Episode 47 Strictly - It Takes Two

From London, this is Strictly, It

Takes Two. Please welcome your host,

Zoe Ball.

Hello and welcome to It Takes Two.

It's not just Tuesday,

it's Tunesday!

Hoorah.

Later on in the show,

we'll be revealing which show-tunes

our couples will be dancing

to when Strictly goes

to the musicals.

But first up, let's

meet tonight's guests.

They fought the Dance-Off and won -

it's Alexandra and Gorka.

Hello and welcome to It Takes Two.

It's not just Tuesday,

it's Tunesday!

Hoorah.

Later on in the show,

we'll be revealing which show-tunes

our couples will be dancing

to when Strictly goes

to the musicals.

But first up, let's

meet tonight's guests.

They fought the Dance-Off and won -

it's Alexandra and Gorka.

Back for another crack of the whip

in Choreography Corner,

it's Strictly fave Erin Boag.

Plus, Kevin Clifton is busy

preparing himself for one

of the biggest challenges

of his professional career.

There he is.

But first up tonight,

they say no one puts

Erin Boag in the corner.

Except of course, if it's

Choreography Corner!

Give it up for Erin.

A lively

audience.

So much to catch up on.

Joe and Katya, their quickstep, top

of the leaderboard. Shirley was

impressed with the sensitivity of

touch

Ballroom dancing is about two

bodies dancing together in harmony.

We have to line up, their swing and

sway but most importantly the

timing. They covered a vast amount

of floor which was wonderful. Here

you are, he has the sachet. This is

a scatter sachet. Look how together

they are. They are travelling across

the floor, 100 miles per hour. That

is wonderful -- sashay.

Debbie and Giovanni's Argentine

tango, Bruno compared flexy McGee as

a paint brush in the hand of an

artist. Was it masterful for you?

Exquisite. She has a style, grace

and charisma and class when she

dances. But they did this

choreography, look at her legs,

those are her greatest assets. They

are just sensational. Flexibility,

bendy and very strong. So, they

started off with it. Look at that

extension through her leg. She does

this thing where she goes up - look

at, that bang, stop. Look at the

extension right through the arch of

her foot to the top. When she goes

back down again, carry on, bang,

look at the line. She has the best

legs in the business.

Wow. That is a

serious compliment. Gemma and

Aljaz's bedroom samba. We love these

two. Craig thought it exposed

Gemma's weaknesses. What did you

think?

I think it was harsh. A great

samba. Lot of content. Voltas, samba

roles, volta Bogos. But look, at her

hand. You can't do that in front of

the judges. Look at Aljaz's hands,

out to the fingertips but just here

she does this. Next week she has

quickstep, back in hold, we know

what happened in her American

smooth. Sensational. She's a bubbly

character and full of fun. I think

the quickstep will suit her.

Alexandra and Gorka's rumba which

saw them in the first dance off of

the series, a shocker, Craig and

Bruno said they would've liked to

have seen more extended lines from

Alexandra. How important is that in

a rumba?

Not just in a rumba but

every dance you do. Shirley said a

bit businessy. Darcey said it -- a

bit busy, Darcey said it looked

emotion and Craig and Bruno said

more emotion. She has set the

standard high. But if they see

something they don't like, it is a

bit like nit-picking here, they are

saying - maybe it could be that, a

bit of this and that. She's

wonderful and Gorka always

choreographs to the best of her

ability. It is wonderful. She just

needs to keep going.

Mollie and AJ's

quickstep impressed the judges. They

thought she'd made vast

improvements. Was it a quickstep in

the right direction?

Her best dance

yet. Bright. I preferred this

choreography than the others. Just

my opinion. Look at the pivot. AJ

doesn't do this once or twice but

three times. Now what she has to do

is keep relaxed and keep her core

and keep extension and roll with

him. Towards the end, maybe out of

puff the last one her shoulders went

up, so she just has to maintain that

but vast, vast improvement.

Good

work, Mollie. And final Davood and

Nadiya's waltz, they praised the

stripped back choreography. Were you

impressed?

I loved it. Beautiful

hold, takeover, just dance. They do

a spin turn and lock. Another one

into promenade position. A beautiful

weave into a bit of line. He stands

up a great. Arms forward. Then he

goes into a pivot. Now this is where

he starts to go a bit limp. A bit

wet fish for me.

No wet fish

He can

improve this easily. He loses his

centre. His head comes forward and

arms drop. See that back line there,

I bet you thought I'd forgotten.

It's demo time...

Up she gets.

I

need a beautiful assistant. Come on.

Oh, Gorka. Gorka.

Now, stand nice and tall. You need a

long front, a long right side, all

right. Arms up and forward, block

the weight, one, two, three, lined

up. Now this...

Hee hee, I love

this, oh, hello

This is called

inside right thigh. I love my job.

If you turn this way, Zoe, come on

you can be my lovely assistant here.

Haven't seen you for a while. OK,

cool. Right thigh to right side.

Touching.

Go on, touch Oh, hello.

Go

on, put your thigh against him.

I am

put my thigh against I am. I'm

trying to be polite

He is a little

short, but we can get there.

Now

relax and he can pivot around that

point but you must keep that right

thigh. Come on, he is nice to touch.

There you go, a dream.

Ladies and

gentlemen...

Take a bow.

Erin bowing

a, I love you a little bit more

every time I see you. Gorka, you can

stay forever. Gorka and Erin! I will

leave those two there. I just want

to sit down

Go on.

I loved that.

Now, with Strictly heading

to the musicals this weekend,

I had to pick a pocket or two

to get my hands on this

weekend's playlist.

Luckily, it was worth it.

It's Tunes on Tuesday.

Love you!

Jazz hands at the ready

because Musicals Week

is within touching distance, people.

So let's see what Show Tunes

are on the playlist.

Break a Leg.

MUSIC: Phantom of the Opera.

This is Phantom of the Opera

from a little-known

Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical

about a beautiful soprano

singer who becomes

the obsession of a mysterious,

disfigured musical genius.

The show has played for over 30

years in the West End and holds

the record for the longest-running

show on Broadway.

It's like my own air conditioning.

Very impressive skills.

Let's find out who will be

taking on this classic.

It's Davood and Nadiya.

They'll be dancing an Argentine

Tango to this classic.

Gorka, the corker, please.

APPLAUSE

Right, what's next up?

MUSIC: Hello Dolly.

This is the title track

from Hello Dolly the musical

about a strong-willed

matchmaker called -

wait for it - Dolly.

Dolly was first played

by Carol Channing back in 1964,

who revisited the role so many

times, she clocked up over 5,000

appearances on stage.

Blimey!

But did you know Hello Dolly

was originally going to be called

A Damned Exasperating Woman?

Not quite as catchy.

So who'll be dancing to this?

Let's find out.

It's Gemma and Aljaz.

They'll be dancing a quickstep.

We've only got time

for one more tune.

Let's make it count.

MUSIC: Memory from Cats.

This is Memory from

the musical Cats.

That's more like it, ladies.

This beautiful little number is sang

by Grizabella in the show

and was first made famous by musical

theatre legend Elaine Paige.

But did you know Dame Judi Dench

was originally cast in the role?

Oh, hello.

It gets stranger and

stranger around here.

She pulled out before the show

opened after picking up

an injury in rehearsals.

Oh what could have been.

So, who will be hoping for

purrrrrrrrrfect scores with this?

Stranger and stranger! Here we go...

It's Debbie and Giovanni!

And they'll be dancing

an American Smooth.

Come in, little cat.

To find out the rest of the songs,

head to the Strictly website.

Next up, a reminder that it's not

all fun and games here.

No, there's one thing we take

very seriously indeed.

It's the Strictly Pro Challenge.

I love you, little pussy cat.

This year's Strictly Pro Challenge

is heading back in time to the

roaring '20s, where our pros will

attempt to set a Guinness world

title for the most swivel steps in

60 seconds. The pro also have to

complete one forward and one

backward step to qualify. If there

is no swivel in the feet and ankles,

the step will be disqualified. This

year's challenge will be the hardest

our pros have ever faced but only

one person can claim the title. It's

the Strictly Pro Challenge, 2017.

Thank you, Waitey.

Time to welcome our next contender.

He loves include football,

Robbie Williams and WWE Wrestling.

And he is so obsessed with Star Wars

he has his own Stormtroopers

backpack.

Go wild for Grimbsy's finest export

- it's Kevin Clifton!

Welcome, welcome. So, Kevin Clinton

how do you rate your Charleston

action on an average day?

On an

average day - u, it depends what

mood I'm N some days you wake up and

look at yourself Mirror and go -

looking good today. One of those, I

feel my Charleston is good. On an

average day, probably not so hot.

OK. I like this, though. You did win

your first Pre Challenge back in

2013, getting through an impressive

number of drunken sailors, you

haven't come close recently. Do you

worry your best days are behind you?

2013 seems like a long time ago now.

I felt a few creeks until the body

in this series of Strictly Come

Dancing. I'm older, not as quick as

I used to be.

What are you, 32 now?

I'll take that.

Did you train,

seriously, Kevin?

Trained more for

this than the actual proper series

itself, actually. I was doing

Charleston every day.

Good to hear.

Good boy. Katya currently top of the

leaderboard with a score of 19. Do

you have what it takes to beat Mrs

Jones?

I really don't know. You see

I thought AJ might have been the

quickest, Katya has gone quicker

than AJ. That has scared me a bit

that has, actually.

Has it? Oh, it's

put the fear in him. Let's see how

Kevin got on, shall we?

I have won a

record before. I'm hoping I can add

another one to the list with

Charleston swivel.

Hello.

Hi.

It's

Kevin. Welcome to the Pre Challenge

Thank you very much.

-- the PPro

Challenge. You have won one before

but quite a quiel ago.

I am gating

older. .

You came close last year.

I

felt like I nearly one but someone

disqualified a lot of my steps.

I

have no idea who that could be.

Please take your position on the

dance floor. Good luck

Thank you.

So

your official attempt beginning in

three, two, one, go...

And called!

-- Ankles!

Five, four,

three, two, one, stop.

It looked

like it was a lot. If the majority

of those past, I think you could do

very well.

Very fast.

Well done,

Kevin, good luck.

If I've done one

wrong, they are all going to be

wrong. I will come bottom and then

end up looking like Neil Jones.

You don't want to look like Neil

Jones, Neil Jones doesn't even want

to look like Neil Jones. It looked

speedy.

It felt quicker than it

looked. The way Ian said, if they

counted... That sounded ominous.

It

did, even to me. There were some

interesting noises, was it harder

than you imagined?

Yes, it is all

very well Ian is going, "Only 15

seconds". About 15 seconds in, I

said, ankles! It was working its way

up my body.

We need to make Ian to

-- do this one year.

I'm legally required

to inform you that after each

of the professionals had

made their attempt, the footage

was watched back by adjudicators

in slow motion to verify every

single swivel to make sure

they were all accurate.

Are you feeling confident?

I'm not feeling very confident at

all.

Ok, we can't keep you in

suspense any longer.

Kevin Clifton, in 30

seconds you completed...

28 charleston swivels!

Don't do it!

Don't do it!

There were some

qualifications. You had 12 illegal

steps, giving you a score of 16. No

way! Some look... Furious! I have

never seen him so angry, he's like

the Hulk! How are you feeling about

that, need I ask?

Over the moon.

Can

Katya hold the top spot?

It seems

really difficult to beat.

So sorry!

Kevin Clifton!

My next guests danced

a Heavenly Rumba to Beyonce's

Halo at the weekend,

but sadly found themselves in one

hell of a dance-off.

It's Alexandra and Gorka!

All that torment, all of the

conflicted emotions, it was really

like a drama set to music.

Unlike

Bruno, I felt it lacked any

connection and chemistry.

You are a

great performer, you will come back

strong, well done.

Alexandra and

Corker. -- Gorka. Congratulations

for surviving the dance off.

I had a

really weird feeling in the day we

were going to be in the dance off

and when it happened it was like, I

know I could have done better and

all day it felt like my nerves were

getting the better of me, you know

how it happens, and I was always

nervous about the Rumba but it felt

good and I felt the chemistry, I

felt the connection. I definitely

was very nervous, I was shaking so

much.

It's funny because people say

does it get easier but it can get

harder. We were crazy in love with

it, Gorka, but why do you think a

lot of people have trouble

connecting with this dance?

I think

it is a very slow dance so the

celebrities it is difficult because

it is a very slow dance and the

precise movement and technique, like

on a fast dance you just move

around. The audience don't get it

because it is very slow. It is very

intimate, a story between us which

maybe doesn't come across sometimes.

Even though we feel it, maybe people

doesn't see it.

I like rumba

statistic time.

If you watch this show a lot,

you may have heard the phrase,

"The rumba is a notoriously

difficult dance"

a few thousand times.

Well, here are some very

well-regarded celebs who found

themselves in the bottom two

with this dreaded dance.

Julian Clary, series 2,

Week 6, quarter-final.

Denise Van Outen, Series 10,

Week 11, semi-final.

Abbey Clancey, Series 11, Week 6.

Simon Webbe, Series 12, Week 3.

Mark Wright, Series 12,

Week 12, semi-final.

You should note that all of these

were eventual finalists!

So hopefully you can take some good

stuff from that. Surely did say

though that you would be back in the

paso doble and she was absolutely

right.

I loved it!

How was it?

I

found it amazing but it was some

strange being on stage with everyone

else because it is such an

aggressive stance. I'm not used to

being in competitions but I was in

between other dancers and I was

thinking how do I get out of this

bubble right now because I didn't

want to interrupt their heirs, but

Gorka said, just keep going.

It is

very British to be polite.

One

couple was coming close to us, and

she was like... Alex, next time,

elbows up. It is your frame.

I

didn't know that.

And guess what

happened, you won it! How did that

feel? Earn it felt amazing because

the paso doble and the jive are my

favourite soap to get to do it

again, I loved it. And you were

happy for her to unleash the beast.

Yes, I said, you know, just go for

it and she said, don't worry, it's

ready!

Musicals Week. You have been

in Bodyguard lower

and sister act. You are doing a

charleston, what is the song title?

In Spanish or English?

In both.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Is this the role of a lifetime?

Yes,

it is one I have been waiting for

for so long. I want to be thrown

around the stage. I'm always

energetic anyway but after a couple

of days training it feels so good.

And the last ones to do the

charleston as well. Obviously you

are playing Dick Van Dyke, how is

your cockney accent?

All right! All

right!

Work on that swivel, I know

it will be incredible. Alexandra and

Gorka!

That's all we have time for tonight!

Join me tomorrow at 6.30 when I'll

be chatting to Debbie and Giovanni,

Ian Waite is here for a Warm-Up

and Vincent Simone provides a master

class in the Argentine Tango.

Plus the Strictly Pro

Challenge continues!

Until then, goodnight!