Episode 5 Strictly - It Takes Two

Hello and welcome to a fabulous Friday edition of It Takes Two. On

the show tonight: Hoping to bowl the judges over with

his jive - it's Michael and his partner, Natalie.

Also getting a second chance to make a first impression, Victoria

and Brendan are here. Plus I'll be chatting to pop hunk,

Nicky, and his Uptown Girl, Karen, who will be joining me on the

Strictly set for an exclusive peek of their cha-cha-cha.

Live from Television Centre, this is Strictly: It Takes Two. Please

welcome your host, Zoe Ball. APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to It Takes Two. We're just 24 hours away from the

next live performances. This weekend, there are five different

styles being performed and if that's not enough pressure, there

is also the dreaded first elimination.

Victoria and Brendan will be dancing a foxtrot. I'll be chatting

to them in a moment, but first here's a quick recap of how they

fared with their cha-cha-cha. know you messed it up so much. You

are a champion. You have fallen off the bike before. Get back on it!

You have a really exciting package. Very impressive. There was so much

dance content. You gave her so much. Considering the nerves took over

and everything, I felt for you. have got great potential. Forget

this. Move on. This girl is so hard on herself. I made about five

mistakes! Also, you made 20 not mistakes! You heard them say, "You

have loads of potential." They are right. Please welcome Victoria and

Brendan. APPLAUSE Hello. Is it difficult to watch that back? Have

you watched it back? No, I haven't. LAUGHTER I don't want to see! How

was it out there? At what point did you think, "I might be in trouble"?

I completely put a foot wrong and I was like, "Why did I do that? Oh no,

what is coming next?" It moved so quickly that dance. It took me a

couple of seconds to get back into the steps. My head dropped. I was

like, "I'm so annoyed." It is so hard. It is so fast, the cha-cha-

cha. If one foot is on the wrong foot. I went wrong in the rumba. It

was the same thing. I looked at Ian, it was like, "Help me!" Darcey said

there was a lot of content. Was there too much? In hindsight, I'm

thinking perhaps I should have made it easier. If you can run through

it in the training room, you think it can go Wright on the night.

Before we went on, we ran through it four times and she did it

brilliantly. I -- right on the night. Before we went on, we ran

through it four times and she did it brilliantly. It's the first show.

We are getting to know each other in terms of the live situation. It

happens. It does. I was very happy with the routine. Lots of cha-cha

basic content. How do you feel watching that now? It is

embarrassing. It's not! You are gorgeous. You looked amazing.

you. Bruno and Darcey said you have a lot of potential. See, remember

that. Is Victoria a good student? She is an amazing little student.

I'm having one of the best Strictlys I have had dancing with

this young lady. Ah! Stop it! I'm enjoying going to work every day.

She puts in 100%. That is all you can ask of your partner. It makes

it worthwhile. I see her wanting to get it. If it doesn't come, it

doesn't matter. That is why I want her to stop being so hard on

herself. You haven't let anybody down. We are a team. Whatever

happens tomorrow night, it happens and we do it together. Yes, let's

all jump up! Yes! APPLAUSE Also, our It Takes Two spies are

everywhere. You are used to riding your bike. You have taken some of

that through to the training room as well. Have a look. Sorry, I need

to stop a second. Don't make me do it!

Can I have a sit down, please? Oh! LAUGHTER I know how you feel!

It is exhausting. Of all people, you would think your stamina must

be up there, surely? It's not so much the stamina, it's the shoes!

Wearing - my feet are so soft and they have been carefully contained

in perfectly-fitting cycling shoes for so long that prancing around in

high heels is really challenging! It is madness. The straps cut

across your feet? You are covered in plasters. The balls of your feet

feel like they are burning! It is really difficult. Your face! Yeah,

you know all about that! There is one department where Victoria puts

you to shame. What have we got? Check this out! I say! Look at the

abs on that! LAUGHTER I can't concentrate on the abs. I keep

looking at your pants. The dancers cannot keep their trousers on! Do

you reckon you could get Brendan's abs tighter than that? I was trying

so hard. I have never squeezed so hard in my life. LAUGHTER Excellent.

Do you reckon you can get him one of those bits that go really deep?

We can try. She wipes the floor with me. It is so exciting to be

working with an Olympian. She leaves me for dead! I get woozy!

did a couple of circuits in the gym and Brendan is like, "Can we get

some lunch now, I'm feeling light- headed?" How is the foxtrot going?

Do you like it? Really well. I am enjoying it as a dance. There is a

bit more time for thinking and remembering steps. I am so proud of

her this week. To come into training after a rough weekend, she

was very upset. To come in with this attitude of excitement and

right, come on, we are going to do this and we have had a brilliant

week. I couldn't be more pleased. It will be beautiful. Thanks.

hear your music. # Tomorrow's a marvellous night...

Like it. What do you remember with foxtrot? Quick, quick, slow...

is a beautiful, slow, romantic - I want to be walking in the park

together, looking lovingly into each other's eyes... We are buying

it. Good look tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you.

Now if any of the dances from the weekend inspired you to show off

your own fancy footwork, then we want to hear from you. To show you

what I mean I asked a few of the It Takes Two team to re-create Lisa

and Robin's table-topping cha-cha- APPLAUSE

Lee did that in brogues! Amazing. Or perhaps an iconic moment from

Strictly history grabbed your attention. We've re-created Russell

coming out of that cannon with this That was Cheryl the Hamster!

APPLAUSE Send your clips or pictures to

[email protected]. Clips should be no longer than 30 seconds and if

you are under 16, then please get your parent or guardian's

permission. Full instructions and terms and conditions can we found

on our website - bbc.co.uk/strictly. Now cast your minds back to when 14

celebrities met their dance partners for the first time. Can't

remember? Well, lucky for you, we were there to catch all the

backstage gossip behind the scenes I'm excited. I am raring to go! I

love a bit of this! Today's a very special day. We are

filming the title shoots and the opening sequences for the show.

get your hair done, make-up done and you are sitting and get

pampered. I love it. Can I have more hair? Can you make it bigger?

This is how everybody dresses in Essex when they are going to the

supermarket! I'm ready to go to work. This is very important.

Whatever we film now is going to be on for the whole series. We need to

hit the position that we are happy with. Craig does not like that.

Better. They're good. I can't believe I'm in Strictly! What's

that about?! This is where we do all the press shoteds. -- shots. He

does Photoshop! Cheeky! I feel like a rock star. Awesome! Erin looks

sensational. I wonder if they do that frock in my size? This is the

green screen for the title shots. You see people spinning...

filmed the couples doing a bit of a move. We can put a different

background in there to give that ballroom feel. How does it feel to

be in my arms? Amazing. Best thing that has ever happened to me(!)

my nose still crooked? She has a boxer's nose now. It was her fault!

She was like a tornado. You OK? have touched his bum. There is

nothing wrong with that. Cycling? No chance. Dancing is where it's at.

I was worried about all the Olympic Champions and glamorous showgirls.

Now I have Anton, we are in business! Natalie is great. You can

tell she's in control and she is going to work me hard. Hilarious. I

have my work cut out. He is very serious. "I'm a choreographer" and

I love that. He is so strong and has the body of an adon nisce. I

think I have done well! -- Adonis! I think I have done well. Kimberley

and a green set? They doing Shrek? I cling on for dear life and hope

for the best! He is having a mess- around. He is in the wrong

competition. That is my secret weapon. That's a wrap! A wrap!

Ah, the moment it all began. It's time for my next guests. England

may have beaten Australia in The Ashes, but putting their rivalries

aside for the sake of that Glitterball Trophy, please welcome

Michael and Natalie. APPLAUSE We have waited a long time for you two

to come in. Let's cast our minds back one whole week and your waltz.

How do you feel it went? I thought I did OK. The main objective was

not to end up in the trumpets - tick. Not to fall over - tick. I

would have taken that for week one. Perfect. Then you got to the judges.

And they kept banging on about his poor posture. Bruno said your

bottom was like a hanging basket - a bit harsh! I call him HB now!

problem with that is, I was at home on Monday and these judges have an

effect with your kids. I will get the Coco Pops and my eight-year-old

goes, "Those judges are right!" no. And the power they have. The

thing is, cricketers do have a good reputation on this show. Darren

Gough won series three. Mark Ramprakash won series four. Have

they given you any tips? Has that given... Why haven't you mentioned

Phil Tufnell? Phil was brilliant! We loved him. Are you going to be a

Tuffers or a Ramps? I'm swaying very close to Phil. Mark Ramprakash

is a natural. He had the hips. Goughie was great. He wasn't that

good when he started. Out of all three of them, I have taken more

advice from Phil Tufnell. The other two have given me nothing. Goughie

said, "Have some fun on a Friday night!" That is what he always did.

You would think in the arms of a cricketer, safe hands, Natalie.

Apparently not. Check this out. Catch. You know what that means?

Catch? You know what my record is like with catches? Dreadful. Awful!

Argh! I might take this bit out. No! I'm the ball. Watch the ball.

You have a one in two chance. That is not bad. One, two, three - yeah.

See that? I have caught two on the trot. Never did that in my career!

LAUGHTER Has he got better? He's more likely to catch humans than

balls! That is what you hope! Fingers crossed. Is he a good

student? The best. It's really interesting because you don't say a

lot when I'm teaching you. He takes it all in. You are always going

like this! I do talk a lot. There is so much to work on. I gave her a

challenge to be quiet for five minutes. It lasted 30 seconds.

Socks! I don't want to leave a stone unturned. He is so good at

cricket. I respect him. I look up to him. I want him to do well. I'm

doing as much as I can. He are you feeling about the jive tomorrow?

The jive - the best thing about it is the song. Shakin' Stevens.

is the music. This Old House. Please tell me you are wearing

double denim? Everyone's danced to this. Lots - all that kind of

movement, a bit of hips. I have tried to get a bit of a snake-hip

involved. The calves have been rotten all week. It is good fun.

Ian said you have to get on the balls of your feet. Hanging basket

again. He chose the music this week. What about your family? You did say

your kids, you were worried your daughter would vote for Kimberley

and your son for Louis. Will they be voting for you tomorrow? I have

solved that problem with the pocket money. They vote for me or that

stops! Brilliant. That is - if they want some cash in that money bank,

they have to vote for me. Do you feel in full-on competition mode?

Is that sportsman coming out? have done as much as we could this

week. A great performance. Come on. That is the difficult bit! I have

put the hours in. Don't drop her. Good luck tomorrow. Michael and

Natalie. APPLAUSE Now, no-one can possibly predict

what is going to happen on a Saturday night so, just for fun,

we're relying on some animal instinct to find out who will be

There you have it. Just for fun, Jimmy thinks Sid and Ola will be

top scorers on Saturday night. is a good mate of mine. He's got a

couple of lifts and catches. I can't give too much away. Don't.

Fortunately, our celebs' fate does not lie in Jimmy's paws but rather

in the hands of our judges. Yes, it's the return of the dreaded

dance-off. I think it's always going to be hard to pull it out of

the bag a second time under pressure. Seeing as you have

already danced and you have to do it again, for survival, so it means

more than the first time. It might be your last chance to dance. I

don't want it to be my last dance. It is the first weekend when

someone's going to go which is heartbreaking. I know for myself

being part of this, it is just extraordinary. You want to stay in

it. It would be terrible to be in the dance-off. Two people have to

be in it. Whoever it is, I will kick their shins before we get

ready! And hope I come out best. When something's been taken out of

your hands, and it is such a massive decision, you feel so

helpless. I hope the judges can make the right decision. It will be

so hard going up against another celebrity. First, because they are

all better dancers than me! I don't want anyone else to leave either.

You would hope you take it as your last-ever dance and giving it a

massive performance. Your body and your mind react differently. If you

are in that position, and you see the judges, they are going to make

the decision, you could freeze. dance-off is a bit unfair. You feel

so relieved having got through the routine that to do it again is

quite frightening. It does scare me. It means that you could quite well

go. People aren't voting for you and you are not doing a good job.

No-one wants to be in the bottom two. I have to keep plugging away.

If you get through a dance-off, you are elated. And you are bereft

because you have lost some friends. The scores carry over from last

week. My scores are terrible. So I feel there's pressure there. If you

are in that position, you have to find that steely determination to

be able to nail it again in the dance-off. Otherwise you go home.

It is so scary. You have that one more chance and that's it. It will

be crushing to be the first person to leave. You will miss the dance,

the practice, your partner, everybody else. You will miss the

buzz of a Saturday night. So that's something you don't want to

experience, but one of us will. find the judges scary enough anyway

when you have danced the first time. To have to wait to hear if they are

going to save you to keep you in the show, it would be petrifying. I

can't imagine what it must be like to stand there - I hope it doesn't

happen. You never know. A quick update on Denise. Yesterday,

we told you she had whiplash. She is in quite a lot of pain, she is

determined to dance tomorrow night. Get well soon.

Next up, I'll be hot-footing it down to the Strictly Come Dancing

studio to catch up with Nicky and Karen. But first, let's take a look

at how our newest pro dancer has been on the case preparing for the

So this was my first case. How to win the Glitterball Trophy. Step

one - study last year's winner. Nice moves. That was close. Step

two - go for in your face choreography. Just not too in your

face! No thrusting! Step three - avoid dangerous props. Good. Going

well(!) No! Wear sparkly outfits. So it's Friday, which can mean only

one thing. I get my first look into the big studio where in 24 hours -

all right? Our 14 couples will have clammy palms. Look who we have

found here - Nicky and Karen. Oh, it seems like a long time ago

last Friday when you danced for the first time. How was it for you, the

judges were so harsh? Horrendous! No, it's such a buzz the whole

thing. I loved it. To be honest, I was so delighted I went around and

got the song done without any noticeable mistakes. I didn't fall

over. Then, I got savaged. It was going over my head until I watched

it back. I think we put some stuff right in training this week.

Let's talk about it. Craig gave you a two. All the fans said ignore

him! Paula said, "Ignore Craig, keep dancing, you were great."

Thank you. "Us Westlifeers know that you can move that body of

yours." Were you gutted he gave you a two? Yes, two - I spoke to Harry

Judd and he said week one is always harsh. He predicted I would come

out with 24 or 25. He had seen the dress-run. Then I got a two from

Craig. I thought, you get a two for turning up and writing your name!

It wasn't to be. We had a lot of work to do. It was lots of hours in

training. Do you regret the lift or are we moving on from that? We are

moving on from that. We had a great time doing the waltz. It was a

little tiny jump. I didn't know it was going to be this dramatic.

compared you to Brendan? I love the name "Brenda". Next time! Is he a

good student? He is very good. Very good. It is true that you weren't

sure who he was? No, I knew Take That. Have a look at this. This is

very funny. You don't know who Westlife is? No. She had no idea

who Westlife are. I'm going to do my research. You never heard of

Flying Without Wings? No! That's terrible.

# We've got a little world of our own... #

Head! LAUGHTER My God! I was in a world of my own! What about?

don't know how Westlife rehearses. That was for Uptown Girl. Are you

Venezuelan or American? Both. were big in Venezuela. How come I

never knew about this group? You guys did some dancing? I'm going to

sing a Westlife song to him next time! How is that going? Have you

learnt any? No! The cha-cha-cha, is it cha-cha hurrah, or cha-cha no

ta? I'm loving it. The waltz was slow and serious. This week is all

about personality. You can swivel your hips. I'm like shaking

everything! Good. It was your birthday this week. We have spared

no expense and got you this cake. 34. A child! Look at the candle.

can't light it because of health and safe fi! -- safety! I'm going

to eat that whilst you do your cha- cha-cha for us. You sure? Yes.

Anyone got a knife? Or shall I bite into it? Especially for you, this

is your Friday treat. Here are Nicky and Karen doing their cha-

MUSIC: "Dynamite" By Taio Cruz

I cannot wait to see that and all the other performances on Saturday.

Don't forget, Strictly Come Dancing is on tomorrow night at 6.30pm on