another few weeks.

 

Unfortunately this was the second week in a row where the quality of dancing wasn't great. I think Frankie had an off week due to lack of rehearsal time. She was still good, but not her best. The Rumba just isn't Jake's dance. I still think he would do better with another, more experienced pro. Janette bugs me.

 

If I were voting, I would have voted for Judy. I know, she's terrible. I like Anton and I find them entertaining together. Sure others are better than her, but there are still several celebrities left who I find less entertaining.

[ceebee]

• When is Claudia coming back?

 

Newspaper reports say: 

'Matilda is taking great strides in her recovery, but a long way off being completely better and Claudia doesn't think it would be appropriate to be on stage being upbeat while her daughter is unwell.'

 

At this stage she is refusing to put a time on when she’ll be back. She is going to give it as long as it takes and the BBC is being incredibly understanding.

 

 

It must have been so traumatic for them all.  I wish the little girl a full recovery. 

[legaleagle53]

According to the tabloids Steve and Ola aren't getting on, but they seemed OK together on screen,

 

Yes, James ranted at length about that piece in the Daily Mail about how Ola is supposedly a bully last Saturday on Twitter.  Evidently, it had Ola begging the BBC not to let the story run, but they let it run anyway.

 

Suffice it to say that I doubt James would return to Strictly now even if the show begged him to.