Strictly Come Dancing 2019

That was amazing.

Scoring has been ridiculous.

That was not a 39 Charleston

I've not really warmed to Emma and Anton is a pain but I quite like that Charleston, it seemed to suit her.

Kelvin still good, Alex and Chris still ok but looking outclassed. Karim still technically impressive but does nothing for me. Even after what happened last week I'm surprised Craig gave a 10 given how laboured that spin at the end looked.

Laboured?! The lad executed 4 fouette turns wonderfully after dancing completely full out for 2 minutes straight?! See, this is the thing. The average audience don't really know enough about dance to vote correctly.

I just don't get the love for the BATB routine.

It was lacking in real storytelling - admittedly the decision to use the movie rather than stage lyrics and then to mess around with awful cuts didn't help at all - but the number is about Gaston and LeFou. It made no sense to have Belle represented whilst retaining the tavern setting.

If you are going to celebrate musicals, then do it properly - honour the source material, don't use it as an opportunity for something only tangentially related to the original.

There was no real acting from Kelvin. There was some muscle flexing and some posing - no real sense of swagger or presence. I found it choppy and uneven.

His technique might have been excellent - but it was not a good piece of dance overall. Yes, technique is important - and should be rewarded. But artistically that was a mess of a routine. Not Kelvin's fault - but you have to view the routine as a whole and it fell well short for me. Yes, I have directed the show and so know that number inside out - and that had none of the feel of the original.

Some of the cuts to edit songs to 90 seconds of dance have been horrendous this year. Gaston made no sense musically at all tonight. I wanted to enjoy Karim's jive but was distracted by the fringing on Amy's frock looking really uneven and badly put together. Strange what can put you off.

They wouldn't have been able to get Danny, Joe or those shows because they would have been performing in their respective theatres at the time the segment is filmed. Plus, Beverley's version of 'Memory' is amazing.

I remember the cast of Hairspray being on Strictly many years ago. I wonder if it was pre-recorded.

I agree - I think they should be showcasing a couple of current West end shows really. The West End is in a pretty healthy state at the moment, but you wouldn't really know it from watching the TV. So little musical theatre is featured on UK TV.

That said, Beverley and Idina are both wonderful so I'm looking forward to their performances.

I know not everyone is a fan of Idina but that was a great performance. One of my favourite songs of all time.
I've even just downloaded her Christmas album off the back of that.

She has had 25 years of practice at that song, so no excuse for it not being good!

It was nice to hear a slightly different arrangement, though it was a bit overblown for me.

I thought Idina would have done a tune from Frozen 2 but it was a great treat to hear her do Seasons of Love. At this stage in the series why not let a pro couple do a separate number and have the musical artists perform on their own. It would save less inane banter from Tess and Claudia.

Also from a main show point of view, is the level slightly underwhelming this year. Apart from Karim and Kelvin ( who was a replacement) there have been few show stopping performances and Chris Ramsey has survived until the semis without being a standout performer. One of Dev, Saffron, Viscountess Emma or Alex could easily have been in that spot plus maybe Will if he hadn't got injured. I'd pegged Will to go a couple more weeks after he pulled out but he may have gone further.

Poor Chris, being lumbered with the Rumba in the semi final. He's definitely out this week.