The result

So no dance off tonight, it's all down to the audience tonight.

As I predicted earlier I think Ricky will be going home tonight as he just doesn't have enough public support.



First couple through - Ricky & Natalie so that's out the window.

Other finalist is Chris as predicted, poor Ali misses out.

Leaderboard

Combined leaderboard for tonight then is:

1. 96 points - Ricky & Natalie
2. 92 points - Ali & Brian
3. 80 points - Chris & Ola

Overall a fair reflection I think on the performances though I think there's less of a gap between the three of them than the 16 points suggests.

However Ricky's popularity hasn't been as high as the other two the last couple of weeks, and with no dance-off tonight he could be in for a shock exit!

Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe - Argentine Tango

Seconds in and I already feel this could be the best Arentine Tango of the night.

Looks a little unsteady at times though.

However a very good performance and easily worth 9's.

Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna - American Smooth

A dance that should suit Ali better, although they have chosen quite a fast number.



Not sure about Ali having both hands above her head during her spins, looks a little untidy.

It looks like they've decided to quash any 'are they or aren't they' rumours with those kisses at the end.

A very good performance, not quite perfect for me but i think they may get full marks from the judges.

Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan - Argentine Tango

Good to see Chris and Ola starting with true Argentine Tango basics. Needs to make sure he doesn't hold back on the flicks though as they look a little stunted at times.

I preferred their dance to Ali's but I still only an 8 for me.

Leaderboard

First dances out of the way and the leaderboard thus far is as follows:

1. 47 points - Ricky & Natalie
2. 42 points - Ali & Brian
3. 38 points - Chris & Ola

Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe - Waltz

Personally for me Ricky's Ballroom has always been let down by his strange head positioning during pivots and spins, something he's done since his first dance in week 2 and has never been mentioned.



That opening looked like a lift but I think they'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Straight away though and his opening pivots show the his poor posture in turning situations.

Technically his dancing is great but that top-line really has grated on me since his first week.

I think he'll get 9's, but for me I'd only give it an 8.

Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna - Argentine Tango

Can Ali pull off the unexpected and actually give us a down and dirty performance?



Incidentally this song they're dancing to is the same one that a couple I choreographed for used in their Christmas party last night, and won!

Hints of passion there, but i'd still like to see a bit more intensity, and it just seems to be lacking a little sharpness.

I'm just not feeling this routine, the most passionate part came in the ending look between them.

Should easily get 8's though.

Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan - Rumba

I personally really liked Chris' Rumba back in his first week but there was still significant room for improvement, let's hope 10/11 weeks on has seen that improvement realised!



At times Chris' hands look really good, at others they are just stuck out, but thankfuly mainly there is some shaping there.

I'd like to see more hip action though, to match the sheer amount of chest on show.

He certainly acted a good Rumba, could still do with improvement though. I'd give him an 8.

A day in the life of Erin Boag

Erin Boag may be out of the competition, but she's still very busy! Find out what she gets up to during the week with her sneaky backstage diary. Find out what the dancers eat (especially a very messy Vincent) and what she gets up to outside of Saturday!

Viennese Waltz tips from Anton Du Beke

Fresh from leaving the show on Saturday night, Anton gives us his top 3 tips on dancing the Viennese Waltz:

Week 12 in 60 seconds

The moment of truth, dance off, and result

Ali & Brian through, so that’s my first prediction off the cards.

Chris & Ola also through which leaves my original prediction of Laila and Ricky as being correct!

Laila is definitely out now, unless Laila can pull off a flawless performance but I really don't think anything can save her.

Laila’s up first in the dance-off and she is definitely giving a much better, and thus far what appears to be a faultless performance but I don’t think it’ll be enough to save her.

Now for Ricky…and I would say a better performance too from Ricky. I’m seeing a 5-0 sending home for Laila.



We get to 3-0 and that’s all it takes.

Leaderboard

Final leaderboard is as follows:

1 95 points - Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe
2 86 points - Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna
3 80 points - Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan
4 59 points - Laila Rouass & Anton Du Beke

I predicted to Emma last night that it would be a Laila and Ricky dance-off, but I’m going to change that to Ali & Laila as both have really underperformed tonight for my liking, and I think Chris and Ricky will have more (mostly female!) support.

Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe - Cha Cha Cha

Not quite sure on the pants in the training Ricky…

Seems to be dancing more with his upper body than his hips early on and I do wish he’d do something with his free hand when it’s not in use.

I don’t feel like there’s as much choreography as I’d be expecting from these two either.

A bit of a letdown for me personally but should get at least 8’s.

Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan - Samba

Another Samba tonight, Ali scored well earlier on and it’ll be difficult to have such a direct comparison to her.

I think Bruno might mention the stamping jump at the start, and Chris’ mouth is making a comeback.

His hips are a little lacking but it’s a very good performance and I’ll give it an 8.
s

Laila Rouass & Anton du Beke - Salsa

They’ve not impressed in the Latin so far this series, the training looks good but can they ‘bring it’ on the night?

Why Laila, why always the mistakes? Especially when you’re apart from Anton it just makes it so obvious.

Emma asked me yesterday my prediction for who was going out tonight, I predicted Laila last night and I stand by that tonight after seeing that performance.

Unfortunately Len’s right, they want to be in the final but they rarely manage a flawless performance and I can’t see them progressing further than tonight.

A real letdown and I’m going to have to say a 5 (possibly the lowest score I’ve given all series – I’ll have to go back and look!)

Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna - Samba

The bogey dance so far for most competitors, and I don’t think the Samba will prove to be her dance tonight either.

Still looks too ‘nice’ and on a couple of moves Ali doesn’t appear to finish before she’s on to the next step and really needs to dance from the floor.

I don’t think the choice of music helped, I do think Samba really needs to have a bouncy feel to it to really bring out the performance.

An ok performance but should get 8’s.

Leaderboard

1 48 - Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe
2 42 - Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna
3 41 - Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan
4 33 - Laila Rouass & Anton Du Beke

Fairly predictable so far...

Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe - Foxtrot

Please Natalie I hope you’ve sorted out Ricky’s odd head movements as they really do grate for me and often it ruins the whole look of the routine.

Significant improvement in the head department, though he has to avoid looking down at the floor.

Can’t see his footwork but a very good performance, not perfect but I think it will get 9’s.

Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan - Waltz

A dance that needs elegance and romance, and I think Chris has what it takes to pull off a good one, but let’s see what happens.

I’m not personally happy with his head position, it’s stretched a little oddly but the dance is looking good aside from that, although he really does need to incorporate some shaping in his hands.

A nice Waltz that I think should achieve at least 8’s.

Laila Rouass & Anton du Beke - American Smooth

I was really enjoying the start, up until the slip in the spin. She really does have to watch those shoulders too. The dance does look like Anton is throwing her round quite a lot, and I don’t just mean in the lifts!

Started with lots of promise but I don’t think it delivered and I’m only going to give it a 7 I’m afraid.

Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna - Tango

Another dance where Ali won’t be able to ‘float’ round the floor so will be interesting to see how she copes with the passion and aggression required in this dance.

Slight slip in the spins at the start and they appear to be incorporating rising into the dance at points.

Ali is looking quite unsteady at times.

An ok performance but I wasn’t too impressed so far, will have to say 8.

Sorry for the delay

We were away for the weekend, and even though i'd dutifully taken my laptop with us so that I could blog during the show, it turned out that the forest in Cornwall had zero phone reception!

I would have posted yesterday if we hadn't have got stuck on the M4 motorway, stationary for 1 1/2 hours :-(

So finally I've managed to find time to post this before I start my long day of teaching, the only positive from the delay is that I've been able to include the videos straight away.