:00:54. > :01:01.Live from London, this is Strictly, It Takes Two.
:01:02. > :01:05.If you're looking for a juicy mid-week slice
:01:06. > :01:11.For starters, we have the delectable Neil Jones,
:01:12. > :01:16.who has been learning all about Cossack dancing.
:01:17. > :01:24.For mains, we have reading's finest dish -
:01:25. > :01:26.Ian Waite - ready to guide us through all the week's
:01:27. > :01:30.And for desserts, she's not broken character once since Saturday.
:01:31. > :01:33.It's Queen Louise of the paso doble and her humble servant, Kevin.
:01:34. > :01:35.But first up, there have been whispers around these parts that
:01:36. > :01:38.But it's OK because I've found the perfect
:01:39. > :02:06.APPLAUSE They love you. The crowd is in.
:02:07. > :02:08.Wednesday is always busier than other days.
:02:09. > :02:25.It is somebody's birthday today. I have got you a little present. You
:02:26. > :02:35.shouldn't have. Beautiful wrapping. My very own wand. I've always wanted
:02:36. > :02:43.that. What did you make of the weekend at Blackpool? I was at a
:02:44. > :02:48.wedding, Kerry and Nick. My room was really close to the venues I kept
:02:49. > :02:57.popping back to my room and watching Strictly. Let's talk about this
:02:58. > :03:02.week's couples. A perfect score for Danny and Oti. They got the full
:03:03. > :03:08.house. Could they be the first to get full marks for a samba? I would
:03:09. > :03:13.not be surprised. This will be brilliant. He has that lovely bounce
:03:14. > :03:19.action. His hips are swinging forward and back. We have never seen
:03:20. > :03:23.before from a male celebrity. It is such a hard dance, the samba. I have
:03:24. > :03:32.noticed a few things that could be better. Can I have the wand back? He
:03:33. > :03:36.gives, he takes away. If he could bend into their front legs a bit
:03:37. > :03:43.more, he could get a stretch out of the back tow. On the beat, you need
:03:44. > :03:49.to bend into the beat. It goes one macro, two. One macro and two. These
:03:50. > :03:55.are a bit tight but I've managed to do it. That is very important with
:03:56. > :03:58.the samba. The bounce is cushioned with the hip action. Not so much
:03:59. > :04:07.going up and down but more about the body action. Looking good so far.
:04:08. > :04:17.Louise and Kevin, the Paso doe Bley was unbelievable. This week, the
:04:18. > :04:21.knives, romantic waltz. -- doble. They are going through the
:04:22. > :04:30.choreography here. It is difficult. He is really challenging heard this
:04:31. > :04:38.week. She is stuck to him like blue, which is great. A few places I would
:04:39. > :04:43.like to highlight. -- glue. The lovely details that Karen was
:04:44. > :04:49.talking about on Monday. She keeps on looking down. It is Tuesday. By
:04:50. > :04:55.Saturday I am sure she will be amazing. She needs to get their head
:04:56. > :05:04.out, away from him. She has the contact. She needs to create the
:05:05. > :05:09.flour in a vase. Onto Ed and Katya, bringing entertainment to the Tower
:05:10. > :05:16.Ballroom. How is his tango looking? This gets me very excited. This is
:05:17. > :05:20.Monday's footage. They are just going through some kicks in the
:05:21. > :05:27.tango. I love that piece of music. It is going to be great. It suits
:05:28. > :05:31.the tango really well. They are doing some continuous locks. I would
:05:32. > :05:36.say she is doing this for practice, getting him used to the feel of the
:05:37. > :05:43.dance. Some lovely heel leads. His hips are coming out a little bit
:05:44. > :05:48.away from her. He needs to get his knees bent and his tail tucked
:05:49. > :05:51.under. That is the polite way of putting it.
:05:52. > :05:58.That is all the warm up we can handle in one go. Ian will be
:05:59. > :06:01.helping me make a very exciting announcement soon.
:06:02. > :06:05.Consider this an It Takes Two cliffhanger.
:06:06. > :06:08.But first, it might be hard to believe but there's actually
:06:09. > :06:10.a whole world of dance that exists outside of Strictly.
:06:11. > :06:13.So, we sent Neil out to learn all about Cossack dancing.
:06:14. > :06:24.This is brilliant. Traditionally, ten dancers, five Latin and five
:06:25. > :06:29.ballroom. Today I am out of my comfort zone and learning something
:06:30. > :06:34.different. I am here to meet a Cossack dancing group which I been
:06:35. > :06:38.going since 1949. Cossack dancing is widely known as the national dance
:06:39. > :06:43.of Ukraine. It originated in southern Russia and Ukraine. It
:06:44. > :06:45.started as a way of men celebrating victories in battle. It spread to
:06:46. > :07:05.local villages. That was amazing. I am Neal. Nice to
:07:06. > :07:11.meet you. Tell me, apart from legs of steel, what do you need to do?
:07:12. > :07:15.You need strong legs. You need balance their confidence. You need a
:07:16. > :07:28.full costume like this. Could I give it a go? Definitely. Looking good.
:07:29. > :07:35.What is first? Clap like a Cossack. Stand with your legs apart and stick
:07:36. > :07:45.your chest out. Then clap. That is quite easy. Cossack dancing is not
:07:46. > :07:57.that difficult. Now for a step which andray will demonstrate. -- Andre.
:07:58. > :08:07.No problem. Let's try that together. OK.
:08:08. > :08:13.That is difficult. That is really hard. How would you describe Cossack
:08:14. > :08:20.dancing bosom and who knows nothing about it? A powerful combination of
:08:21. > :08:25.high kicks and splits and sometimes even sword fighting, but not today
:08:26. > :08:34.for that do not worry about that. This next step means twist and jump.
:08:35. > :08:41.I like that bit. Can we go with that bit at the end that I will give this
:08:42. > :08:52.a go. How being and we will do it together. Three.
:08:53. > :09:02.I feel that on the legs. OK. I have had a great time. We have not
:09:03. > :09:06.finished yet. Now for the most difficult step I can think of for
:09:07. > :09:11.you. It is where you're going to squat down and kicked out your legs.
:09:12. > :09:17.Watch out for the extra move at the end! And finish. What do you think?
:09:18. > :09:38.That looks really easy. How long does this go on for? Let's
:09:39. > :09:44.add the clap into it. I think I almost got it. Excellent. You have
:09:45. > :09:49.all the moves. Let's put them together in a big routine. I think I
:09:50. > :10:22.am ready for this. You all look confident.
:10:23. > :10:31.Thank you so much. Thank you, guys. Respect. I don't know how you guys
:10:32. > :10:43.do it. I did tell you you need legs of steel, didn't I? I am taking an
:10:44. > :10:49.ice bath. Good effort. I love the white acts. This is hardly but
:10:50. > :10:56.here's my runner. He is amazing. -- white hats.
:10:57. > :11:04.Go, Harvey! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
:11:05. > :11:10.Now, it's almost time to welcome Louise and Kevin.
:11:11. > :11:12.But first, let's have a quick reminder of the moment Louise
:11:13. > :11:14.claimed her rightful place on the Tower Ballroom throne.
:11:15. > :11:28.All hail the new King and Queen of Blackpool!
:11:29. > :11:34.It was dynamic, strong and passionate throughout. I love the
:11:35. > :11:38.drama. You are very natural and confident. Beauty, artistry, power.
:11:39. > :11:55.Fabulous! That Paso was of epic proportions. I
:11:56. > :11:57.know how scared you are about how huge it was last week. Craig, what
:11:58. > :12:12.did he say? I am so chuffed. It was fast and
:12:13. > :12:17.technical. So many nights I went home and said, I do not think I can
:12:18. > :12:22.do this. I will have to get Kevin to change it. To have done it and not
:12:23. > :12:31.mark-up or tread on you, I was so happy. It was unbelievable. Kevin,
:12:32. > :12:37.Bruno said she was so in charge and she was leading the other dancers
:12:38. > :12:44.and stuff like that. She really did command the floor. I was so excited.
:12:45. > :12:48.It has been a different Louise. Throughout all the weeks you have
:12:49. > :12:53.grown and grown in confidence. You never could have done a number like
:12:54. > :12:56.that even a month ago. I said to her, soak up the atmosphere in
:12:57. > :13:01.Blackpool and you will know if we have got it right because you will
:13:02. > :13:07.be lit from the crowd at the end. She was going for it and banging
:13:08. > :13:12.around. I felt the floor shaking. I could have cried for that she was
:13:13. > :13:18.amazing. Last week I was talking about the atmosphere. Did you feel
:13:19. > :13:23.it? You get a huge amount of goodwill. Everyone wants you to do
:13:24. > :13:28.well. The audience is with you. I think I was fortunate I had such a
:13:29. > :13:34.great set and the throne and the concept. Kevin had put together an
:13:35. > :13:38.amazing dance and choreographed it. It was such an honour to even be
:13:39. > :13:46.included in that number in the Blackpool show. Something I will
:13:47. > :13:53.never forget, ever. 38 points. Joint second on the leaderboard.
:13:54. > :14:00.Congratulations! The highest Paso doble score so far. The staging, the
:14:01. > :14:04.throne, the dancers. All of those things must surely add to the fear.
:14:05. > :14:10.I think it added to the fear. Absolutely. I kept thinking, if I
:14:11. > :14:15.mark-up, I have mucked up for everybody, not just myself. Ruined
:14:16. > :14:22.the whole thing. I know I said this on the night but everyone says that
:14:23. > :14:30.Kevin is the best with the cathode doble. I knew it was the night I
:14:31. > :14:36.needed to deliver. -- the Paso doble. I can remember thinking, just
:14:37. > :14:42.let me get down the stairs. I think the whole nation was with you. Darcy
:14:43. > :14:47.was so impressed. A lot of people are web thinking about Cape fear.
:14:48. > :14:55.Madonna with the Cape and the stairs. I would have had a long way
:14:56. > :15:02.down. One of the extra dancers hopefully would have run over and
:15:03. > :15:08.Paul B. I know. -- pulled me. The admitted it was possibly one of the
:15:09. > :15:13.most difficult routines you choreographed for a celebrity. It
:15:14. > :15:17.was. I put so much into it. I think the pressure of doing a Paso at
:15:18. > :15:22.Blackpool. Every year it becomes a big dance. When we were told the
:15:23. > :15:25.Paso doble was the next dance and it was Blackpool and you get the extra
:15:26. > :15:29.dancers and we were coming up with the concept I was thinking, we have
:15:30. > :15:38.to go big and be epic. We cannot play safe on this one. I really
:15:39. > :15:41.pushed her. I know you were saying it was an honour to be in it but it
:15:42. > :15:50.would not have looked good it had you not gone out and smashed it. You
:15:51. > :15:56.are working it. It was so good. Your ex has been in touch, Frankie.
:15:57. > :15:59.@LouiseRedknapp @keviclifton @bbcstrictly everything
:16:00. > :16:16.I don't think about the score going in. You can't complain about getting
:16:17. > :16:20.two tens and two nines. Obviously I'm biased, and I would have given
:16:21. > :16:30.you 40 if I was judging. A lot of Kevin fans into night. This week it
:16:31. > :16:38.is kind of all change. Back to ballroom in a different way, the
:16:39. > :16:44.wasps. -- the waltz. Have you missed that, and how are you finding it so
:16:45. > :16:51.far? Pretty stressful. I struggle being back in hold, because I've
:16:52. > :16:58.been doing a lot of side-by-side, more in charge. I can tell he's
:16:59. > :17:03.watching, cringing. You know what Ian Waite was saying about you
:17:04. > :17:10.looking down. I know, I know. You were just learning it. I have given
:17:11. > :17:15.him a small meltdown. It's just that confidence of getting back into
:17:16. > :17:20.hold. And to make it look good is so awkward and uncomfortable, and you
:17:21. > :17:24.are on a weird angle, and you ballroom dancers are crazy people.
:17:25. > :17:28.But what I love about this week, you've got to get into a character
:17:29. > :17:36.and that's always a bit of a challenge. This was quite funny.
:17:37. > :17:43.So you are, like, madly in love with me, right? You have surrendered
:17:44. > :17:51.yourself into me, wrapped yourself in the coming you lucky girl. Make
:17:52. > :18:01.yourself the hero again. At the beginning of this section. I really
:18:02. > :18:09.want you? Yes. Thought so. You find me ridiculously attractive. OK.
:18:10. > :18:13.Kevin loves this life. That's what people call me, Kevin, the bad boy
:18:14. > :18:23.of ballroom. Actually nobody calls me that. That's one of my
:18:24. > :18:29.favourites. Kevin, the bad boy of ballroom. I've gone red for you. I
:18:30. > :18:32.always cast myself as the hero. We can understand why and I don't know
:18:33. > :18:38.why she's laughing at you, like it would be really hard to fall in love
:18:39. > :18:43.with you. How is it going, though? That has made me laugh. It's so
:18:44. > :18:48.cute. How is it going? Do you like this one was yellow I just think
:18:49. > :18:52.I've got to get myself into the new character, it's completely
:18:53. > :18:57.different, I've got to bend my legs, look up, looking at the ground, huge
:18:58. > :19:03.problems, crossing my feet. I think if I don't see them they don't see
:19:04. > :19:08.me. We can all see you! You know it's like every week, I will go out
:19:09. > :19:13.there and do my absolute best. I'm loving doing this. And I feel like a
:19:14. > :19:18.different person from and I started. So yeah, I'm just going to give it
:19:19. > :19:23.my best and see what happens. And just be in love with Kevin, the
:19:24. > :19:26.stud. Obviously, yes. Ballroom's bad boy, I love it. Keep doing what you
:19:27. > :19:31.are doing, Louise and Kevin. They may have survived
:19:32. > :19:48.Blackpool but, on Strictly, What makes run the difficult, it is
:19:49. > :19:53.a very slow dance. The faster you go, the more steps you have to do,
:19:54. > :19:57.but it's about quality. Because this dance is slow you are a lot more
:19:58. > :20:01.exposed in your technique, and so the technique has to be really,
:20:02. > :20:08.really good. Still must be sharp on your feet at fill out the time with
:20:09. > :20:12.your other body and make it flowing. We've got four judges who don't miss
:20:13. > :20:17.a trick, they will really see if something goes wrong here.
:20:18. > :20:30.I'm really excited to do this dance, the tango, Extra Time, it is flicky,
:20:31. > :20:33.such a cool dance. It's very difficult, she's got to control that
:20:34. > :20:38.body and plus our heights are completely different. I've got to
:20:39. > :20:42.come down to her level without catching her because our hip heights
:20:43. > :20:48.are completely different. I'm worried about kicking AJ, I have to
:20:49. > :20:51.do flicky things with my feet. I'll be pushing her even harder, this
:20:52. > :20:56.dance is to take people's breath away. I can't wait.
:20:57. > :20:58.Now, I can barely shake him off today.
:20:59. > :21:03.Ian is back with me now for an exciting announcement.
:21:04. > :21:05.Come on, people, it is very exciting.
:21:06. > :21:07.Ladies and gentlemen, I can officially reveal that -
:21:08. > :21:10.after a little time away - the Strictly Pro Challenge
:21:11. > :21:14.is returning and it will all kick off in tomorrow night's show!
:21:15. > :21:16.13 of our Pros are going to be tested like they've
:21:17. > :21:19.to set a brand new Guinness World Record.
:21:20. > :21:25.And Mr Waite here was there to oversee proceedings once again.
:21:26. > :21:32.What can you tell us about this year's challenge?
:21:33. > :21:41.I was adjudicating, yes. All I can say is there were 13 pros that did
:21:42. > :21:46.the challenge, and they had to do as many jive kick and flicks as
:21:47. > :21:51.possible. Can you demonstrate, so we understand? We do them individually,
:21:52. > :22:02.so it goes one and two and one and two and. Look at the movement. He's
:22:03. > :22:07.like a gazelle. It's incredible. I'm afraid that's not the only reason
:22:08. > :22:11.I'm on the sofa. It is your birthday and I got you a lovely special
:22:12. > :22:17.little treat. Birthday present for you. I wasn't expecting this. Thank
:22:18. > :22:25.you very much. This is one of my favourite photos of me and you. I
:22:26. > :22:36.love that picture of us as well. Bless you. Don't worry, that's not
:22:37. > :22:40.all. Me and a few of your closest friends, we've made this little
:22:41. > :22:44.video for you, so take a look. That's so sweet.
:22:45. > :22:53.Happy birthday, Zoe, let's get this party started.
:22:54. > :22:58.# Happy birthday to you # Happy birthday to you
:22:59. > :23:06.# Happy birthday # Happy birthday to you. Happy
:23:07. > :23:11.birthday, Zoe, my telly wife, have a great day. Happy birthday, Zoe, hope
:23:12. > :23:16.your day is filled with smiles and sparkles. Happy birthday, darling.
:23:17. > :23:22.Happy birthday, Zoe. Hope you have a lovely day. Thank you for taking
:23:23. > :23:25.such good care of me on your show. Happy birthday, Zoe. Happy birthday,
:23:26. > :23:44.Zoe. Happy birthday. Bye! Ooh, I love it. Thank you very much.
:23:45. > :23:46.It's a pleasure. You know, we've got something else for you, I think.
:23:47. > :24:01.Overlooked, my dad's here. Happy birthday. Thank you. I'm
:24:02. > :24:10.definitely not 22, I love it. Thanks. This is amazing. Did you
:24:11. > :24:17.make this yourself? Of course I did. Going to be celebrating later? Are
:24:18. > :24:22.we all going out? Shall we stay in? Your next guest is very good and
:24:23. > :24:24.very handsome. It's now time to carry on what we started earlier, I
:24:25. > :24:52.have no idea what's going on. That's the best exercise I've had
:24:53. > :25:00.all day. Thank you for that, that was a really lovely surprise, by the
:25:01. > :25:05.way. Keep the hat on, we love it. Judge Rinder and Oksana are doing a
:25:06. > :25:10.run but this week. I think he could be quite good at this. He's
:25:11. > :25:15.certainly got fluidity in his hips, do you know what I mean? The only
:25:16. > :25:18.thing is with Judge Rinder, I find that sometimes in his Latin he gets
:25:19. > :25:24.so exuberant that the technique goes out the window and it begins to be
:25:25. > :25:30.not so clear. What I will say is, couple of places. Have you lost your
:25:31. > :25:36.wand? A couple of places, this footage from Monday. We can forgive
:25:37. > :25:41.him for that. He needs to make sure one leg is straight, and also the
:25:42. > :25:51.hand, as he opens up, he needs to keep the palm down to the floor. OK,
:25:52. > :26:04.yeah. Straight legs, palm to the floor. OK, yeah. Palm to the floor.
:26:05. > :26:13.I just like watching Ian do it. Next up we have RA and Joanne, they are
:26:14. > :26:19.doing the paso doble. -- Ore and Joanne. His top half is great. He's
:26:20. > :26:24.got that paso doble feel. I love the arms, really curved unshaped with
:26:25. > :26:30.flamenco fingers on the end. What is doesn't so great is his leg action.
:26:31. > :26:34.He needs to make sure the back leg is straight, and as you can see, he
:26:35. > :26:40.needs to get a little more into that back leg. Let me just show you. He
:26:41. > :26:49.can do a very deep lunch, ladies and gentlemen. Look at that action. My
:26:50. > :26:53.Lord! I think I might have pulled a muscle, don't worry about it. We
:26:54. > :26:54.aren't as young as we used to be, are we, darling?
:26:55. > :26:58.Finally ? Claudia and AJ faced the Dance-Off last weekend.
:26:59. > :27:05.Let's hope that does not happen for them again this week. This Argentine
:27:06. > :27:08.tango should be well suited to her? Yes, there is not very much footage
:27:09. > :27:14.here, just going through some of the essential steps. I do like, she's
:27:15. > :27:20.got those lovely little compact legs, and I think that will be great
:27:21. > :27:29.for the Argentine tango. The little flicks, and the intricacies. I think
:27:30. > :27:33.that they could do well in this dance, it will suit her, and
:27:34. > :27:37.hopefully she won't have a dance like last week, I think that was a
:27:38. > :27:47.one-off, the jive. Just didn't suit her with the action. I think this
:27:48. > :27:51.week is going to be a good one. Cha-cha-challenge, it could be
:27:52. > :28:00.carnage and chaos, any advice for them? Just don't do it like you. You
:28:01. > :28:08.wouldn't let it lie. Keep the snappy legs. Here he comes, like a
:28:09. > :28:13.flamingo. Straight legs all the time, nice and snappy, but the heels
:28:14. > :28:18.down. Keep going! Wind him up and off he goes. Just like that.
:28:19. > :28:20.That is all our couples well and truly anaylsed now.
:28:21. > :28:34.You are like my co-host tonight. Brilliant.
:28:35. > :28:39.But don't worry, we'll be back tomorrow at 6:30pm when I'll be
:28:40. > :28:41.chatting to Ore and Joanne, and previewing the best of this
:28:42. > :28:43.weekend's fabulous frocks with Vicky Gill.
:28:44. > :28:46.Plus - as mentioned earlier - the Pro Challenge is back,