Great Scott?

Nov 22, 2019 by Rob

Blackpool seemed to offer a significant change of direction in this series and, as it turned out, Michelle’s exit ended up looking inevitable.

Dressed in a Marie Antoinette outfit, performing what would have been perceived by most viewers as a poor Madonna tribute, offering very little dance content, her fate was sealed.

There was always a feeling it may have been written into Michelle’s contract to get her to Blackpool to perform her LGBT ‘mission statement’ but beyond that she would be surplus to requirements, especially given she was confirmed earlier in the week as a non-Tourer. This was mentioned in last week’s analysis:

‘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.’

The biggest Blackpool reveal was confirmation Saffron is struggling on the pv as she hit the dance-off vs Michelle. She is now tasked with samba which looks like being difficult for her, based on her poor salsa in week 7, which scored 27, and the fact fast Latins are clearly not her strong suit.

Of course, there remains a possibility her samba will be over-scored to try and ensure her safety after her tears in Blackpool. AJ has been eliminated in the last 2 years when dancing samba as 1 of his 2 semi-final dances, both scoring poorly (24 with Mollie King; 23 with Lauren Steadman). Saffron might also find herself opening the show tomorrow night.

If Saffron manages to survive, she will be in line for a suitable ballroom in Musicals Week, she is much more secure in hold, & she should be able to score highly with it. And if she then made the semi-final would TPTB be so cruel to eliminate her and AJ after AJ’s 3 previous semi-final exits?

Alex being awarded the first AT of the series appears to be a show of support towards her. Her and Neil have been training 12-hour days this week trying to perfect things and training footage has looked promising. AT remains a difficult dance to execute well but she has a decent track to create something compelling with Neil and if it is looking good in rehearsals Alex might also have a shot of earning the pimp slot.

While many are putting forward a case for Chris potentially topping the pv in this series, it is also possible he only scored 3 on the pv last week and still managed to avoid the dance-off. Scoring Michelle below Chris did have the look of a potential safety net in the event of a Chris vs Michelle dance-off.

Chris is the only non-tourer among the last 6 so it would be logical to conclude he is likely to be next in line for the firing squad. However, among his remaining dances, paso was probably the best he could have hoped for, and he has been given a great track to help deliver a potentially impactful routine.

We would usually see the …a-thon the week after Blackpool and this being used as a cunning mechanism to flag up to the audience who is the weakest remaining dancer in the competition they want out, and who often goes on to be eliminated – see the likes of Susan Calman, Ed Balls and Peter Andre in previous series.

The …-a-thon seemingly being ditched could be perceived as another positive for Chris. He has also just opened the show so should be on for a later r.o., maybe even the pimp slot because he is the only remaining contestant not to have had a pimp slot series-long.

Emma is the other most likely looking pimp – she’s not had one since week 1 – and she has QS to an ideal track from Moulin Rouge. This was a surprise reveal this week and looks like a routine she could have had lined up for Musicals Week the week after.

On paper, it looks another ideal dance for her and Anton following their break-out Blackpool AS which saw Anton receive his first ever 10s in his 17th year on the show. It seems the perfect piece of music to sell a top QS with, and it even looks a potential top scoring dance on the week if granted the pimp slot.

The 2 Couple’s Choice routines for Kelvin and Karim are hard to assess. Kelvin has Street/Commercial to a Northern soul track which matters to him as it is his dad’s favourite song and a song played at Kelvin’s wedding. It’s hard to imagine the judges being overly harsh on him but if he throws in classic Northern soul dance moves, they can look a little odd.

A Contemporary routine for Karim suggests he and Amy are aiming for something tender and touching. However, training footage has shown they are throwing in a lot of content, yet again, and it is going to be another frenetic routine. Karim has the balletic skills but one wonders if they are going to risk losing the emotional connection with viewers and by over-loading the routine this could also offer room for the judges to be critical of the lack of subtlety and nuance.

On paper, it looks a tough week for Saffron to avoid the dance-off and Chris appears to have been given the chance to escape the dance-off again IF his paso is lauded. In that scenario, it could be Karim who will look vulnerable of landing in the dance-off, especially if he is only scored mid-table or lower.

Of course, everything can change on the night and only the precise ordering of the judges’ leaderboard will tell us more in the usual head-scratching game of trying to second-guess the script.

Blackpool Week leaderboard:
Karim – Charleston – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Kelvin – Jive – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Emma – AS – 8, 9, 10, 10 = 37
Saffron – QS – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35 – bottom 2
Alex – paso – 8, 8, 9, 9 = 34
Chris – salsa – 7, 8, 9, 9 = 33
Michelle – Street/Commercial – 8, 8, 8, 8 = 32 – eliminated

Week 10 songs and dances:

Alex and Neil: Argentine Tango to Never Tear Us Apart by Bishop Briggs
Emma and Anton: Quickstep to Sparkling Diamonds by Nicole Kidman
Saffron and AJ: Samba to Walking on Sunshine by Take Me To Rio Collective
Chris and Karen: Paso Doble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid
Karim and Amy: Couple’s Choice: Contemporary to Drops of Jupiter by With Confidence
Kelvin and Oti: Couple’s Choice: Street/Commercial to Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson

Remaining dances:
Alex & Neil – Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Waltz, Salsa, Samba
Chris & Karen – Argentine Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Waltz, Rumba
Emma B & Anton – Argentine Tango, Waltz, Cha-Cha-Cha, Charleston, Samba
Karim & Amy – American Smooth, Argentine Tango, Waltz, Jive, Rumba
Kelvin & Oti – American Smooth, Argentine Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Paso Doble
Saffron & AJ – American Smooth, Argentine Tango, Viennese Waltz, Charleston, Rumba