Strictly Come Dancing, week 2 [video]

Dancing first, Jessie and Darren kicked off with an energetic, if wobbly, salsa. Jessie attacked every move with gusto, but never looked quite confident enough to believe she could do it. In common with many celebrities over various series, Jessie had trouble getting her hips swaying to the Latin beat, and her feet went astray at times, too. A number of times, she and Darren were out of time with one another, but the studio audience buoyed her along and she got through the routine without too much mishap. The judges weren’t too brutal, and while her marks were average (4 + 4 + 6 + 6, giving a total of 20 points), it says something of this year’s standard that they would prove to be the lowest marks of the evening.

Christine and Matthew took to the floor with the first foxtrot of the evening. It must be some pressure on Christine to be partnering Strictly’s reigning champion, but she seemed to withstand it, producing a classy first dance. The chemistry between the couple, such an important part of the mix, seems to be there in spades. The marks reflected her good start: 6 + 6 + 8 + 7 = 27 points

Next to the floor with a salsa were Lisa and Brendan. It was obvious from the start that, while these two work well together, Lisa’s nerves were a visible third party in the routine. When they were in hold, she was fine — but every time the couple separated, all sense of relaxation and enjoyment evaporated. She got through the moves, but without any trace of personality or passion. Scores: 5 + 5 + 6 + 6 = 22 points

Back to the foxtrots with Jodie and Ian. Jodie’s height could have been a major drawback — in her heels, she even towers over Mr Waite — but she was able to bring a sense of elegance to the dance. Potentially a bigger problem is that, due to both dancers being so tall, there never seemed to be enough floor space for them, as they seem to be able to cross the whole thing in far fewer steps than any other couple. Again, nerves played a part here, and a couple of hesitant moments meant that Jodie couldn’t quite match Christine’s score: 5 + 6 + 7 + 7 = 25 points

Starting the second batch of dances, we returned to the salsa with Heather and Brian. This dance is one of Brian’s specialisms, so it was no surprise to see an efficient and competent routine with one or two unusual flourishes that lifted the whole piece — most notably a thrilling neck-drop that requires total confidence in one’s partner to be able to execute as cleanly as they did. Brian’s confidence was definitely rubbing off on Heather, who despite admitting to tremendous stage fright produced some of the best out-of-hold moves seen thus far in the evening. 5 + 6 + 8 + 7 = 26 points

Another couple dancing the professional’s specialist dance were Gillian and Anton. Du Beke excels at the foxtrot — last year, he even managed to get Kate Garraway to look like she might actually be improving while dancing the same style. The routine seemed to be designed to appeal to both parties’ playful nature, set to Razzle Dazzle from Chicago. Billy Flynn’s paean to showmanship over real content was the unfortunate backdrop to a routine which had too little of either. Gillian’s footwork kept up with Anton whenever they swept across the floor, but as they paused she would visibly recompose herself for the next set of steps, which is never a good look. And their standing spin looked designed so the lady could show the gentleman off, when usually the point is the other way around. 4 + 5 + 7 + 6 = 22 points

The last salsa of the evening was delivered by Rachel and Vincent, whose Latin version of Can’t Buy Me Love started off slow and sensual, far more like a rumba than a salsa. The pace quickly picked up, though, and treated us to a tight, and often complex, routine full of Vincent’s trademark choreographical flourishes. That Rachel was able to not only keep up but look supremely comfortable throughout, all in her first week of competition, bodes well for the future. The scores were appropriately high: 7 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 31 points

Bringing the competitive dances to a close, Cherie and James delivered the foxtrot, if not the dance, of the night, to Sweet About Me. In previous years, James has been portrayed as a raging fury, but here he seems to have found a celebrity partner who he can work well with, and he comes across as a completely different person. Together, they produced a routine full of elegant touches and one that deservedly received the highest scores of the night: 8 + 8 + 9 + 8 = 33 points

The group merengue from the male celebrities and their partners was good fun. John Sergeant in particular looked to be having a blast, and while he missed the odd step his enthusiasm for the whole routine carried him through. Tom Chambers looked to be the most confident on the floor, while surprisingly Austin Healey messed up badly, missing out a whole section with Erin on the Saturday performance — and while it was reinstated during the results show, at other times, he was just walking into position, having clearly lost his way. Let’s hope it was a temporary blip. Of the others, I think Andrew and Mark both look particularly weak, although either could be the sort of competitor who finds their mojo midway through the contest — if they last that long.

The results show saw some particularly fine show dances this week. A particular highlight for me was the group tango, with (perhaps not surprisingly) Vincent and Flavia being the strongest of the couples in that routine. It was nice, too, to see Darren reunited with Jill Halfpenny, with whom he won Series 2. Their jive had the sort of confidence and synchronicity that none of the current couples (Rachel and Vincent, and Cherie and James included) yet have with each other. That’ll come, though, in time.

When it came to the voting, Jessie and Darren were saved from the dance-off, despite getting the lowest marks from the judges — as were Lisa and Brendan, who had tied on 22 points with Gillian and Anton. The latter couple, though, had to dance again, against Jodie and Ian. Both couples improved on their main performances, but while Gillian was still looking hesitant and nervous, Jodie kicked up into a whole new gear. It was light, assured and flowing from start to finish — and rightly got a unanimous thumbs-up from all four judges.

So now Gillian Taylforth is out, making all the tabloid hacks who started talking up a ‘battle of the EastEnders stars’ look a little foolish, with two of the three former soap actors out in the first two rounds. Next week, the male contestants are back, dancing either a tango or a jive.