Episode 44 Strictly - It Takes Two

It's Thursday. Welcome to It Takes Two. Tonight's show, it's a cracker.

They almost came a cropper, but luckily the lady managed to keep

with it! Denise and James are here! Is the welcome return of Miss

Whiplash, Erin Boag is here. I will leave no gemstone unturned tonight.

It's the last time he is on the show this run because he has to do

panto. Russell Grant is here, the Stats Man!

This is Strictly: It Takes Two. Please welcome your host, Zoe Ball.

APPLAUSE Hello! Welcome to It Takes Two. It is Thursday which means

time is running out for our celebrities to perfect their dance

fusions. Let's see how Nicky and Denise are getting on. We are

dancing a fusion of the Samba and the American Smooth foxtrot.

that foxtrot or Samba? I'm not asking! Dance fusion is driving me

insane. Oh! I can't get the feet in my head. Stkpwh we have to go from

different timings to the different -- We have to go from different

timings to the different characteristics of the dance. Try

to go away from the leg. Does that make sense? No! None of it does.

Samba is the hardest one. What I'm finding hard is - see these heels?

High heels on a guy doesn't work. I'm giving everything to this. I'm

not going to let this fusion beat me. I'm hoping it is not going to

be dance confusion week. James has chosen the quickstep and the jive.

The way which I want to do it is to go in-and-out so ballroom into

Latin, ballroom into Latin. Mix it up a bit makes it more interesting.

It is difficult. I'm tired. How many more? We have got a really

fast dance to do on Saturday. could fall asleep standing up! Both

the fastest dances you can possibly form and we are combining the two

together. It is going to be gruesome! There is so much to think

about. It is such a high-energy dance that the moment if I'm honest,

I'm struggling to get through it. This time, he has taken it a step

too far! Please welcome Denise and James. APPLAUSE You have started

something now that may never ever end. Congratulations on surviving

the salsa curse. It was brilliant. Except that little bit - one minor

hiccup, which was quite funny. thought it was hilarious! It wasn't

at the time. I was worried at the time. I didn't know if it was me

until I heard James going, "Don't worry!" LAUGHTER It is under

control. The funniest bit was when I jumped into the splits at the end.

There was so much music to fill. Look. LAUGHTER Why did James decide

to go da-da?! It was brilliant. What was going through your mind?

Have you ever gone wrong like that before? No. Not that you would ever

tell us. We are still talking about it. This is after a week of him

saying - because I didn't know the dance at all - "Don't worry, I'll

lead you. Nothing can go wrong." Look what happens! We had so many

messages of people saying you handled it well, Denise! LAUGHTER I

thought James was a real gentleman admitted that he lost it. Very hard

for a pro to admit that they are wrong. Not really. I was upset on

the night. Did you cry? You did! I didn't! I was upset. You cried

like a baby! LAUGHTER Sobbing on the floor. I had to pick him up.

Does anyone else want to dance with her?! Two weeks, that is all you

have got. Exactly. If we stay. said an interesting thing that the

pros get nervous. I find that amazing. Do you still get nervous?

We do. I remember, we joined the show the same time as Vincent and

Flavia. We always speak to each other before we go on, Vincent says,

"I'm so nervous. Honestly, James, I don't want to do it." Flavia says,

"Why do we always do this to ourselves?" It means a lot to us as

well. I just suddenly got to the step which, for me, was the easy

part of the routine - we had got past the difficult part and I went

blank. Oh. That makes me go cold. was saying, "Don't worry!" What did

you say last week? If in doubt get your shimmy out! I did half a

shimmy. I didn't know what to do. So he went like this and I ran at

him! I can't believe you did that lift. You did show off your

flexibility. It's been years since I have done the splits! I thought

they would have to carry me off! have noticed in the training room

you have another talent. Contortionism. Do not try this at

home, kids. You think you will fit in there? Yes. It is impossible.

Ready? You can't get in there. can. Watch. You will be able to

close it. Let me get my hair in. Put my hair in. LAUGHTER I'm going

training! Can I come out now? you later! JAMES! I will take you

to court. I have a good CASE against you! I told you I could get

in. I rest my CASE! Brilliant. That was so good. Please don't try that

at home. Denise was a magician's assistant. I was, years ago, for a

summer season. Did you ever saw the lady in half? I did all of it.

LAUGHTER Let's discuss dance fusion. You have jive and quickstep.

Married together quite nicely? Is it working? It is working. To try

and get from the beginning to the end of the routine... Without

forgetting it. How will you make him not forget? This week, I have

put sticky notes on him. I came up with this idea at home to say right

shoulder, left leg, so he knows what he is doing. I have had a lot

of fun this week. This is the music you are doing your quickstep/jive

to. It's a goody. It is a goody. Old school. We are enjoying it. It

is really physically demanding. I have literally wasted away! I know.

Skinny Jimmy. Good luck. Denise and James. APPLAUSE Try to remember it,

love! Less him. You might think that innocent but our pros are a

mischievous bunch with plenty to hide. Here are some of their more

revealing secrets. I'm Erin Boag. James Jordan. Robin Windsor. I have

a confession to make. I stole every single piece of furniture that was

in the judges' dressing room so when they came back, everything had

gone. I thought it was very funny. However, they didn't. On show days

I go around to all the celebrities bar mine and I try and sabotage

them so if they are supposed to do heel leads I tell them it should be

a toe lead. If their right arm is supposed to be up, I say it should

be down. When the man puts his hand on their back, I tell them it

should be open. I danced a waltz with Patsy Kensit. I led her to

believe that she went wrong on that routine, but it was me. Sorry.

naughty bunch! It is Vicky Gill! APPLAUSE So another great show last

week. This week, a nice calm week and then they throw fusion dance at

you. What was your reaction? thought oh my goodness. We will

have loads of live disasters. you have to do is you have to

design a costume that incorporates two dance styles. How easy is that?

It is quite difficult. We thought one dance would take the lead so

they may start with the tango and finish with a cha-cha. It feels

like it is 50/50. They are mixing it up. Kimberley, she is dancing a

tango and a cha-cha-cha to It's Raining Men. What have you got for

her? Kimberley, we have tried to mix the two styles. It looks like a

cha-cha dress from the front. We have loads of beads down the front.

Red is always good on camera the back of the dress is more like a

tango dress. A bit like Victoria's at Wembley with the Union Jack

panels running through. It has that feel. I love that. With the long at

the side and short... Lisa is also doing the tango. And a cha-cha-cha

to Voulez Vous. What have you got for her? We have strong colour at

the top and then we are going into cha-cha. The concept was a Studio

54 feel. So on Saturday this will look very different because we will

have more sapphire blue for the tango element and we will be

revealing the underfrock at some point. With the girls, you can do

add-ons, boys - have they got any costume tricks? No, I they haven't.

What a shame. Has anyone gone chest out? We have - yeah, a few. OK. Any

dancers - some of them are doing dances they have done before. Any

of the outfits being reused? No. We never reuse for our main show.

Let's see what is under the gold cloth this week. Wow! What a

gorgeous colour. What can you tell us about the lady who will be

wearing this dress? She is little and she is fast! That gives a lot

away. Going for the cut-out... is stealing the style. Wow! You are

doing such a brilliant job. We love you. Two more weeks. You will miss

us? I know. She is counting the days. Thank you. Thank you.

Back to the training rooms. This week it is dance fusion. We

are dancing the quickstep and the Charleston so we will call our

dance the qickston. It is all about personality. She has loads. We have

the Charleston, which I have never danced before, so it is a first for

me, ever, on Strictly. The thing I'm most struggling with is - it is

really quick and there's a lot of steps. I'm better at the Charleston.

If Vincent gets five points for his quickstep and I get five for my

Charleston that makes ten! I love it. Can I have a drink first?

tricky part is to connect the two dances together so you don't see

the connection. If it goes well, we will be in the semifinal. If it

goes wrong, goodbye! We are dancing the cha-cha and the tango. I love

dance fusion because it's merging a Latin and a ballroom and making a

new dance. This week is all about technique. Left, right, left.

have to tap my foot. I'm saying that in massive capital letters -

TECHNIQUE! Lisa has had a few problems. Boom, boom, boom. Good.

It wasn't. It was absolutely rubbish! It was average. I can't do

it. What is the matter with me? is having trouble picking up the

most simple of steps. My brain will not swallow the steps. Fusion week.

Fusion week! I have been driving myself crazy. When I get angry, I

do get angry with myself! Could be in a bit of trouble. Last week he

was all about the music. I can't wait to see what he's got up for

his sleeve. It is time for Stats Please welcome a man who always

brings us joy, Mr Russell Grant. Thank you very much. APPLAUSE

you. It is always lovely to have you here. So what have you got for

us this week? Shall we start off with something different? No, let's

go the same! LAUGHTER I'm rolling up my sleeves, I mean business.

It's the training hours! We always start with this. This is up until

the end of play yesterday. Denise has gone top. What a surprise(!)

That's because Michael went out. know. Denise saw her chance and

whipped in there. 25-and-a-half hours to our Denise. And at the

bottom, Louis Smith 12-and-a-half hours. What has he been doing?

about the whole series? The whole series - here we go. It is Denise!

Shock, horror(!) Or Dennis, as you like to call her! I know. I do like

to call her Dennis! Dani, I'm doing a Dani voice, Dani, a double Nelson,

which is cricketing terms for 222. Of course it is! Michael will

understand that!-And-a-half. So Dani. What else have you got for us

this week? Something special? now, what makes this whole show

tick? Without them there would be no choreography. What about the

professional dancers. Yes, please. Come on. A nice bit of

competitiveness. They are so fabulous. They have changed over

the past ten years. Shall we stick with the current line-up? Yes. So

as not to confuse us. What have we got? Here we go. It is like this.

Our veterans, Anton, Brendan and Erin. They have been with us since

day one. Really? They were there at its birth. Seven - Flavia and

Vincent. They popped over from Naples for a weekend and stayed!

James and Ola, who probably popped over from somewhere else and stayed.

Karen - fingers crossed she will be back next year. Which pro has

scored the best? Now, to do this fairly, we have had to take an

average score. Obviously, some have done more than others. You can see

up here 33.9 is Pasha. Only two series, but he's done so well. 0.1

behind is Aliona. And then we have got Natalie 32.9, Artem 32.4, James

31.7, Vincent 30.7. Who is at the bottom? No, it's Anton! No?! He

will be gutted. He is a fairy cake just behind Karen. We have to be

fair about Anton. He's had more than his detkwree of -- degree of

Nancys! It is true. So that's our average scores. We know how many

tens our celebrities have had. How many tens have the pros had? Right.

First of all those who have had none. Bless - Anton again. Anton

Robin and Karen. Robin could get one this year. Ola has seven.

Flavia 11. She got two on Saturday for that fabulous Charleston.

Louis. Kristina 12. And Erin 13. Let's go to the top lot. And the

top lot - Pasha 18. He's only been here two series! James has 21.

Moving up Brendan 22. Artem 23. Vincent 26. Who is second? Aliona.

Who is at the top? Legs. It is! She has never won. No. 34. I find that

incredible. That is incredible. How many times have our pros received

the perfect score? That being four tens? That's right. In series seven,

there were five tens. Yes. We had a special guest. I will have to refer

to my paperwork. Please do. This didn't take much reference but

Robin, Karen, Artem, Erin and Anton have got none. The next lot we have

Pasha, Flavia, Natalie and Ola. You would have thought that Flavia,

being Queen of Tango, but she didn't. She didn't get a perfect

score. She got it with Matt Di Angelo in the waltz. Fascinating.

We move up to two perfect scores - Vincent, Aliona, Kristina. Vincent,

Tango King, he got the perfect score with Rachel Stevens and the

foxtrot. Our top? Brendan and James - three times. Salute them. Brendan

got it for the cha-cha, quickstep/foxtrot with Lisa Snowdon.

She never got to win. And James with Pamela Stephenson, a quickstep

and two Viennese waltzs. How many of our pros have won this? We only

have four winners from the current line-up. Brendan Cole won it with

Natasha Kaplinsky. Ola and Chris, then Artem and Kara, they were

great. Still together. Aliona and Harry series nine. What does this

mean? They are all out! So it means... It will be a new one.

will be a brand-new winner. will it be? I cannot guess. But it

also means that no pro has ever won it twice. Oh! Fascinating facts

from Stats Man! Give it up for Russell Grant! APPLAUSE A pleasure.

Thank you, darling. Good luck in panto. We love you. Thank you.

Gorgeous! Back to the training room for the final time to see how Louis

and Kimberley are coping. This week we are doing the rumba

and tango. The rumba is very one slow step, two quick ones and the

tango is different. You are in hold. It is very quick and snappy.

There's two very different dances. We have tone the ballroom tango

before and Louis did very well. It suits him. Rumba will be a new

dance for him. It is very difficult for the male celebrity. But I think

if anyone can do it, Louis can. Good. Really good hips. I will have

to step it up. I will have to get this passionate kind of become

across. That is not me. Dramatise it. Hopefully, I can make the rumba

as powerful and as effective as the tango should be. We are doing a

cha-cha and tango fusion. Those two dances are opposite in character

and in rhythm. So we have to be very creative and marry them

together. One, two, three. One, two, three. You want to make it seamless.

It is hard. You switch between tango and cha-cha. I keep sort of

going, "Is that cha-cha or tango?" Argh! What is up with your face? It

is neither tango or cha-cha face. will have to find a way of smiling

while pouting! I have to smout! That is my new favourite word!

Yesterday, we launched our 2012 World Record Pro Challenge. Please

welcome our second contender, Erin How you doing? I'm doing just fine.

Nice to have you back. Last year, you managed a total of 51 botofogos.

You came last. I did. Do you feel you have something to prove this

year? I didn't really try last year. Did you not? I'm sorry. Oh yes!

That is what she is saying! And also the last three have all been

won by boys. Do you think the girls could be in for a winner this year?

It would be good. It would be great. I don't know how much chance the

girls really have. But it would be nice if a girl won. It would be

brilliant. It would be brilliant. We can't wait to see how you got on.

Ready for this? Yes. Let's see how you do! Come on! This is a world

record to set as many kickball changes in 30 seconds as possible.

A kickball change is a supporting leg with a kick from the other leg

and a back replace. Today, we turn up the heat which of our dancers

It is more mental than physical this one. It is staying switched on

for the whole 30 seconds. It would be nice to have a girl win this.

Come on, girls! Hello, Erin. How will you do? I don't know. Remain

focused. Get in there and do your best. Ready? Ready. Choreographer

to the stars, ready? I have never been reddier! For the record, three,

Wow! Not bad. What was great was that you kept your rhythm all the

way through. Richard, what do you think? Very clean. Done very

precisely. Therefore you may have got quite a few more kickball

changes in. You let yourself go. I'm very intrigued to find out how

I went. Hopefully, we got a good one in there. Maybe, who knows.

APPLAUSE Come on, Erin! It was so neat. Robin could barely stand

afterwards yesterday. How was it? It was fine. I looked really

stupid! I was like a proper girl running! Like a 12-year-old! Do you

think you have managed to beat your score from last year? That looked

really slow. So probably not. It would be nice to. It would be nice

to. OK. Let's see then. After each of the professionals had attempted

their kickball changes, Richard Marcel and Elizabeth Smith watched

the performances in slow motion. How many do you reckon you have

managed? I would like more - what did you say last year? 51? I would

like to have done 52. OK. Your kickball changes have been counted

and verified. You performed a whopping 71 kickball changes! You

have completely smashed it! APPLAUSE How brilliant is that?

That is good. Are you sure? Let's look at the leaderboard. You are at

the top. Not sure how long you will stay there for. Look at that!

good. Tomorrow, it is Brendan's turn. Can you beat him? Absolutely.

Erin Boag! APPLAUSE That is it for today. Thanks to all my guests.

Join me tomorrow at 6.30pm when I will be chatting to Dani and