It’s semi-final time on Strictly Come Dancing and only four couples remain in the running: Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu. If you’ve managed to scrape your jaw off the floor following last week’s shock elimination of Lewis “Golden Boy” Cope, then tonight you can enjoy all couples performing not one but two dances.
It’s been a curious series, tinged with controversy and scandal, dogged by grumblings about contestants’ previous dance experience (including semi-finalist Amber Davies) and rattled by left-field eliminations.
I’m not sure this week’s VT does Amber any favours. It’s a classic couple’s-choice tear-jerker, but it highlights Amber’s early ambition to be a stage star. And the routine itself? Well, it’s a celebration of showbiz – not sure that’s going to help either. But! It is a phenomenal routine, showcasing just how special Amber is. Elegant, light, beautiful. What more is there to say?
But the judges quite simply adored it and adore her. Craig compares her Cyd Charisse, Anton compares her to Vera-Ellen. High praise indeed. Motsi calls it phenomenal, while Shirley says it was “absolutely beautiful in every way”. Shirley’s most important comment, however, is this: “I know you do a bit of dancing, but it’s nothing like ballroom and Latin.” There you go, viewers…
