As far as the leagues are concerned, this has been a topsy-turvy year. In years gone by you’ve found that one couple tends to dominate, even if that couple hasn’t won Strictly itself. This time though, for the first time in the four years I’ve been doing this, I find that a different couple has won each league title. The main league was a constant battle all the way through, and ended up so close in the end that, had Judge Craig got his dusty 10 paddle out for Chelsee & Pasha just once, then they would have gained enough points to squeak ahead. As it was, thanks to a pair of perfect scores, Harry & Aliona finish top of the main league, and so if you had them you pick up the £20.00 for winning this competition. In the ballroom league however, we find that the Team Hali domination ends, due in no small part to Kristina choosing to do a ballroom based rather than latin based showdance. Even though Jason & Kristina were restricted to doing only two dances, due to their being eliminated and finishing third in the competition, that they did a pair of ballroom routines means that, by the slender margin of just three points, they squeak over the line as champions of the ballroom league. So if you had Jason & Kristina, you’ll find a box of Celebrations winging its way to you very soon. The latin league was less of a nailbiter however, as Chelsee & Pasha romped to victory in this by the significant margin of 51 points. So if you had Chelsee & Pasha then a box of Roses will be on its way by the next post.

Which just leaves the minor competitions. As I suggested last week, the standard was so high as to cause the judges to hand out three perfect scores in the final, together with three 39s, and no score below 36. The consequence of this is to confirm that the highest individual weekly score, which means the highest score topping the judges’ leaderboard not replicated by anyone else, is Jason & Kristina’s 33 way back in Week 2. So congratulations to you if you had Jason & Kristina. In the average score competition, Harry & Aliona come top with an average of 35, which comes in at 0.3 of a point more than Chelsee & Pasha. While Harry & Aliona also triumph in the total 10s competition, finishing with a total of 25, which is 18 more than their nearest rivals, Jason & Kristina.

And that’s that. Well done to all those of you that won. Commiserations to those that didn’t. But I hope it was fun all the same. The Christmas Special is on BBC1 on Christmas Day at 7.00pm – fortunately this is not in direct competition with Downton, so I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief at that one. And we’re now just eight months away from finding out who will be taking part in Strictly 2012. Start your planning now. Have a great Christmas, a fabulous new year, and keep an eye open for an email in August

SEE YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League

Myself and Ola will definitely NOT be doing the Strictly Tour! Just received an E-MAIL to say we are not needed!!

While the professional line up on the live tour has varied from year to year, according to the ubiquitous “insider” (it’d be quite good to meet the Insider one day wouldn’t it) the real reason for their absence is due to James’ increasingly belligerent behaviour, and a desire to give him something of a reality check:

James’s behaviour this year has been getting worse and worse. He has been throwing strops on live television and his behaviour has really annoyed show chiefs. This decision certainly came as a surprise to the Jordans – but bosses have thought James in particular needed a reality check for a long time.

Of course, the fact that Judge Craig, in addition to going on the tour as a judge is also the tour director, may also go some way to explaining the decision:

James needs to reel his head in.He’s being incredibly selfish and rude moaning on Twitter about not doing the tour. Not every dancer can do the tour and he needs to let other people have a chance – Katya has never done the tour before and she’s coming this year. Why should Ola and James always get to do it and never Katya? My advice to them would be quit moaning, reel your head in and get on with it. It’s nothing personal.

I’ve no doubt that, given the option, Craig would have loved to have taken Ola and left James, but obviously that would always have been a non-starter. The worry now though is whether James throws such a strop that he decides to quit Strictly altogether, or the producers decide he’s getting too big for his boots, because if he goes then Ola will go too. And let’s face it, for myriad reasons Ola is far more important to Strictly than James is.

“Adios, Ola! Strictly professional Jordan axed from live tour with husband James as pair are told they ‘won’t be needed’”

Ola or James? Who do you think the producers would prefer to keep?

Thrusting out of the screen

It seems that the British public are more than prepared to have Judge Bruno jumping out of the telly at them. In fact, according to some retailers, they’re positiviely going gaga at the prospect, if the sales figures for 3D television sets are to be believed. According to Currys and PC World, sales of 3D equipment have broken through the 40% barrier for the first time in the lead up to the final on Saturday:

Strictly is one of Britain’s best-loved shows and the final is set to be a momentous occasion – the perfect excuse to snap up a 3D TV set ahead of Christmas.

This is in spite of the glasses that people need to wear in order to make out the 3D picture, which don’t sit especially well if you already wear spectacles. But I think I’ve mentioned this already. Still, it seems to be yet another indication that people have been getting into Strictly more this year than they have for a while. Long may it continue. Oh, and if you don’t want to spend £1000 on a 3D telly, you can pay a tenner and go to see the final in selected cinemas in 3D.

The Strictly Final in 3D
“Strictly spurs 3D TV sales”

It’s a chill wind
Those of you that are regular watchers will know that, traditionally, the eliminated couples all return to do a twirl during the final. Of course, there will sometimes be people who, for whatever reason, can’t make it back (although you can pretty much guarantee that, unless he has a limb cut off, Russell will be there with so many christmas bells on). Sometimes it will be a prior commitment, or illness, or whatever. And, just occasionally, it will be because the couple have fallen out. As seems to have occured in two cases this year. “Insider” has said that Lulu and Brendan have fallen out over comments Brendan made after they went out:

When Lulu heard what Brendan said about her she was livid. She has been very sensitive about her time on the show and needed more support than he was prepared to give her. He is a very hard taskmaster and this didn’t often sit well with Lulu.

While we have this, there’s also Dan and Katya (remember them?), whose relationship has become somewhat frosty. Again, “Insider” has noted:

As for Katya, she thought Dan didn’t care. But Dan has been telling people he thought she was getting all of the attention when it should have been about them as a couple.

Whether this means that they won’t be at the final, we couldn’t say. What’s more likely I guess is that they’ll all be professional, turn up, do their little twirl on the floor, then leave and not have anything to do wqith each other again. After all, both of the professionals have had far more successful partnerships during their time.

“Strictly stars at war?”

Far more successful

Top of the frocks
A poll has been run to find the most liked outfits worn during Strictly, not just this year, but throughout the nine series so far. Of course, you tend to find in any of these sort of things that the more recent something has appeared, the fresher it is in your memory. But even so, it surprises me at least that the oldest one in the top ten only comes from 2007. The top ten as it happens is:

1. Alesha Dixon – Waltz (2007 final)
2. Alex Jones – Paso Doble (2011)
3. Kara Tointon – American Smooth (2010 final)
4. Michelle Williams – Waltz (2010)
5. Jo Wood – Promo dress (2009)
6. Rachel Stevens – Promo dress (2008)
7. Ola Jordan – Foxtrot (2009)
8. Holly Valance – Cha Cha (2011)
9. Christine Bleakley – Waltz (2008)
10. Flavia Cacace – Tango (2011)

Clearly those voting have a much greater preference for ballgowns than short latin dresses, and yet it’s surprising that there are several iconic outfits that are missing from this list. The one that most springs to my mind is Natasha Kaplinsky’s stunning paso dress from way back in series 1 – a startlingly white, floor length gown that served to make her movements stand out that much more than if she were in the traditional red or black. Then there’s Alesha’s gold cha cha dress, and even Jill Halfpenny’s pink number that she wore (and got tangled up in) during her perfect jive back in the series 2 final. And I’m sure that those of you who are regular Strictly watchers will have their own personal favourites too.

“Favourite frocks from the series are floor-length gowns rather than sexy Latin numbers”

“Desert Island Dresses”

Weekly Odds

Harry Judd – 7/2 on
Chelsee Healey – 5/2
Jason Donovan – 20/1

Classic Strictly

As we’re right at the final, it’s only right that I show you a couple of perfect final performances, from a pair of champions. Back in series 2, Jill Halfpenny & Darren Bennett took to the floor in Blackpool in the final and did a jive to Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”. In spite of Jill managing to get her heel caught up in the hem of her dress, the two of them engaged in a fast, furious and ultimately perfect routine, and gained the first perfect score ever on Strictly. Two years later, Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy did a reprise of their iconic salsa in the series 4 final – in week 5 of that year, there had been something of a technical hitch making them the only couple up to now to be able to start their routine again. But in the final, everything went off with ne’er a trifle, and they gained a perfect score as well. Enjoy!!

Pip’s Final Thought

It’s been a good year hasn’t it? We’ve seen the emergence of some genuinely skilled dancers in Chelsee, Jason and Harry. We’ve had the birth of “Son of Brendan” in James and his ever increasing stroppiness. We’ve seen a feather boa put the kibosh on a promising run (actually, it wasn’t really all that promising). And we’ve seen myriad new classic routines from the enigma that is Russell Grant. But perhaps most important of all, we’ve seen Strictly fighting back against The Other Side. Does this show that X-Factor is a one trick pony, and without Lord Flattop it is less than all that? Is it a case that “one man can make a difference”? We’ll see. However, I have no wish to dwell on X-Factor, because that isn’t my main focus. You’ll probably have gathered by now that I’m Strictly all the way; hence how I was able to get a group of librarians crowded around an iPad watching Jason & Kristina’s tango. Sir Bruce says every year that it will be the best yet. I’m not sure whether this is. But it has come mighty close. And so, that’s that for Strictly 2011 – the final starts sharp at 7.00pm on Saturday. Good luck to the three of you left competing for the main prize. I will update the leagues and do a final post letting everyone know who has won what on Monday. And, hopefully, see you next year!!

I’d put that woman on an assault charge

That was ‘death by Kristina’

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Kristina was throwing herself into the role in that particular routine. I don’t usually attach videos to these posts, but if you haven’t seen it, then it does deserve watching again.

And so it was that we had our bottom two and, with the double elimination before the final, there was no second chance for either Alex & James or Holly & Artem. While I’m neutral in terms of who it is I want to see win the cash and chocolate, I am of the opinion that the best three couples have got to the final (thus proving once again that, while the Great British Public may see Strictly as an entertainment show, they recognise that it is also a competition and that skill should be rewarded). And so, if you had either Alex & James or Holly & Artem in the sweep, then you’ve fallen at the final hurdle.

Moving to the leagues, we find that Chelsee & Pasha have again retained top spot in the main competition, with their lead extended to 14 points over Harry & Aliona, while the third finalists, Jason & Kristina, are now almost 40 points off the lead that they held for so long. In the ballroom table, Alex & James have taken top spot with a 17 point lead over Jason & Kristina, with Harry & Aliona moving up to third. In the latin league Chelsee & Pasha have again retained top spot, with Jason & Kristina 13 points behind in second and Harry & Aliona lurking a point further back in third.

In the minor competitions, Harry & Aliona have slightly increased their lead in the average score competition to 0.25 of a point over Chelsee & Pasha, while their six 10s gives them a total of 13 which is four clear of Chelsee & Pasha’s 9. However, in the highest weekly score competition, it is still Jason & Kristina that hold on thanks to their 33 from Week 2, which remains the highest unequalled score so far. Assuming that there is not a complete fall off in the quality of the competitors, with the highest score in the final being just 34, then I’m ready to call the winner of the highest individual score competition as Jason & Kristina. Obviously this is a provisional result that would need to be confirmed, but if you have Jason & Kristina then you can expect a chocolatey prize to be winging its way to you some time next week.

So, it all comes down to this. The final. Each couple attempting four dances, including an anything goes showdance. And this time, although the judges will be scoring, they will have no say whatever in who wins Strictly Come Dancing. Lifting the Glitterball Trophy is 100% decided by the public vote. So, if you want one of the couples to win, you’d best pick up the phone on Saturday and choose. Paticularly if you also want to win some cash. The final starts at 7.00pm on BBC1. Just in case you wanted to watch.

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League

Everyone is really frisky on the show, everybody is horny. The year I was a contestant, everyone just was really gagging for it. As I was saying… you spend eight to ten hours a day rubbing up next to each other. Of course you’re going to get a bit frisky.

Upon Bruno trying to remove the wine glass from her hand, she simply said “give me the bottle” and proceeded to neck it down. It takes a lot to shock Bruno, but the look on his face was quite priceless. Alesha acknowledged the fact that she was pretty pissed in a tweet some time later:

Apologies for being pickled on Alan Carr! I did have fun though!

Whether Bruno did is perhaps more of a mystery.

“Strictly Come Dancing’s Alesha Dixon apologises for being ‘pickled’ on Alan Carr”

That’s one way for the British to dominate in Europe
According to Guinness World Records, Strictly is now the world’s most successful television format, having been licensed to 35 different broadcasters that serve 75 individual countries. Not only is it being broadcast, but it’s also a hit, and fast becoming part of the cultural identity – apparently, President Obama rescheduled his national televised address over the Libya situation so that it didn’t clash with Dancing With The Stars, while in 2007 the then Swedish Ambassador to Estonia, Dag Hartelius, took part in Season 2 of Tantsud tähtedega. But perhaps the greatest victory is the fact that Strictly, that most wonderfully British of formats, shaped at the Concrete Doughnut itself, is already a hit in Germany with Let’s Dance, and is becoming a hit in France. TF1′s Danse avec les stars was first broadcast in February this year, and has succeeded where even The Other Side has failed. During its initial run, it was only beaten in the ratings once, by an international rugby game involving France. By contrast, X Factor was apparently lucky to reach 2 million viewers. And this is in spite of the machinations of Lord Flattop and his plans for world domination.  All I can say is HUZZAH AND HURRAH!!!

“Strictly Come Dancing: the worldwide phenomenon”

Get your specs on
For those of you that can, you’d better get your specs on, as the final will be broadcast by Auntie Beeb in full on 3D. Yep, you’ll get Judge Bruno flying right out of the screen at you as he (inevitably) gyrates his descriptions of what he like and what he doesn’t, invarably thrusting something at Judge Alesha that she could probably do without. And for those that don’t have a 3D telly at home, you will also be able to see it in 3D at selected Odeon and Apollo cinemas around the country. Not that I’ll be doing that, because I find using the 3D glasses uncomfortable to say the least, having to put them over my own spectacles. Oh yes, I know I could get contacts, but I’m not going to. I shall wait until such time as someone develops a way of attaching the 3D lenses to a person’s own spectacles, much in the way that men of a certain age would clip tinted lenses to their spectacles and hey presto have a pair of prescription sunglasses. Still, if 3D’s your thing, enjoy.

“The Strictly Final Live in 3D!”

McFlying high, up in the sky…
So, what do we think? Will we see a McFly reality double? Now that Dougie has been crowned King of the Jungle, I guess the onus is now on Harry not to let the boys down and go on to win the Glitterball Trophy. And to think, unless you’re a teenage girl, you’d probably never have heard of them prior to August. Hell, I’VE been accused of being a teenage girl and I’d never heard of them…well, that’s not strictly true. I’d heard of McFly, and obviously I knew that Harry had been in the Children in Need special in 2010 with Ola. But even so, I wouldn’t have been able to pick him out of a line up. And now they’ll probably end up going viral. There’s every likelihood that Harry will get to the final, and we know that the Housewives’ Choice will invariably do well once he gets there – look at previous finals, and you find the likes of Darren Gough, Colin Jackson, Mark Ramprakash, Matt Dawson, Matt diAngelo, Tom Chambers, Chris Hollins and Matt Baker, all very smiley, handsome and unthreatening as well as being good to very good on the dancefloor. Harry looks like he ticks all those boxes…even if he did have a one night stand with Lindsay Lohan. I wonder what the odds are on a McFly double?

“Pop pin-ups are high McFlyers”

“McFly’s Harry Judd: I probably made Lindsay Lohan start dating Samantha Ronson”

Artem – World Record Holder
If you haven’t been watching It Takes Two over the last couple of weeks, you won’t know that they’ve been in the process of setting a world record. The Pro-Dance Challenge this year (a challenge they run that features most, if not all, of the professionals) has been to set a record for the most botafogos in 30 seconds. In the end, it was Artem who gained the record, having managed a total of 79. So well done him.

Weekly Odds
Harry Judd – 5/2 on
Chelsee Healey – 3/1
Jason Donovan – 8/1
Holly Valance – 33/1
Alex Jones – 40/1

Classic Strictly
Once again, we’re looking at perfection, and once again, we’re going with two routines from the same couple, though unlike last week, not in the same week. In Series 7, Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna enchanted everyone with their delightful ballroom routines and their burgeoning relationship. As the series went on, it was getting more and more obvious that they were becoming ever closer. This though didn’t affect the quality of the work that they put in, as these two routines show. In week 8 in Blackpool, they gained the first perfect score of the series with their viennese waltz (is there anywhere better to get a perfect score than the Tower Ballroom?), while in the semi-final they performed a delightful american smooth that finished with…well, some of you will remember how it finished. So, from Series 7, Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna, dancing ballroom the way it should be.

• Alex & James – American Smooth (Oh Pretty Woman from Pretty Woman)
• Chelsee & Pasha – Jive (I’m A Believer from Shrek)
• Harry & Aliona – Rumba ((Everything I Do) I Do It For You from Robin Hood: Prince of Theives)
• Holly & Artem – Paso Doble (The Plaza of Execution from The Mask of Zorro)
• Jason & Kristina – American Smooth (Singin in the Rain from Singin in the Rain)
• Robbie & Ola – Quickstep (Little Green Bag from Reservoir Dogs)

I’m sure you’ll agree that that’s a pretty eclectic mix of songs and movies. Some of them came off, some of them not so much. For example, I wasn’t too sure about Robbie & Ola’s quickstep. I mean, clearly Ola was wearing far too many clothes in that black suit…yes, I get the whole Reservoir Dogs thing, but still, there are certain things that are just not done.

Ola as she should be.

That being said as well as also, we had some good routines. But we also had some totally feckin A1 routines, starting with Harry & Aliona’s rumba, which (for those of you that are regular viewers of Strictly will know) is bloody hard to do well when you’re a female celebrity, and even harder than that if you’re a male. Hip action is everything, and Judge Craig commented that Harry had clearly been working on his as he got his score of 36. Then things did explode, with Holly & Artem gaining their first 10s of the competition on their way to a score of 38 for their paso doble (which had all the hallmarks of a proper paso, complete with proper flamencoesque music), while Jason & Kristina picked up another 10 for their american smooth to the perennial dance favourite Singin in the Rain, which saw Jason doing his best Gene Kelly. That though meant the best was for last – Chelsee & Pasha’s jive, with Pasha all shreked up for the occasion was (to use a well worn Strictly phrase) A-MAZ-ING. There is no doubt that Chelsee is an absolute natural when it comes to dancing, because she is able to pick up Pasha’s choreography so quickly, and then they are able to get their performance so crisp and clean and synchronised that it is almost impossible to tell she isn’t a professional. Hence the reason she picked up three 10s (plus a 9 from Judge Craig). And so it was to the bottom two – one would have thought that it would have featured Robbie & Ola (which it did) and Alex & James (which it didn’t). That’s why we had my “no fucking way” outburst when Tess read out Jason & Kristina’s names. While I know that when you get to the end of the competition the good dancers will start to fall, you don’t expect it when there are good dancers and great dancers left. Alex is certainly coming on leaps and bounds, but she is still not up there in terms of quality to compare to Chelsee, Harry or Jason (or even Holly). Added to everything is the week that Robbie had following the suicide of Gary Speed, and you had the feeling that the public might spare him elimination. As it was, they didn’t, and Jason & Kristina made it to the semi-final. And so, I’m afraid if you had Robbie & Ola, then your time is up.

Moving to the leagues, we find that Chelsee & Pasha remain top of the shop in the main table, with an almost impossibly small three point advantage over Harry & Aliona, while Jason & Kristina are 25 points further behind in third place. In the ballroom table, Jason & Kristina return to the top with a 17 point lead over Alex & James, while Holly & Artem a just a single point further behind in third, while the latin league sees Chelsee & Pasha return to the top with a healthy 18 point advantage over Harry & Aliona, with Anita & Robin still hanging on in third place.

In the minor competitions, Harry & Aliona still hold the highest number of tens with 7, but they are now just three ahead of Chelsee & Pasha, whose trio of maximums now give them a total of 4, while both Jason & Kristina and Holly & Artem have a pair each. Harry & Aliona also still lead the average score competition with 33.6 points, which is now just 0.1 of a point ahead of both Jason & Kristina and Chelsee & Pasha. And in the highest weekly score competition we return after just a single week to countback, and find that once again Jason & Kristina’s 33 in week 2 is the highest individual weekly score, thanks to Chelsee & Pasha’s 39, which equalled Harry & Aliona’s from last week.

It’s the semi-final coming – each couple will have two dances to learn, with each of them doing a ballroom and a latin. Alas, as I’ve lamented, the argentine tango is now used as a standard dance, rather than as something special for the semi-final. However, we’ll still be seeing two of them. What we’ll also see is a double elimination, to get us to the three couples taking part in the final. The Glitterball Trophy is so close now, and so (for some of you) is the chance to win prizes. I’d suggest you watch closely.

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League

On the football pitch you can wear black armbands, you can have a minute’s silence but fortunately I can show my respects to 13 million people on Saturday night. I’m just going to go and dance for him.

That’s a noble gesture if ever there was one, and again shows that there’s more to footballers than people might think.

“Robbie Savage to dedicate Strictly dance to Gary Speed”

Let’s not have any more boobs
I’m assuming everyone remembers Chelsee’s “wardrobe malfunction” on the Halloween show? Well, now it seems that she has devised a “boob test” to ensure that her somewhat ample décolletage remains firmly clamped inside whatever dress she’s been fitted for:

My main priority is that they don’t fall out, so whenever I try on a new costume we do the boob test. I do a little shake in front of my dance partner Pasha just to make sure everything stays in place. Obviously after what happened last time I’m a lot more nervous, and all I ever say to the wardrobe girls is, “Please just make sure they don’t fall out.”

It does make one wonder though why the wardrobe department didn’t take into account the size of Chelsee’s bosoms in the first place. After all, it isn’t as if they didn’t have any warning about it. Further, it isn’t as if there haven’t been ladies of the buxom kind on Strictly in the past. Lisa Snowdon and Kelly Brook are both what might be called “ample”, and yet there were no wardrobe malfunctions when they competed. Even when Lisa did her jive with Brendan in a very small dress with no “support” (if you catch my drift). One therefore also wonders if there is nothing in the way of collective memory and discussion when it comes to the dressmaking.

“Now Strictly star Chelsee invents a ‘boob test’ to spare her blushes after wardrobe malfunction”

Kelly Brook and Lisa Snowdon are both "ample", and yet they didn't need a "boob test" to ensure their bosoms stayed in their outfits

Calm down dear
And who said Italians held grudges? It seems that during the preparation for the Christmas show, Judge Alesha and Nancy had to be kept physically apart because Nancy still “disagrees” with some of the comments Alesha gave while she and Anton were still in the competition. Which has led to threats of legal action, and full up nose to nose confrontation. I guess Alesha is a little squeamish at the prospect of this, as, according to the report, she told the bosses at Strictly, who revised the schedule so that they were never in the same place at the same time:

The plan read like an army timetable: Alesha in wardrobe at 17.00hrs, Nancy 17.40hrs, Alesha in make-up 17.40hrs, Nancy 18.10hrs, and so on. At one stage, Nancy swept down the corridor just seconds after Alesha had been whisked into the green room. Everyone was very tense.

Clearly Nancy is still of the opinion that she has some skill on the dancefloor. Much in the same way that Craig Kelly was in Series 7. What also seems to be clear is that no one has the bottle to stand up to her and say “Nancy, really, you were crap. Accept it and move on”. Notice that Nancy hasn’t said anything about Judge Craig’s comments, or even Judge Bruno’s. Pouncing on the weakest member of the herd perhaps? Knowing full well that Bruno, being just as Italian, would take her on on her own terms, and Craig will always stand by his comments and stand up to anyone that challenges them, evidently she’s going for the youngest and least experienced judge. Alesha should just go up to her and say “I stand by my comments. You’re not very good. You did look unfeminine at times. Now fuck off.”

“Nancy and Alesha separated at Strictly Xmas special”

To quote Shatner…”Get A Life!!”
It seems that James is determined to take over Brendan’s role as the bad boy professional who looks to get up the noses of the judges (and us). Following his disagreements in Week 4, he’s now returned his attention to Judge Craig and the criticism over his and Alex’s charleston. As he always does, Craig was on It Takes Two on the Monday looking at the weekend’s action and also explaining his scores and comments:

The competition is getting tougher and I’m getting tougher. I’m judging a lot more detail. “The dance wasn’t going to enough extreme for me. It’s supposed to be bizarre and extraordinary.

He then proceeded to tell James, who had stormed off in something of a huff after the scores were dished out, to “get a life”. Unfortunately, James doesn’t seem to be big enough to let it go and concentrate on getting Alex ready for the next routine, and so just had to snipe back:

I heard on Twitter that Craig told me to ‘get a life’! Harsh! Shame he seems to be taking it out on Alex who is lovely! Unprofessional!

I didn’t want to get so angry about the scores, but [Alex] means so much to me now!

Does [Craig] have the balls to say it on Sat night? I don’t think so! I’d like to see him try… I’m banter king. I’ll destroy him!

James seems to be missing the point – he’s there to come up with choreography to make the judges sit up and take notice, and prepare Alex to dance on a Saturday night as best she can. Rather than trying to “destroy” Craig in a banter war, oughtn’t he be focusing his energies on what he’s there to do?

“‘Strictly’ Craig Revel Horwood, James Jordan continue Charleston spat”

Weekly Odds
Harry Judd – 4/7
Jason Donovan – 7/2
Chelsee Healey – 7/2
Alex Jones – 33/1
Robbie Savage – 33/1
Holly Valance – 40/1

Classic Strictly
As we’re coming into the last few weeks, I shall throw some perfect routines at you – these are the ones that saw the judges get out the magic “10″ paddle (yes, even Craig). First of all, and going back to the lovely Lisa Snowdon, I’ll give you not one, but two routines (yes, alright, I’ll admit to having a soft spot for her). Even though Lisa and Brendan finished third in series 6, on the night of the final they finished top of the judges leaderboard with a score of 80/80, getting maximums for both their foxtrot and cha cha. Having two dances in a single week is a rarity left for the very final stages. Having both dances get a perfect score has happened only once. So, from the series 6 final, here’s Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole dancing first a sumptuous foxtrot, and then a magical cha cha.

Before we all found out the tragic news on Sunday, there was some dancing on Saturday, with Brendan doing his Knight Errant routine once again. Having stepped into the breach when Artem hurt his back to dance the rumba with Holly, he mounted his noble steed to ride to Anita’s rescue after Robin managed to get an infection in his foot. What is it this year with the pros getting injured? Usually it’s the celebrities. Now that we’re down to the last seven, and the dregs (sorry Russell) have been ejected, we should see better and better performances. Unless you’re speaking to Judge Craig, who was of the opinion that Alex & James’s charleston was “a step backwards” after their tour de force tango at Wembley. I think it would be fair to include James in that group of somewhat highly strung professionals who find it difficult to accept the kind of blunt criticism Judge Craig hands out, as evidenced by him storming off in a huff upon their exit from the studio. I even tweeted Alex today to suggest that he might want to take a chill pill, or even a timeout once in a while. To be fair, a timeout would probably be nicer as it’s made of chocolate. And then there’s Harry. A lot of people are wild about Harry. Including Judge Bruno if you hadn’t noticed. You do get the impression that Judge Bruno is interested in more than Harry’s footwork. But it was the footwork that impressed everyone in his and Aliona’s quickstep – Judge Craig gave it an extremely rare 9, while the other three handed out maximum scores, to give them a total of 39 out of 40 – the highest score of the series so far. I wonder if Dougie knows?

All of which led to the bottom two, with Holly & Artem down there for a second consecutive week. We’ve had young ladies of the FHM cover girl type before, but it’s rare for any of them to be consistently down in the bottom two at this stage before the final. Like Lord Blackadder, is she not popular? I don’t think I’d go so far as to suggest people say when they’ve trodden in something dogs leave in the street “whoops, I’ve stepped in a Holly”. Perhaps the viewing public simply don’t like her for being gorgeous and ensconced with a chap that has more money than, if not God, then certainly Lord Sugar. And who were they joined by? Alas, it was Anita & Brendan, who, having been in the bottom two for a second time, is evidently not the national treasure Guest Judge Jennifer seemed to think she is. And so, when the time came and Tess called out the next couple to leave, it was Anita & Brendan. And there was nothing Robin, with his poorly foot, could do about it. So I’m afraid for you, if you had Anita & Robin, then your time in the sweep is done. But you can have the satisfaction of blaming it on Brendan.

Moving to the leagues, we find Chelsee & Pasha still topping the main table, but with their lead over Harry & Aliona now down to four points. Long time pace setters Jason & Kristina are now a whopping 27 points further back in third, while Alex & James are also losing ground in fourth. In the ballroom table, thanks to only two couples performing a ballroom routine this week, Holly & Artem have leapt into the lead with a 19 point advantage over Jason & Kristina with Chelsee & Pasha in third, while in the latin table, despite their elimination, Anita & Robin move to the top with a six point advantage over Chelsee & Pasha, while Jason & Kristina move up to third and Harry & Aliona drop to fourth.

In the minor competitions, it is literally all change thanks to Harry & Aliona’s massive score. Their three tens give them a total now of seven, while only two other couples (Jason & Kristina and Chelsee & Pasha) have been awarded maximums so far. Their score of 39 is now the one to beat in the highest weekly score contest, and so that will take either a perfect score to beat it, or an equal score to go once again to countback. And in the average score competition, they hold a 0.2 point advantage over Jason & Kristina.

It’s Movie Night next week, and so we wait with baited breath to see the themes that the professionals have come up with for their routines. But, more importantly, we’re down to the last six, and there are just three weeks to the final. The wheat has been sorted from the chaff, and now we’re going to lose talented performers. The competition is heating up. But remember James, there are more important things you know. Ask Robbie.

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League

It’s Christmas!! (Again)
Once again, the Christmas special this year will feature not previous contestants, but a whole new gaggle of celebs. You may remember my excitement last year when I learned that The Barrowman was going to appear, as he is a total Strictly Superfan (and I’m a total Barrowman Superfan). Alas, there’s no one in this year’s five person line up to get my juices flowing to quite the same degree, as we have Barry McGuigan (with Erin), Su Pollard (with Anton), Simon Webbe (with Katya), Debra Stephenson (with Ian) and Charlie Brooks (with Vincent). What can we take from this line up? To be honest, not a lot, with one exception. You may recall Let’s Dance for Sport Relief in 2010, in which Debra Stephenson did a very passable attempt at mimicking Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, which is not an easy routine to learn. Evidently she has an eye for choreography and can pick things up well. We’ll see how it goes.

“BBC announce new line-up for Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special”

Strictly – It’s Infectious
I told you it would happen – following her star turn on the Children in Need special, where Robin commented on her excellent hip action, Head Judge Len declared “tutti frutti, what a booty”, and even Judge Craig praised her booty shaking, Susanna Reid has apparently said that she’d love to do Strictly next year, and is even prepared to deal with the difficulty of getting from Salford to London to do it. For those unaware, BBC Breakfast is moving to MediaCityUK next year, and the likelihood is that Sian Williams, who is currently the main female presenter, will not move to Salford, and Susanna, who is the main weekend presenter, may well take her place. Nevertheless, she seems excited about the idea of doing the full series:

It would be a dream come true. It would be challenging but everyone I’ve spoken to really loves it. I think Anita Dobson wants to be a professional ballroom dancer now!

Given that Harry took the path from Children in Need to the main series, what price Susanna doing the same? Bets now being taken on which of the professionals she’ll be partnered with. And it probably wouldn’t be Robin.

“Susanna Reid has the Strictly Come Dancing Bug”

What’s a man to do?
The battle for Christmas ratings is getting nasty. Clearly, Auntie Beeb, flushed with the success of their battle with The Other Side, now feel they can take on anyone, while ITV are feeling battered and bruised. But they do have another weapon in their armoury, a weapon of nuclear proportions that evidently they aren’t afraid to use. Thus, on Christmas Day, it seems we will have Strictly going head to head with Downton Abbey. You’ll all be aware by now how much I love Strictly. You may be less aware of how much I love Downton. A friend of mine commented on the number of increasingly camp tweets I sent out on a Sunday night while glued to ITV1 (to which she subsequently asked “How on Earth are you not gay??”). As a consequence, I will be in the most awful quandry as to what to watch and what to record. All I can say is thank goodness for the video recorder.

“Can Downton shoot down Strictly this Christmas? ITV and BBC go head-to-head on the big day”

Weekly Odds
Harry Judd – 11/10
Jason Donovan – 5/2
Chelsee Healey – 11/4
Holly Valance – 16/1
Robbie Savage – 25/1
Alex Jones – 25/1
Anita Dobson – 100/1

Classic Strictly
It’s fair to say that Anton hasn’t had the best of it, partnerwise, the last couple of years. What with Nancy this year, and Ann Widdecombe last year, he’s pretty much had to play up the comedy element owing to the fact that the ladies he’s been partnered with have been, as Judge Craig might put it, “dance disarrrrrrsters”. Could this be traced back to his unfortunate ability to open his mouth without engaging his brain first? You’ll probably recall that two years ago, he made what he thought was an innocent remark about his partner Laila Rouass’ appearence while covered in the ubiquitous fake tan. Of course, it wasn’t an innocent remark, it upset Laila and caused a massive furore in the media and the public, and has probably left Anton in the doghouse with the producers as far as getting decent partners is concerned. The irony of it is that in Laila he actually had a genuine shot at winning the thing (they eventually finished fourth). Their stand out routine would have to be the charleston, in which (and I’ll never forget this) Zandra Rhodes described her as looking like “Cleopatra in a Speakeasy“. So, here we have Laila Rouass and Anton du Beke dancing the Charleston.

Moving to the league tables, we see Chelsee & Pasha retaining top spot, and increasing their lead to eight points over Harry & Aliona, who have pushed Jason & Kristina down to third place – they now only have a two point advantage over fourth placed Alex & James. The lack of ballroom this week (only two couples performed a ballroom routine) means it’s as you were with the top two in the ballroom table, with Jason & Kristina maintaining a ten point advantage over Chelsee & Pasha. Alex & James are the big movers, jumping from seventh to third. The same is true in the latin table, with Harry & Aliona retaining top spot over Anita & Robin, while Chelsee & Pasha are in third.

In the minor competitions, we find Jason & Kristina still leading the highest weekly score with their 33 from week 2, owing to the fact that Alex & James and Chelsee & Pasha tied for top spot this week. Harry & Aliona still lead the number of tens competition with their total of four. Jason & Kristina also lead the average score competition on 32.75, which is just 0.125 of a point clear of both Chelsee & Pasha and Harry & Aliona.

Something you may have noticed was that it was Children in Need last week (the Wembley shindig raising over £100,000 for it). You may also remember that I mentioned that the BBC Newsreaders annual CiN danceathon would be based around Strictly. Well, it was, and it took the form of a group dance involving Sian Williams, Susanna Reid, Emily Maitlis and Sophie Raworth, each of whom was paired with a male professional (Vincent, Robin, Pasha and Ian Waite), which was then rated by the judges. In the past I have handed out prizes for Strictly’s appearence on Children in Need, and this year will be no exception. As it was Susanna & Robin who emerged the winners, then whoever drew Robin in the main series sweep can expect a little chocolatey bonus prize.

There’s just four weeks left now. We’re getting really serious as, for the first time, they’ll have to learn two dances in one week, with both their main individual routines and a group swingathon to get their heads around. This is where it gets really exciting.

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League

This dance could be a 10, but it’s not because your arms are letting you down, they’re wooden. You have to have shaping otherwise it will remain a poor Ballroom.

Then there was Russell & Flavia’s american smooth. Judge Craig had one word for their paso doble last week – “Astonishing”. This week he had one word – “Immortal”. Or perhaps Judge Bruno put it better:

There’s no doubt you are your own special creation

And so it was that, for the third week running and fourth time overall, Audley & Natalie found themselves in the bottom two. To be fair, Audley did have a bad knee, and the cha cha isn’t the best dance to do with that kind of injury. But it’s also true to say that he’s not really built for the cha cha. However, the surprise was Anita & Robin being in the bottom two, in spite of their score of 33 for the argentine tango. Anita was described as “a national treasure” by Guest Judge Jennifer last week. Should we have a re-evaluation of that? As it stands, Anita & Robin survived, and it wasn’t fourth time lucky for Audley & Natalie. And so if you had Audley & Natalie, I’m afraid you’ve been KO’d as far as the sweep is concerned.

Moving onto the leagues, we find ourselves with new leaders at the top of the main table for the first time this season, as Chelsee & Pasha take a one point advantage over Jason & Kristina, who have been leading since week one. What can we take from this? Have Jason & Kristina peaked too early? For the second week running they did not top the judges leaderboard, which may be a sign that others are ready to make the jump ahead. We’ll see. Harry & Aliona remain in third, a further four points adrift. Jason & Kristina do retain the lead in the ballroom table however with a ten point advantage over Chelsee & Pasha, who in turn are a massive twelve points clear of third place Robbie & Ola. Harry & Aliona replace Chelsee & Pasha at the top of the latin table with Anita & Robin in second, and Holly & Artem lying third.

In the minor competitions, the two tens awarded to Harry & Aliona give them four now in total, while Chelsee & Pasha become the third couple to enter this competition, having received their first on Saturday putting them equal with Jason & Kristina. Jason & Kristina still head the average score competition, but now by just 0.15 of a point over Harry & Aliona, while their score of 37 gave them the top spot with the judges this week, meaning for the highest weekly score we revert to countback again and go back to Jason & Kristina’s 33 in week two.

So, Wembley. Dancing in front of 6,000 people. Audley fought there early in his professional career, but he’s missed out. Robbie played there and won with Leicester City, and he’s made it. If I wasn’t going to Coventry, I’d have busted a gut to try and get a ticket. Alas. I wonder if Dave Arch and his wonderful orchestra will play Abide with Me

Chairman Pip’s Railway Thoughts Strictly League 2011

For the ballroom and latin leagues, the tables look like this: Celebrations Ballroom League

Roses Latin League