Chris Redeemer?

Nov 15, 2019 by Rob

It’s shaping up to be one of the most interesting Blackpool Weeks in Strictly history. The main intrigue surrounds Chris and his potential survival as we now have compelling evidence he has been polling well, and certainly had to be in the top 3 on the pv last week.

Michelle, meanwhile, polled in the bottom 2 but we have the prospect of a heavily fanfared ‘Vogue’ routine for her, potentially earmarked for the pimp slot. Chris, performing a salsa, might find himself opening the show but he couldn’t have asked for a better track in ‘Uptown Funk’ and this will have impact.

How it plays out tomorrow night will hinge upon the precise ordering of the leaderboard and whether we see ties. The more ties towards the top, the better the chance for those towards the bottom to avoid the dance-off.

Michelle could be top of the leaderboard but still end up in the dance-off again, and given how popular Chris has proved with the audience to date, he has grounds for optimism of escaping the dance-off despite likely to be last on the judges’ leaderboard.

You get the distinct impression this ‘Vogue’ routine was pencilled in for Michelle before series start. Some would argue she has been generously scored series-long, perhaps with this objective in mind. The incentive to ensure her leaderboard safety may not be there now she has reached her Blackpool goal.

Alex might find herself 2nd last on the leaderboard, but she also appears to have been earning a solid pv. Last week she may have dipped a little having to open the show, and performing while The Lionesses were still playing in front of 80,000 at Wembley.

But a Beyonce-inspired paso with a female empowering theme looks good for her on paper. Being high impact it is one the viewing audience should enjoy and pasos in Blackpool have a decent track record.

All of Kelvin, Karim, Saffron and Emma look to have potentially high scoring routines in store. Kelvin, performing jive, could conjure comparisons with Jill Halfpenny’s iconic jive in Blackpool in the series 2 final. It looks an ideal dance for him.

Karim’s Charleston training has looked super-fast. He may risk throwing in too much content and the routine, again, becoming too frenetic. Speed will define Saffron’s QS too, and her issue might be maintaining timing throughout.

A Hollywood-inspired AS looks like playing to Emma and Anton’s strengths. How precisely Michelle, Kelvin, Emma, Saffron and Karim are ordered is the big imponderable which means that pre-show it is near impossible to figure out who will be in the dance-off tomorrow night.

We will see big productions for all, and 10s being pulled out like confetti. Score inflation is always on the cards during the feel-good Blackpool show, and Craig could even dust off his 10 paddle.

The biggest news this week was Emma Barton doing the Tour. Her series-long treatment to date has hinted that she is persona non grata. Perhaps there is a ray of light for her and Anton after all.

Week 8 Leaderboard:

Saffron and AJ – Waltz – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Michelle and Giovanni – AS (foxtrot-based) – 9, 9, 9, 9 = 36 – bottom 2
Kelvin and Oti – salsa – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
Emma and Anton – Theatre/Jazz – 8, 9, 8, 8 = 33
Alex and Neil – jive – 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
Karim and Amy – Viennese Waltz – 6, 8, 8, 8 = 30
Chris and Karen – Tango – 5, 7, 7, 7 = 26
Mike and Katya – Paso Doble – 5, 7, 7, 6 = 25 – eliminated

Blackpool Week songs and dances:

Alex and Neil: Paso Doble to Run The World (Girls)
Emma and Anton: American Smooth to Let’s Face the Music and Dance by Ella Fitzgerald
Michelle and Giovanni: Couple’s Choice: Street/Commercial to Vogue by Madonna
Saffron and AJ: Quickstep to Marvellous Party by Beverley Knight
Chris and Karen: Salsa to Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Karim and Amy: Charleston to Happy by C2C featuring Derek Martin
Kelvin and Oti: Jive to Jailhouse Rock from Smokey Joe’s Cafe