Man Eater

Nov 8, 2024 by Rob

It was sad to see Amy break down in tears on Wednesday’s ITT after revealing she has had to pull out of this year’s competition. Following her well-documented health issues, a foot injury was cited as the reason for her withdrawal.

JB will continue with Lauren, this new partnership already achieving a joint-top scoring Couple’s Choice ‘Street’ routine last Saturday. Amy now being left on the sidelines certainly creates more of a narrative around JB’s progress.

He has the chance to shine once more tomorrow night with what looks like the perfect track to deliver an impactful samba, and training footage has looked highly promising.

It’s now only JB, Pete and Chris who have been denied a pimp slot performance across the series so far, and any of the three have the scope for potential pimp slot duties tomorrow night.

Following two technical element dances this one will have a wow factor or two, is the strong hint regarding Chris’s CC routine. He will dance to John Lennon’s Instant Karma and one look at the original video of this track, with Yoko Ono wearing a blindfold, leaves you wondering whether Dianne will share in Chris’s world at some point, reminiscent of the Rose/Gio moment.

If so, it is being kept under wraps and all we know is, it will be a jazz-themed routine Lizzie Gough has helped choreograph, showcasing Chris’s musicality and seeking to convey a positive message in terms of what Chris is managing to achieve despite his lack of vision.

It was Bill and Oti’s Rapper’s Delight CC, which Gough also had a hand in, that arguably won them that series. and this could turn out to be Chris and Dianne’s biggest moment so far.

Pete’s CC looks like being a contemporary routine set to the Nicotine Dolls version of ‘The Best’ and what was originally a Bonnie Tyler hit, famously covered by Tina Turner, with Jowita sure to create lots of clever artistic flourishes. This routine is being done in tribute to Pete’s beloved nan Doreen who recently passed away.

Pete was last on the leaderboard last week but clearly has a solid fan base, managing to escape the dance-off, and as evidenced by how well he did on our exit poll.

Week 7 (Icons Week) judges’ leaderboard:

JB & Lauren – Couple’s Choice – (6) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Tasha & Aljaz – Couple’s Choice – (9) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Sarah & Vito – CCC – (5) – 9, 9, 9, 10 = 37
Montell & Johannes – Waltz – (7) – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35 – bottom two
Shayne & Nancy – Quickstep – (10) – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
Jamie & Michelle – Samba – (8) – 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
Wynne & Katya – Rumba – (2) – 7, 7, 8, 8 = 30
Sam & Nikita – American Smooth – (3) – 6, 8, 7, 8 = 29 – eliminated
Chris & Dianne – Tango – (4) – 6, 7, 8, 8 = 29
Pete & Jowita – Salsa – (1) – 4, 6, 6, 6 = 22

With Sam gone, we now have a 6-3 male to female split so we surely need to be looking at a male celeb getting the chop tomorrow night. With JB on the up and having what looks such a great samba track, and Pete and Chris comfortably safe courtesy of playing their trump CC cards, this leaves Jamie, Wynne and Shayne.

Wynne managed to duck last week’s dance-off aided by the contrived ‘moment’ created at the end of his rumba. He has been scoring much better in ballroom across the series so an AS offers scope for him to achieve a score over 30.

Jamie also dodged a bullet last week with his underwhelming samba but now has AT which usually offers the opportunity to be lauded and earn a high score, and that Arctic Monkeys track feels like it can fit an evocative AT well.

Which leaves Shayne looking in all kinds of danger dancing the dreaded rumba. Shayne has already been in the dance-off twice and arrives on the back of what could easily turn out to be the series highlight for him of that pimp slotted QS last Saturday.

Due an early running order position, this has the feel of a routine likely to end up in last place on the leaderboard with the judges sure to tread carefully in not trying to trigger a sympathy vote.

Montell found herself in the bottom two last week which highlights her struggles on the pv but dancing an impactful paso should allow the judges to go to town talking her up and scoring her up to trigger a bounce.

Tasha’s QS training has looked top notch and while Sarah has a Heather Small track made famous by her role in ‘Miranda’ and which comes across to many music aficionados as a parody of a heartfelt power ballad, she looks sure to do a sterling job once more dancing AS.

There will be a samba-athon in a couple of Saturdays time. These are always used as a thinly-veiled mechanism to manipulate the leaderboard further and, by association, the way viewers vote.

It’s Blackpool next week and given their respective treatment across the series, it feels far more likely JB, Pete, Chris, Jamie and Wynne will be on the bus heading north, with Shayne left out in the cold.

Please do let us know who got your vote(s) when our week 8 exit poll opens at the end of tomorrow night’s show.

Strictly 2024 Exit Poll – Week 8

Week 8 dances and songs:

JB & Lauren Samba to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes
Montell & Johannes Paso Doble to Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifters
Sarah & Vito American Smooth to Proud by Heather Small
Tasha & Aljaz Quickstep to Fantasy by Mariah Carey
Chris & Dianne Couple’s Choice to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon
Jamie & Michelle Argentine Tango to Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys
Pete & Jowita Couple’s Choice to The Best by Nicotine Dolls
Shayne & Nancy Rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper
Wynne & Katya American Smooth to Grace Kelly by MIKA