Dancing on Ice: The Final Final

The final time I'll have to eat my roast whilst dodging my head around the kids' heads to see the telly on a Sunday evening. Bliss. 

Oh, and a beautiful, final televised Bolero from T&D in this final ever final for Dancing on Ice. Never quite reaching the heights of Strictly obsession-dom in the country, it nevertheless entertained us for nine series, and I'm full of admiration for the celebrities who put themselves through it - knowing how difficult it is to stand these days, let alone skate around without any tricks!

Our ultimate champion was Ray Quinn - the DOI voters have always come to their senses and picked the best skater to win, although both Hayley and Beth ran him close. Hayliel's Jai Ho was performance of the night for me, it's just so spot on in every aspect, with fantastic detail, but Maray's overall skating ability and performance skill meant he got my votes.

Bethasz was on top form, with a sparky-coming-out-fighting Run the World cheerleader romp giving Jason his long awaited performance (though I didn't think it worth 40, not enough skating) and re-visiting the Highland Fling, a firm favourite. Hayliel tango'd to Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps, with great timing, neat tricks, good skating and no jazz hands - but I don't remember her being so sickly in the VTs. 

Maray's Beach Boys medley gave us an enormous back flip, as well as some ultra cool surfing on ice, followed by the intricate and majestic Flamenco - still those flying lunges grab me and he's so quick and smooth in the dance. The Spanish influence of course was there again in their lyrical Bolero, along with the splits and some gorgeous armography, while Hayliel's version was quite lovely and understated. I still think they could have allowed third placed Bethasz the opportunity to do theirs though *grumpy face*.

I wondered what we were going to do for another twenty minutes. Show highlights, obviously and everyone is welling up after Chris' final VT words. In fact, the emotion of The End was making the Winner Announcement seem quite an anti-climax!

Torvill and Dean have been heroes since 1981 - Mack and Mabel will always be my favourite - and I'll cling to the rumours of a proper stint on Strictly for them.

Dancing on Ice: Semi-Final flyers, moves and shakers

In what was always going to be the toughest Semi ever, we finally said goodbye to Samvick after their fifth appearance in the skate off.

Maray 'Let Her Go'

An explosive and powerful performance to Let Me Entertain You - they've gotten stronger every week - and another good performance to Club Can't Handle Me (throwing everything in, including a headbanger) was never going to save them unless the other couple slipped up - the other couple being Maray!

I'm not a fan of the flying routines - it's supposed to be ice dancing not air dancing, so while I get that flying as part of a routine is an additional spectacle, it does the show overall a disservice when a lesser skater ends of top of the leader board with barely a foot touching the ice. And the top skater suffers with a pretty average routine because he's battling the associated sickness ... thus, Ray's spectacle-that-should-have-been was pretty meh. And apart from a few Superman moves in Sam's he didn't fare much better. Someone even admitted the aerial routine is much tougher for the guys than the girls, so why do it at this stage? Or why not have an element of solo skating in it too, to even things up?

However, Maray's two proper skates were awesome: Let Her Go began with a medieval, almost balletic dance and his lines throughout were sublime, while their skate off routine was one of the most beautiful  - performance of the night - to You Make It Real. I just hope it was audience complacency that left him in that position.

Bethasz continue to annoy Jason that they're getting through - her level of support suggests she in for the win though. The flying routine to Reach was nice - awesome Lukasz Lunge, and overall powerful, speedy but a lovely connection. I preferred The Dark Days Are Over, a blinding performance - complete opposite to last week - fantastic helicopter lift.

Top of the lot this week was Hayliel, whose aerial routine was deemed awesome by a bunch of weeping judges, but which I deemed; "Would you like some egg and chips with that ham, love?" as I found it a bit sick inducing, quite frankly. I did enjoy the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy though, full of pizazz - which probably got the vote of my mum, your typically average floating voter. She loves the lively stuff, and she always picks the winners of this and Strictly.

Anyhoo, it would appear that Maray are up for elimination first in the final, or will things change around? Tune in to see - and especially, to see Philip on ice, allegedly! 6.15pm, Sunday.

Dancing on Ice: Solo can you go?

Solo night and as Robin said: The girls were dreading it; the boys loving it.

Ray, solo down dirty

Beth had an awful week with illness yet still managed to pull it together in both skates. Dancing to 'Burn' with Lukasz, you could feel the connection between them, it was beautiful. The performance element and the energy needed for Man, I Feel Like A Woman just weren't there but technically, she was proficient enough - and a nice hydraglide. It kept her bottom of the table and her support must be worrying Ray a bit.

Hayley's performance level of course, is always top notch and Maybe This Time did nothing to damage that, but she was slow compared to the others and there was a stumble, which knocked her scores down. Back in Daniel's arms though and a mighty salsa to Conga - loved the Latino walks - with incredible timing earned her a smattering of tens. 

Sam had another good night, very nifty and expressive and smooth throughout Still Got The Blues, fantastic spinny things all through it. A lovely lyrical piece with Vicky to All of Me was very together and well interpreted, but the girls' support still put him in the skate off, alongside ...

Kyran, with a competent clean skate to Dancing in the Dark, after his best with Nina, a personality piece to King of the Swingers gaining him a 9 from Jason, still not enough to escape the skate off. Chasing Cars with additional awesome lifts and a *squeezes toes* headbanger couldn't beat the electricity of Sam's Riverdance and we said goodbye to the 2007 champion.

Now then, Mr Quinn - are you actually old enough to be doing all that raunchy stuff? Goodness me - Prince would be mightily impressed to see Kiss interpreted like that, I'm sure. I wonder how many complaints ITV got? Still, who cares. Another maximum score of 40, and only half a point less in his skate with Maria to Counting Stars, which was delicious - totally agree with Ashley and Karen on that. Jason with the 9.5 because Ray forgot to wink at him, apparently. But I'd still be concerned about how popular the girls are - at least one of the Big 3 is going to be in next week's skate off. Everyone say "Oooooooh". Till then x

Dancing on Ice: Sayonara Suzatte

Well, GUTTED would be the word I'm after! After an excellent individual performance, Suzatte found themselves in the bottom half of the leaderboard and from there, in the skate off, where a nervy performance with a couple of stumbles cost them dearly to a near perfect Billie Jean routine from Kyrina.

Maray do it again

I confess myself a little surprised that they were less popular than Bethasz and Hayliel, as I think Suzanne combines the best of both of them. But there you go ...

Individually, they were all very strong, with Bethasz maintaining the personality of the week before, an exhilarating performance to You Can't Stop the Beat, excellent tricks and terrific timing. Hayliel given an emotionally charged routine again, showing some beautiful lines to Skycraper, while Suzatte got all sultry and showcased her skating skill, with just one sticky transition, skating to Black Velvet.

Kyrina's Can't Hold Us routine I found a little manic but full of attack, while Maray did what they do i.e. be utterly fantastic, this time to Lego House and scoring another perfect 40. Samvick were indeed extremely Happy - easily their best so far, brilliant nifty footwork - Chris Dean said his was the toughest skating of the night and he'd have given it a 10!

Onward then, to the Team Challenge, which made all the difference to the overall result: Kyrina moving from bottom to third, and Bethasz dropping from second to last to dead last. The boys skate to Uptown Girl considered unanimously by the judges to have topped the girls Walk Like an Egyptian. I enjoyed both, so I was quite glad I didn't have to decide. Still gutted about Suzatte.

It seems Bethasz are a shoe in for the final - they must have scored at least 5 points from the public vote to avoid the skate off and push Kyrina and Suzatte down there. I'm not one for betting, personally, but if you fancy a flutter ...

Till next time x

Dancing on Ice: Freedom for Garianne

1984 and all that, so we get Wild Boys and Dr.Beats to open, plus re-living Bolero again. And Garianne go out on a high, with their top scoring routine to Freedom, and a recap of Beautiful Day.

My clear favourites are now Suzatte and Maray. Loved Suzanne's characterisation in Let's Hear it for the Boy, she got the Lovesick Teenager spot on. Bright and lively, with neat tricks. And Ray, fully committed as ever and loving every minute of 'Jump' - the heavy metal one, not the other one. Fantastic energy and dynamicism.

I was expecting to hate Samvick's Radio GaGa but actually thought it was brilliantly done - great musicality. But their skate off routine to Dream Catch Me is my favourite of theirs to date; gorgeous, lovely dancing on ice and an excellent steps sequence.

Hayliel put aside the jazz hands and treated us to a mini melodrama to Here Comes The Rain again - could have been a little more sensitive to all the flood victim fans really - or maybe that was the story? While Kyrina, meanwhile, finally managed to bring an expressive and soft performance - even Jason was impressed. Bethasz had a bit of fun off the ice, Beth in her comfort zone, Lukasz really not but the Girl Just Wanted to Have Fun, and so she did.

A great night of skating, with the only iffy moments the pathetic spats between Jason, Karen and Nicky. Next week, it's Team Time. Only Champions left and the mixed up leader board will make all the difference. Till then x

Dancing on Ice: Bye bye Bondrei

I dunno, but the losers' three skates to the duel winners' one skate seemed a little unfair to me! But hey ho ...

Maray and Suzatte face off

It was Bondrei who ultimately lost out, losing the duel to Garianne, then the public vote and finally, the judges' votes. Even a storming second skate to DevilGate Drive wasn't enough, as her final skate off wasn't so sharp.

Samvick put in a clean skate to get the judges on side, after their second skate - a romantic smooth number - didn't cut it with the public. Although, up against Bethasz and Suzatte, there was only ever going to be one outcome.

Bethasz's skate to Think wasn't the most exciting but almost faultless as always and I'm not ready to lose her yet. Suzatte was unfortunate to get stuck together coming out of the first big lift - but what a fantastic recovery, not losing a beat in one of my favourite routines ever - lyrical hip hop and attitude - I'd love to see it again (only not in a skate off. And without the stumble.)

In the duels, we had two unanimous decisions and two split. Garianne I'd have said, on paper, would've lost to Bondrei - how wrong can you be? A delightful routine in which I think Gareth's skating was much stronger and more varied than Bonnie's. Ashley and Jason voted Bondrei; Karen and Robin went Garianne, with Robin's casting vote given due to the big step-up lift.

A split likewise, with Kyrina versus Samvick - I couldn't call it, though the leap from Kyran was terrific, he had a couple of sticky moments, while Sam wasn't quite as smooth. Ashley and Jason again in agreement with Sam; Karen and Robin opting for Kyran, with Robin calling it: "Came down to technicalities below the ankle."

At the business end, Bethasz versus Hayliel was Hayley all the way - far more feisty and fierce, resulting in a 4-0 win for her. Suzatte and Maray's duel was completely awesome, full of zing and energy but again, there was only one winner, with Ray's assurance on the ice just pipping Suzanne.

So there we go, back to normal again next week and things should start to shake out a bit, so we get a clue as to who really has got the public in their corner! Till then x

Dancing on Ice: Jazz hands no good for Zaarandy

In an evening of excellent performances - mostly - it was Zaraandy we bade farewell, even after Puttin' on the Ritz, by the incomparable Ella.

Maray top score with 40

Ok, we knew she was going, because the producers did their usual "let's show this one as a miserable cow and no-one will vote for her" hatchet job *sighs*. It was a great routine, although her first lift seemed a bit floppy and the last trick was cut short.

It was Kyrina who joined them in the Skate Off, a fairly solid Rock'n'Roll number which didn't melt the ice; Chasing Cars definitely upped the tempo, with a head banger for Nina looking far too literal. Very smooth and strong and he got through with a 3-1 vote in his favour.

Dance night brought some nice variations on the theme, with the top picks being Bethasz's Highland Fling, which was brilliant - I loved it, especially the aerial cartwheels. They really nailed the feel of it. Maray, also, showing off some fabulous shaping in the Flamenco, awesome flying lunges and a standation from the judges! Full bag of points: 40!

Lots of intricate detail in Samvick's Bhangra, while Garianne's Streetdance seemed to end way too soon and was a bit on the quiet side for me. Bondrei's Waltz had a quiet charm about it - apparently, Bonnie hated it, but I thought it came across very warm and genuine.

Suzatte's interpretation of The Flower Duet with Ballet was quite beautiful, graceful and elegant, apart from one of the lifts, which turns out to have gone completely wrong - very well covered! Hayliel's Charleston of course suited them, although I found the moves a little manic at first. They calmed down though, and gave a very enjoyable performance.

Getting interesting now, it could be anyone next week. The only one not safe in a skate off is Garianne against any of the others - but his fans are keeping him well clear! Till then x

Dancing on Ice: Former champs motoring

The final series of Dancing on Ice promised much, featuring so many former champions and from the judges point of view, it certainly couldn't be closer.

However, as we know, the judges don't get it all their own way and so Todd duly made it through to Week 3! A mambo routine no less. No more, either, but ...

Last week saw Suzanne and Matt (Suzatte) top score with a beautiful, emotional skate - six years on and she hasn't lost it. Lovely tricks and gorgeous lines.

We said goodbye to David and Gary, after some errors from David and a nice skate from Gary - nice was never going to be enough in this show. The shock came from seeing Sam and Vicky (Samvick) in the skate off. Which could be the result of being too Sicky - which will be their name if they carry on like that. Thankfully, we got the Riverdance skate, which was a favourite of mine.

Surprise package was Zaraah, showing some very good form with partner Andy (Zaraandy), while Beth and Lukasz (Bethasz) came out with purpose and intent. So bendy - fab tricks!

On then, to Week 3, and the former champs all suddenly remembered they had reputations to uphold, storming the ice with excellent skating, tricks and personality - with Zaraandy showing up again and possibly ahead overall. Loved the hip hop on ice. I may still call Samvick Sicky yet, because they're being a bit too yucky - but nice jivin'.

We had some poppin' from Kyrina and jazz hands from Hayliel; ballet from Bethasz but thankfully not any twerking from Maray who got us all groovin' in our seats with Blurred Lines. Lots of skating quality and dynamic performances.  Bondrei and Garianne did well although technically a little behind the others. Suzatte's timing and expression again, coupled with the tricks and basics means she's in for the long haul.

No shocks in the skate off, once Todd's name wasn't called as saved. Solo skating around a gondola was not enough this time for Tondra and we say goodbye. A shame for Zaraandy to be there but it did let us savour the Diamonds and Pearls routine again.

Wide open now then - no-one's safe and there'll be no skate off shocks, since everyone's good enough to go on. It's going to get very interesting!

Till next time :)

Dancing on Ice: Mission Impossible for JoRo

Bonnie and Andrei (Team Bandie) survive the skate off - and thanks to the voters for putting them in it, otherwise we wouldn't have seen that incredible lift at the end. It was even worth having to sit through the advert on the ITV clip, since I was obviously watching Sherlock by then.

However, contrary to the purists fears, it looks like said voters are going to take this Battle of the Champions seriously and we said goodbye to Joe Pasquale, who'd clearly worked hard to improve. So we'll see no more of Team JoRo but not before having the fun of two-for-the-price-of-one routines.

Also leaving were Jorgie and Sylvain, who didn't make for a good pairing at all: Jorvain was the best I could come up with. Horrid, isn't it? A shame though, as she clearly was going to make his life hell on behalf of bessie mate Jennifer Metcalfe. He didn't look at all amused, did he? Always a shame when a good looking bloke can't crack a smile. On the ice though, she was as fabulous as ever. A shame but up against three past winners and a teen heart-throb it was always going to be between her, Bonnie and Joe.

So safely through with public support went Ray and Maria, probably my favorite pairing ever. I will be expecting a lot more from Team Maray though, as I was a little bit underwhelmed. I need to see Bailamos again! Kyran and new partner Nina (Team Kyrina) shone to the best song of the night - Sir Duke - and we know he can do funky, so we can look forward to that next time.

Gareth and Brianne (Team Garianne) showed off some neat tricks to Patience, while Hayley and Daniel (Team Hayliel) came out strongly again.

Till next time x
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Strictly Christmas: Snow Snow Quick Quick Snow

The usual feel good/pressure off fun fest that is Strictly at Christmas was another wonderful show, with a battle of fan favourites, Elaine Paige and Rufus Hound, at the top of the leaderboard. Producers, please note: We want them on the main show!

It was Team Flufas (I can't imagine any other name now, so they have to bring Flavia back) who delivered the winning routine, with a lipsmackin' tango full of rhythm, timing and attitude but with added comedy. And huskies! And sharpness, by way of a fish-slap!

Elaine and partner Pasha dished up a tasty cha cha - she's the epitome of fab-u-lous and it was only Len, of all people, who denied her a top score. You can see clips of all the performances here.

I loved the breakout into streetdance in Ricky and Janette's quickstep, together with the other little touches of different styles, while Sara and Robin's waltz was a sweet attempt. Rochelle and Ian's salsa was a bit scrappy but with more training, I think she'd be fantastic - her vibe reminded me of Alesha, very real with plenty of kick ass rhythm. Matt and Aliona charmed with an American Smooth but he needs to be more confident and relax.

The entire cast finish off with Fairytale in New York - I've been waiting for that to accompany a Viennese Waltz for some time - and Craig looking totally at home on a banjo! Who knew?

Dancing on Ice next, for their final, All-Stars series, which will be a mixture of the comic acts (Joe Pasquale and Todd Carty) but a serious competition for the crown featuring Jorgie Porter, Hayley Tamaddon, Sam Attwater, Kyran Bracken, Beth Tweddle and Ray Quinn. The show begins on January 5th at 6.15pm, ITV1. Till then x