Episode 9 Strictly - It Takes Two

Welcome to Thursday night's blockbuster of It Takes Two. I have

three couples on the sofa. They get to dance again. It is Michael and

Natalie. APPLAUSE If their dancing was a Hollywood film, it would have

had five-stars - Denise and James are here. Hoping for a ballroom

smash this weekend, it is Dani and Vincent. I would be premiering what

some of our couples will be wearing on Saturday. All of that and we

have the training room trailers. Hello, everyone. Welcome to

Strictly: It Takes Two. This weekend, we can sit back and enjoy

a night of Hollywood glamour. Eight different dance styles are being

shown on Saturday - that was eight - and our couples are hoping for a

box office success. I will be talking to Michael and Natalie.

Before I do, let's take a look at how our leading men are shaping up

in training. I am doing the quickstep. Quick, quick, slow. All

the stops have to be pulled out this week. It is very much content,

content, content and getting my technique right. Quick, quick, slow.

You stepped into it too quick! Posture. You look like a soldier!

Footwork. Slow, quick-quick, slow. Don't get into those habits. It is

not called Strictly Come Easy! We are here to impress. Smoking!

This week, I'm doing the tango, another tricky, good routine. One

minute I can get it. The next, you lose it! I can't remember that bit!

We learn the steps and I put the timing in and he forgot everything.

Five, six... No! Count the beat for me. I am still trying to get to

grips with the counting. What is after four? Five. Good! I am

finding it hard. One, two three and five... No, not three and five!

will be OK on Saturday. And learn about one, two, three! The dance we

are doing this week is a salsa. It is a hips-moving, sexy style.

is it. This routine will be tricky. There will be a couple of lifts.

Then you spin round. One of them is particularly difficult. Oh! Louis

is very strong. But the difficult thing is the technique. It is

knowing when to lift, where to put your hands, how to jump in time

with your partner. I dropped her. She almost put a hole in the

ceiling. He nearly broke my kneecap! Argh! Sorry. If we don't

pull it off, then it could be disastrous. This week, I'm doing

the quickstep. It is quite quick. Blimey! I am utterly spent! You all

right? Yes. One foot wrong and you are all over the place. Forward.

Oh! The thing is for us to move on. There is so much that can go wrong.

I won't go wrong! You can do it. We have to bring the morale out and

make them feel good and positive. That was really good. You can do

this. The dance-off is over, finished! That's my girl. Richard

has the potential to be a great dancer. I did it! LAUGHTER This

week, it is the cha-cha-cha. The cha-cha-cha is a cheeky dance. I'm

going to nail the basics. Two, three, four and one. I am trying to

drum in the importance of timing and musicality. We have found a

very good formula today. I work best when Natalie sings the song.

# I want some hot stuff... # All of Michael's cues have a word.

Her singing is atrocious. I'm understanding you now! I'm hoping I

produce something better than last week. Now you are dancing!

Loving Natalie's singing! Colin is filming in Canada so we don't have

any footage of him in training. He will be joining me tomorrow to let

me know how he is getting on. Please welcome Michael and Natalie.

APPLAUSE Love the new hair! Direction! I know. I like it. Let's

talk about last weekend, you were in the bottom two. Did you fear it

was exit time? Yes, when you are in the bottom two you are in the

danger zone. I had a real lot of fun. You had an amazing time.

was all over with the timing! were hysterical! My little boy

looked at me and said, "At least you smiled this week." What is your

boy's name? Archie. Nice one! I can tell you, you have managed to break

Strictly history. This is really impressive. You now hold the result

for the lowest scoring jive in history! Get in there! Come on!

APPLAUSE Get in! Well done(!) is what it is about(!) One point

less than Fiona Phillips. She is devastated. The judges might not be

fond of it, but you are Bruce's favourite. He loves you. When I

decided to do the show, there was two things I would love - a seven

off Len - that is miles off at the minute - and I wanted Brucie to say

we were his favourites. I got that. You have never danced before. Are

you loving your experience? It is tough. I have had a ball. I really

have. I have had such a good time. It is really difficult picking up

all the steps. She is a good teacher. The jive didn't go as well

as Natalie probably would have hoped, but I had fun, we had fun.

It wasn't supposed to be that comical. Natalie, where did he go

right for you last weekend? Energy. I was laughing the whole way

through that. It was so much fun. The waltz was very serious the week

before. I don't necessarily think that that agrees with you. You have

great personality and we showed that. The energy, we were laughing,

we were enjoying it. That is the key. The thing is, you were talking

about the smiling and your son saying you were smiling. There was

one judge who wasn't particularly smiling. I think you may have

petrified Bruno. Have a look at this. Here's Vaughany! Argh! Argh!

APPLAUSE I am loving the cameras on the

judges' faces! Another week, another Latin dance. How is your

cha-cha-cha? I can't believe they didn't let me do the jive again!

That was my choice! We can demand it. How is the cha-cha-cha? It is

very different. This week, it's another fun dance. It's been great

learning it. It's not as quick, but it still has some quick moments in

there. Dancing to a great movie, a great song. It is from The full

Monty. It is this. # Hot stuff baby tonight. #

That is enough! LAUGHTER The big question is, of course, will you be

giving us the Full Monty? It would be wrong of me to do the Full Monty

without taking my kit off! OK. Is that some kind of little tease?

Maybe. Maybe, possibly. How is your stomach? Well, I started the show

with a one-pack, it is now to one- and-a-half! Getting there. It is

working. In the training room, we have seen that you have got a scarf

tied around your chest. This is not a fashion item. What does that do?

I'm doing everything I can to get Michael to open his chest up, not

put his head down, so I tied a scarf around his neck to make him

realise he has to stand up more. It is for him to understand that this

needs to be more open. Is it working? He is not sure. We tied

arms up, ankles up... This is sounding a little dodgy. Good luck

on Saturday. I can't wait. Michael and Natalie! APPLAUSE She is a

naughty girl. Last week, we showed you a couple of our favourite dance

moments re-enacted by our production staff and their pets.

Over the weekend, some of you have sent us some performances from your

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

most memorable Strictly moments. We We love those! APPLAUSE Thank you

so much. So good. Please keep sending them in. For all the

details on how you can send your Strictly re-enactments, visit

bbc.co.uk/ittakestwo. I grabbed a couple of minutes with the Strictly

costume department to get a look at what the couples will be wearing

this weekend. This is what I found out. Say hello to Vicky Gill.

APPLAUSE Head designer. Hello. Hollywood week, we are very excited.

I am imagining quite a challenge for you. What kind of challenges

does it bring? Really busy. Then trying to match up to all the

different themes in terms of being Hollywood week. Much to do. Yes.

How would you make the costumes to reflect the film without being too

fancy dress? We don't want them to be fancy dress. We want a nod to

the film or the production that we are using this week. So it maybe

that the colour of the underskirt, or maybe a little hint of the shoes

that are different. Let's talk about Kimberley. She is dancing to

Get Happy from Summer Stock. A '50s feel? Yes. Her lovely tiny waist.

The base of the costume is classic black-and-white. It's Strictly and

it has to be fun so we've got nice bright lining going underneath with

fuchsia gloves, possibly. A lady loves to change her mind! That is

the size of Kimberley's waist! It is. Let's talk about the boys. What

are you doing with them? Lots of costume s for the boys. Candy-

striped jacket, yellow suits, one of the pro boys is reflecting a

toy! More on that in a minute. This pin-stripe belongs to Richard? He

is dancing to 9 to 5 from 9 to 5 - well done, Zoe(!) He is the office

geek. This is a trouser leg. Just the one leg. If we save more money,

we can afford the other one! LAUGHTER That is one of my Dad's

gags! Terrible. Who has been the most fun this week? Denise. Again,

we have spoke about one of the pro boys, this... They are doing Toy

Story, You've Got A Friend In Me. She is being Jessie and he is Woody.

That's right. That is an interesting mix. Can we have a look

under the gold cloth? See if you can guess whose outfit this is?

Look at that! It's a beauty. You should be very proud. That is quite

saucy. What can you tell us about the lady? She is extremely fit.

That's all of them! I know. This one is extremely fit and has

amazing legs. Nice pins. It is gorgeous. Her partner... Look at

that split. What is her partner wearing? He is in a suit, he is in

uniform. That bit may reduce me to tears! Thank you very much. We

can't wait for Saturday. Vicky Gill. Thank you. APPLAUSE

I love that lady. Please welcome now the rather accident-prone

double act Denise and James. APPLAUSE Hello. We were worried

about you last Friday after you got your... I was worried. You were

worried, weren't you? No! A little bit. Slightly. How much pain were

you in on Saturday night? couldn't feel a thing. I was so

hyped up that I couldn't really feel anything. I had painkillers.

Sunday morning, I couldn't move. I have had physio. It's eased up

since then. It didn't affect your performance at all. It was great!

Thank you. I can't stop watching myself! No change there then(!)

Because of my injury, we couldn't rehearse it properly. Hence even

better. James, incredible comments from the judges. You got your first

fab-u-lous from Craig? I'll take that! At last. How good did that

feel? Great. Not as good as when I kissed him! That was a nice moment.

Top of the leaderboard as well. You must be chuffed? Yes. More pressure

this week. We have the foxtrot this week. It is not my strength. Is it

not? Do you think Denise is naturally better at Latin? Or

ballroom? I'm good at being bouncy! The jive suited her. We have tried

a couple of ideas and it is not as good as the jive. Foxtrot this week,

we are working on footwork because of the waltz, Len said her footwork

wasn't very good. We are working on that. Ian pointed out yesterday and

he saw your heel-toe. Last week, going back a little bit, you danced

to Tutti Frutti. You have been getting quite fruity in the

training room. Really. One at a time. One, two, three... LAUGHTER

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

-- 14. 19. 19 grapes! Your turn. Where's the nearest loo?! APPLAUSE

32! Please do not try that at home because you could choke on grapes.

Do you want me to tell you what the record is? The world record is 57.

I could have got more in. I can do that. Smaller grapes. Foxtrot for

you this week. What are you going to do to stay top of the

leaderboard? Have you struggled with any of it? Yes, I find the

ballroom really difficult because of the footwork and the posture.

So... Look at it there! It is awful. All right! He is always giving me a

hard time. Does he give you positives? You are supposed to

encourage her. You are dancing to this music.

# You've got a friend in me. # Your little girl is two. Yes, she

is nearly two-and-a-half. She must love Toy Story. Loves it. Is she

excited about seeing Mum dress as Jessie? Very. Did you cry? No.

anything make you cry? We will make you cry! We thought last week you

wanted to dance with Brendan and you could have used Anton because

he does look like him. He does. That freaks me out. Listen, good

luck this weekend. Denise and James! APPLAUSE So Denise and James

are hoping their foxtrot will be worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Let's see how our other girls are getting on in training. This week

we are doing quickstep. It is a very, very fast dance. Steps are

not that difficult. We will be on our toes running around the

ballroom non-stop. One... Yes. Got it? No. I'm starting to realise

that I am a little bit hard on myself. I think it doesn't actually

help me. Different step, different Kimberley. Hopefully, we will get

lost in the dance and enjoy it. This week, I will try and let all

of that go and just dance. Flying legs! This week, we are doing the

jive. Bringing the bounce back. you thought our cha-cha was fast,

wait till you see this. This needs more speed. I can make more speed

if you want. For this one, she needs to be herself. It is all

about being lively, and having a good time. One, two, three, four,

five... What's that noise? She seems to make these funny noises.

Zzzz... If it works, she can do whatever she needs to. It is fast,

fun and furious. Let's hope it is not fatal! This week, bren dand

aare -- Brendan and I are doing the rumba. I must admit I am struggling

with the performance element of the dance. It is extremely slow, so it

needs to be a lot of control. There's also a lot of emotion. She

is getting into the spirit of it. She is holding her position. She is

occasionally looking in my eyes as if she means it. I have to portray

a convincing scene of us being totally in love with each other.

want to show that intensity, that chemistry, that romance. It is a

big ask but if it happens, it will be magic. This week, we are doing a

quickstep. Jerry is going to love it! Hello, tiger! The quickstep is

very fast and there's a lot of steps in it. Tap, a tap. Yes! Great.

Love that! It is physically exhausting. So I don't think I'm

going to be lazy this week. Is there a bit where I can lay down?!

LAUGHTER My stamina has been building and I'm giving it 100%.

I'm going to get my posture right and walk along. I'm going to

concentrate on my posture and show those judges! We are dancing the

foxtrot. It is really important this week that I impress Len. I

have to be honest, I struggle with ballroom. What am I doing there?

Stop sighing. She doesn't feel comfortable extending away from me.

It really hurts. She wants to get close to me, most women would want

to be very close to me(!) It kills. I know. She needs to work on the

posture. Now we are looking at the technical side. Let's impress Len

this week. When we get it right, it feels lovely. I want to enjoy it.

This week, we are dancing the Charleston. Charleston is hard and

fast. Plenty of swivels. Seven, eight. I know. Charleston needs to

be really well performed. The best thing about Fern, when she performs,

she really performs. Seven, eight... Much better. Good. Charleston is

doing this and doing that and then linking your eyes at the same time.

My brain is catching up! When she does what needs to be done, it

looks great. It is quite precise. I'm not as precise as I could be.

But he seems to be quite pleased. The foxtrot is one of the most

difficult ballroom dances. It is so slow, but it is full of technique.

Slow, isn't it? You have to work harder. Dani is struggling a lot

with the dance shoes. I need your shoes. I'm so sorry. You are so

mean! They hurt so much! They are horrible. Please can I do it in my

socks? Dance shoes are supposed to be her best friends. They need you.

They don't. They hate me! I want to be able to dance in trainers. That

wouldn't look lady-like. I will have to shut up and put up with it!

How do they feel? Horrible. Please welcome Dani and Vincent.

APPLAUSE Hello. Congratulations on a top weekend. Did you enjoy it?

absolutely loved it. Finally, got to shake my booty and show a bit

more of my personality. It was wicked. I loved that bit. I taught

him that bit! I did. She is teaching you already? She is.

love that fact. Who is the pro? Third on the leaderboard, that is

great. Were you pleased? Yeah. I was really shocked actually. I

didn't think we would do that well. Really chuffed. Craig was in on

Monday. He had a grumble about the lift and the dismount. Let's...

Just because he couldn't do it himself, his double chin would be

in the way! LAUGHTER It is one of those things - it is not the

tidiest dance ever. The lift is supposed to look at it from the

front and the camera was on Dani's face in the landing, he was in

Dani's face in the landing, which wasn't pretty, but... He is so

polite! It is a very hard lift. go upside-down and then you are not

sure where you are. Where your legs are? Exactly. I could have been

more graceful with it. That's the best I have probably ever landed

that so I was - it was all right. thought it was great. You are

talking about the salsa being a sexy dance and all about the booty.

We did notice on the big show that one of the female professionals had

a little fixation with your bottom. Check this out. I hope you are

settled in for a night of sheer ballroom bliss? Anyone ready for

some more? Come on, Bruce! She is so naughty! I felt something. Now I

have remembered. It is such a lovely bottom. You are doing the

foxtrot this week. Yes, we are. are you liking it? It is going all

right. It is technical and difficult to pick up. It is all

about the posture and looking elegant, which is completely

different from the salsa. So I am getting there, I think. I need to

work more on my footwork and my posture and my neck and... What is

the toughest thing about the foxtrot? I think it is the speed.

It is really slow. So it is harder to dance slower than it is to do it

really fast. Your legs have to go long? Exactly. I have short legs.

Only got little legs. We've got little legs! Online, Annie says,

she was loving the super salsa from "the pocket rocket"s! Thank you

very much. You have got some lovely music. It is Hollywood Week and you

are dancing to this. # Somewhere over the rainbow... #

You will be Dorothy, are you the Tin Man? I will try. You have

played Dorothy before? I have. I have done it quite a few times. The

first time I was 16, I think. So, yeah, it is close to my heart. I

love the character. We tried to mock-up a picture of how we think

you will both look. This is special. Look at Toto! That is creepy! I

don't like that. Make it go away. The exciting news is, we have real

live animals on Saturday. You will have a real Toto? Yes. Yes. Is it

one of the Totos that has been in the West End? I hope so. Are your

shoes getting more comfortable? Between you and me, they are not

attractive shoes. They are really uncomfortable. Try and point your

toe, they don't bend. I prefer the Latin ones or maybe to dance in

trainers. Maybe they will dance in some glittery trainers one week.

You never know. Thank you. Give it up for dab Dani and Vincent!

APPLAUSE That is it for today. Thank you to all my guests. Join us

tomorrow when my guests will be Kimberley and Pasha, Lisa and Robin

and I will be on the Strictly set to have a catch-up with Colin and