Strictly Come Dancing Week 1: Saturday 28 September

It was the second part of Week 1 of the new season of Strictly Come Dancing and we got to see the remaining nine couples as they took to the floor for the first time. Last night’s showstopping performance from Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvinstev put them at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 31 and shortened their odds with the bookies to 13 to 8. Will one of tonight’s couples beat that?

The answer was yes, with Abbey Clancy scoring a 32 to top the overall leaderboard and beat Natalie’s score, with the scores from Saturday’s show:

• 32 – Abbey Clancy and Aljaz Skorjanec
• 28 – Patrick Robinson and Anya Garnis
• 27 – Rachel Riley And Pasha Kovalev
• 24 – Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor
• 24 – Fiona Fullerton And Anton DuBeke
• 20 – Julian Macdonald and Janette Manrara
• 19 – Ben Cohen And Kristina Rihanoff
• 19 – Vanessa Feltz and James Jordan
• 16 – Dave Myers And Karen Hauer

Opening the show were Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff who performed the Cha Cha to John Newman’s Northern Soul influenced track, ‘Love Me Again’. The rugby player towered over Kristina but they looked good together. It was mainly Kristina cavorting around Ben so some of us enjoyed it more than others.
Len: Big Ben Ding Dong. I thought your footwork was terrific. You were a bit quick and lost your timing a bit.
Bruno: Oh you are a beefy beast. You started very well but you got a bit stiff at times and lost your timing.But full of promise.
Craig: I have seen breeze blocks with more movement. Out of time. A host of things were wrong.
Darcey: You have an impressive upper frame. Use it.

A score of 19 gives some room for improvement.

Fiona Fullerton and Anton DuBeke picked a Bond theme with a Tango to Duran Duran’s James Bond theme ‘View To A Kill’. Fiona looked focused and a bit stern as she hit the dance floor. Not sure whether she was enjoying the experience. Anton was in his element though with a Bond girl in his arms and a chance of getting a dance in November for a change.
Bruno: I liked the role play. You started well but you got your feet into a muddle.
Craig: It was lovely to see Anton actually dancing this series! It’s great that he has a partner that can put one foot in front of the other.
Darcey: There were a couple of mistakes but overall very impressive. Watch the top line.
Len: There were one or two incidents but there was a lot of content. It was full on. Well done.

A score of 24 must be one of Anton’s best for a few years.

Dave Myers And Karen Hauer tackled the Cha Cha to ‘Moves Like Jagger’ by Maroon 5. It was the ultimate in Dad dancing and we could all see Dave counting as he danced. He made it though without making any major mistakes so well done for his first dance.
Craig: Terrifying. I actually recoiled in horror as you came towards the judges desk. You need to stop counting as well.
Darcey: I want to cry with happiness. Watch the enthusiasm, you were slightly out of control. I’m in love.
Len: You dance like I cook. You threw it all in and hoped for the best. More stagger than Jagger.
Bruno: The most hilariously insane mess ever. I can’t wait to see what you do next week.

A score of 16 leaves Dave at the bottom of the leaderboard with Tony Jacklin from last night.

Rachel Riley And Pasha Kovalev waltzed to Luther Vandross’ version of ‘When I Need You’. Unlike Dave Myers, Rachel didn’t have a problem counting and looked like she had some potential.
Darcey: You had the glide and grace of the waltz. Just watch the transitions.
Len: It was a tad on the careful side. It will get you through a few weeks but it won’t win you Strictly.
Bruno: It felt like an air freshener advert. All the elements are there. Extend the lines and go with the flow.
Craig: Your head at times didn’t look like it belonged on your body. It had a beautiful flow and a gorgeous rise and fall and was full of elegance.

Rachel’s score of 27 puts her in the top half of the scoring.

Julian Macdonald and Janette Manrara danced the Cha Cha to Madonna’s hit ‘Vogue’. Julian seemed to be having some challenges in training but he came alive on the dance floor as his cat walk experience shone through.
Len: It was more like woman’s weekly than Vogue. You have to try and straighten the legs but it was fun to watch.
Bruno: The posing and posturing was in vogue but sometimes you have to play it straight.
Craig: You did it but not very well. It was all on bent knees and not one bit of hip action.
Darcey: I love the joy in your face. You’d better come back with the same joy.

A score of 20 puts Julian towards the bottom of the leaderboard.

Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor ‘s  first dance was the Tango, performed to Abba’s ‘Money Money Money’. It was a steady but not spectacular debut with some good moments. On occasions Robin had to do a little steering but not bad for a first dance.
Bruno: You just messed it up in the middle. The first part was good.
Craig: You were lagging behind Robin. I was surprised.
Darcey: You had great attack and attitude. You have to pull out of your frame.
Len: I liked your attitude. You did mess up a couple of times but nice. I enjoyed it.

A score of 24 is a great start for Deborah

Patrick Robinson and Anya Garnis opened their Strictly account with a Jive to Bruno Mars’ ‘Runaway Baby’. Despite knee problems in training, Patrick looked good on the dance floor.
Craig: The rhythm and energy was absolutely fantastic. You need to sort out your flat feet and get onto the balls of the feet.
Darcey: I liked it.
Len: That Jive was alive. What you lacked in technique you made up for in enthusiasm and attack.
Bruno: Great debut.

A 28 for Patrick puts him amongst the front runners for the Strictly title.

Vanessa Feltz and James Jordan’s first dance was the Cha Cha to Shania Twain’s hit single ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’. Vanessa was lighter on her feet than I imagined but there was fairly limited content in the routine.
Darcey: I did miss the cheekiness of the Cha Cha but I believe you will enjoy the ballroom next week.
Len: It was a bit cool, calm and collected. You never lost your timing and didn’t make any major mistakes.
Bruno: You were trying so hard to do it right that you lost the personality.
Craig: Too much acting and not enough dancing.

A score of 19 leaves Vanessa with some work to do to stay out of the bottom two.

Closing the show were Abbey Clancy and Aljaz Skorjanec  dancing the Waltzing to ‘Kissing You’ by Des’ree. Abbey said she was very nervous but danced very gracefully.
Len: That was the dance of the night.
Bruno: Dreamy, deeply felt, Romantic. An incredible debut on Strictly.
Craig: Gorgeous.
Darcey: Romantic waltz and great posture. You made some beautiful lines.

A score of 32 was the best of the weekend with Natalie Gumede one point behind with a 31.

So we have now seen all the contestants and we get to see them all dance again next week before two couples have to face each other in the dance-off next Sunday night.

 

For details on scoring see Strictly Come Dancing Judges Scores