Do Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe read The Telegraph? Last week I complained about the unpleasantly raucous behaviour of the professional dancers in the “Claudiorium” upstairs, about the overwhelming amount of comic skits, and about Radebe’s habit of fuelling the giddy atmosphere when his job, most of the time, is to bring it down a notch or two. And this week? The dancers were on best behaviour, the comic skits were fewer and further between (and so much better for it), and Radebe handled the studio space upstairs like a pro. Tonight was unrecognisable from last week and the three hosts had by far their best weeks.
On the dance floor, it looked as if Australian pop singer Delta Goodrem – who missed last week with a rib injury – would take the plaudits with the first 10 of the series. Indeed, not for the first time this series, her performance (a rumba which had Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas in raptures) seemed to rubber-stamp her as not just the favourite to win, but as the only one who has a chance. And then came Winter Olympic gold medallist Tabby Stoecker with a superb, impassioned Couples Choice. She gained two scores of 10 and a series-high of 37 overall. The battle between Goodrem and Stoecker is on.
There were no less than six scores of 30-plus among the 12 remaining couples, with YouTuber John Nellis returning to form with an exuberant quickstep and TV host Will Best confirming his promise with a clean-as-a-whistle cha-cha-cha. Dog trainer Graeme Hall and Love Island winner Dani Dyer also made the 30s. In the basement, there was no surprise in seeing Shaun Wright-Phillips at the bottom with 17, while Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb seemed to prove his score of 30 last week was indeed a fluke with his 19. It was a week of wake-ups for many dancers, with Jaime Winstone dropping nine points from last week, while Robb and Wright-Phillips plummeted 11 each.
How did the hosts fare?
As mentioned above, this was easily their best week. Willis has seemed to the manner born since week one, while Radebe and Widdicombe have shown some improvement week on week. But tonight was almost a revelation. Helped by a more sober atmosphere from top to bottom (a dressing down was surely administered to the professional dancers), all three put their best foot forward. Radebe judged his role upstairs far better, keeping the atmosphere calm (in the main) and taking the sting out of things when his former peers threatened to get a little silly. The result of which was that his flourishes – impromptu dances with the celebrities, cheeky little sing-alongs – landed far better.
The same can be said for Widdicome and Willis with their use of humour. Previously, every link was either a tiring set-up or a tortured gag. This week they garnished the show with a far steadier hand, keeping the gags light and brief, letting the action speak for itself. Tonight felt, for the first time in this series, like a tight, well-run live production, with hosts comfortable in their roles and in their skin. Doubts still remain about the sense of having 50 per cent more presenters than usual, but a tighter ship meant that all three stood a better chance of excelling at their jobs. If tonight is the blueprint, the series can only improve. If last week was, then heaven help us all.
Dance of the night
It always feels a little like cheating when the celebrities get to perform a Couple’s Choice, despite Anton Du Beke insisting “these personal dances are so much more difficult”. Away from the strictures of Latin and ballroom, contestants with natural rhythm can fill their boots, which Tabby Stoecker did with aplomb. She matched the high emotion of her VT, during which she revealed that her father died when she was very young, with a beautiful, refined performance that allowed her to show off her athleticism (and her gold medal).
With Delta Goodrem having come back from her rib injury with a rumba that Anton Du Beke called “my favourite dance of the series by a million miles” before scoring it 10, all eyes were on Stoecker to see if anyone had the ability to stop the Australian juggernaut. Stoecker proved she absolutely did. Imagine how good she’s going to be on Gladiators!
Misstep of the night
Cach Mercer will be extremely disappointed with his tumbledown cha-cha-cha (“It wasn’t a cha-cha-cha,” said Craig Revel Horwood simply), while Lawrence Robb should be disheartened by crashing back to earth with his error-strewn jive. But it is impossible to look beyond Wright-Phillips. The former England player has performed miracles to make it to Week Five (even if he was outrageously over-scored last week), but each week he remains only proves more unflattering for him.
“Complete jive disaster,” said Revel Horwood about Wright-Phillips’s hapless jive, which was an improvement on Motsi Mabuse and Du Beke, who could barely speak. Wright-Phillips, bless him, owned up to the poor routine being his fault, which drew a priceless reaction from the usually kindly Du Beke. “Oh I know it was you, darling,” he said witheringly. Wright-Phillips seems like a lovely bloke, but sadly for him the abiding vision of his time on Strictly will be him ploddingly playing keepy-uppies with Alexis Warr’s head. His score of 17 was the lowest in Week Five since 2019, when another former England player David James scored 16. It’s coming home? Tomorrow night, Wright-Phillips surely is.
Biggest leap forward
Last week Dyer was my “misstep of the night”, so I am tempted to suggest that she and Nikita Kuzmin read The Telegraph too. Dyer has never been bad, just so relentlessly average, with little evidence that she could up her game. She needed a good week and Kuzmin found for her the perfect dance. Her salsa was big, brassy, fun and contained three impressive lifts. Was it perfect? Not by a long shot.
I am with Revel Horwood when he says Dyer “could have sold it more – I want to see steam coming off this dance”. I am also with Ballas when she says that Dyer gave it 100 per cent. Dyer had a great week, gave as good a salsa as she could, but steam – or blood or sweat, which Revel Horwood also wanted to see – is never going to be likely. This was Dyer giving it a great shot, her score of 31 is deserved, and I am pleased she had a week to remember.
Most surprising
Well goodness me, what did Vito Coppola feed Lacey Turner this week? Or, perhaps, what did he not feed her? The EastEnders actress attacked her tango (and her partner) like a starving woman faced with a hunk of raw meat. Tango face? This was tiger face and Coppola was her prey. It was a performance to make Peggy Mitchell and Pat Butcher run for the hills.
“Manic, crazy,” said Revel Horwood. “Extraordinary,” said Du Beke (it wasn’t a compliment). Not that it wasn’t a good tango, it was. It was an enjoyable routine and evidence, as Mabuse said, that Turner is here to compete, not just be quite good. But, blimey, this was a post-watershed performance that Turner should have saved for next week’s Hallowe’en special.
Judge’s line of the week
The judges were also on more sober form this week, so the dubious one-liners were not quite as copious. However, it is Revel Horwood who gets the medal this week, for his comments to Will Best. “It was like you were chewing a toffee with your bottom, darling,” he said. “It was a bit mincey.” I have no idea if this is technical ballroom language or not, but it will stick with me.