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.

Week Eight and its props week! Opening the show was Torvill and Dean with all the skating professionals to 'It’s Raining Men' which was a very energetic piece with umbrellas and raindrops!

The show only has 6 couples left and with only a few weeks until the final it is going to be close as to who stays in the competition.

This week all couples had to use a prop within their routine – hopefully without mistakes!

Roxanne Pallett and Daniel
Music: Don't Cha – Pussycat Dolls
Prop: Chair
I thought Roxanne was okay this week, and used the prop well. This routine didn’t have too much skating in as the chair was the main focus – ironic that she gets her highest score this week! She performed well but I am still to be convinced that she is competent on ice skates. Her basics still need to be worked on, her crossovers aren’t fully completed and she is stiff in the knee. Having made those points though, it was a cheeky routine which was nice to watch.

Ray Quinn and Maria
Music: Have You Met Miss Jones – Robbie Williams:
Prop: Hat
The hat was dropped, but again another very comfortable performance from Ray. I have to admit that Ray was a particular favourite of mine at the beginning but every week he has skated with confidence and now I think he is great. I would say that the hat is the hardest prop to work with and he has done extremely well. The skating in this routine was once again very good with a few minor mistakes but they didn’t detract from the routine.

Jessica Taylor and Pavel
Music: Umbrella – Rihanna:
Prop: Umbrella
Wow! I loved this routine and thought Jessica skated great. She always looks amazing out on the ice but this week she really performed well. I was disappointed in the marks as I didn’t feel they reflected the performance. Jessica’s was without mistakes but she still scored below Ray who had a couple in his routine. I didn’t agree with Jason saying that her performance was ‘wet’ although that is an appropriate word to use for this song! I feel that he has picked his favourite for the show and he will not even consider the possibility of praising - or high scoring - another.

Coleen Nolan and Stewart
Music: Music: I Just Want to Make Love to You – Etta James:
Prop: Feather Boa
I really thought Coleen found some confidence this week – either that or she acts well! Her skating was a little better with the backwards crossovers working and she also seemed a little more down in the knees. It must be hard when you have confidence issues and then you are told to include a prop. I think she deserves to be recognised for that. When I saw the yellow feather boa I knew that Jason would make some reference to Big Bird and he didn’t disappoint with more scathing comments. Coleen should be proud of her performance this week.

Donal McIntyre and Florentine
Music: I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues – Elton John:
Prop: Brush
I think that Donal has really improved in the past few weeks and this performance was no exception. He skates really well with Florentine - and the brush! -and always looks as though he is enjoying his time on the ice. The prop was well used and the skating was very competent. Donal could be a dark horse in this competition as he is consistently good every week.

Zoe Salmon and Matt
Music: The Boy Does Nothing – Alesha Dixon:
Prop: Cane
This routine was cute but I do think there were better performances this week. The cane was used well and she smiled throughout but all the lifts were exited on two feet and I would expect more from her at this stage of the competition. She always looks excited to be in the competition but with the final being so close I want more technically. This week has been about the prop which is why I think Ruthie gave her a 6.0 but when the focus comes back to the skating next week she may need more in her routine.

The Skate-Off
Roxanne and Zoe were in the skate off. I am pleased that Donal has gone through as I was slightly worried when he was in the bottom three.

Roxanne’s performance definitely picked up and I thought it was much better than the first routine. Zoe’s second skate was also better and I think this was the closest skate off yet.

Zoe stays, which didn’t surprise me, but credit to Roxanne for skating better the second time round.

So more wacky, weird and cute skaters in the Make Me a Star! Next week is when we find out who gets picked out of the 20.