First apologies for the delay in posting this I started it on Sunday evening but my internet was cutting out ever few minutes so I decided to leave it till Monday to finish but since have got distracted rearranging my bedroom, sorting out my Twitter account to make it more suitable for Tweetdeck and registering to do Nano this year. But better late than never….

Week one everyone was safe and the marks were carried over to this week (remember the opinions are mine as a viewer I have no actually knowledge in terms of the technical side of the dancing)

  Celebrity; Ashley Taylor Dawson, soap actor

  Professional; Ola Jordan

  Dance;  American Smooth

  Judges Marks;

  What I thought;  Well the baby has arrived and it shows, his face had lost the strain it was showing last week and he looked totally into the dance. I really loved this perfect music and a great interpretation, could almost have been watching Fred Astair or Gene Kelly, great musicality and totally enjoyable to watch.  Looked fabulous and great lifts everything sadly the other American Smooth of the evening from Dave was not.

  Celebrity; Tony Jacklin. ex-Golfer

  Professional; Aliona Vilani

  Dance;  Charleston

  Judges Marks; 13

  What I thought;  Sadly the cutesy golfing theme did nothing to distract me from the dancing.  I hate sounding like Craig but it was a dancing disaster!  I do confess I have issues with older men doing certain dances until today this was not on the list but now it is.  I feel so sorry for Aliona, sadly Tony is not a natural dancer but also because he is a sportsman he does not have the showmanship to compensate, I think as I watch this he may be going home.

  Celebrity; Mark Benton, Actor (starred in Doctor Who)

  Professional; Iveta Lukosiute

  Dance; Salsa

  Judges Marks; 22

  What I thought; Loved the music and loved her outfit.  His outfit was very unflattering but what distracted me more was seeing him without his glasses which was very strange.  Not exactly a sexy salsa more Austin Powers meets the Fast and the Furious but it was certainly fun and totally enjoyable.  I hope he will stay but fear his size will count against him in the other Latin dances.

  Celebrity; Susanna Reid

  Professional; Kevin Clifton

  Dance; Tango

  Judges Marks; 31

  What I thought;  Loved her outfit, liked the music choice but was not convinced by her performance.  It did seem to me at times a little like he was pulling her around, nothing really major and definite potential maybe confidence may have been an issue. There were times when it all fell into place and overall I did enjoy it and look forward to next week as I am sure she will still be here.

  Celebrity;  Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Singer

  Professional; Brendon Cole

  Dance; Charleston

  Judges Marks; 36

  What I thought;  Loved everything about this, it was just about the perfect dance, you could actually believe that they were just doing it without it all being planned it looked so natural and effortless.  I also loved that she spent time learning about the history of the dance and I think that really showed in the dance with the way she immersed herself into it. As you can see below my dance of the week.

  Celebrity; Natalie Gumede, Actress, ex-dancer

  Professional; Artem Chigvintsev

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 34

  What I thought; Okay first thing is a negative I didn’t like the dress, not her fault but I just thought the lines of the dress did not float like you would expect it to.  Over all I loved the dance except the head rolls which all the judges raved about, I get they are technically difficult but given the huge bun she had on the back of her head it just made me think she was being weighed down but apart from that I did enjoy the dance and the music was a good choice.

  Celebrity;  Ben Cohen, ex rugby-player

  Professional; Kristina Rihanoff

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 25

  What I thought; Loved the music perfect for a waltz, her outift was great, his I am afraid made me think of the incredible hulk and I kept expecting them to rip and fall from his body.  I do think he would have done better in a black tail suit which might have hidden the bulging muscles a little more.  Normally the bigger guys tend to do quite well at this dance but I didn’t enjoy this.  I can’t put my finger on what it was, maybe just his tight clothes distracting me, the footwork looked okay but there was just no magic and no real connection between the two of them but it is only week two and he should be there for a few more weeks to come so plenty of time to improve.

  Celebrity; Fiona Fullerton, Actress and Bond Girl

  Professional; Anton Du Beke

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 22

  What I thought; Loved the music choice, was not thrilled with her dress think with a little thought it could have been more flattering, the dance was not perfect but I liked it, she really looked to be thoroughly enjoying it.  If she does not get her nerves under control her stay may be cut short which would be a shame because she has the ability now just needs the confidence to carry it though.

  Celebrity; Dave Myers, Hairy Biker Celebrity Chef

  Professional; Karen Hauer

  Dance; American Smooth

  Judges Marks; 17

  What I thought; Oh dear! I have to say I love his enthusiasm and I really hope he does stay in but this really was not his dance.  Infact I would question Karen’s decision to go for this dance so early in the competition as it is one that most save for once their celebrity partner has had tie to gain a little fitness and technical skill especially in order to take advantage of the lifts but in this the lifts were unspectacular and the whole thing was rather stompy and lacked grace.  I still really hope he will be here next week but I fear he could be in the dance off.

  Celebrity; Rachel Riley, TV presenter and Maths Whizz

  Professional; Pasha Kovalev

  Dance; Salsa

  Judges Marks; 20

  What I thought; She looked fantastic, the music was great but sadly I didn’t enjoy it.  She just seemed stiff and for want of a better word terrified.  I didn’t believe she was enjoying it and there didn’t seem to be any chemistry between the two of them.  She did okay shaking when she was stood still but moving she was awkward and it showed.  I think she will be here next week but unless she start improving she won’t be here till the end.

  Celebrity;  Julien Macdonald, Fashion Designer

  Professional; Janette Manrara

  Dance; Tango

  Judges Marks: 18

  What I thought; Well what can I say my thoughts on the costume are further on in the blog, I loved the music choice but that’s where the good points finish.  I love Julien but the idea of him doing a macho tango well lets face it this was never going to be his dance and his attempts make him look like a stomping toddler having a tantrum.  He is trying bless him but it just doesn’t work, part of me can’t help thinking maybe they should have done role reversal and he should have played the female role for the dance.  I really hope he stay in but he may be in trouble.

  Celebrity; Deborah Meaden, Businesswoman and Dragon’s Den Investor

  Professional; Robin Windsor

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 24

  What I thought; I don’t care what the judges thought I absolutely loved this. I wanted to get up and join in bouncing round the living room.  Okay she is not the best dancer but it was fun, engaging and just made me smile so much. I  love it when you can see someone having such a good time.  her dress was great actually for a woman her age which at times you can feel the costume department aren’t sure how to dress older ladies for Latin.  The music choice was not something I would have thought of for a Cha Cha but worked really well.

  Celebrity; Patrick Robinson, Actor

  Professional; Anya Garnis

  Dance; Tango

  Judges Marks; 27

  What I thought; Overall I really enjoyed this I  loved her dress and the music choice was good but I was really not sure about the clockwork puppet start and finish.  I didn’t get the need for it, it didn’t match the rest of the dance really it added nothing to it and wasted seconds where they could have been getting into the dance.  I think he has potential to go far in the competition but at the minute he is not a favourite, he is a good dancer but not blowing me away.

  Celebrity; Vanessa Feltz, TV Presenter

  Professional; James Jordan

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 23

  What I thought; I really loved the dance.  The music was perfect and it was a joy to watch how much Vanessa connected with the dance.  I have had moments on the dancefloor where the music connects with emotion and the room disappears and can imagine how she felt experiencing the true magic of dance for the first time.  Her dress however was a different story and I fear may feature later in the blog.

  Celebrity; Abby Clancy, Model and Footballers Wife
Professional; Aljaz Skorjanec

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 30

  What I thought; Brilliant music choice and of course she looked stunning how could she not.  I have to say though I think he body worked against her in this dance, she lacks the natural curves for wiggling which may be an issue in some of the Latin dances but also because her arms and legs are so incredibly long she has a fluid grace which did make this look a little slow and ‘lazy’ at times by which I do not mean she was not giving it everything rather that it just looked like she wasn’t.  Overall I still really enjoyed it and for me they are the favourites but I do think it will depend on making her limbs move with more snap.

My Dance Of The Week

Costume of the Week

The dance may have been terrible but the costumes were fabulous.

Frocky Horror Picture Show

This is something I find a little annoying, the wardrobe department are really good at dressing the stick insects and dancers but when it comes to the larger figure lady they forget to actually consider they have to actually move in the dress.  I have put on lots of weight and for the first time in my life size +age had equalled the pull of gravity and slight bat wings, this dress needed sleeves every time she held her arms out as she whirled it was so unflattering to her and I feel really unfair, the costume department need to give everyone the same attention.

The Dance Off

Julian VS Tony and the vote was unanimous and we said goodbye to Tony