After last week’s drama, were we in for another week of injuries? Or would we be bowled over by the pizzazz, glitz and glamour? Jade Johnson having to retire from the competition due to her knee injury is very sad, and I know she will be sadly missed as a definite contender for this years final, but has it left an opening for another celebrity to go that little bit further?

Ali Bastian and Brian
FOXTROT: Ali looks right at home dancing Ballroom with Brian. I found myself mesmerised by the grace she portrays, from the top of her head down to her little pinkies and her developé was truly beautiful. Halfway through the routine I was not sure whether she stumbled or forgot her steps, and as a result of this her nerves began to show through, which spoilt the second part of the routine for me. I cannot wait to see her perform the Charleston next week as I feel it will be her best dance yet.

Natalie Cassidy and Vincent
SAMBA: This was not one of Natalie’s best performances. From the waist up she was her usual bubbly character that we all love, however from the waist down her hip action was very forced and she danced very heavy-footed. I feel Vincent did not choreograph the routine to show off her strengths, as she is fantastic at spinning and the majority of the routine was danced in close hold. For me the music did not bring the carnival spirit either. Come on Natalie, up your game!

Chris Hollins and Ola
VIENNESE WALTZ: What a beautiful effortless Viennese Waltz with fantastic choreography. Very simple clean lines with great control on his pivot turns, which he was actually leading! If anything, Chris still needs to work on his head line and bring it more to the left.

Ricky Whittle and Natalie
AMERICAN SMOOTH (FOXTROT): A very well performed ballad with some very nice technical, well executed figures from Ricky. This had a softer approach than we have seen from him in previous weeks, however I agree with Len’s comment on the big lift: I would have preferred to have seen it on the chorus of the song rather than at the end of the routine where it was not called for.

Laila Rouass and Anton
WALTZ: What a gorgeous Waltz from a gorgeous couple, full of style, poise and beauty. Laila did go slightly wrong towards the end of the routine, which I felt she did not recover from, but to dance to that standard with only two rehearsals deserves a nine from me. She did not deserve to be in the dreaded dance off this week, even if it did give her the chance to correct her little mistake from earlier.

Ricky Groves and Erin
TANGO: Ricky’s routine was quite a rollercoaster this week. I am not too sure what the entrance was meant to be, but his stance, his footwork and his body position were all wrong. Then there was a glimmer of hope as he danced an open reverse turn, but alas he stumbled again and forgot the routine, which he did not recover from. I think Ricky had put himself under too much pressure and over danced. He did do slightly better in the dreaded dance-off but there were still technical flaws. It was right for Ricky to leave the competition this week but I do hope he keeps dancing. As their last dance, whilst the credits rolled, looked very clean and he was smiling!