:00:00. > :00:09.Hello and welcome to Wednesday's edition of It Takes Two.
:00:10. > :00:15.They smoothly paso'd their way into the final - Sophie and Brendan are
:00:16. > :00:21.here! Our wedding couple tied the knot on
:00:22. > :00:24.Friday. Were they able to pull off the big dance? Natalie's here to
:00:25. > :00:28.tell all. And as we look forward to Saturday's
:00:29. > :00:31.finale, Ian's back with a bumper Wednesday Warm Up.
:00:32. > :01:22.This is Strictly: It Takes Two. Life from London, this is Strictly
:01:23. > :01:29.It Takes two. Please welcome your host, Zoe Ball!
:01:30. > :01:33.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Hello and welcome to Wednesday's It
:01:34. > :01:36.Takes Two. Just three more sleeps until Saturday's final and our
:01:37. > :01:43.couples are all training hard on not one, not two, but three showstopping
:01:44. > :01:57.dances. I feel a Wednesday Warm Up coming on. I think that's what it
:01:58. > :02:04.is. It's my favourite man apart from my husband, Ian Waite!
:02:05. > :02:10.CHEERING And there's Ryan Gosling and a few others. Ian, it is the
:02:11. > :02:16.final on Saturday. It is. Ened our last Wednesday Warm Up. I know! It
:02:17. > :02:22.is sad. On Saturday the couples will be tackling a dance picked by the
:02:23. > :02:25.judges and a show dance, and after that we lose one couple and the
:02:26. > :02:29.three remaining finalists will perform their own favourite dance
:02:30. > :02:35.from the series and then we'll have a winner. Let's look at the show
:02:36. > :02:42.dances. So exciting. No rurals. They can do leaps, jumps, props, anything
:02:43. > :02:46.they like. How important is it? Is very important. It will be the
:02:47. > :02:50.second number, the it will be just about when people vote. The votes
:02:51. > :02:54.open up after the show dance, so it is best that you are in people's
:02:55. > :03:02.minds and they are thinking wow, that was amazing. Unleash the wand,
:03:03. > :03:08.if you would, Sir. Ho, ho, ho. Thank you! Abbey and Aljaz are doing their
:03:09. > :03:14.show dance to Guns N' Roses. Brilliant. We can't listen to it but
:03:15. > :03:21.we can look at their training. We are not showing the tricks and
:03:22. > :03:25.stunts. It looks like it is a paso doble. They are normally very
:03:26. > :03:32.dramatic. No doubt this will be, and a rock song, so it will be adding to
:03:33. > :03:38.the drama. I want to point out she's using her skirt here, a lot of
:03:39. > :03:44.skirtography - new word. She needs to do that really positively and
:03:45. > :03:49.really emphasise it 100% if she is going to do that. It's a show dance,
:03:50. > :03:57.so they've got to go for it. I'm hoping Aljaz will be wearing a slash
:03:58. > :04:04.shirt and top hat. But it is unlikely. They are dancing to
:04:05. > :04:12.Steppin' Out With My Baby by Fred Astaire. It is very Fred and Ginger,
:04:13. > :04:18.a lot of side by side stuff. . They've got canes, and who wouldn't?
:04:19. > :04:24.I want toism ties how great their matching arms are and their matching
:04:25. > :04:29.legs. Brilliant. Top students. This is what they need at this stage. She
:04:30. > :04:35.needs to patch him perfectly, especially in the side by side.
:04:36. > :04:45.Brilliant work. Susanna and Kevin are doing their dance to the Moulin
:04:46. > :04:49.Rouge version. It will be emotional. Something that will connect with the
:04:50. > :04:55.audience and make them vote. All of this stuff is solo, intricate
:04:56. > :05:05.armography. Beautifully done by Susanna there. Earlier I notice
:05:06. > :05:13.because it's a waltz that they are bringing back the pivots that they
:05:14. > :05:19.did seven weeks ago. Or was it week seven? They were pivoting all the
:05:20. > :05:24.way around the floor. It is a great feature in this number. If it works,
:05:25. > :05:33.bring it back. Sophie and Brendan are doing their show dance to a
:05:34. > :05:38.Whitney Houston classic, Wanna Dance With Somebody. I danced to it in
:05:39. > :05:43.series two with Denise Lewis. And what happened? In those days it was
:05:44. > :05:49.called the freestyle, not a show dance. Did you win? No, we were
:05:50. > :05:54.second. Let's look at this clip. Sophie needs to work on her core.
:05:55. > :06:02.She needs to be positive and needs to be a little bit more - in a way,
:06:03. > :06:07.to lead him more, to take control, go for it and be a little bit in
:06:08. > :06:12.front of him. I know we say follow, I want her to follow but I want her
:06:13. > :06:18.to take initiative and go for it. She did on Saturday. Please don't go
:06:19. > :06:28.far. We'll have a second dose of Ian later on.
:06:29. > :06:32.CHEERING So, as we've just seen, the couples
:06:33. > :06:35.are working hard for the final. But it was their impressive paso and
:06:36. > :06:38.American smooth that booked Brendan and Sophie a place. I'll be chatting
:06:39. > :06:41.to them in a moment, but first here's a reminder of Saturday's
:06:42. > :06:46.semifinal. You gave power I haven't seen you give to a dance before. For
:06:47. > :06:50.me it was starchy and looked a bit of Spanish line. The content, the
:06:51. > :06:54.passion and the intent in delivering it was incredible, Sophie. You've
:06:55. > :06:57.done what one of always asked of you. Come out here and kill it and
:06:58. > :07:09.you did it. Let's do another dance. A beautiful
:07:10. > :07:13.flow to it. There was an elegance and a sophisticationment Sophie,
:07:14. > :07:17.this is your dance. Those three lifts from the top the middle and
:07:18. > :07:22.then the bottom, it was so grateful. You came in and out of them
:07:23. > :07:33.seamlessly. Your best performance to date.
:07:34. > :07:41.Tonight wasn't about doing enough to get to the final but that we made it
:07:42. > :07:47.to the semifinal. Please welcome Sophie and Brendan! Two such
:07:48. > :07:50.super-stylish performances on Saturday night. We are starting with
:07:51. > :07:55.the fire and the passion of your paso doble. Bruno said you made
:07:56. > :08:01.yourself proud here. How delighted were you at the end of that dance?
:08:02. > :08:08.It felt incredible. . That moment where we finished, I still had my
:08:09. > :08:18.eyes closed and I heard the cloud erupt into applause is a moment I
:08:19. > :08:24.will I will Treasury ture. -- treasure. Sophie had a dress
:08:25. > :08:32.malfunction at the start, her dress popped open at the top, so she was
:08:33. > :08:37.thinking about that... It could have been memorable for all the wrong
:08:38. > :08:44.reasons. My Lord, it could have been extra points! Yes! The audience were
:08:45. > :08:49.on their feet, the judges loving the drama you brought to that dance. .
:08:50. > :08:53.Do you feel you've conquered any performance issues you might have
:08:54. > :08:58.had with that? It was a big moment for me. That's been something I've
:08:59. > :09:03.struggled with a bit over the weeks, so to have that aspect praised meant
:09:04. > :09:09.a lot to me. It was something I tried... So much of the paso is
:09:10. > :09:14.about the attitude and the drama, and it was there. Your American
:09:15. > :09:19.smooth, Brendan coming down the bannisters like that, how did you
:09:20. > :09:26.get health and safety to sign off on that? They never did, but true to
:09:27. > :09:29.myself I did it anyway. I wanted a magical number for that person
:09:30. > :09:34.smooth. It is very important that you take the audience watching on a
:09:35. > :09:37.bit of a journey with you. You want them to be involved with everything
:09:38. > :09:42.you are doing. With a gorgeous piece of music, you slide down the
:09:43. > :09:46.bannisters, Sophie hit her position and we started dancing. It was a
:09:47. > :09:51.magical moment on Strictly. We had two extremes of emotions on that
:09:52. > :09:56.night. Very intense, and you got your first ten. Boy, have you had to
:09:57. > :10:02.wait for that? It must have been to brilliant. It was so pretty, such a
:10:03. > :10:06.good thing. I wanted a ten for me but for Brendan too. He's given me
:10:07. > :10:10.every week the tools to get that ten but I wasn't quite hitting it. You
:10:11. > :10:16.have been it hadding it for weeks, my dear. You have. And Craig was a
:10:17. > :10:22.bit more reserved, muttering about you being out of hold. What do you
:10:23. > :10:27.think when you hear, that come on, Craig, give them more than an eight?
:10:28. > :10:33.Everyone's got their agenda on this show. It is a good score. It is! I
:10:34. > :10:36.like it would be comparable to other things happening on the show. I
:10:37. > :10:41.think they've been extra picky for Sophie and I, for whatever reason, I
:10:42. > :10:45.take it as a positive, as I think they see something in Sophie that's
:10:46. > :10:51.very capable and able. She's a magnificent dancer and a magnificent
:10:52. > :10:55.person to be on the show. . They want the best for her. If it means
:10:56. > :11:03.marking her down with an eight, fine. And we made the final anyway.
:11:04. > :11:11.It is all good. You have been training I think for 78 weeks now.
:11:12. > :11:26.Is that all? It is 13 weeks. Drive, drive. Soft, soft, soft. This is
:11:27. > :11:34.serious. Hup! Switch. Come on, woman. Is there a way to make it so
:11:35. > :11:39.it doesn't hurt? No. OK. But I'm prepared to have pain for my art.
:11:40. > :11:55.Why are we doing it so fast? That's brilliant. Oh, God. Flip ing heck!
:11:56. > :12:00.Heck! That's funny. That poor girl's been put through torture for weeks.
:12:01. > :12:03.But it is worth it. This weekend the final, three dance Tass. First of
:12:04. > :12:09.all the judges have chosen to see your Viennese waltz again, which we
:12:10. > :12:13.are thrilled about. This is from The Sound Of Music. Are you pleased they
:12:14. > :12:16.chose this, Sophie? Yes, this was a very special moment for me first
:12:17. > :12:22.time around. It is such a lovely dance. It's the essence of Strictly.
:12:23. > :12:27.I would never have done a Viennese waltz anywhere else? Why not? I
:12:28. > :12:31.don't understand! It felt glorious, so I'm very much looking forward to
:12:32. > :12:35.it. The judges were talking afterwards about your neckline. Is
:12:36. > :12:41.that something you've worked on? Very much so. You want it to be as
:12:42. > :12:45.perfect as it can be and you want the judges to be on your side. As
:12:46. > :12:48.much as the public have allowed us to be in the final, the judges have
:12:49. > :12:53.given their marks to get us there as well. You want them to be going,
:12:54. > :12:58.that was the best thing we've seen tonight. It means a lot to you when
:12:59. > :13:03.you've put in the hours. I'm hoping that, come the final, it reaches a
:13:04. > :13:07.pinnacle for us. And it is that point where if we don't make it
:13:08. > :13:11.through to the next point and don't get to do our Charleston... We want
:13:12. > :13:15.to see that again. The quickly, will your show dance. Whitney Houston,
:13:16. > :13:19.Wanna Dance With Somebody. Why did you choose that one? Because it is
:13:20. > :13:23.Saturday night, it is the final, the we want the ultimate party track and
:13:24. > :13:28.have a lovely time on that dancefloor. Can you tell us
:13:29. > :13:32.anything? It's a dance. Thank you. That's all I need to know. And
:13:33. > :13:36.again, we get to see that Charleston. If we get through to the
:13:37. > :13:43.last bit. Everybody has to vote. Last time you got almost perfect
:13:44. > :13:49.scores. That was week three when you did this. Week two. Will you be able
:13:50. > :13:53.to improve on that? Who cares? I will be having a ball. We danced it
:13:54. > :14:02.the first time in rehearsal as yesterday. I was blown away by it.
:14:03. > :14:07.She dances like and I feel silly next to her, that's how good she is.
:14:08. > :14:12.Good luck this week. Three incredible dances. We'll see you on
:14:13. > :14:17.Friday and in the meantime, get working! Sophie and Brendan!
:14:18. > :14:20.CHEERING Now, we may have already mentioned
:14:21. > :14:24.that this series of Strictly reaches its finale on Saturday. But fear
:14:25. > :14:27.not, there's a special edition of Strictly on Christmas Day. We took a
:14:28. > :14:36.sneak peek as they were filming their big opening number. Take a
:14:37. > :14:41.look. So here we are Lapland UK for our special Christmas show. Still
:14:42. > :14:49.glitzy, but with my very nice spotty boots. I'm going to dance my way
:14:50. > :14:56.around the beautiful forest. It is a very exciting trip. The main reason
:14:57. > :15:02.for it is to reveal the six celebrities on the Christmas show.
:15:03. > :15:12.We've got huskies, Santa's sleigh. It is going to be fantastic. I'm
:15:13. > :15:20.slow getting Strictlified, is that the word? I do need more glamour in
:15:21. > :15:27.my life, so you find me here on day one of filming the Strictly shaving
:15:28. > :15:32.out of a bucket! Here I am with a snow machine I've not really used
:15:33. > :15:40.before. I think that's two settings. Either very little snow or foam
:15:41. > :15:45.party. And, action! Lots of energy. I've got Robin looking after me and
:15:46. > :15:53.we are bringing our own brand of special Christmas magic.
:15:54. > :15:59.We had a bit of high jinks. We did. I had a whole bucket of snow for
:16:00. > :16:07.lunch. Your lip gloss was amazing afterwards. That's cute. Love it.
:16:08. > :16:11.The pro dancers, when they do it, it is classy. But when you are not
:16:12. > :16:18.really that person, you feel like Hugh going... And that's less cool.
:16:19. > :16:22.We are about to do the final sequence, a big dance number,
:16:23. > :16:27.two-and-a-half minutes. We've got the celebrities, the pros. We've got
:16:28. > :16:32.the lights and we've got moonlight. It will look magical. Now we are
:16:33. > :16:37.getting into the evening you can see how pretty everything looks. It is
:16:38. > :16:49.snowing and there's twinkly lights. Wow! Look at that! ! Isn't it
:16:50. > :16:57.pretty? Look, we can do fake snow. Let it snow, let it snow, let it
:16:58. > :17:02.snow. Once we've met on the celebrities, the everybody dances
:17:03. > :17:09.towards the finale, on the ice Rick. -- ice rink.
:17:10. > :17:13.When I came to Strictly I was in awe of how useful the sets are, and
:17:14. > :17:19.Strictly puts the show into business. I'm trying to keep warm.
:17:20. > :17:24.And in the next couple of minutes we have to take our jackets off and
:17:25. > :17:29.dance. Show business style. We've reached the end of the day's
:17:30. > :17:33.filming, and we are going to do the finale. It is going to be so
:17:34. > :17:37.incredible you won't believe your eyes but you've got to wait for
:17:38. > :17:45.Christmas Day, like a beautiful present ready to unwrap. So It Takes
:17:46. > :17:52.two, turn this off! Three words - Rufus Hound's tattoos.
:17:53. > :17:55.I say! And you can watch Strictly's
:17:56. > :17:58.Christmas Special on BBC One at 5.00pm on Christmas Day.
:17:59. > :18:02.So, Mel and Gordon's big day finally arrived last week, and of course all
:18:03. > :18:05.eyes were on their first dance. Did their two months of intense dance
:18:06. > :18:12.training pay off? Here with her final report is Miss Natalie Lowe. !
:18:13. > :18:17.CHEERING Hello my darling. Hello! We've seen you get quite emotional
:18:18. > :18:22.during this process. How were you on the big day itself? I'm emotional
:18:23. > :18:26.now. My heart's pounding, because I haven't seen the dance back, but it
:18:27. > :18:33.was the most magical day. I was emotional, proud, honoured to be
:18:34. > :18:37.there. It was the perfect wedding with in every way. A I got emotional
:18:38. > :18:43.watching this film earlier. This is how their day started.
:18:44. > :18:47.Mel and Gordon's big day has finally arrived and I can't tell you how
:18:48. > :18:54.excited I am. All the guests are arriving. . I'm going to get my
:18:55. > :18:58.seat. I'm feeling really excited today. We've had done the planning
:18:59. > :19:04.and had all the stress. It is nice that it is here at last and we can
:19:05. > :19:12.properly enjoy it. When I first saw Mel I was just
:19:13. > :19:16.blown away. Simply stunning. Melanie and Gordon have made their marriage
:19:17. > :19:20.vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the
:19:21. > :19:25.joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of rings. I therefore
:19:26. > :19:29.proclaim that they are husband and wife.
:19:30. > :19:34.APPLAUSE My favourite part of the ceremony
:19:35. > :19:38.was the very end, when they walked back down the aisle hand in hand as
:19:39. > :19:47.husband and wife. That was just beautiful. It feel quite surreal
:19:48. > :19:52.that we are now husband and wife, but it is a great feeling. Too. I'm
:19:53. > :19:56.a bit nervous, because the church is done but we've got the dance to do
:19:57. > :20:02.tonight, so the pressure is on. Isn't it beautiful? And Gordon was
:20:03. > :20:07.in a kilt! Weddings always make me cry. That was the easy bit. Yes.
:20:08. > :20:11.Just the big dance to come. You've been working with them for months
:20:12. > :20:14.now. Did you feel confident they were going to nail the performance
:20:15. > :20:17.in front of their family and friends? I really did. The day
:20:18. > :20:21.couldn't have gone any better. It was a great vibe. The family and
:20:22. > :20:26.friends were extremely supportive. Everyone was egging them on to do
:20:27. > :20:31.well and to do their best, to enjoy the moment. I knew they would. Did
:20:32. > :20:38.you manage to cram in any last minute rehearsals? Yes, we did two
:20:39. > :20:43.or three run-through and things that Gordon wasn't really getting, it
:20:44. > :20:48.call came together at the right time. I think everybody is dying to
:20:49. > :20:56.see this. This is Mel and Gordon pulling off the biggest wedding
:20:57. > :20:59.dance you've seen. My mind was going at 1 million miles per hour. It was
:21:00. > :21:01.really terrifying knowing that everybody was there and that was the
:21:02. > :21:51.big moment. # Some people wait a lifetime for a
:21:52. > :21:55.moment like this #. When we finished the waltz, everyone
:21:56. > :21:57.thought that was it, and then people realised we were doing more. It was
:21:58. > :22:18.electric. I had never experienced anything
:22:19. > :22:28.like that. To be up there, to be the people that everybody was looking at
:22:29. > :22:33.and cheering on was astonishing. For two people that had never danced
:22:34. > :22:39.before, I'm so proud they could pull out that performance as well as they
:22:40. > :22:46.did tonight. MUSIC: My First, My Last, My
:22:47. > :22:53.Everything. It means everything to me. 12 weeks ago we were like a
:22:54. > :23:02.normal couple. Our wedding day was incredibly special anyway but this
:23:03. > :23:14.has just made it so much better. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
:23:15. > :23:19.Oh my goodness. I thought it was going to be good but never thought
:23:20. > :23:27.in a million years it would be THAT good. They were having the time of
:23:28. > :23:35.their lives and look happy on that dancefloor. I give them a ten. I've
:23:36. > :23:39.just performed a Strictly dance in a Strictly dress, on Strictly - it is
:23:40. > :23:44.a dream come true. CHEERING Come on, Mel and Gordon.
:23:45. > :23:49.I'm so proud of them. We saw that lady saying she thought it would be
:23:50. > :23:54.good but not that good. How good was it to sit there and see people's
:23:55. > :24:02.reaction to it? Just watching that back, it is so overwhelming. They
:24:03. > :24:05.did so well. You taught them well. Which part of the dance did you
:24:06. > :24:12.think the crowd were most impressed with? I think when Gordon went into
:24:13. > :24:16.ballroom hold. People weren't expecting that. They can relate that
:24:17. > :24:22.to Strictly Come Dancing and when it went from the waltz into the cha-cha
:24:23. > :24:26.and the lifts, everyone was so loud and encouraging. They were so good.
:24:27. > :24:30.Are they going to keep up the dancing? I think they will get a
:24:31. > :24:37.chance to do this again. You've worked with all kinds of dancers on
:24:38. > :24:43.the show. How special was it to work with Mel and Gordon? I didn't get to
:24:44. > :24:49.come on Strictly this year, so for me it was the most rewarding and
:24:50. > :24:58.fulfilling job I've been given. You did an incredible job Natalie. Thank
:24:59. > :25:02.you for showing us. Merry Christmas! APPLAUSE So, from one big day to
:25:03. > :25:05.another - time now to look at even more dances we can enjoy in
:25:06. > :25:14.Saturday's Strictly final. It's time to welcome back Ian Waite.
:25:15. > :25:24.Here he is. Darling Mr Ian Waite. It is all very emotional. The wedding
:25:25. > :25:30.and then my last Wednesday Warm Up. What are we going to do on
:25:31. > :25:34.Wednesday? Come round and we'll do the show with puppets. Why would the
:25:35. > :25:39.judges choose a certain dance? They are picking a dance that they loved
:25:40. > :25:44.but they think the celebrity can improve on. They might have had
:25:45. > :25:48.something which with Sophie's neck, or something that might not have
:25:49. > :25:58.been so good, that they can improve on. Brilliant. One last time, the
:25:59. > :26:03.unleash the wand. We can't look at Abbey and Aljaz's
:26:04. > :26:06.judges' pick, because they've been working on the show dance, but they
:26:07. > :26:12.are doing their waltz from week one, which was stunning. Natalie and
:26:13. > :26:19.Artem, the judges wicked their cha-cha, from week one. She got 31.
:26:20. > :26:23.Surely 12 weeks on she will have got the hip action nailed? It is
:26:24. > :26:28.difficult to tell, because on this clip they are doing lots of swivels.
:26:29. > :26:33.From what I can see, it is really slick. The only way you can do that
:26:34. > :26:40.is if you have the right connection. What I want to show you is she has
:26:41. > :26:47.dropped el Bose into the -- elbows into the body.
:26:48. > :26:55.Push down and survive el back. In and out of the connection, like
:26:56. > :27:07.that. That's a good work-out. Try that at home. The quickstep, how is
:27:08. > :27:12.it looking for Susanna and Kevin? I think they will be pleased to be
:27:13. > :27:18.doing this dance. First time around Susanna was slower than Kevin and
:27:19. > :27:22.didn't match his foot patterns, but now she's more accomplished as a
:27:23. > :27:27.dancer, this is a great number for them. I love the song and the
:27:28. > :27:36.character. Anything with Gene Kelly has my vote. It is a fun number.
:27:37. > :27:42.Sophie and Brendan, the judges have chosen their Viennese waltz, from
:27:43. > :27:48.musicals week. My Favourite Things. She's really worked on her neckline.
:27:49. > :27:52.They are looking really good. She really has taken it on board. She's
:27:53. > :27:59.stretching out to the corners of the room. Over the rainbow. She is
:28:00. > :28:05.looking over the rainbow. If you look here, and it is not easy to
:28:06. > :28:11.get. I want to zoom in and show you how to get that. The you've got to
:28:12. > :28:16.get the shoulders down. And she's got to think long neck both sides of
:28:17. > :28:21.the neck. And she's got to be looking out over his shoulder. Over
:28:22. > :28:28.the rainbow and out of the window. It's been a joy to have you warming
:28:29. > :28:34.up on Wednesdays. Ian Waite, my master and commander.
:28:35. > :28:38.CHEERING. I'm going to miss him. That's it for today. A big thank you
:28:39. > :28:41.to all of my guests. Tomorrow, Susanna and Kevin join me on the
:28:42. > :28:45.sofa along with a special panel made up of our finalists' friends. Plus,
:28:46. > :28:50.Vicky Gill drops in one last time to give us a sneak peek of the amazing
:28:51. > :28:54.costumes we can expect for the final. See you at 6.30pm. Goodnight.