The Late Late Show
We face a slight dilemma ahead of tomorrow night’s show with Simon injured at week start which undoubtedly would have limited his American Smooth training. His routine may be compromised as 2 lifts are allowed but could be off the menu.
While it seems unlikely they will seek a sympathy vote for him, an elimination price of 8-11 doesn’t make much appeal. He has been bottom 2 twice now and any sort of bounce may be negligible.
Running order positions of 4, 10, 1, 9, 3 might suggest he is due a later slot but there are never any guarantees and he could well find himself sandwiched between two stronger dances, mid-show, with his Sweeney Todd-themed routine.
It looks a week when a good few could struggle to score well. Jonnie is going to find the hip and leg movements required for a good CCC beyond him, while Davood looked like he was struggling in early rumba training footage but sounded more upbeat on last night’s ITT.
Simon has been bottom 2 twice now and any sort of bounce may be negligible
Davood has generally been on the receiving end of harsh assessments series-long but with r.o. slots of 4 and 1 in the last 2 weeks he can hope for a later slot, plus he is at least dancing rumba to a very evocative track.
Jive looks like being a tough assignment for Gemma based on her early training VT. She is also due a harsh critique and it may well be in the script for the judges to be critical and score her down.
Halloween Week with its costumes, make-up, props and set design is probably the ideal week to get an unsuitable dance out of the way.
CCC is notoriously difficult and it looks like Mollie has been struggling with the technique in the training room with AJ also laid low this week with a flu bug.
Ruth dancing QS with ballroom maestro Anton, and to an audience-pleasing tune, should see her safe. Susan hasn’t looked convincing in foxtrot training but they have been favourable in their treatment of her to date.
Joe never looks especially graceful in ballroom but much like Susan and Jonnie the script has been for him to generally be talked up and scored up and this may continue with his foxtrot.
Might Alexandra’s late r.o. slots in the last 4 weeks suggest she has been struggling in the public vote?
Alexandra, Aston and Debbie look like producing the strongest routines on the night although none of them have looked particularly stand out in training VTs this week.
Pimp slots so far this series have been Aston, Alexandra, Davood, Susan, Jonnie. Alexandra has enjoyed late r.o.s in the last 4 weeks of 15/15, 13/14, 11/13, 11/12.
Might this suggest she has been struggling in the public vote or is it a case of the show simply withholding this year’s best dancer for the end to keep viewers tuned in?
There is no clash with X Factor tomorrow night so the incentive for those sort of tactics aren’t really there. Her r.o. slot will be worth monitoring but overall it looks a week when both Alex and Aston are likely to consolidate their position as market leaders.
This week’s songs and dances:
Alexandra & Gorka – Tango to Maneater by Nelly Furtado, zombie-themed
Aston & Janette – Paso Doble to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Davood & Nadiya – Rumba to Wicked Game by Chris Isaak
Debbie & Giovanni – Charleston to Frankie by Sister Sledge
Gemma & Aljaz – Jive to Ever Fallen In Love by The Buzzcocks
Joe & Katya – Foxtrot to Trouble by Coldplay
Jonnie & Oti – Cha Cha to Troublemaker by Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida
Mollie & AJ – Cha Cha to Better The Devil You Know by Kylie Minogue
Ruth & Anton – Quickstep to the Bewitched Theme Song
Simon & Karen AS (VW-based) to Delilah by Tom Jones, Sweeney Todd-themed
Susan & Kevin – Foxtrot to Killer Queen by Queen
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Agree with you Rob that Simon looks a goner. The top mens and womens market looks interesting with Debbie Alexandra and Gemma and Aston and Joe in the mens, tricky to pick.
Hi Rob. Here are a few of my thoughts after week 6.
1) We can expect the first announcements on who will be taking part in the Strictly Live Tour in mid-November. Over the past seven years, 19 of the 21 celebrities who finished in the top three of their series went on to take part in the tour (the two exceptions being Kimberley Walsh & Kellie Bright).
Given that the Strictly tour takes place in late Jan/early Feb, and that Aston’s partner is due to give birth in January, I would have thought it very unlikely that Aston will be part of the tour, and therefore I don’t see the show pushing for an Aston victory.
I did notice that Joe mentioned the tour on ITT this week. I have doubts that either Jonnie or Davood will sign up for the tour, which would mean that by default, Joe becomes a top priority to participate, and thus he would (continue to…) receive preferential treatment on the show. I feel that the Joe top male/top three bets are both still in play.
2) The judges are still pushing Gemma as a legitimate contender for the Glitterball trophy, but I am struggling to see it myself. Whereas the other contenders have already produced dances that would be worthy of repeating in the final, nothing that Gemma has done so far has made a lasting impression on me. She doesn’t appear to have a great love for ballroom, and her only remaining Latin dances are the tricky samba, salsa & rumba. Maybe she has a great Argentine Tango in her, although interestingly Aljaz has yet to perform this dance on Strictly.
3) On one hand Debbie will have been delighted to have received Shirley’s ‘Queen of Latin’ moniker this week…. however in an ideal world, she would have loved to have received this in the final itself, where it could have had a much greater impact on the public vote.
Thanks for your thoughts James. We certainly need to keep a close eye on who is touring and who is not, though the Kellie Bright series remains a curious anomaly.
A touring Joe/non-touring Davood may well explain their series long treatment to date. A Charleston for Joe this week offers the window to big him up again.
The issue they have this series has been Alex/Aston being such accomplished dancers at series start it is impossible for anyone else to get close to that standard.
Gemma continues to improve and certainly has likeability on her side, along with a potentially winning ‘journey’ narrative. I still think there is more than enough time for her to produce something worthy of 9s and 10s.
In ballroom this should be comfortably achieved; the tougher test lies in fast Latin but to be fair I think a reprise of her excellent paso would potentially fit the bill.
I’m surprised Susan hasn’t landed in the dance off yet. If and when she goes Joe will be picking up a huge vote transfer. I think he has a very good chance of making the final.
There’s plenty of time left for Gemma. I think I may have said previously, but the star I compare her journey with the most is Abbey Clancy and she didn’t have her “winning” dance until Blackpool and that walking on sunshine quickstep.