Strictly Spooky!

WooooOOOoooOOOoooooo....It's Halloween Week down at Elstree studios. Brucie and Tess have got their scary masks on....oh wait, that's just their normal faces. Whoops!

First couple on the dance floor were Patrick & Anya with a Quivering Quickstep which I hate to admit was really rather enjoyable. The judges seemed to like it too, with very little criticism and a score of 34 (including two 9's) giving them their best marks yet. I'm still not his biggest fan though, especially after he knocked Deborah out last week, but if he carries on improving, I might like him more.

Poor Fiona, she can't seem to do right for doing wrong.  Her and Anton's Chilling Charleston didn't seem to over impress the judges with Bruno saying it was like Halloween at Doris Day's house and Craig adding that it was too polite and well behaved. Craig did praise Fiona's swivel and Darcey said it was clean and placed but out of sync and time occasionally. I liked it but thought it was a bit slow. 28 points was two points less than last week but will hopefully keep them out of the bottom two. It's nice having Anton around doing some proper dancing.

Ben and Kristina danced a Paranormal Paso Doble and Ben with his top off is always a winner! His cape work was pretty decent too. Craig said he was distracted by Ben's chest and almost forgot to look at his footwork, Darcey said it was an improvement but he needs to use his waist more. Len said that it was obvious that he and Ben had a lot in common but there were no fireworks. As the audience groaned at him he added with a flourish that it was an explosion....and fabulous. 32 points gives them their highest score to date.

This Jive from Sophie & Brendan went wrong early on and never got back on track. Even I, who knows nothing of technique, thought her kicks and flicks were especially weak. It really was quite horrific and in a way I hope she is in the bottom two to see if she can get it right next time. In fact on that performance she should be in the bottom two. They still managed 28 points with Len even giving them an eight...he must have been watching a different dance.

A Very Vibrant Viennese Waltz danced by Natalie and Artem was ethereal and romantic, beautiful. I could tell before the judges spoke though, that there might be grumblings about not enough dancing in hold and sure enough Len said that one of the main things about the Viennese Waltz was the challenge of staying in hold whilst maintaining posture and it was more like an American Smooth. Bruno said it was magic and Craig said "You make me sick darling, you are Fab-u-lous." A magnificent score of 38 including two 10's from Darcey and Bruno (the first of this series) was well deserved.

I loved Mark and Iveta's dance ....but it wasn't really a Paso Doble, more of a Disco Doble. Mark flew in from the rafters with a goldfish bowl on his head and Iveta looked out of this world as a sexy alien. Bruno thought Mark was more space cadet than matador. Craig said he had fantastic rhythm and he didn't mind it (high praise from Craig). Len said "Houston we have a problem....long on performance but short on technique." A disappointing mark of 25 might see them in danger. Aaaagh!

Wow! As Craig said "Welcome back to the competition darling." This was such an improvement on last weeks Paso Doble. The American Smooth seemed to really suit Rachel and it was obvious she had been working very hard. There was praise from all the judges with Len saying it was her best dance to date and Bruno saying the Zombie bride had found her MoJo. 30 points (including her first two 8's) gave her a full eight points more than last week. Surely she will be safe this week. Fingers crossed!

Both Ben and Ola looked Spook-tacular in their Halloween outfits and they danced this Terrific Tango with purpose and conviction. Darcey said she was really attracted to evil Ashley, Craig thought it was aggressive, dark and mysterious but he needs to sort his head out - I presume he meant positioning and not his thinking! Both Len and Bruno said that Ashley now needs to polish his technique in order to shine brighter. This couple also got heir highest score so far with 33 points.

Abbey and Aljaz danced a Romantic Rhumba and unlike some of the other couple's they have no trouble getting up close for the sexy dances. As Darcey said, they have brilliant chemistry. Craig had just one word for them....Impressive. Len said they were amazing and Bruno said Abbey was here to stay. Two 8's and two 9's gave them 34 points.

Dave and Karen were disappointing this week, their Jive didn't have much juice and I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the bottom two for the first time. Dave didn't actually seem to do much dancing at all and he also seemed a bit subdued to me. He must have been bad because Bruce said they were still his favourites. A score of only 19 points will surely leave him at the bottom of the leader board.

Susanna and Kevin danced a Charleston that was full of bounce with Susanna beaming all the way through. She really is full of energy and enthusiasm. Craig said he really really liked it and Darcey said it was sweet, fun and cheeky with nice swivels. Keeping to the Halloween theme Len said it had plenty of tricks and plenty of treats and they ended the show with a very nice score of 34.

My pick for the bottom two this week, based on these dances alone, will have to be Sophie & Brendon and Dave & Karen. My favourite dances this week were Natalie & Artem's Viennese Waltz and Mark & Iveta's Disco Doble.

RESULTS

What a shocker! Abbey & Aljaz and Rachel & Pascha in the bottom two. What a Halloween Horror... definitely the wrong two, even worse than last week. Of course, even before the actual dance-off, it was a foregone conclusion. There was no way the judges were going to vote Abbey off, unless she fell over or just stood still for two minutes. So it's bye bye Rachel, who at least went out on a high with her best dance.

                                                                                                                Tracey