Star of the Dutch Dancing on Ice and former British Figure Skating Champion, Blackburn's Dannielle Guppy gives her view on the latest Dancing on Ice series.

What a great opening to show five with Bette Midler singing live. Jayne and Chris interpreted 'From a Distance' beautifully and it was lovely to watch. The required element this week was a ‘change of edge sequence’. This isn’t the easiest skating move to do as it requires you to be down in the knees, using the thigh muscle and the ankles to move the skate across the ice to create to change of edge.

Jessica Taylor and Pavel
Music: Cheek to Cheek: Poor Pavel’s legs from the lift! He had so many cuts from Jessica’s blades, but that is what happens in pair skating. Jessica looked classy out on the ice and her leg extensions were lovely to see. A few minor stumbles didn’t detract from the overall performance and the changes of edge were nicely controlled. The interpretation was excellent and Jessica really performed the number.

Donal McIntyre and Florentine
Music: Black and Gold – Sam Sparro: One tiny disappointment for me in this routine was his (extremely) short change of edge – it was the quickest inside to outside edge I have seen. Apart from that though, I enjoyed watching Donal’s routine. His timing at the beginning was great and the Hydroglide was easy for him. Donal improves every week which is great to see.

Roxanne Pallett and Daniel
Music: Hallelujah - Alexandra Burke: There is a big difference starting to appear between the skaters now - those who are confident and able enough to skate alone and those who are assisted by their skating partner. Unfortunately, Roxanne falls into the latter category. I feel as though she relies on Daniel to skate around which for me, detracts from the performance. The Headbanger also didn’t happen due to her feet being wrong but I also thought the entry was awkward. Her performance was slightly disappointing for me this week.

Ellery Hanley and Frankie
Music: Boogie Wonderland – Earth, Wind and Fire: Why oh why do they make Ellery dance at the beginning of his routine? He never looks comfortable when he’s doing it, but I liked his routine and thought the lift with the twist was great. He is looking a lot more confident on his skates which is great to watch as it is now beginning to match his upper body strength.

Zoe Salmon and Matt
Music: Loving You – Minnie Riperton: I would have liked to have seen Zoe’s change of edges be a little deeper but this was a gorgeous routine and her smile lifted it throughout. I still feel as though she can go down into her knees a little more which would make her skating a lot smoother. But she looks elegant and interacts very well with Matt whilst on the ice.

Todd Carty and Susie
Music: Smile - Nat King Cole: Just seeing Todd on the ice makes me smile! I have heard numerous complaints from people inside and outside of the ice arena asking the question "why is he still there?” He reminded me of my partner when I skated in Holland – Gaston also struggled with the skating but had a great time, he smiled through his routines and the audience loved his personality. That is also why Todd survived two shows, the audience liked his personality and wanted to see what he would do! I wish he had stayed but unfortunately someone has to go.

Melinda Messenger and Fred
Music: Up – The Saturdays: I really want Melinda to bend her knees and turn her feet out! From the waist up, she looks lovely with finished off arms but below the waist doesn’t look comfortable. Her stumble at the beginning really took away the performance for me but I did think her recovery was good as she got up with a smile. After the stumble the nerves set in a little and that affected the routine.

Coleen Nolan and Stewart
Music: Can’t Fight the Moonlight – LeeAnn Rimes: I liked Coleen’s routine this week. She skated it well although there is room for improvement. Her meltdown shows just how pressured skating can be and it takes extremely tough people to get back on there which is what she has done. I would like to see her work on refining her basics more, although she does look comfortable on the ice and has a nice knee bend.

Ray Quinn and Maria
Music: Canned Heat – Jamiroquai: Ray’s required element this week was executed well and the best out of all the couples. His perfectionist personality ensures that all his movements are polished although this could get in the way of training. There is no denying that he can dance and has rhythm and he is utilising this through his performances. It was an enjoyable and able performance but some of the faces pulled during the routine put me off as he started to look slightly arrogant.

The Skate-Off
Both performances were better in the skate off. Todd seemed steadier as did Ellery. I knew as soon as Todd was announced as being in the skate off he would be the one to leave though.

Ellery is a stronger skater so the result is right. But I really wanted Todd to stay as I loved watching his routines, and now his wish of gaining a score in the double figures won’t be realised!