Katherine Jenkins Joins Dancing With the Stars

The US version of Strictly Come Dancing have signed Mezzo Soprano and Strictly fan, Katherine Jenkins for their next series.

A good move I think, as over here she'd have been hit with the old "previous experience" rubbish (Viva la Diva with Darcey Bussell). She'll feel right at home with Len and Bruno on the judging panel, and a spokesman said she's very excited to be taking part. Her partner will be former champ Mark Ballas, returning for his tenth season with the show. He's also very musical; sings, plays guitar and has a band with fellow champ Derek Hough, so it seems a perfect match!

The rest of the stars include the wonderful Gladys Knight, without her Pips sadly, Melissa Gilbert (Laura in Little House on the Prairie ... she's probably done a few other things by now) and Wimbledon legend Martina Navratilova - they're the ones I've heard of! The ones I haven't heard of, who are probably huge in the US of A are: Actor Jack Wagner (Melrose Place); Sherri Shephard, co host of The View; Jaleel White from Family Matters; TV host Maria Menounos; Disney star, Roshon Fegan; Donald Driver, NFL wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers; singer Gavin de Graw and Telenovela actor, William Levy.

The new series launches on March 19th and Katherine will be following fellow Brits Mel B, Heather Mills and Kelly Osborne in the attempt to lift an overseas glitter ball. Good luck Kath!

Dancing on Ice: Rocking All Over The Ice

The Rock of Ages cast do a Glee, with the pro skaters accompanying for a high energy rocking start to Don't Stop Believing.

And it's Mattina to kick us off in typically excellent fashion to Don't Stop Me Now, fantastic floor/ice work, the training footage was obviously early in the week because the small lift looked effortless, so fluid, exciting and raw. Not a Queen fan but I'll always see this when I hear it now. Score: 9/8.5/8.5 = 26 Louie never wants to stop him, as he's beautifully lyrical, edgy and speedy; Katarina told him he rocked the audience and Robin was impressed with the control and says he's really good to watch.

Semmy comes out Stronger to Kelly Clarkson, the power's back but she's kept the elegance, full of attitude and energy, her best overall performance. Score: 7.5/7/7 = 21.5 Robin called it contained solid skating; Katarina called her a rock star on ice, right on the rhythm; Louie agreed it was by far her strongest performance, with elegant arm and leg lines.

Dannifer to Total Eclipse of the Heart, major emotional connection, more attack, speedier and stronger, great lines as ever and a mega necklace spin to finish. Score: 8/7/7 = 22 Katarina saw a different Jennifer; Robin praised the blade use and Louie her wonderful extensions, emotion and fluidity. She's well made up!

Vindy to Don't Look Back in Anger and clearly now the weakest left in the competition, there doesn't appear to have been much improvement compared with the others. No attack, he's just going through the motions, sadly; I found that a bit boring. Score: 6/6.5/6.5 = 19 and his whining about the scores is really getting on my wick. Katarina missed the character but praised the strokes and lift; Robin called it clean and nice but a bit flat and Louie saw moments of heartbreak but it needed more emotion. And he's whining again. Time to go, I think.

Samandra have the frog lift again, would you look at the state of his legs? Skating to Human - he's not an actor but he emotes so well, wobbly frog lift but held it and did a tricky little routine fluidly. Score: 8/7/7 = 22 Louie called him a dancer, said he grasped the precision, mastered the emotion and that he had the best lines in the competition; Katarina liked how he smiles when he performs and the great spin and steps; Robin told him he commanded our attention, every move convincing.

Jorgatt with everybody's favourite theatrical Gothic number, Bring Me To Life and they bring the ice to life, fabulous, dramatic and that neck spin, wow. Brave Matt! Score: 8.5/9/9 = 26.5 Robin called the performance all encompassing - theatrical and emotive: Katarina said it's always a Wow, and was dark, strong, incredible tricks; Louie saw a bit of hesitancy but agreed it had everything.

Chiceyne to Monie Monie and another energetic and enthusiastic performance, making the lifts look effortless, even in that wig. Score: 8.5/8/8 = 24.5 Katarina saw everything she wanted, energy, power and a hint of wildness (don't think she was talking about the wig); Louie didn't have much to moanie moanie about, called him a born performer and Robin used controlled, solid and gusto but said he needed a little finesse.

Leaderboard: Jorgatt 26.5; Mattina 26; Chiceyne 24.5; Dannifer & Samandra 22; Semmy 21.5; Vindy 19

I think it's a question of which one is in the skate off with Vindy. Isn't it?

Safe: Mattina; Jorgatt; Dannifer; Vindy! You have got to be kidding me? I mean, I know in Strictly I'll accept the less technically gifted if they entertain, up to a certain point, but on the ice, it's different. Such a shame we're going to lose one of the others before their time. Semmy take the safety train to the corner and it's Chiceyne versus Samandra. Gutted for them.

Samandra made the frog lift much stronger - pressure off, nothing to lose, fabulous second performance. Chiceyne follow up with a better performance too and it's they who are voted through unanimously.

So we're down to six - team challenge next week!

Snippets: Strictly Come Dancing; Dancing on Ice; The Voice; Britain's Got Talent

Rival shows, The Voice and Britain's Got Talent are set to air at the end of March, reports Unreality TV.

The Voice is apparently scheduled for the 24th, with BGT making its 2012 debut the week after, on the 31st. The Battle for Saturday Night Viewers will then commence! And we'll become increasingly bored with the 'insiders' and 'close sources' quotes ...

Karen Bruce is the latest, sensible name to be linked with the vacant role of Strictly Come Dancing judge. The celebrated choreographer was featured in So You Think You Can Dance and is well known and liked by the professional dancers. Not being known by the wider public is surely not a problem - who knew Bruno, Craig and Len before the show began? And Arlene was probably only known to those of us who remembered Hot Gossip! Word is, Karen has screen tested very well and isn't afraid to vice her opinion - think Katarina Witt but without any chance of being misunderstood: If Karen says you're a bit s**t, you probably are!

Matt Evers could well be sporting the zombie look tonight, after been slashed by Jorgie Porter's blade during rehearsal yesterday and rushed to hospital for stitches in a gash to his forehead.

Sticking with Dancing on Ice, the tabloids are reporting that Karen Barber has a massive problem with Katarina Witt. Apparently, according to a 'source close to the show', the new judge is making "scathing comments and cruel remarks" to the contestants and Karen, obviously, wants to defend her charges. Now, I don't know about you, but I actually watch the show and I've yet to hear anything from Katarina that isn't just downright honest when it comes to critiquing their skating. It might be said less delicately than someone whose first language is English, but I certainly wouldn't consider anything she's said to be cruel. If the celebrities think she's being scathing (and I think it's the usual tabloid nonsense) they really need to get out in the real world more.

Let's Dance for Sport Relief: Week 2

On the panel, former champ Rufus Hound, former contestant Iain Lee and the dad dancer legend that is Vic Reeves.

Eddie the Eagle is Austin Powers! He just is: goofy, pitched perfectly, this is fab! No surprise that he has timing, you wouldn't chuck yourself of a bloody big hill without it, would you? Feel good, great style and rhythm, plenty of choreography and big smiles all round from everyone! A star turn!

Myles Jupp has to follow that and I'm a bit partial to Myles - fabulous stick work to Firestarter, if he doesn't win this, there's a place from him with the Medway Baton Twirlers. Alice Barry is from Shameless, she gets everyone bobbing about to Outside, especially Steve Jones when she did an *ooh er missus* on his nether regions. If a bloke did  that to a woman, he'd be forever damned, sacked and vilified on Twitter forever more. Ava Vidal and her jazz dancers gets us into a swing mood with Get Happy, I love that song!

The Towie pairing of Amy and Harry show some real dance talent with Me Against The Music , in fact, only switching on as I did halfway through this, I'd no idea that Harry was a girl,  I just kept thinking how like Brittany from Glee he looked! He's either naturally very talented or he's had a serious amount of training! Was it just me hoping that Ed Sheeran would give them a slap to Shut Them Up properly in the bar? Alexandra Burke going for the Jessie J Look, which is even less flattering on her. Who advises them, seriously?

Results in and first out is Alice, followed by Ava. Straight through is ... Eddie the Eagle, yay! And after saying Towie were the best, the panel put through Myles! But as far as the final is concerned, it's Eddie versus Laurie and Tameka so far!

Dancing on Ice - Ultimate Skills Week

A spin, step and a jump to master, specifically, a massive steps (plural) sequence, a proper jump or more and some serious spinning, preferably with 3 rotations! And if it isn't enough to keep them out of the skate off, there will follow a solo skate comprising all those elements again! Brutal. For some, that is, for others it's a mega showing off session. And at the end of it all, TWO will leave!

Chiceyne set the bar to Mama do the Hump and Bloody Hell was my reaction to that first big lift, very impressive, as were his steps, jumps and the only little wobble coming out of a very long spin! Score: 8/8/8 = 24 Robin called it a terrific way to start the show; Louie loves that he performs from beginning to end and Katarina called him a thoroughbred.

Semmy to Hold On and she's definitely softened, still needs to finish some lines but lovely steps, a little wobble after the spin but overall a very good performance as you'd expect from a sportswoman who understands what you need to do and applies it. It was also good to see the relationship there is between  them, she always captures the feel of the piece. Score: 7.5/7.5/7 = 22 Katarina praises the combination attempt; Louie was dancing it with her and Robin advised that elegance looked good on her, her tricks were lovely and footwork tidy.

Dannifer to Candy Man with great characterization as always, great steps, energy and those flyaways were lovely. And well done for getting back out there. Score: 7.5/6.5/6 = 20 Chris "don't turn her upside down, it'll all come gushing out again." Robin called her a great performer, safe but beautifully executed; Katarina called her courageous and like the overall performance and Louie called her solid.

Vindy skate to Land of a Thousand Dances, good spin, shame he mucked up the steps, the lift looked hard work and hello? Cameraman? Where'd he go? Score: 7.5/6.5/5.5 = 19.5 I thought a bit generous actually, considering the steps sequence. Robin loved the performance and that he recovered the steps, collectively he compensated; Louie wrote down Mr Rhythm, Mr Performance, Mr Personality and told him he pops! Katarina said he was sneaking in the skating skills but had some knots in his legs.

Sebianne to Omen with strong, raw power, slight mishap in the hydraplane thingy but so fast, bit frantic. Score: 8/7.5/6.5 = 22 Bless, he's not happy but it was his best performance when it counted. Louie tells him to get over being a perfectionist and concentrate on the performance; Katarina liked the fast, well executed steps.

Jorgatt to Louder and I swear she hit her head during that headbanger - not that I was watching, I was trying to uncurl my toes - what a performance, all the elements packed in tight with style. Score: 8.5/8.5/8.5 = 25.5 Robin said she delivers but some footwork was incorrect! Louie called it downright dirty and dangerous; Katarina is amazed by her fearlessness and was blown away, calling her almost unbeatable and unstop ...stop... stopable, eventually.

Samandra skate to Lightning and why do they give them that stupid, dangerous frog lift? Oh, they've taken it out. Well, good! Lovely presentation and nice skating, elements well done, but you can see the injury on his mind. Score: 7/6.5/5.5 = 19 Chris said they're all jubilant he made it through because in the morning, Alexandra didn't think she had a partner, although Karen's face at Katarina's "concentrating hard, holding back in performance" comments was a picture; Louie praised the clean performance and lovely turn; Robin called it neat and tidy and gave credit for the focus.

Andi to Push the Button and she's so lovely but just so hesitant and slow, it's such a shame. Nice spin though, a little jump, very careful steps sequence - and a spectacular lift! Score: 7/5.5/5 = 17.5 Louie praised her vast improvement and that she took control; Katarina said she was a great dancer but her feet didn't move enough and Robin told her she did a lot more than they were expecting. Bless, she's a bit crushed cos she had to commit a lot to that.

Mattini last out to Without You - I've been expecting this song since I first heard it, thought it would be terrific to skate to and I'm glad it went to Mattina, with a cracking routine, intense yet still so musical, the whirly bird, nailed and huge OMG lift, big spin, stunning, so in tune with each other and the music. Fantastic. Score: 9/9.5/9.5 = 28 It's the best they've ever skated it; Jayne looks like a proud mummy. Katarina is acting out being not worthy, while thanking them and praising the really excellent, almost perfect steps and the mood; Louie says he got his spark back, and used stunning and fabulous, while Robin said every move he made, he made it notice, it was pristine!

So the leaderboard stands thus: Mattina 28; Jorgatt 25.5; Chiceyne 24; Semmy&Sebianne 22; Dannifer 20; Vindy 19.5; Samandra 19; Andi 17.5. Now seeing that and knowing what follows, the judges may decide they need to be a little more circumspect when dishing out the scores - had Vindy been one place down, Semmy or Sebianne may have made it safely through. As it is ...

The final decision rested with Robin after the public votes saved, in no particular order - Mattina; Vindy; Jorgatt; Dannifer; Chiceyne and Samandra. Which meant Semmy v Sebianne v Andi and clearly Heidi was earmarked to go. But after an "I pity anyone who is in a skate off with me" off the cuff remark to camera by Sebastien, it all went horribly, horribly wrong for him.

Chemmy came out and delivered the 23 elements very well with one little hiccup and got a "fluid and constant" from Katarina a "Speed and rhythm" from Louie and a "contained your composure" from Robin to make it a tough choice. I still thought, if I'm honest, that Sebastien would come out powerful and irresistible and yet, somehow, he lost his way and suddenly I was thinking, Oh, my God, he's stopped! He completely lost it, how disappointing. Katarina was in tears, she's been a fan all through. Robin advise they (the contestants) couldn't have improvised, they only had those skills and Louie told him he'd been incredible but that's the nature of competition. Heidi remembered all the steps and did all the elements, although slowly and carefully and it wasn't going to be enough to save her. Louie said there wasn't so much speed and drama, neither were there any obvious mistakes; Robin was glad she put everything into it and Katarina advised she skated up to her potential. Chemmy was saved, which I'm really glad about - but how sad to lose Sebastien, he rocked! There's a couple of others I'd have preferred to lose before either of them. And they've set me off now ... Chris said he didn't think they'd be doing this again - and said it was all Jayne's fault, it was her idea! I think he was kidding. It's been emotional, till next time x

Let's Dance for Sport Relief: Eastender's Tameka and Laurie through

The return of my favourite feel good show and there's that bird feather skirt again, this time on Alex, with a bit chopped off. Am I to assume that feathers are in, then? Is Nancy Dell Olio's feather boa to blame for this worrying trend?

Judges for the evening are those well known dance masters Graham Norton (Father Noel Furlong in Father Ted - remember Riverdance?) Greg Davies, who's very tall and Ballet Rambert trained, and Keith Lemon, whose turn as Baby in the Dirty Dancing routine stunned both critics and fans alike.

Five contestants, and Eastender's Laurie and Tameka are possibly set to become the first lady winners, storming through to the final with their Lady Ga Ga/Beyonce Telephone routine - timing, attitude, rhythm  in a proper full on routine, unlike Terry Alderton who also made it through, just for wearing a dress and having nice legs, following a less precise Tina Turner strut to Proud Mary. I say that, it's pretty much what Tina Turner does so ... Keith put him through at the behest of the studio audience after Graham voted for Tony and David and Greg left the decision to him by voting for Terry.

Tony Blackburn and David Hamilton gave an energetic performance to Salt'n'Pepa's Push It, with Tony Blackburn clearly loving every minute - he really gets what these shows are all about. Darren Gough was cursed with being the single male not dressed as a woman and doing a proper dance - Gym Mambo from West Side Story -  he's still got the moves and Craig R-H will be so happy that he mostly remembered his hands! Ulrika was too softly softly for the Roxanne tango but Angelos, who, up till now I couldn't see the appeal, turned in a magnificent performance that begs to see him, in his own persona, on Strictly! Strength and attitude and hopefully a personality out of character.

Next week, Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards. I can't even begin to imagine.

Singing in the Rain in the West End/BAFTAs

One of the best loved and most iconic Hollywood musicals is opening in the West End tonight.

The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish talks to Singing in the Rain director Jonathan Church and stars Adam Cooper and Scarlett Strallen (who recently toured with Tom Chambers in Top Hat), about re-creating the legendary roles of Don Blackwood and Kathy Selden, so synonymous with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.

And a few musings from a very enjoyable and entertaining BAFTAs on Sunday night:

Tom Jones - surely a cameo in a Bond film, playing our hero's suave, singing, womanising  dad (it worked in Indiana Jones?!)

Stephen Fry referring to the "assorted media scum" and "Meryl Thatcher; trophy snatcher" amongst many other funny - but not majorly insulting to the guests - linkings.

When did Ben Kingsley ever in appear in Harry Potter - and someone please tell Helena that Potter's over; it's finished, she can let the Bellatrix look go.

A dead flamingo at the NTA's, now we've Octavia sporting the remains of the cast of The Birds. Maybe it was her homage to Hitchcock?

The Diva entrance to beat all entrances by Meryl Streep, who took the opportunity to snog Colin 'Prince Charming' Firth. You see, they're not so different from us after all.

The French director of The Artist, accepting an award for one of his crew who couldn't be there: "I guess he would thank ... well, me!" Very funny man, although I was bit concerned when his leading actor said he was going to bust a kitten.

And a terrific double act from Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman: 'they're scared we may say stuff like "call this a f****g Opera House?"'

From start to finish a delight, if you didn't see it, hit i-Player.