Episode 37 Strictly - It Takes Two

Welcome to It Takes Two. It is Tuesday. What a glittering line-up

I have for you tonight. They have survived their second dance off.

Michael and Natalie are here! I loved their rumba. We always get

a thrill when they are on the show. Lisa and Robin are here.

This lady is a demon when it comes to choreography. Here to spread the

word, Karen Hardy. And is that a tulle illusion? No, it is our next

guest, Mr Julien Macdonald. This is Strictly It Takes Two.

Please welcome your host, Zoe Basle. -- Ball.

Hello and welcome to It Takes Two. So, after the highs of last week,

Michael and in thely fell back down to earth on Saturday, -- Michael

and Natalie fell back down to earth on Saturday. They found themselves

in the dance-off. Here is what happened. It is the man's job to

lead the dance and indicate to the woman how to respond. I didn't feel

that happened. Virtually none of the men lead any of the girls

because they don't know how to. your information... They can't

improvise. I think it's the carpark afterwards.

! My problem, a look of painful concentration on your face. That

wasn't sexy it. Looked like you You do have to lead as the man in

this dance. It was because of the mistakes, that probably I didn't

lead. I think the competition is getting tougher. The judges have to

be tough. Time to find out who is in and who is out. Michael and

Natalie. Michael and Natalie. Michael and Natalie. Please welcome

Michael and Natalie. APPLAUSE

Now, listen, the week before, a standing ovation. A finale at

Wembley, amazing. This week the dance off. What a difference a week

makes. Has it knocked your confidence? It hasn't. I think the

show is so good this year because you have the opportunity to do the

dance again. We did make a couple of mistakes in the show on Saturday.

Just one. But that's enough. We shouldn't have admitted to it,

maybe. I shouldn't. Have I'm sorry. We were pleased with the dance off.

I think in all the circumstances of the show, I really thought that was

our best dance so far in the whole series, the dance off performance.

You just felt it in your belly. Craig was here and he was raving

about how brilliant that performance was. It must be

something when all the judges unanimously save you. That's nice.

We were just happy with ourselves for putting into a good performance.

We were focused. We went downstairs to practise and came up and

delivered. Well done. Thank you. The judges blown away by your lifts.

They are kind of becoming your signature, you and your amazing

lifts. She is trust-worthy. My shoulder has taken a battering over

the last three weeks. But when you have a partner who throws yourself

into the lift it, makes your job easier. There is no hesitation. I

bend my knees down and I get into a position and away she goes. And I

hope. You must really trust him, now, Natalie. Or are you just good

at acting? A bit of both. No, I trust Michael with my life. You

have dropped me a couple of times. I don't mind. I find it fun.

know you have made a dancer out of Michael, but for everyone who

wonders how, here is a simple step- by-step guide of how she did it.

Switch on. Elbow.

I need a kebab. One, two, drive, pivot, drive,

So, you have survived two dance offs. Do you no longer fear them

now, Michael? You'd rather not be in them, to be honest. But I think

when you've done two, you kind of get a buzz of energy that you know

you have to deliver a good dance. If we are in that position again,

you refocus. The captain speaks. And away you go. It is like sport,

you get taken into the training room. Yes. How would she do with a

room full of cricketers? I think she'd quite like that. Next dance

for you two is - focus, please. knows me too well. The next dance

is the samba. Come on. A bit of shimmying. I'm excited. A lot of

people fear. Sorry, I interrupted you. Carry on. A lot of people fear

it. We have so much fun in our dancing, our Latin and you really

like to let go. I think that's what the public love about Michael, he

apolice himself. The good thing is he has improved on his Latin scores.

I'm talking about him like he is not here. I think this could be one

of our best-scoring dances. I have a nice feeling. It has a good vibe.

A little bit of the audience getting involved at the start. Get

ready. The competition is getting really fierce now. Dancers are

amazing. I mean, how much do you want to creep up the leaderboard?

It would be great to be near the top of the leaderboard. You know at

this stage the only way you are going to be at the top is to

produce a wow performance. All week you are training hard to arrive on

Saturday to go... Wow... Produce something. Let's hope the samba is

that for you. Michael and Natalie, good luck.

With the end of the competition ever-closer, how are you couples

upping their game with their choreography? Here to offer her

expert opinion, thank goodness, Please welcome Karen Hardy.

APPLAUSE Eight couples at the weekend. Much

to discuss. Let's start with Dani and Vincent and their samba. The

highest-scoring samba of the series. What made it so good? I think with

this package it was the GM bells that were taken during the

performance. -- the gambles. We have seen with previous sambas,

basic content. Sure enough they have put the basic in and it is

very, very nice. I liked the gamble of the Beyonce steps. I loved them.

It could have gone either way. But the commitment and the relationship

between these two is first class. So when they are delivering steps

like this, it is fantastic. What I have to bring up though is the

Corta Jaca. What is... Everybody this season is dancing it. What is

it? I'm going to show you. Very, very quick li, it goes, slow, quick,

quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.

As simple as that. Everybody is doing it. It has a cheeky, sassy

feel and it is a basic, traditional step. I will be doing it in the

bathroom later. Lisa and Robin. The judges agreed it was understated.

Not exciting enough. Where do you they they were going wrong, if it

went wrong at all? Technically I loved it. Beautiful straight legs

and movement across the floor. It lacked lustre. I couldn't connect.

I have chosen this part. We call it a hockey stick. She is going to do

the walks. She is lost already. Nothing there. It should have been

a reach out, and a throw in. Bring him to your breast. Bouncing - you

know, I want you, yes, oh. different episode. Can we get the

doctor, please. I know what you mean You have to connect with it.

We are so used to the - wow. Think of her at Wembley. We need to put

that one to bed and look forward to what is coming up next.

quickstep. Louis and Flavia and their paso doble. The audience

loved it. The judges not so much. How could he have added a bit more

byte? -- bite? It is a bit of a slap to our Olympian again. Too

much now is relying on Flavia to bring great choreography. It is no

more about the great choreography. With four weeks left, it is about

him bringing his known mojo to the game. This is purely going through

the shapes. OK, so he looks like - I've got a bit of this, you know.

What we are looking for, there are things he could have dance. I will

do another demonstration. Please, do. We have to get this boy dancing.

Something like a ya. A whoosh up the party. And the rib cage. You

can't be dancing everything with this movement and lift the nose.

The chest should lower in and it should expand out and lower in and

expand. Is that what Craig meant about the arching? Well the arching

comes because of the shaping of the body. It's just simply that he is

just doing barely enough. Nicky and Karen and their Charleston. They

finally broke through this week, thank goodness. Bruno called it

imaginative, fresh, brilliant. What made it so special? First, first,

first class. It's when you bring the full package it the game.

That's what I love. You have great choreography and costuming. The

chemistry between the two of them. The timings, it all came together

and puff, there it went. Look at the relationship between them and

there it is.! That's not something I'm sure he does every day. He will

now. Morning kids! I loved the characters and the commitment to

this dance. When we were talking before about the journey and

improvement, what I'm loving from Nicky, is I'm seeing him getting

better every week. He was absolutely bullied at the beginning

but still standing strong. Kimberley and Pasha and their tango.

Lots of praise from the judges. Len felt she lost her hold it. Went in

and out. Explain more. A beautiful tangyo. I have to say for me up

there as one of the best. -- a beautiful tango. I'm glad you said

that. Absolutely first class. She has a wobble going on here, but it

is such a small problem. Look what I picked up on here. Her head

actions. With watch this. Whack, whack, whack. Really strong. The

only way you are able to do that is if your core is really strong. That

tells me from her feet, up through her body, up through her spine she

is really strong. All is happening is we are getting a little bit of

wobbling going on. She needs to set that in. It would be worth giving

Pasha a little bit of weight in the arms to set that frame in, rather

than trying to keep right and not be heavy on your partner and then

we are getting the wobbling around. The tango in itself, first class.

loved it when she looked at him and he looked awane then she looked

away. -- looked away and then she looked away.

Denise and James. Impressive. The judges were impressed with the

lifts. How tricky were they? flawlessness and acrascy. Amazing.

We are talking about what makes a finalist. Somebody like Denise

starts off as a front-runner. Everybody was - she can dance and d

this. I spoke last week saying, don't be afraid about that. You

have got to really stay out in front. If we look here - I'll slow

it down - the big turn up there. She has to maintain her own balance.

James has nothing to do. He national insuranceiates. She has to

do the work. -- he innational insuranceiates.

Then she has to bring herself back down. She is lifting her game which

is what this competition is all Bwe know she was a front-runner but she

is doing things like that which are difficult. She will earn respect,

the more we get work lick that from her. -- like that. Michael and

Natalie, the judges said not his best week and he wasn't leading

enough. The Argentine tango, it is all about the unpredictable, the

improvisation, never-knowing. It means you are really sensitive and

alert and the lady is literally under your spell. You know, she

should be doing everything. What tended to happen with this, it sort

of got - here actually with the flicks, it was a little bit lost.

Then we had a mistake and it didn't get into the Gaucho man on the

dancefloor. So, as much as I really love Michael and what he is doing

it, did tend to fall into a show dance for me. I think, sad li, he

looked like the lucky drooling dog who has the bone. -- sadly. It is

important for him to stand his ground and be positive and stay in

control of the dancefloor. Because when he does that, he is simply

incredible. OK. Who is on the red button with you this week, Miss

Hardy? I have the wonderful Ann Widdecombe joining me. Oh, how we

love Widde, but we love you more. Karen Hardy, everybody.

After a great week at Wembley, Lisa and Robin found themselves back in

the Strictly studio, ready to rumba. Here is a reminder of what happened.

I thought it was slightly tempestuous and a little bit

aggressive. I liked some of the detail. I liked

the forward walks that you did at the start. It was nice. It was tidy.

Surprisingly understated. This It wasn't the best, which was fine.

We got good scores. If Darcey doesn't think it is my

dance. That's her judgment. I tried my hardest? Probably the

most technically correct dance you have done. So if we can put that

technique into a fast dance, we're on the money. Yes.

Please welcome Lisa and Robin. You two make me laugh. You cheeky

ones. The judges said it wasn't your best dance. We all loved it.

Did you enjoy it? I loved it. I was genuinely so proud of the dance.

Because we can't keep coming out every week doing big funky fast

ones. We wanted to make it very - you know, it was slow, I was acting

and we did have a story. It was just such a shame they didn't pick

up on it. You can't win them all, like I said at the weekend. Does it

leave you a bit deflated when the judges came out with the comments

they did? How do you pick yourself up? I think everyone knew by my

face on Saturday. Then they got more and more negative as they went

down the panel. But, I have put that to bed and onwards and upwards

for the next week now. I think it is when we went up to Tess's area

all the other celebs and pros were so gorgeous, prpblt they? They were

like - we felt the story. -- weren't they? They said they really

enjoyed it. They liked it and everyone at home liked it, I think.

And the audience. Len said it wasn't exciting. Surely the rumba

isn't an excite willing dance. do they expect, backslips? It was a

toned down dance. Everyone is acostumed to outside running around

with jazz hands. For me, like I said, it was technically the best

dance you have done for me. I was really proud for me. We had a great

time, even with my lovely Evita moment. Even when I poked you in

the eye. We had really worked. Like your stats said last week. We had

the most hours. And the leading thing. I didn't lead you once.

have been banging on about it. You didn't lead, and they didn't

mention it. No news is good news as far as that is concerned. We did a

good job there. We have been watching your training and we know

Lisa Riley you have a secret weapon you could unleash on the judges

next week, if you choose to. Prepare yourself for this. In 2012

one of the most shocking and disturbing incidents befell the

Strictly dancers. Lisa Riley unleashed her tongue. Feeding off

her, energy. No-one was safe from Ordered by her OverLord. Next one.

Let's try that again, shall we? It Takes Two productions presents -

the tongue. Yes, absolutely bonkers. Lizzie

says, "Keep your chin up, Lisa, move on back to your bouncey

energetic dances next week." What is your next dance? We have the

quickstep. If people want fun, fabulous, camp and happy, that's

what they are going to get. Good. Has it been fun being back in the

studio? I'm loving the quickstep. It is so fast. I feel like a

trotting horse, running everywhere. Obviously that's what people want

to see us do. We have something very special for the end. Have you?

Just tell me, they won't be listening. Are you looking forward

to the speed of the thing? I mean how are you keeping up? Is it fast?

It really is. Obviously the foot work is intricate as well. We

trained on Monday and the day went quite well, didn't it? For a Monday.

We got most of the routine done, which is a first. Normally it takes

a good couple of days. Monday, it was just like that. Thursday might

be a different story. You have trained her so well. So you have

been in the 20s, back to the 30s, score-wise, please. Would that be

good? Nice comments would be good. Because we have been to Wembley and

it was so like, wow. Now we have had a little dip. Hopefully we can

get back up there. There are so many strong dancers in the

competition. How do you think you are ranking in there amongst

everybody? I don't know. As long as I go out there, every Saturday, and

know I have tried really hard and I make myself proud, then I'm really

happy. She is making you proud. know, with the standard of the

competition, every single competitor left has something

really special about their quality of dancing. I think if you could

put all of those into one dancer, we'd have something absolutely

incredible. It's like finding all the little bits and putting them

all into one. Lisa is doing me so proud. I can't wait it see your

special ending of your quickstep. Good luck. We love you. Lisa and

Robin. Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE So, another beautiful selection of

dresss on the dancefloor this weekend. Who better to talk us

through them, than It Takes Two's very own Glambassador, Mr Julien

Macdonald. # You don't have to take your

clothes off # To have a good time

# Oh, no... # Please welcome, Julien Macdonald.

We have new music every week. We are spoiling you.

Beautiful frocks this weekend. We must say. Does it impress you that

they keep bringing them out? They keep getting better and better?

Bolder, brighter, more sparkles, more ruffles, even adimister

fringes. Fringes. It was all about the

fringes. We will get to those. As ever, you have picked your top

favourites. Who is your number three this week? The incredible

Dani. Oh, there she is. Fringing, here we go. You absolutely loved

the colour. Why did this work for Dani so well? She reminded me of

one of those tropical drinks you get on holiday, like a Tequila

sunrice. What if in particular did you love? Colours in fashion. The

yellow and orange, the melange of the colours with the crystals was

very, very special. Very special, Mr Bond. Of course, fringing,

perfect for a bit of booty shaking and her being a Beyonce. It was a

beon say song she was dancing to. This is a Beyonce dress. There are

four metres of fringing on the dress. It has been hand taken off

the band and hand placed on to the dress. Over 4,500 individual

mixtures of orange and yellow fringing on a tiny minuscule dress.

I love the fact that supposedly there is someone counting that as

they are sticking. You can imagine them going, I've lost count - stop.

The dress was incredibly flattering. How does the cut compliment her

shape? Dani has lost a lot of weight over the weeks. But this

dress was flattering. It has a corset inside which makes her waist

tiny. It is the balance between the tiny waist and all the fringes

which makes her look very glamorous. Not a look I'm imagining we could

all carry off! Who is your number two this week? Professional dancer,

Karen. Oh, I loved this outfit. Her

Charleston outfit. What made it such a success? I love the colour,

the crystals and she reminded me of a very modern-day Josephine Baker.

Perfect. Tell me about the crystal detail, then? Well over 4,000

crystals on this tiny dress. And then there are 400 class milk-

coloured beads. Those beads are incredibly heavy. They weight the

dress down. But she makes it look so effortless and light. And it all

flies around, Charleston styley. Like it, like it. Who is at the top

spot then? The top spot this week, the glm Russ Kimberley Walsh.

hear it for her. -- the glamorous. She looked stunning. Not the kind

of thing she has worn before. Very different. She reminded me of an

old Hollywood star. Very grown up. Very sophisticated. Her hair up. It

is nice it see her looking different. I liked the hair up.

That was a different look. When we talked to the designer Vicy on

Thursday., she told us this dress was going to be white. What

changed? Apparently she watched her in rehearsal and she felt the dress

she was going to wear didn't go with the dance. Last-minute Vicy

changed the dress and Kimberley was given this blue creation.

Apparently she does it all the time. You make a dress and then you just

go - change the colour. Can she safe it and use it for another

dance? You will have to ask her. Tell us about the detailing in the

dress. The hemline got you excited. It was a special hemline. These are

panels of two kinds of fabric, it's stretch crepe and jor jet. A

combination of things that are heavy and light. The cut-out, the

crystals and Zoe, there's 6,000 Bermuda crystals on this dress.

thought you were going to say 6,000 bemused. No, Bermuda.

Stunning. Could this be an inspiration for all the ladies

going to Christmas parties? I think so. People ask me - what is the

colour of the seelgs? Well one of the colours of this season is -

blue. -- colour of the season? Entrend again. I love that. People

stop you in the street - Julien, what is the colour of the season.

Yes. We all know you are a fan of the Strictly frock in the real

world and you have been at it again. Yes, this week we have the gorgeous

Alison from Manchester wearing Lisa's Viennese waltz dress.

Let's have a look. I'm Alison. I'm a busy mum from

Manchester. Today Julien has arranged for me to borrow Lisa's

dress. Let's see how we get on. Oh, well, afeel amazing. Glamorous and

glittery. I have never felt so glamorous in all my life. Now I

have to get on with the chores. I love wearing thiss doing the house

work. It's made it so much more enjoyable. I have to be really

careful. Because this is the bleach. If you are going to clean the loo,

you might as well do it in sequins. I bet Lisa Riley didn't have to put

her own rubbish out! My house work has been a dream

today. It is much more fun in the dress. Very swishy. It does get in

the way a bit, but really good fun. I'm just off to pick my son Conor

up from school. Hi Conor. What do you think?

I don't know what to say, really, mum. Are you going to dance with

me? Well, that's the end of my Strictly

day. I've had an absolutely brilliant day. Do I really have to

give the dress back? Can I not keep it? Can I please just keep it?

Don't be mean. Go on, Lisa doesn't want it. She has already worn it.

Give it back. And you wonder why I'm embarrassed about you. I love

that from Conor, slightly embarrassed by his mum turning up.

She wore it well. She looked incredible. There were 10,000

crystals on that dress. Thank you very much Alison and thank you,

Julien. APPLAUSE

Thank you to all my bests. Tomorrow I will be talking to Kimberley and