So off we went (me and my mum) to the O2 on Sunday, for the icy extravaganza courtesy of the legends that are Torvill and Dean. The same warm up man from the first Strictly live show I went to was there, with the same warm up, but it was all good fun!
T&D and the cast entered with a theatrical circus routine, showcasing the awesome skills of the pro skaters, full of pizazz. Andi Peters was host for the night, with only two of the normal judges; Karen and Nicky joined by Christopher Biggins and former champion, Kyran Bracken and all given big introductions before the "and some woman called Zoe Tyler, who's guest judge." He may have said Loose Woman, who knows? I didn't, neither did my mum.
Series Four winner Ray Quinn was up first, partnered by Alexandra Schurman - it must've been quite a shock, after partnering Dr.Hilary! Skating to I Gotta Feeling, Ray was, as ever, faultless, confident and full of musicality. They only met and began rehearsing three weeks ago and here he is, doing the Russian splits again. Fabulous. Score: 28.5.
Fred and Emily skating to Saving All My Love For You, it's very sweet, some solo skating from Emily, not too speedy but a 6.0 from me for Fred's bare chest. What? Whaaaat? Score: 18
Mikey and Melanie give us the cheeky and fun routine to Cecelia, he's skating confidently and looks really fit, very slim. Score: 21
Clare Buckfield, runner up to Kyran, is next, partnered with Lukasz to The Climb. Beautiful skating but after the recap in the intro I was expecting something with a bit more oomph, she was one of the more daring skaters in that series. Score: 25
Chris Fountain, beaten by Suzanne Shaw in the Series 3 final, skated to The Way You Make Me Feel, partnered by Brianne Delcourt and O.M.G! Headbanger? Neckripper? Absolutely unbelievable, incredible, the power in the lifts, musically spot on, dead exciting - and with more finesse than he had in the series, it was a blinding skate. Score: 28.5 (Two 6's).
Gaynor Faye, the inaugural DOI champ, danced with Matt Evers to The Power of Love, one of my all time most hated songs. Poised and elegant, even coming back from injury, only a little stutter. Score: 20.5
Gary and Maria do their Pulp Fiction number, clean skating as ever, but in direct comparison with Chris and Ray, not as explosive. Score 25
Hayley and Daniel with the routine you have to see live to appreciate every intricacy, Jai Ho. Truly stunning when not at the mercy of the camera angles. Score: 28.
The vote opened, we had a short break in which Women Power took over the O2 and we queued at the mens' loos and told them to bugger off, our needs were greater. It was a very short break. And then T&D and the pro skaters showed off their Luck Be A Lady routine, followed by exhibition skates from the contestants and pros: Gaynor and Matt with Don't Go Breaking My Heart showed why Gaynor was so popular; Ray and Alexandra to She's The One, and even though the song is slow, it's still dynamic over the ice; Fred and Melanie go crazy, leaving my bum and toes clenched as another headbanger appears with little warning, awesome routine; Hayley and Daniel with their beautiful Endless Love followed by T&D's gorgeous routine to The Buble's Just Haven't Met You Yet.
Another confident skate from Mikey and Melanie; Emily and Fred wheel out Bad Boys, Emily still needs more sass; Alexandra and Lukasz give us one of the best performances of the night, a fantastic, fast and musical skate to Footloose; Gary and Maria do What About Now, with the same level of awwww's as from the show; Chris and Brianne with Red. Again, slow yet somehow, fast! A nicely done routine to I Will Survive from Clare and Lukasz before T&D take to the air for their new, breathtaking Bolero routine - all eyes on the knot in those silks, as Jayne disappears above us.
And it's time for the results: NOT skating Bolero tonight - Emily; Gary; Gaynor; Mikey; Clare; Ray. It's Chris versus Hayley, and both deliver dramatic and passionate Boleros - overall, my vote, were I voting, would have gone to Chris. However, it's the judges who decide the winners: Karen and Nicky go for Chris; Biggins and Tyler (who ip-dipped, for crying out loud. Waste of space, much?) went for Hayley. So Kyran with the casting vote and ...it's Chris!
Terrific show, if you were thinking of going but left it too late, next year's tickets will surely be on sale soon! I recommend :-)
Oh that Zoe Tyler?! I did wonder when you said in your facebook message. If it's the person I'm thinking of she's curvy with dark hair and she's a vocal coach turned presenter on loose women. She was the vocal expert on the Andrew Lloyd Webber talent searches on BBC till they ditched her for Denise Van Outen :o)
ReplyDeleteLol did you really queue in the mens and tell them to get lost Scatty? ;o) I'm too conformist for that and just stood for a hour in the queue! Lol
Will be looking forward to next year - starting to wonder if I've missed boat on strictly. Haven't got my tickets straight away as normal this year - no money, argh!!!
At least of got my gorgeous Buble to look forward to - 3 weeks and counting! :o)
Ah, only began watching the ALW stuff with Nancy!
ReplyDeleteNo, never told any men that really - they probably assumed it was the womens too, none came near anyway! I'd joined the queue not noticing it was the mens! Only one man ventured in: "It's alright", I told him cheerfully, beckoning him in as he started to back away "we're finished now, it's all yours..."