With the cold weather and ice outside the warmth of the Dancing on Ice studio must be a welcome relief for all the competitors!

With a pre-series programme on Friday night we had a small taster of things to come and a glimpse of the couples together. All looked relatively stable and happy to be there though of course, when the spotlight is on them, nerves take hold and the music starts, it could be a completely different story!

With the judging panel exclaiming that each series had beaten the last, I hope that this season has some of the best skating yet. We also got introduced to the new judge on the show – Emma Bunton who will be concentrating on the performance aspect of the programme.

The show was opened in a spectacular fashion with the professionals, Torvill and Dean plus acrobats, aerial artistes a juggler and hoopla girl. This looks set to be the most exciting series of them all! In the words of Christopher Dean, ‘Who has the fight to go all the way?’

Danniella Westbrook and Matthew

Music: Evacuate the Dance Floor – Cascada
First out and I was impressed! She had great musicality and hit the beats in all the right places. Her movements were fluid and she seemed to work well with Matthew. I thought she was a little high in her knees but that’s to be expected on the first show. She said in the video before her skate that she was nervous but that didn’t show. This was a great performance for Daniella to build on for the next show.

Tana Ramsey and Stuart

Music: Take My Breath Away – Berlin
I have to be honest and say that I wasn’t expecting much from Tana especially when she declared that she couldn’t dance and was ‘thrown out of ballet for being too clumsy!’ But she skated well and should be proud of herself. I thought her knee bend was very nice and although the skating looked a little laboured in parts she hit the positions and exited lifts on one foot. With a little work on her transitions in between the big ‘tricks’ and on her lines, like pointing the toe she will look nice.

Hayley Tammadon and Dan

Music: Shake Ya Tailfeather
The great relationship between Dan and Hayley was apparent from the start and they seem to get on extremely well which projects as they skate. Hayley had great lines with straight legs and pointed toes on the exit of the lifts. Her facial expressions were brilliant and she looked so happy to be there which is great to see. The routine was lively and really drew the audience in. Overall, a great performance and although it is only the first week, Hayley could be one to beat!

Sharron Davies and Pavel

Music: Search for the Hero – M People
Sharron is a striking figure on the ice with being so tall but I also think she is at a disadvantage as she has longer limbs to move around. Her performance was okay for the first week, I thought she was very stiff in the knees and relied on Pavel but I liked that she smiled throughout and looked to be enjoying it. She has scope to improve though and with hard work can only get better. Sharron, like most athletes is a perfectionist and that can be a positive and a negative in this sport. I think she needs to relax a little and maybe not expect so much from herself.

Emily Atack and Fred

Music: Love Story – Taylor Swift
I was a little disappointed with Emily’s performance as I thought I would see more skating included in the programme. She cuts a very nice figure out on the ice and looks lovely but I would like to see her down into her knees which would help with the flow in between the big elements. She needs to work on the lines and also basic skating as her crossovers were very weak. I think with some concentration and hard work she can do much better.

Sinitta and Andrei

Music: Halo – Beyonce
Sinitta moves very with the music and her dance moves on the spot were lovely. Her skating was mainly on two feet this week which definitely needs to be worked on as this will improve flow. Her lifts were great and I was pleased that the ‘frog’ lift worked well at the end of the routine although having a strong man to lift her was helpful! I think Sinitta is lacking in confidence with the skating but her performance was very nice to watch.

Heather Mills and Matt

Music: Conga – Gloria Estefan
Heather has to be admired for entering this competition with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. I hope that this shows people that anyone can ice skate. She looked like she enjoyed her performance and I thought she moved really well. She needs to work on her stability which comes from her core muscles but I thought she attacked this challenge and came out a winner. I look forward to see her in action next week as I think she has a lot more to give.

The Skate-off

Sharron and Sinitta were the two couples with the lowest votes. In my opinion, Sinitta should not have been in the skate-off as she moved well over the ice and there were others who were weaker in their performances. It must have been really difficult for both celebrities to re-focus and skate again.

Sharron and Pavel were first up and she looked more relaxed during this routine. This was the best performance for her out of the two.

Sinitta and Andrei skated second and again, this was a good performance bar a little stumble in the frog lift. Out of the two I felt that Sinitta was the more graceful skater.

And so we have the first casualty of Dancing on Ice 2010 – Sinitta has left the competition. I am not sure I agree with the judges decision to save Sharron. I thought that Sinitta was the better skater even with the little stumble and she had a greater capacity to improve. But, as the saying goes you win some, you lose some.

Next week it is the turn of the boys and I can’t wait to see who will be a challenger for the girls!!