Episode 59 Strictly - It Takes Two

Hello, welcome to It Takes Two. For your entertainment tonight, we have

the very latest training updates, plus they gave us 1 million

different faces now -- this weekend. Suzanne and Kevin are here. Yippee!

If you have decided you can decide on your winner, let my extra special

Thursday panellists give you a hand. We have Natalie's friend and Corrie

star Alan Halsall. Susanna it is near Riise -- newsreader Sophie

Raworth. Back in the glitter done again for Sophie. It is Kimberley

Walsh. It is only Mr Abbey Clancy himself, Peter Crouch is here! And

the crowd goes wild. This is Strictly It Takes Two.

Live from London, this is Strictly It Takes Two. Please welcome your

host, Zoe Ball. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to the penultimate It Takes Two of the series. I know,

what am I going to do with my time pressure drive my husband mantle. In

the next 47 hours and 58 minutes and 35 seconds we will be one step

closer to finding out who will lift that coveted Glitterball Trophy. Who

is it going to be? It could be anyone. In a moment I will be joined

by the costume designer Vicky Gill, but first, let's look at how that --

how Abbey and Natalie are getting on in there last week of training. The

first dance has been picked by the judges and it is the waltz. It is

such a slow dance. It is so exposed. Anything can go wrong. There were

loads of mistakes throughout the dance but the one that sticks out

the most is when I had to do a kick. Abbey has improved so much. She has

better posture and a better frame, her footwork is better. She is --

she understands the ballroom dancing way better than she did in the first

week. The judges will be harsher. They will pick up on every single

detail. I don't think anything will go wrong but we can only hope and

rehearse for the best. Do I feel like I am better at it now? There is

dad definitely added pressure because there are three dances and

the showdowns has to be a show stopper. The showdowns is definitely

going to be the most difficult and challenging dance for Abbey so far.

-- show dance. Handbag, handbag. It is going to be a mixture of paso

doble and tango. We are definitely feeling the pressure to make ours as

good as we can. Hopefully we will have a cry. There is loads of lifts

and hard steps. I hope I didn't push her to far in terms of choreography.

We will see. I am broken! My favourite dance of the series would

have to be our quickstep. It was definitely the hardest routine she

has done. Step hop on a posture. I forgot how hard this dance was. We

were dancing Blackpool, which was an incredible experience. It needs to

be even sharper, more defined and even stronger. It needs to be so

concise and extended. Keep your posture up, smile all the way

through. We need to just get it more precise, the hold and the posture

better. We should be fine. Our first dance has been chosen by the judges

and is the cha-cha-cha. The last time we did this dance we got a

score of 31. A great first week score but obviously that allows for

the potential 9-point improvement. My hip action, my footwork was

picked up on last time. This time she needs to go out there and just

smash it, really. Beyond that leg. With this cha-cha-cha it needs to be

epic. Our show dance, there will be thrills and hopefully not too many

spills. We are chucking everything in there. There is going to be a

quickstep, a bit of tap and a bit of jive to finish it off. The show

dance has a real high expectation to it. There will be a few props, a lot

of things can go wrong. You have to attack it with gusto or it can look

really weak. It is the climax of the series. The American smooth for my

favourite dances somewhat of a controversial choice because Len was

not a massive fan. It didn't feel like American smooth to me. It

wasn't so much about how Natalie danced the dance, it was more about

Len did not like my routine. I loved the swirling. When we did it last

time it felt like I was doing a scene in the film. The way it moved,

the way it made me feel. It was very emotional the first time so doing

that last dance in the series it will be probably more emotional than

the first time. It is the final week, so my next guest is throwing

in as many ruffles, crystals and godets on the costumes while she

still can. Please welcome the costume designer extraordinaire,

Vicky Gill. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You are one popular lady. So many people write letters and send you

designs, quite a few. It has been quite sweet really. A popular lady.

It is nearly the final. Have you booked your cruise? I would like to

go on a cruise but I am not. The sofa is good enough. How has this

series compared to previous years? We have had more group dances and

extra numbers so it has been more work. It has been really enjoyable

so it is not a problem with more work. Everyone on the team is

exhausted. We have had loads of fun but we are looking forward to the

weekend and Santa. Everybody gets to do their showdowns which we are so

excited about and they get to wear a costume which they have never won

before -- show dance. Are there any rules with costumes? It is quite

hard, we have a short space of time to do it and they are all nervous.

Often they don't want to give me an inkling about what they are going to

do in case it jinxes their progress into the final. It all happened on

Monday morning, had texts and e-mails and phone calls about what

they are doing. We are trying to make their wishes come true in terms

of the performance in how they work it and hopefully we are putting a

stamp on something we have not yet seen before on Strictly. Otherwise

we would be looking at the same. It is top secret, you are not allowed

to tell me. We are going to go to the dresses. It is like Swan Lake.

There have been some incredible outfits. We will look at some of

your favourites. Abbey first of all, this was her tango dress in

weak four. Why did you love this so much? She looks glorious --

glorious. She is a beautiful girl and looks great in the frocks and I

was watching at home. From lighting to the performance she was really

strong, the colour looked strong and I enjoyed the simple lines. The

colour was doing the work but her performance drove it forward and it

was successful all round. Her legs came through, the splits. It is a

bit torn because it has lived another life already. Did she go out

on the town after the show? Lots of people ask me what happens to the

dresses afterwards. Do they get to keep them, do they get sold? They

don't get to keep them. Once they have done it they think, that is

enough. They go on to live another life. At the moment UK Strictly as

the first place you see the frocks but they will go to France and the

Lebanon. Into the New Year. They get used again. They cost quite a lot to

buy. Susanna has never won the stress on the show. Talk me through.

The reason I brought this along, we made early in the run and it is a

copy of her silver which you see in the titles every week and this set

the mood for Susanna's look throughout the show. I enjoyed

making dresses for her. She is often not sure but 20 minutes into the

fitting, she is with me. Her signature design... The one

shouldered net flying, singed in waste of, -- the nipped in waste.

The colours are vibrant. We opted for the silver. Let's look at

Natalie's waltz dress from week two. Again, they are so individual, the

ladies, such different styles. The reason I chose this dresses because

people think, why that one? All the dresses have been more elaborate,

but this line and Silhouette worked really well for Natalie. Really

simple shape, simple neckline, halter straps. It worked

beautifully. That is where it comes into play, when we watch it live,

and you see the whole performance. Does it work for the performance?

Finally, Sophie's dress. This is the epitome of Strictly Come Dancing.

This was from her foxtrot in week four. What can you tell us about the

stress? There are lots of crystals on it and from Sophie's perspective

had skin tone, her body shape, she is so delicate and beautiful, long

lines over the hip. I thought it was really pleasant to watch. Elegant.

Pleasant, the understatement of the year. The feathers at the bottom,

she pivoted around. The kick at the bottom is quite low for a ballroom

dress but it works really well. It was a little surprised, a little

flash of pink. If anyone wanted to buy this dress, how much would it

cost? Really expensive, around ?3000. A nice little stocking

filler! Can I just say on behalf of everyone watching and the crew on

the show, you have done sterling work. I know there are millions of

you, well done and Merry Christmas. Thank you.

APPLAUSE So excited to see what they are

wearing at the weekend. Let's find out how Sophie is getting on. My

first dance in the final as the judges' choice, the Viennese waltz.

It has got to look effortless and beautiful. Lovely. I am pretty

excited about the judges' choice. It is a real chance to step up and

bring those tiny little finishing touches. Chinn, where is it? One

clear message from the judges, I needed to sort out my neck

particularly in the pivots. That is what I am going to sort out. That

way. There are not many options with the footwork, so there is quite a

lot of repetition. It is hard to always remember exactly where you

are. Hopefully at this point I am so at ballroom, I can just follow

Brendan. That is what I should be able to do by now. The show dance, I

made it to the final and now, look at me dance. You are allowed to do

whatever you like. There are no rules. You can do as many lifts and

twirls and whatever you feel like. I want it to be a celebration, a

culmination of things that Sophie and I have done together. Brendan

has invited me to bring ideas to the table in the choreography. Like

stops, he put one of those in, so very kind but possibly risky. Our!

What happened? When you dance the show dance, it might be your last

dance so you have to go for it, really. Our favourite dance, a

fantastic Charleston. I loved it. Are we took risks with the dancing

and it paid off and felt really good. Sophie came alive, she

outperformed me. I would love to see her do it again. There are elements

of precision that I could improve on. I made a mistake in its early

on. I think it is just bringing that same attitude really, maybe a little

bit more confidence. The Charleston got four nine!. It would be cool to

see some ten! In there. It will be so good. The last 12 weeks have been

mainly about impressing the judges but on Saturday night it is you guys

at home who have the ultimate say. Here to help you make the important

decision of who deserves the Strictly title are some people who

know our finalists very well indeed. Campaigning for Natalie, it is

Corrie's and up. APPLAUSE

Welcome. -- Alan Halsall. For Sophie, Kimberley Walsh.

APPLAUSE For Susanna, newsreader Sophie

Raworth. APPLAUSE

And Abbey was my corner, her husband, Peter Crouch. Let's talk

about Natalie. She has done brilliantly. Last week, she was in

the bottom two, did it not occur confidence? I am sure it has. She

loves the show, she is loving being part of the show and to be in the

bottom two after getting 40 points on the first arms has not her

confidence, but she will come back fighting. How much joy has Strictly

brought into Sophie's live? I cannot believe how much she is loving

this. She has taken to it like a duck to water and I have loved

watching her grave. I can relate to her, where she is coming from. --

watching her grow. Sophie, you did a Christmas special? It was children

indeed. What has the secret beam to Susanna's success? -- Children In

Need Appeal. People have really taken to that, how much she has

loved it. I trained for the marathon with Susanna and she works hard. If

she sets her sights on something, she will do it. She is a woman of

steel. How far has Abbey come? Have you seen much of her these last few

weeks? I saw her once two weeks ago! She has been tremendous. I did not

realise how good she was. I have seen her throw some shapes, but

never as accomplished as this. We can have a look at some of the

dances. One they chose to perform again. Natalie and Artem have chosen

the American smooth. Did this bring a tear to your eye? It did. It is an

emotional dance. She is an amazing actress and it comes across in this

dance. Although they did not get top marks, hopefully, this time they

well. It is beautiful. Natalie is brilliant. The judges say sometimes

she uses personality. Have we seen the real Natalie? It is funny for me

to watch as a viewer, I know the real Natalie, and she is so much

fun. Her personality is like her hair, big and bubbly. I do not think

that has been shown. I hope people can vote for her. I sometimes

think, do people distinguish her from Kirsty? Sophie and Brendan

chose the Charleston. Did it make the judges' expectations too high?

It is tough if you get a high score early on because the pressure is

on. You feel if you do not get that score, you have failed. I thought

this dance was incredible. She suited it so well. Lovely to watch.

Susanna and Kevin have chosen the paso doble. They got 39 out of 40.

The highest score to date at that point. How much confidence do you

think this gave Susanna? It was the loudest cheer we have heard. The

audience loved it. I think it was a massive turning point. It gives you

confidence to do that well. Craig said she would never get a ten. Will

he change his mind? I think she will do it. Abbey. Doing the quickstep

with Aljaz. What did you love about watching her do this dance? I am

proud every week, but Blackpool, it is a special place to go and watch.

I thought she nailed it. It was perfect. The first 40 of the

series. It was a special night. Has it made you emotional? Did you cry?

The first was probably the most emotional. I did not see that

coming. Before we go, we will give you ten seconds to tell people why

they should vote for your friends, Y. For Natalie. Ten seconds. Please

vote for Natalie, she is an amazing dancer, the judges have said it, she

is gifted, her personality is amazing and she is a beautiful

woman. I love her loads. Kimberley. Ten seconds. I think you should vote

for Sophie because she has been on the biggest journey, she is not a

natural dancer but she has improved the most. She is a beautiful person.

Sophie, Susanna. Vote for Susanna because she has worked so hard. She

has had so much public support and she wants to show the public it was

worth backing her and she wants to do it for Kevin from Grimsby.

Finally, Peter. Your Christmas depends on how well you do this. I

am nervous excavation mark boat for Abbey because she has done so well

will stop right from the start, she has improved. Please, time go

faster! Can I ask you, if she wins, will you do the robot dance? If she

wins, of course. Will you do the running man if Natalie wins? I will.

Brilliant work. In a moment I will chat to Susanna and Kevin from

Grimsby. We will first look at how the week in the training room has

gone. The first dance is the judges' choice, the quickstep. On the night

I performed it, I messed up a couple of steps and it was noticed by the

judges. Going over the sofa, we almost fell over it and we cannot

get that wrong. I am worried about getting flustered about the tricky

footwork. I need to be confident and relaxed and I need to tell myself it

is going to go right. The difference between a show dance and the other

dances is that the rule book is thrown out. While that is exciting,

it is also with its own challenges. It has a large chunk of ballroom and

I love dancing ballroom with Kevin. Susanna is a beautifully emotional

performer and a brilliantly technical dancer, more than people

would believe. The show John -- the show dance is what the public look

forward to and there is a lot riding on this dance people are waiting

for. For the final dance, we are doing our paso doble. Kevin and I

chose it because we think it is the dance we have most loved dancing

together. Last time we danced it, it was one of the greatest nights of my

life. We got the highest score, the first time I had a ten. Craig gave

us a nine and he said he would not give us a ten. I would love to get a

ten from Craig. You mention the shaping and that is what we have two

work on. If he gave us a ten in the final, I do not think I would be

able to control myself. It is Susanna and Kevin. It is getting

emotional. You made it to the final. The F, a difficult dance,

technically. -- the foxtrot. I loved it. Kevin in his glasses. That is

what people want to see. We got a lovely response from the judges,

which surprised me. The judges have been critical of Susanna in the past

couple of weeks. Darcey said that she shone again on Saturday. What is

it about this dance that suited her? It was more down to Susanna.

There had been a couple of weeks when the judges came down on her and

she decided she was not going to take that. She fought back and

worked ridiculously hard and it is down to her work ethic. You went on

to do the salsa. The last chance to impress before going through to the

final. Were you worried about that, the Latin dance? I was so excited.

It was like looking forward to the big party at the end. It was our

party dance. Look at that. You made it look effortless. How much

training did that take? We have been always all or nothing and we thought

we had to make an impression and went for a big lift. The judges said

it was a little bit messy, but is that the nature of the salsa, that

it does not have to be structured? It is a club dance. I have had

messages from salsa dancers saying well done for doing a proper salsa.

It is supposed to be down and dirty. Susanna let it go. It is getting

heated. In the training room, it is all about control. What did I do?

You took the man's position. It is not that I am controlling, or

anything. Your bum was like that. Give a bit more and be closer. You

are out of time. Better when we do it in my time. Shall we start

again? Let's do that. I am helping you out. Thanks. I do not like the

throw with that left-hand. Susanna maybe has a better idea. We should

do something more. Something bigger. We were going to go with two, three,

cha-cha-cha. I am all ears. The student has become the teacher. Hell

areas. -- hilarious. You could be performing up to three dances and

the judges chose for you to do the quickstep again. Are you excited to

have another chance to be Debbie Reynolds? I am really excited. It is

a brilliant quickstep. And there was just a moment in the original

performance when it did not go quite right and I see it as a fantastic

opportunity to do it properly. Are you doing as it was originally

choreographed? Are used rubbing it back? There will be no stripping it

back. It is the final. You are doing the paso doble. An incredible

moment. We will see Kevin, doing his lunges again. He got a nine last

time from Craig. What would it be like to get a ten? In the film I

said if Craig gave me a ten I would find it uncontrollable. I am finding

it uncontrollable watching it again. It has been an emotional day. It is

the last day of trading today and the thought of going out and doing

that thrilling dance with Kevin, it makes me feel quite... We may need

the tissues. The judges have said you are a classic all-rounder but

you need to work on finishing the movements. Have you been doing some

polishing? Definitely. Because it is the final, as well as energy, it has

to be finished and polished. Especially with this show dance, it

is slower. Let's talk about the show dance. This is the music. Think of

Moulin Rouge. Will we be seeing Susanna going up in the air? Big

lifts? We will be doing lifts. It is important to have some. It does not

have to be all tricks, it has to be about the dancing, but we want to go

all out and we have a big one planned. What is the most

nerve-racking thing about this weekend? We will be in tears. I

think it is holding it together. You know what it is like. You cannot

describe it. It is an intense experience. Particularly the show

dance with that piece of music, it is very emotional. Whatever happens

on Saturday, I will enjoy every moment. I will get to dance with

Kevin for the last time on the show. We cannot wait. Susanna and Kevin.

That is it for today. Thanks to my guests. Make sure you tune in

tomorrow for the fabulous final hour-long special. The whole class