Episode 20 Strictly - It Takes Two

Hello, it's Friday and this is It Takes Two. On my sofa and raring to

go last week they slowed it down. Tomorrow it's full speed ahead.

Princess Fiona and her Prince Charming Anton.

So handsome. I'll have a pep talk with Sophie and Brendan and Patrick

and Anya up in Elstree. The fabulous Friday panel are DJ

Scott Mills. Diversity's Ashley Banjo and an Annika Rice. This is It

Takes Two! From London, this is Strictly, It

Takes Two. Please welcome your host, Zoe Ball.

Hello and welcome to It Takes Two. Hurray, it's Friday and just 23

hours, 58 minutes and 27 seconds until Saturday's next showdown.

After last week, we can't even begin to guess who might be in trouble. On

Saturday, Fiona and Anton performed a romantic rumba. The judges were

left bent out of shape! First of all, here is their weekend story.

The packaging were very enticing and promising at the beginning, but

there are a few seriousish ues with balancing and your hip. The hip

action was very stiff. You did a bizarre jump out of the floor spin.

It lacked a bit of rhythm. You do lose focus and I don't want you to

show us that you are making any mistakes.

I get out there and just go to bits. I thought you were magnificent. I

don't want to let you down. You won't let me down.

We all need one of those cuddles! Fiona and Anton!

It's wonderful when you say she's magnificent, you make her feel

better. It's beautiful. On Saturday night, you looked absolutely

stunning. Vicky brought your dress in last week and it was vamped up.

You looked gorgeous. Does your confidence grow when it comes to the

costumes? Definitely. As soon as they put you in the gowns and lots

of hair and lashes, it's like being a different person. Transformation

works so well. Anton, we loved your rumba on Saturday night. Fiona said

one little thing. Len said there were a few more things. Who was

right? Depends who you are asking. Just looking to make sure she's on

the right leg. That was a big mistake at the end. Once you got

going, you were fine. Beautiful. You've always had a soft spot for

Len. Yes. And he was quite hard on you on Saturday. Was that difficult

to take? Hugely painful. But I love him even more now. Because I like it

when they're mean. Don't we all! I know, it's a terrible thing. It's

the way of the world. I have to admit that everything that all the

judges said was absolutely spot on and aisle taken it on board and this

week it's different. A different week. We'll move on from that. With

when you finished in the bottom two, were you frightened about the DDO,

the dreaded dance off? I was convinced we were going to dance

again and I was excited about the prospect because I thought, at least

this time I might get it right. Of course they left us until the last

minute and my little heart was beating so fast. But we didn't have

to dance again sos it was brilliant. Yes, safe. They love you. Craig was

talking about no connection between the two of you. I know! Anton, what

did you make of that? I don't know. How can he deny the connection here!

? Put him down... You said nobody had ever said that

about you? Nobody has ever said that about me dancing with my partners.

When you are dancing, you concentrate so much on the routine

and trying to get through and trying not to do it wrong that you do lose

sometimes a bit of connection as a couple. It's just because you are

concentrating on the steps. But maybe other than that I don't really

know. This week is entirely different. It's a whole new thing.

I've seen you in training. In ballroom you are like that, it's

like you can't look at him. I know. It's very confusing, the whole

thing. Obviously vest very terrifying on the floor on a

Saturday night, but also in the training room, you can be a bit of a

chicken, Fiona. This is good. Oh, no. I have a whole farm yard of

impressions. Want to see it? Not just a chicken, oh, no, a poach lent

chicken. Want to see it? Yes. My chicken impression is well-known

in our village. This is my impression of a very wet otter.

She's coming out of the water. LAUGHTER

They're really good, aren't they? I can do a lion. Roar! I can do a

dolphin but I need to be in water do do that. How many dolphins do you

have on a farm then? My chicken's the best. The greatest impression

known to man. Clearly balmy. I think this whole

show's gone to your head. This week you are going from the slowest and

the rumba to one of the quickest, the quickstep. How are your energy

levels? I'm loving the quickstep. Energy's come right up. I feel

really quite positive about this dance. I mean, I'm just really,

really loving it. Good. You have an amazing tune. My little feet are

going like that. You love Sweet Chariot as well don't you? Yes. What

is she bringing to the quick step? How pleased are you with her? Has

she surprised you? We've had a great week this week. We have talked about

having turned the Corner this week. I think we have because we've

stumbled upon something during rehearsals. It's been great because

we got personality coming out all oaf the place and it's tremendous.

I'm thrilled really. I just sit back and watch her go and don't hardly

get involved, if I'm honest. I'm so excited for Saturday night for me,

but mostly for fill owe that because she can go out and go "wow, look at

me, I'm going to give it some". Isn't that great that he has so much

confidence in you? It's great that you believe in me so much. Yes.

There is news that Erin Boag is having a baby. Surely now you will

be known as uncle Anton. Have you been knitting and is she doing OK?

She's being sick, only six times yesterday. But she's thrilled, her

and Peter, they are absolutely thrill and it's tremendous news. We

are so excited. We are so excited! The Royal "we".

Thank you so much and good luck with the quickstep tomorrow, you will be

gorgeous, I can tell. Anton and Fiona!

Look at us, we are connecting! They are. Get off her. As is the

norm on Friday, I made my way to Elstree to check in on rehearsals.

I'm out with Sophie, Brendan, Patrick and Anya and here is what

happened. Take it away. Here I am. So it's Friday and we are

in the big studio. It's very exciting. This is the first time

they get to rehearse. This is where you come to realise you've forgotten

the whole thing. Patrick and Anya. Before we talk about the glory of

last weekend, because it was an amazing performance. Thank you. We

got bad news. You haven't had the greatest week. As you can see on his

hand. You have sustained an injury. What can you tell me about it? An

inflamed dorsal. Horrible. That's not good? No. We were training,

there was roler skating in it as well. As you do! I'm a very

experienced skater, of course. Are you, right? You always fall

backwards? This time it wasn't on purpose. I thought it was fine, you

know. We carried on our training for the next couple of hours and by the

end of the night it was really stiff. By the morning, it was

incredibly stiff. OK. That's when I went into work and saw a medical

adviser and they said, you need to get that looked at. I love that, you

work on Casualty and there was a medical adviser? ! Yes. You have

been doing lots of lifts in the salsa. How much will this affect

that? It's the most upsetting thing because he worked so hard, we spent

a lot of time doing this incredible pushing boundaries with lifts and

stuff and unfortunately, we had to rethink everything. So it's a

simplified salsa? Yes. Fingers crossed, are you going to be able to

dance? At the minute it's seeming like I will But it will go down to

the wire? Yes. Can you touch his hand? It's still sore and tender.

All that arm-ography! We are still in the progress of changing things.

So everyone understand, it may be toned down tomorrow. We are going to

go out fighting! Let's talk about last week. It was incredible, your

cha-cha-cha. Thank you. How was it for you on the familiar? Great. I

loved it. It went, for me, I feel Anya too, it wept brilliant. You did

incredible to be honest with you. You were still beaming on mopped.

Just fab. You can tell how good it is because Craig gave it so much

praise, absolutely brilliant. You got a 9 from Len? Yeah... I was

really impressed with what the judges said more than the marks. For

Craig to say absolutely brilliant, you go, really, so you really

enjoyed that? That is better than getting a 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. Was it

good taking the crown from Ashley? I hadn't been aware of that I don't

think! There's no rivally between the boys. No! I wasn't aware of

that, but there you are! I hope your hand's not too painful. We'll see

how we go. Definitely one bit at a time with this.

You could be breaking records doing a dance where no hands are touched.

A lot of shimmying. Good luck, guys, thank you for talking to us. Feel

better! Patrick and Anya. Let's see who we can find over here. Judges'

chairs. That's a bit fancy. It's Craig, he's had his hip operation so

they've got him a throne for tomorrow night. Hope he's all right

and he might be limping. Sophie and Brendan here. Hello, guys. How are

you? Another fantastic score for you on Saturday, Sophie. You looked

absolutely breathtaking. I was looking at your dress, it was

amazing. Did you enjoy it? It was a super frock, wasn't it? Stunning. I

did enjoy it actually, although I think I was possibly the most

nervous I've ever been. Was it because your lovely granny was here?

No, that reassured me, she didn't put me on edge. It was being first

in the show. I found starting the show really scary. A lot of

pressure? Yes. It's getting into the show and you build up to that

performance usually. What is worse, going first or last? Oh, first.

No-nonsense choreography the from your Brendan. You talked about it

last week and it definitely worked. Len loved it. You knew how to work

it? I like good cog radio fill, I love content -- choreography. I like

to make it magical. Sophie's just adapting to it and doing it which is

amazing to work with someone like that, as a choreographer and dancer.

You want the celebrities to rise to the challenge and she's doing it.

Week after week. Making me do it over and over again helps.

Cha-cha-cha this week, anything particularly tricky? Has it been a

good week or a difficult week? It's not been as stressful as some of the

other ones, but it's not something that comes naturally to me. I find

the timing the hardest element because when cha-cha-cha, the

fraudsing starts on the two, not on the one which is undoing everything

I think about music. I start on the wrong beat. I also

heard that you have had a few giggles in training. There'll be

lines for you after school, Ellis-Bextor. What have you been

laughing about? Everything. Occasionally I've laughed at some of

the dance moves but you have taken it pretty well. You have taken it on

the chin? Yes. Everyone laughing at me is nice! If you stand back, you

look and go, what on earth are we doing, I do call myself a dancing

theory a lot of the time. Are you pushing the choreography boundaries

this week again and do you have moves that will wow us? I think we

have a good overall image. I don't think the choreography is

breath-taking, but I wanted to give Sophie a bit of a break this week in

terms of not putting in the kitchen sink. The introis great and

exciting, it's a nice build-up, then we do a good old cha-cha-cha.

Another one of my favourite records. You have been looking at my record

collection at home. Can Girls very much on top at the moment. Is there

some friendly rivalry between the girls at all? Is it starting to kick

in yet? It really doesn't feel like a competition yet at all. Everyone's

supportive really. Yes. Even the boys! We are all feeling very much

that it's week-by-week and there's been some lovely dancers out there

right from the start. The only thing about the show is, everyone starts

on a level, then it's about getting away from that and seeing how much

you can improve week-by-week, whether it be scoring down the

bottom, their goal is to get up off that bottom spot and if you are in

the middle, your goal is to get to the top. If you get to the top, your

goal is to try to stay there. I'm loving the great loving between you

two. You can feel it between all of you and you two, the whole team I

mean. Will you give us a glimpse of your cha-cha-cha? No. Take to the

floor now, Miss Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her partner Brendan Cole doing

the cha-cha-cha. One of my favourite records of all-time ever. Take a

look. MUSIC

- Michael Jackson - Pretty Young Thing.

Not sure that's real, but then again you never know. Just a disco

free-for-all. Time to go back to the studio with that blonde. She's not

natural! Charming. Thanks, me. Time for a

little canine Claire vinecy. Lucky got off on the wrong paw when he

thought Deborah and Robin were top of the leaderboard. Let's see if you

can do better this week. Remember, it's just for fun.

Time now to welcome a panel who all know a thing or two about what makes

a good performance and apparently one of them has a chihuahua. Please

welcome, Scott Mills, Annika Rice and Scott Banjo.

Hello you lovely three. Ashley Banjo's just dropped the clanger

that he, the big man, owns a very small chihuahua. I do. What is your

dog called? KP, like the peanuts. Do you carry her around in a bag?

She sits on my shoulder. Annika loves that! You are about to go on

tour aren't you with Diversity? We can have a sneaky peak of what you

can expect. Have a look at this. It's exciting!

I was hoping you might do sop flips down the stairs. What makes for a

good performance when you are thinking about a show like this or

yours. What are the key ingredients? I suppose you have got to know what

you are saying and dog. With our show, the first thing we get right

is the message. Once we know what we want to say to people it's about

relaxing and having fun. This is the biggest show we have ever done, but

it's like the biggest scariest adventure. We are going to go on

stage and put our hearts and soul into it. OK. Contestants will be

glaed to know that even you get nervous before a performance. You

are a Strictly super fan. I haven't been out for ten years during the

autumn. It's ridiculous. That's all I do. What's been your favourite

dance so far? Sophie I can't take my eyes off her because she's like a

newborn colt. The long legs. And vulnerable. She puts in this most

extraordinarily compelling performance. So I think it would be

her doing the charleston. Love that. Definitely. Hello, Scott Mills.

Haven't seen you since 1998 possibly! 1999 beginning of. Lovely

to have you here. Who are the favourites, the contenders? Who do

you love? I have a problem. Deborah Meaden, I'm good friends with her,

so is Rachel Riley and I now have a thing for Susanna Reid, well, not a

thing, but... OK! I just really like her. I

thought Susannah was great last week. They said it was a bit messy

but I like her and the VT got me as well with the kids. Her throw boys.

They are supporting their mum. Let's have a look a what is happening this

week. Annika, last week this tango was one of the table-toppers, can

she do it again? She is amazing. I did Hell's Kitchen with her. She's

got such a strong work ethic and I think she'll pull it off. Whatever

she does, she's so on message the whole time. She's wonderful. She's

gorgeous as well. Jay good at topping, good on the work top, yes.

Same thing, just a different skill, hands, feet, yes. Dancing to Olly

Murs. This is my kids' favourite song. What do you think of the song

choice, Scott? I don't know a lot of the older songs that are on, so I

don't connect with those, but when it's a modern song you, it's great.

It works. Banjo agrees. Dave and Karen are doing a salsa. Craig said,

the dancing is a Cuban dance. Remember this one. Ashley, you loved

this. What do you love about Dave? His technique is practise.

Performance like that is something you cannot develop, it's a talent in

his own right. He's such a joy to watch. The judges are always saying

he needs a bit more technique. What do you think? I couldn't copy that

technique. It's in a class of its own. You nook. Dave has his own

hairy technique that we shouldn't tray to analyse. I liked him

scrubbed up last week. With his pony tail. He brushed up well. It's like,

look what you are capable of, Dave. Iveta and Mark are doing the waltz

this week to One Republic. Is this going to work? Yes, really good.

Looking at him in the training room, what do you think of his waltz

ability? Be honest, Scott, that is what the show is for? He comes

across as the sweetest guy. He might not be the best, but I think he's

going to get through because people like him. A lot of love for Mark.

Did you see his MC Hammer last week? I thought the band were going to

perform that and I thought, please don't do that and they just played

the track. The ballroom is, well, the judges talk about that every

week. Pf INEBREAK He looks really good so, you know... Mark Benton on

tour with diversity! He's on the phone right now. Brilliant! Deborah,

your friend, Scott, they are doing the even niece waltz this week. Last

week it was the jive. Scott, what did you think of the jive? Needed

her legs higher in the our. Yes, that's what it was. I love Deborah

and she comes across so miserable on Dragons' Den. She's not like that at

all, she's a real laugh and I can tell she's having the time of her

life so I don't want her to go. She's like a normal woman who's

having a great time and I want that to continue. Her Her unner child

comes out. She's delightful. The joy that radiates from her. It's

infectious, I want her to win, yes! Annika's making a big statement,

Meaden to win! She loves it. Dancing to James Brown.

By the way, I love your shoes, Ashley.

Natalie and Artem, they are going to be doing a Samba, those clever

little bunnies. Every time Natalie does a Latin dance, they say they

want more hip. How are her hips here? If I'm honest, I think she's

so brilliant, the judges will always find something. No-one's perfect. I

do it to my boys all the time. They do a jump, a somersault, I say

higher. They are trying to push her. She's brilliant. They have a great

track. Scott? I always go into a bad mummy shimmy

when I hear an Italian song. Do you think it will be good for

her? Yes, it will be great. Rachel and Pasha are doing a paso doble to

Nelly purr far doe this week -- Furtado. Is she a man-eater? Not

sure. We'll find out. I was talking about heart and soul in performance

early on. With that dance, literally to me, that's what separates the

people who do it well with the people that do it brilliantly, heart

and soul. You know her really well don't you, Scott? Can Rachel give it

heart and soul? I hope so because she's on my show next week!

Annika, would you like to go paso doble with Pasha? Rachel's in goods

hands isn't she. The times that I've been on Countdown and she's been

doing her sums, it's just like, Rachel you are so pretty. Amazing.

Fingers crossed. Susannah and Kevin are doing an American smooth to Tony

Benn net. Ashley, first time Susannah is going to tackle a lift.

Any advice for her? The worst thing about being the male on the bottom

when you are in a lift is when you have got a sack of potatoes, someone

who does not pull up and make themselves lighter, someone who's

just like that, who just hangs. It's about pulling up and core and

posture and how you hold yourself. I don't think Susanna Reid could ever

be a sack of potatoes if she tried. Can we try that? No, he's got to go

on tour! Annika, they are doing their dance to Tony Benn net. Will

this work? I think she's so on message, this girl. Last week, Len

who I think should have a new slot, Len's Gems... Write that down! It

was, what bums and Bongos. She's extraordinary each week, she's

reinventing herself in a whole new dance. If we are quick, we can look

at Ashley and Ola. Johnny with Good is the music for their jive. How

difficult is it to learn a dance in four days? Oh, my gosh, it's

difficult if you are used to the neck nook, but if you are a new

dancer -- technique. It's difficult if you are a new dancer. Who do you

want to win? Dave. Deborah. Scott? Deborah. Rachel's going to be so

cross with you! I think they are a Dream Team, Banjo Rice and Mills,

our perfect panel! Don't forget, Benton's on the road with Diversity.

A huge thanks to all my guests, join me here next week. I'll be

commiserating with the next couple. Who will it be? Find out next week.

Bye! Enjoy the show.