ASTON Merrygold and Janette Manrara reached the top of the leaderboard on Movie Week of Strictly Come Dancing – as Reverend Coles clings on to his place at the bottom.
In case you missed it, here’s a complete round-up on everything you might have missed on this week’s Strictly…
Simon Rimmer and Karen Clifton – Quickstep to You’ve Got A Friend In Me (Toy Story)
Dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Jessie from the classic Pixar movie, the dancing duo went to infinity and beyond for their Toy Story themed Quickstep.
In fact, Simon did it quite literally – and in a hilarious moment soared towards the sky as the finale to their number.
Impressed Shirley Ballas praised Simon on holding his frame, and said that the pair “always had a friend in her”.
Bruno Tonioli however, told him off for “wobbling” and Craig Revel Horwood scathed: “You could’ve used the floor a lot better – it looked like you were just jogging around the dance floor.
“But I liked the bit when you flew out, darling.”
Darcy Bussell agreed and said: “It’s bothering me about these scattered sashays. I could see you’re putting in so much effort, and the hours will pay off – but it’s tough to open the show.”
Total Score: 19
Ruth Langsford and Anton Du Beke – Rumba to Diamonds Are Forever from James Bond
Ruth showed off a stunning new look and ditched her iconic bob for flowing blonde locks for her sensual rumba – the first of this dance of the season.
Following the dance, Bruno said: “I was frozen – I think you pushed the concept of cool to a whole new level – and you could start an ice age!”
He then changed his tune however, and warned her: “However, The hips need defrosting.”
Craig agreed and said that Ruth was “very stilted and lacked hip action”, while Shirley and Darcy both said that she needed to be more connected to Anton.
Leaping to her defence, Anton shot back to the judges: “How can she resist me, what’s the matter with you? I’ve got a sparkly jacket on!”
Total Score: 15
Mollie King and AJ Pritchard – American Smooth to Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music
Molly and AJ enchanted the audience with their stunning American Smooth – with Mollie looking just like Julie Andrews in the retelling of The Sound of Music.
Impressing with a series of stunning lifts and twirls, they earned the first major standing ovation of the evening.
Managing to charm the judges, who had been less than pleased with the dances so far, meanie Craig melted, branded the dance “absolutely fantastic” and said: “I absolutely loved the lifts! I really did. The only problem were the landings – you need to smooth those out.”
Darcy also praised Mollie on her control and gushed: “My goodness, you have so much potential.”
While Shirley said: “You made my night, it was just lovely,” and Bruno said that the pair were “becoming a unit” as time goes on.
Total Score: 30
Rev. Richard Coles and Dianne Buswell – Paso Doble to Flash’s Theme from Flash Gordon
The Reverend once again proved to be comedy gold as he donned a red cape and blonde wig for his routine with new girl Dianne.
Clearly enjoying every moment of it, the star got tangled with his cape at the end of the dance – and failed to impress the judges as Bruno said it “took on an alien form”.
Craig scathed that he took on the form of a “toddler throwing a tantrum” and complained that his form and performance was a “disaster”.
Darcy tried to remain upbeat and said: “It was strangely powerful – your conviction is extraordinary!”
Shirley was also charmed and, while she admitted it wasn’t his best dance, said: “You can’t doubt your commitment!”
Total Score: 14
Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice – Quickstep to Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off from Shall We Dance?
Debbie and Giovanni channelled the world of Shall We Dance for the tit-for-tat song Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.
While the song may be – it was clear the pair were talking on the same page with a sweet routine as the couple’s close bond shone through.
Shirley immediately told them off for taking time to get into their routine in favour of a theatrical performance and told them: “You’re a dancer – you should be getting on with it.”
Bruno told them that they oozed “classic Hollywood style” during their routine and heaped praise on the dance.
But their happiness was short-lived as Craig told them off for breaking the “ten-second rule” for the dance, telling them they broke out of hold for longer than they should have during the routine and would be marking them down as a result.
Darcy then tried to end the judging on a positive note and told Debbie that he was “constantly surprising” her as they continued in the competition.
Total Score: 29
Brian Conley and Amy Dowden- American Smooth to If I Only Had A Brain from The Wizard of Oz
Comedian Brian turned into a Scarecrow for the iconic song from the Wizard of Oz – with Amy as his Dorothy.
Complete with a comedy fall at the end of the routine, the happy-go-lucky star said he was having “great fun” as Bruno said he was “acting the role like a pro”.
“You really have come into your own and it was an improvement definitely on last week,” said Craig, while Darcy said the pair had “good timing and good balance”.
Shirley also said that he “did himself proud” after falling into the dance-off against Chizzy Akudolu last week, and Brian beamed as he was given his highest score of the series run so far.
Total Score: 22
Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec – Charleston to The Bare Necessities from The Jungle Book
Hollyoaks star Gemma and Aljaz gave it their all in a fast paced routine to The Bare Necessities- so much so that one of Aljaz’s Baloo ears fell off by the time they took their final steps.
While Craig said it was “full of character and energy”, he added: “I was sad to see there was no basic Charleston and you only swivel on your right leg, bizarrely.”
Darcy and Shirley also praised the pair for their high-energy routine, and gave credit to Aljaz for the choreography.
Total Score: 31
Charlotte Hawkins and Brendan Cole – Tango to Danger Zone from Top Gun
Charlotte and Brendan had a lot to prove after mid-routine nerves got the better of her last week and their routine was branded a “complete disaster”.
Taking on a Top Gun inspired dance, Charlotte looked more confident than ever as she stomped the dancefloor with Brendan once again for a raunchy tango.
Darcy said that Charlotte should be proud for the “clear difference” between the two weeks.
Shirley wasn’t so pleased, and butted heads with Brendan Cole over use of rise and fall in the dance. After she accused the pair of doing it in a routine that doesn’t need it, Brendan snapped back that there wasn’t – causing Bruno to jump in and tell the professional to “be more respectful” to the head judge.
Judges comments ended with Craig telling them: “From last week you did amazingly well, and you do much better in hold than out of it. You’re going in the right direction.”
Total Score: 17
Jonnie Peacock and Oti Mabuse – Paso Doble to The Raiders March from Indiana Jones
The Paralympian swung into the dance floor to become the iconic Indiana Jones for this routine – but immediately got into trouble after his whip got tangled.
After an action-packed performance, Shirley praised the choreography and said that he needed to pull his hips forward to improve.
Bruno said that Jonnie had a “nice bum, but needed to keep it under” and Craig followed suit and said that despite a “brilliant job” he needed to improve his body positioning.
Jonnie later admitted that he struggled with the performance, and said it was his “nightmare dance”.
Total Score: 26
Susan Calman and Kevin Clifton perform a Samba to Wonder Woman (Theme) from Wonder Woman
Performing the first samba of the series, Susan became the ultimate female superhero for the fun routine with Kevin Clifton.
“He might have been wearing the pants, but you were in charge!” praised Bruno.
Craig then couldn’t stop grinning as he said: “I don’t think i’ve seen anything quite like that!”
He then added: “I thought the routine was fun, but you do need to have bounce in this, and that was essentially missing.
“It’s something to work on if you are to get to the final.”
Total Score: 20
Joe McFadden and Katya Jones – Viennese Waltz to Somewhere My Love from Doctor Zhivago
Dancing in the snow, Joe donned an impressive tash to woo Katya in the Russian snowfall during their Waltz.
The judges were quick and sweet with their comments, with Craig giving the pair two thumbs up, Shirley revealing she enjoyed it and Bruno saying he was “swept away” by the romantic piece.
Darcy told them: “You have really tested Joe – and it worked.”
Total Score: 32
Aston Merrygold and Janette Manrara will Cha Cha to Can’t Stop The Feeling from Trolls
After an phenomenal week last week, the pair continued their winning streak with a Trolls themed routine.
Darcy praised the pair and said they were “made for each other” on the dancefloor and “didn’t want the dance to end” while Bruno also said that their “deliciously cartoonish” routine had won him over.
Even Craig was charmed as he just simply said: “You’re very good, aren’t you darling?”
Total Score: 35
Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez – American Smooth to Wouldn’t It Be Loverly from My Fair Lady
Alexandra became the ultimate Eliza Doolittle for the East London based American Smooth with Gorka ‘The Corker’.
Shirley praised the singer for her performance, whereas Bruno branded her an “actress dancer”.
“Your artistic sensibility was flawless,” he said. “I could not see a moment in there that wasn’t played absolutely right. You really get what it’s about and it’s flawless.”
When asked by Tess if they deserved a standing ovation like last week, Craig brought the tone down and said: “I’m not tonight, only because your free arm needs more work, you need to go where its going and what it’s intention is.”
Whereas Darcy swooned: “I really love you – every time you come out. The commitment! You are one to watch.”
Total Score: 33
Davood Ghadami and Nadiya Bychkova – Samba to Stayin’ Alive from Saturday Night Fever
Ending the night on a high, Eastenders star Davood channeled his inner John Travolta for a disco inspired Samba.
At one point the star was seen leaping on to the judges’ table and showing off his hip action in one raunchy move.
As Tess joked to Bruno that he had a “good view” from his seat, the flamboyant judge declared: “You look like you had a ferret in your pants!”
Craig, however, wasn’t so impressed, chastised Davood’s “splayed hands” and said: “All the hip wiggles and gyrations are crowdpleasers but have very little to do with the samba.”
Darcy also said that the enthusiastic star needed to reign in his actions, and that he was “chucking around” Nadiya.
Shirley ended the comments by telling them: “Much better than last week – plenty of samba content.
“The number one thing you have to have is posture. I found it a bit collapsed like a fillet of fish in the middle.”
Total Score: 25
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