Episode 55 Strictly - It Takes Two

Tonight is the night you've been

waiting for. Our Strictly

professionals

waiting for. Our Strictly

professionals have swivelled back

and forth all they can but they will

only be one winner. Will it be

Janette Manrara, Anton Du Beke or

the reigning champion, Giovanni

pennies? Victory is within their

reach but who will claim the world

record title and be crowned the Pro

Challenge Thampi? -- Pro Challenge

champion?

Live from London, this is Strictly

it takes to. Please welcome your

host, Zoe Ball.

Come on! Give me a

salsa, give me a salsa. Love it!

Here we go. Hello and welcome to it

takes to. We have been counting down

to the semifinal all week and I can

now declare with much greater

accuracy that there is just, look at

that, 24 hours, 43 minutes and 11

seconds to go. Our dancers are

quaking in their boots. In between

rehearsing, for about dancers have

stepped by -- stopped by, looking

divine.

I'm joined on the Friday panel

by a group of people collectively

known as "well fit".

Rick Edwards, Lisa

Snowdon and Danny Mac.

Plus, once the incredible voice

of Keane, Tom Chaplin will be

here to sing us a Christmas classic.

But now, you might be familiar

with a fine piece of Welsh rarebit

called Gethin Jones,

who can often be found

wandering around Elstree

studios hunting for gossip.

Let's see what he's uncovered.

It may be cold outside but things

are heating up in Elstree Studios

because it is semifinal either. So

much to look forward to on the dance

floor tomorrow but at the moment,

Mali and AJ are rehearsing their

samba to Shakira's Whenever,

Wherever. Those hips don't Lie and I

am going to make sure the you don't

miss a trick.

Thank you, Mr Jones.

Now, I've got a good "feline"

about our first guests.

Because if my "meow-mory"

serves me correctly,

they danced a "claw-some"

American Smooth last weekend.

And nine out of ten

cats would agree.

There's always one

isn't there, Craig.

It's Debbie and Giovanni.

Debbie was stunning. I am pairing

with delight. It was absolutely

seamless.

That was hugely

impressive.

Well ban, Debbie. The

story arc was told so beautifully.

It was mesmerising.

# How will I know if he really loves

me

# Aides say a prayer with every

heartbeat

# I fall in love when ever we meet #

Semifinalists. Feast your eyes upon

their brilliance. Shirley said that

dance would be etched on people's

memories for ever. How about you?

Absolutely. I will never forget last

weekend. We just loved dancing that

dance.

Have you watched it back?

How

many times about three times.

Darcey

said it was seamless, Bruno said

Lawless. When you hear comments like

that, does it make your heart glow?

-- Bruno said Lawless.

Definitely.

Every minute of that dance, I really

felt the emotion, we really felt

like we were dancing as one, so then

when the judges loved it as well,

and you could feel it in the

audience, in the studio. That is

what you want.

It's a magical thing.

Craig actually purred with delight,

which was quite something, then he

only gave you and nine. Why does he

never give you attend?

I really

don't know. I don't know. It was a

great dance, I think, because I

watched it back just a couple of

times. Maybe a couple of hundred

times. I don't know, everything was

there, elegant. I really don't know.

I don't know. He is a tough one to

crack. The spin left, we need to see

it again because it was amazing. We

are hoping to recreate that with

audience members in a moment. How

tricky is that, Giovanni?

When we

did they read Tim, I said to Debbie,

this is an ambitious moment because

from that, we have to go bombers

standing spin into a pivot. It's

really difficult because of

dizziness. I was dizzy on my legs. I

was like, where is she? She did

brilliantly. Really good. It was

really difficult, but you know.

Can

we practice that later on?

Why not

now?

I want to spin the year round.

And you are the cats that get the

cream, because you are three to the

semifinal. Top of the leaderboard,

but as we saw with Alexandra, it

doesn't mean you are safe. Our tents

were you?

Really tense.

Petrified.

At this stage of the competition, we

have both worked really hard, so we

want to go through. When you heard

your name, it's utter relief.

Petrified is the word.

Yes, I hate

that sound.

So, too dancers, but

before that, actually, a friend of

the show, Miranda Hart did tweet,

this is good, I love them all but I

am fully Tim Debbie McGee...

Here here.

We love Miranda.

She is

so funny, isn't she?

So, to dancers

you have got and you are going to be

starting with this one.

It is his favourite and it is the

jive. Has he been putting you

through your paces?

I have been so

tired, I have been eating double

what I normally eat and I have been

eating double all series. I love

watching his face when we do it

because he loves doing the jive so

much.

Your little base. Are you

looking at yourself or Debbie?

He is

looking at himself.

Have you stuck

with your training plan?

We have

tried, but she is really busy.

I

have been very busy, doing half a

day of learning lines for panto,

then the rest with Giovanni.

Also

doing the foxtrot to this.

MUSIC: Isn't She Lovely

by Stevie Wonder.

Tell us about their stance,

Giovanni.

It is a song that makes

you smile whenever you play at. This

is the semifinal. At this point in

the competition, you want to show

the judges that we can achieve a

good technique, so my priority this

week is to show a pure technique,

pure dance, no messing around, just

in hold for one minute and 45,

dancing beautifully. That is my

point.

He has got the chat, hasn't

he.

He has been tough.

He has to be.

You are brilliant. Fingers crossed

for you that we see you in the

final. Let's hear it for Debbie and

Giovanni. And we will be seeing

Giovanni in a little bit because

he's back for the final of the Pro

Challenge. Could he make it two

years in a row? Let's find out.

Now, Christmas is coming,

the geese are getting fat

and our couples are training

for not one but two dances.

To whet your appetite,

here's a look at Alexandra's salsa

and Joe's American Smooth.

The salsa training is so much fun.

It's fast, energetic. If you think

about the next step, you've already

missed a beat.

In this dance,

there's going to be a lot of fast

movements, sensitive movements and

tricks.

I've got Gorka and a salsa.

I'm so lucky. I know he's really

going to push me to my limit and

more.

One, two, three.

You have got

to show you are loving life with the

salsa.

Beautiful.

The American

Smooth bill is nice at the dance.

It's like the old black and white

films I used to watch.

I haven't

done anything so glamorous before.

Are you sure about this? One dance

was more than enough to be doing in

a week and to dancers build very

overwhelming. It is real showmanship

required. Doing the technique but

remembering to enjoy it and to look

like you are enjoying it, that is

the challenge.

Now, a semifinal calls

for some expert punditry.

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer

weren't available, so please

put your hands together

for Rick Edwards, Lisa

Snowdon and Danny Mac.

# Do you think I'm sexy

# If you really need me

# Just reach out and touch me... #

Well come back, song and dance man,

Danny Mac.

Finalist last year. How are you,

honey?

I'm so good. It's great to be

back.

We have missed you. Have you

missed us?

Absolutely. I didn't at

first, I wanted my life back, but

two weeks into this season I was

like, I've got to go back.

Lisa, you

are back. She was amazing. What a

calibre they have been this year.

Have you been impressed?

From the

get go. Remembering Debbie's Paso

Robles on the first night, I was

like, how can they do this so early

in the series? It's just got better

and better.

Rick Edwards, I hear you

get your Strictly on on a Saturday

night. Have you ever thought about

getting your Tony Mann Aero on and

doing what these two have done?

I

have a specific skill which is

always being offbeat and I don't

know how that would go down with the

judges.

Let me introduce you to

Karen Clifton, Janette Manrara. They

could work with that. Now, let's

have a look at this tango to My

Sharona. This is Gemma and Aljaz in

training. Never been bottom two. Has

she picked this up brilliantly?

Honestly, when you said expert

judge, I just went, well, it looks

nice to me. I also think the thing

with Gemma is, the audience love

her. She is such a popular dancer. I

think she will be fine. Also, I'm

feeling slightly guilty because I've

just met Aljaz.

He does have that

effect.

I work in Talay but I was

like, I've met Aljaz! -- I work in

television, but I was like, I've met

Aljaz. He was so nice.

They are also

doing a rumble. Last week, Shirley

said she needs to bring out her

acting skills. What do you think

here?

She is my mums favourite and I

know Gemma as well, she's a

fantastic actress, but there's so

much to think about the night, it's

hard to remember that but after that

advice last week, I think Gemma be

fine.

She will smash it. She'll be

amazing tonight. Let's move on to

Mollie and AJ. They have been in the

bottom two for the last two weeks.

Have they got the momentum? Dancing

to Shakira.

MUSIC: Whenever,

Wherever by Shakira

The hips do not lie, as they say.

You have just got to really go for

it.

It was one of your strongest,

would you give her advice?

That is

the time when you have to let it go,

because if you hold back, it has a

tendency to be awkward and I only

knew that because I lost it that

week.

And we loved it. Rick, they

have the waltz. You are a man of

strong frame. What do you reckon to

Mollie's topline? Does it look like

perfection?

Do we have romance? When

I was watching on Wednesday when Ian

said something about a right angle

but not quite.

You have been

observant!

There was some bend in

the arm. I am saying the armography.

I said, if I am coming on the show,

I am saying armography!

Last man

standing, Joe, the Argentine tango,

everybody loves this dance. Katya

has pushed him with complex

choreography. You can see him

dancing to Rag 'n' Bone Man.

MUSIC: Human by Rag 'n' Bone Man

He surprises me and I love it. The

chemistry. Her enthusiasm is

infectious and really works. I think

it will be a good week for Joe.

She

has not heard the word fatigue, so

she does not suffer from it.

American Smooth, Danny and like

Gemma, he has never been in the

bottom two. Craig said he was a dark

horse. Front runner?

I think he is

fab. I love Joe. And he has two show

stopping dances. And Katya is

fantastic with choreography.

Dancing

to Robbie Williams. Rick, this will

be memorable.

The jogging bottoms

and shoes combination is memorable.

I cannot believe how good he is

because he did not start that good.

Incredible, and such a nice man.

Lovely. Very good. We will have more

later. The Friday Panel.

APPLAUSE

Now, have you met Mr Jones?

Of course you have.

He gets around.

He's been at Elstree all day.

Let's see who's fallen

for the old Gethin charm this time.

I have grabbed time with team

Alorka.

Two dances, a Viennese waltz

and salsa. You cannot get those two

confused, can you?

I can.

He won't.

It is very different. Slowdowns in

too fast. -- a slow dance.

How are

you feeling about them?

I am feeling

nervous about both but I am excited

because the salsa is what I have

always wanted to do and the Viennese

waltz is beautiful and I have not

seen my dress is it, but I have

heard they are out of this world.

I

have seen them and they are amazing.

You are dancing to Everybody Hurts.

Is everything hurting? Yes, we have

been rehearsing nonstop but no pain,

no gain.

Listen, big night tomorrow,

the semifinal. All the very best

tomorrow.

Time to welcome our next couple.

Last weekend, they quickstepped

their way into the semifinal

with some old-fashioned

razzle dazzle.

And a few gorgeous

feather fans, darling.

It's Gemma and Aljaz.

# Hello Dolly. Back-up, boys, here

comes Gemma.

I felt it needed to be

lighter but I loved the

theatricality.

You had an immaculate

frame, beautiful footwork, I felt it

needed 20% more.

# Baby, hands up.

# Give me your heart. Hello, baby,

looking beautiful. Did you hear Rick

Edwards? Do not slide off the edge.

Hello, Dolly. Gemma, looking

gorgeous. Aljaz looks all right. How

was it last week? Talk about a way

to open musical week.

I loved it,

the concept, the fact we went for it

and I had a really good night on

Saturday. Nerves were still there

but we have so much fun.

When you

have the extra dancers, it is like a

Broadway production. Look at that.

Beautiful. Neil would be drawn on

moustache. I loved that. Did Gemma

pass this one theory test? -- swan

theory test?

She did.

Make something

up. 16 months we have been here,

people.

Absolutely, quickstep is the

hardest dance to keep the hold and I

choreographed it so that we kept the

hold and we got through it with

honours.

We got through it.

It is a

team thing. There was disagreement

between Craig and surely about the

frame. Shirley said immaculate,

Craig said bow seat.

Whose side are

you one? Our side. It is not about

agreeing or disagreeing. I have to

say to get to this stage in the

competition for Gemma, who gets up

at 4:30am. We rehearse eight hours.

She never complains. It is

incredible how much you have

improved from weak one, to be in the

semifinal. It is amazing for anyone.

Well said.

Honestly. We have been

training so hard and when you get

out there you try to do your

absolute best. That dance, when it

finished, and you could vividly tell

because I was probably overreacting.

It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Down to me, it was a beautiful

frame.

We laughed the Barnett, we

are calling it the onion.

They put

like a sponge doughnut and attached

it to my hair. I looked like my mum.

As we predicted the scores went up.

The technical roller-coaster theory

working. How scared were you waiting

because you were joint bottom of the

Leader Board?

It is horrible because

when you are bottom of the Leader

Board, you think the judges did not

like the dancers much as we did and

you get panicked but when your name

is called, it is a relief because it

is the public who have put us in the

semifinal and it means so much. I

said afterwards, I said I cannot

believe people have enjoyed watching

me dance, enjoyed your choreography.

They love it. Thank you. Two dances

this weekend. Starting with a rumba

to Labrinth. It is emotional. Aljaz,

what can you tell us about it?

A

lot, there is a lot of beautiful

rumba steps and as we can see, Don

beautifully. It will be very

romantic, very sensual. When we did

it on the first rehearsal, when I

saw how incredible Gemma is going to

be at it, I put in more rumba.

And

higher shoes. He is making me where

higher shoes.

You have to to pretend

to be in love with Aljaz, the rumba.

I know, it is a tough job to ask of

people. We thought we would help you

to get in the mood. Rather than

staring into each other's eyes,

looked down the camera lens. Let's

see if we are convinced.

LAUGHTER.

You have nailed it.

That was half of

the choreography.

Onto the tango to

My Sharona.

# My Sharona. How is it, a change of

pace, how are you liking it?

You

look amazing in this. I have

struggled to learn the steps but

because the rumba is straight

legged, pointy toes, and this is

done on bent legs but I feel safe in

hold with Aljaz now so if I keep my

frame, I am hoping he can drag me

around. But I love the music.

With

the paso, you have that great

character, as well. Never have been

in the bottom two, does that give

you confidence about the final?

We

have said since the first week we

need to take every Saturday as a

Saturday and not think it is the

semifinal. I get nervous. This week,

we have two dances and hopefully it

will go well and hopefully the week

after, we will have three dances.

Now we are fluent in Slovenian.

SPEAKS SLOVENIAN. Go and get them.

It's time now to check

in with Gethin.

I've just received word he's walked

into wardrobe completely undetected.

Smooth as ever.

I am in the best wardrobe department

in the world, led by the mighty

Vicky Gill. I think this needs some

work before tomorrow. The semifinal.

So many people ask about your team.

Who are they?

They are a fantastic

team, amazing. Not everybody is

here. It is hard to get everybody in

one place. Jane is hiding I think.

They will pretend they are shy and

do not have much of that opinion but

yes, they definitely do.

Everybody

is working hard at the moment.

Preparing for the semifinal. Give

them a wave. There is nothing in

that book, you are pretending to

look busy! Tell me about your boss

Vicky Gill. I feel like it is like

Meryl Streep in the Devil wears

Prada.

She is amazing to work for, a

brilliant designer.

We love working

here. You are a close-knit team.

This could be trouble. Last night we

saw some of the dresses for

tomorrow.

This is Mollie's. It is

not quite ready. We need to get this

up here. So that when she wiggles,

it moves.

I can imagine it is mad on

Friday getting ready.

Friday is the

big day. Quite a nice day. A good

feeling on Friday night when

everybody's shoes are there and

everything is put behind their name.

Can you show us something we have

not seen for tomorrow.

This is for

Mollie's waltz. There is a lot of

work that goes into that. This would

have been worked on by Cash and his

girls. They never stop.

They go all

night. And thanks to you, all of the

Couples look fantastic on Saturday

night. Thank you, wardrobe. They are

amazing.

Now, the training updates

are coming thick and fast.

Here's how Joe's Argentine tango

and Mollie's samba are shaping up.

The Argentine tango is very

specific. It is quite difficult. You

need a lot of attitude. You have to

come with all guns blazing.

There

are so many details. It is a

different posture and techniques. It

is going to take us a little while

to get it.

It is good fun. I am

enjoying every minute. For as long

as it lasts, I am having a really

nice time.

Much better. With the

samba the most difficult thing is to

look like it is coming natural to me

because there is nothing natural

about this. There is so much to it,

it is really fast. I have to get my

hips moving and they are a bit

stiff.

Mollie is struggling with the

different rhythm.

I am hoping there

will be a positive journey to

Saturday.

I can see where it is

going. We have a long way to get

there, but I can see where it is

going for Saturday.

Good work from all of them.

Now, it's the moment you've

all been waiting for.

This year, 15 contenders entered

the Pro Challenge Arena and now just

three remain.

And one of them will reign supreme.

It gives me great pleasure

to welcome super swivellers

Giovanni, Janette and Anton.

MUSIC: Pirates Of

The Caribbean theme.

Well come. You can fill the

competition between the three of

them.

It is on.

Before we let this

battle commence, may we remind you

that 12 contenders have gone before

you, so let's have a look at the

leaderboard as it currently stands.

Brendan Cole is still

languishing at the bottom.

With Neil and Chloe for company.

Last night, Karen Clifton knocked

Katya Jones off the top spot.

Well, she was getting

a little too comfortable up

there, if you ask me.

So let's speak to the reigning

champion of the Pro Challenge,

Giovanni. Do you have what It Takes

Two retain your crown, Giovanni?

Of

course I have. I have the fastest

legs in the world so far, so I only

used 50% of my energy just to give

them a chance.

Sure, sure!

Hello,

Janette. Your outfit is amazing.

Joint second last year alongside

your great friend, Karen Clifton.

Can you go one better this year?

I

hope so because I am not going to be

able to deal with him and his ego if

he has one again. Or Anton. A lady

needs to win.

The old master, as he

is. He has a golf handicap of five,

which I believe is very good.

Indeed

I do.

How are your swivels, sir?

Absolutely exquisite. I am

tremendous that swivelling. You must

understand, I was there when the

dance was invented.

I am very

talented. Shall we see how you got

on, Anton Du Beke? Good luck.

I

mean, these youngsters can do a

charleston to a certain level but

not like the experienced ones. You

have to be of a certain age to do a

proper charleston.

Here he is.

Lovely to see you all. Thank you

very much for inviting me here

today. I shall do my best that I

can. Now, my first song is... I

shall never charleston alone. After

three... Oh, the band aren't here.

We will save that for later.

Thank

you, Anton, and welcome to the

Strictly Pro Challenge. Now, do you

have the presence that the

charleston deserves? I think you

will really give it justice. Please

take your place on the dance floor.

I shall.

For your official attempt

to beginning in three, two, one, go.

Come on, Anton, keep it up.

I'm a

man of a certain age.

You can do it.

Keep it going. Keep your swivel

going.

15 seconds.

Can't we take

those than doubled up?

Five, four,

three, two, one, stop.

Thank you so

much!

That's a charleston step I

have never seen before. It was very

interesting. What did you think,

Bill?

It was OK. You lost it towards

the end.

It was quite fast.

It was

quite brisk.

Thank you so much,

Anton. It's been lovely having you

here.

It's been lovely being hair.

Thank you all very much indeed. I'll

tell my agent to wait for the call.

# I've got a dream... #

I thought the technique was good,

naturally.

I mean, I was there when

they invented the thing. They will

have to count up. I think they might

dock me a couple towards the end.

You make us laugh, you really do.

Listen, they know. The people know.

Ian Poulter technique was very

interesting.

I don't care what Ian

thinks. He's not even in the shadow!

I'm only kidding, Ian. I love him.

Now Giovanni.

I feel really excited.

I was born T-wing. I won last year,

I will try to win again.

Here he is,

our reigning Strictly Pro Challenge

champion.

Stop it.

Do you feel as

though you have a little bit of

pressure?

I do, I do. I have a lot

of pressure.

I want to do it again.

Do you think you can do this

charleston step justice?

I will try.

Please take your position on the

dance floor.

OK, for your official

attempt beginning in three, two,

one, though.

15 seconds.

Come on, keep it going.

Keep the swivel.

Five, four, three,

two, one, stop.

Ran out of steam a

little bit at the end, didn't you?

But it looked very fast and compact.

That is what I was trying to do,

compact.

It was really tight.

Who

knows. Thank you so much for doing

the Pro Challenge.

Thank you so

much. I love you too. I do feel the

pressure but it's a different

challenge. I've still got one!

Giovanni, Bill nodding his head

there. How do you keep it so

compact, Giovanni?

You know, I just

tried to do my best and again, it

was only 50% of my energy and it

still at great, so... There's always

next year, guys.

Anton was saying,

he's going off on the left.

He

looked like he was made of wood.

OK,

finally, Latin sensation Janette

Manrara. Let's see if you can out

with all these guys. Good luck,

darling.

I love the charleston. It's

one of my favourite dancers. The

charleston swivel is one of my

preferred steps as well, though I

think it will be a good one.

Hello,

Janette, and welcome to this year's

Strictly Pro Challenge.

Are you

excited? Very excited. I love the

charleston and I am very small, I

hope that the good thing.

Last year,

you were runner up by one step. Do

you have what It Takes Two win this

year?

It's going to be my year, I

feel it. OK, I'm going.

For your

official attempt beginning in three,

two, one, go.

15 seconds.

Keep it going.

Keep the

swivel.

Five, four, three, two, one,

stop.

Wow, that was a lot. That was

a lot more tiring than I thought it

would be.

Oh, wow. And I thought you

had all this energy.

Yes, maybe not.

For me, it looked very compact and

very quick. What did you think?

Absolutely. The swivels were there

and you kept right on your toes as

well. Really good.

One of the

neatest once we have seen.

Yes!

Thank you, guys. Fingers crossed.

You would think that he second is

not long but it feels quite long

when you are doing swivels like

that. I've come so close to winning

the Pro Challenge every year, so I'm

keeping my fingers and toes crossed

that this is my year.

I loved your

little part in the middle. Very tidy

swivelling. You have seen the

others, Janette. What do you think?

I have to say, I was very sick that

day, so if I don't win, it's only

because I was ill.

Right, for one

last time coming here is the legal

bit. Each syllable was verified to

make sure they were all accurate. --

each swivel. Before I can go any

further, I would like to reveal that

one of you completed a remarkable 31

steps.

Yes!

However, that same

person had a remarkable 19 steps

disqualified. Who could that person

be?

Giovanni, I'm mortified for you.

The person no longer in the running

for the Pro Challenge is...

It's Anton.

APPLAUSE

We love you still, baby.

We love you.

To be honest with you,

I am going. I cannot lay a moment

longer for this Sherrard. You have

brought me in on a Friday night for

this!

But, you beat Brendan Cole.

I've got to be honest with you,

looking at that school, that wasn't

very difficult. -- looking at that

school, that wasn't very difficult.

All I had to do was turn up. Don't

patronise me!

The real moment of

truth, Janette and Giovanni, you are

both still in the running towards

becoming American's next top model.

Of course I mean Pro Challenge

champion. One of you completed 22

steps with only one

disqualification. Giving you a total

of 21 swivels. While the other

completed 26 steps with twoo...

Twoo?!

Only two disqualifications,

setting a new world record of 24

charleston swivels in 30 seconds.

There is not much in it. I can

confirm that this year's Pro

Challenge champion and the new

Guinness world record holder is...

It's Giovanni!

Let's look at the Leader Board.

There he is at the top. 24. Janette

Manrara, second.

That is the same as

last year! I am not going to speak

to Giovanni for a week.

Can I just

say, 31.

Can we focus on Matt? To

present the winner's certificate,

Shanta Chinniah. How impressed were

you with our professionals?

Very

impressive. It is a hard step

especially for the ankles. The key

is the technique.

A certificate to

the champion. Smile for the camera.

Speech!

I am really happy to be, for

the second time...

It is going to be

too much, people. Thank you to the

professionals who took part this

year. Give it up for Giovanni, your

2017 Pro Challenge champion. We know

Sicily breeds great champions.

But how about the rest of the world?

We sent Australia's Dianne,

aka Reddo, to find out all about -

you guessed it - Brazilian Strictly.

I know, darling, 31. Strictly has

become a global phenomenon and can

be seen all over the world,

including Brazil, which is where we

are off to today. Well, it is not

quite Brazil. But you would never

know. The first season of Dancing

Brazil premiered in April this year

and they filmed the second season

straight after the first. That is a

lot of Strictly. The show's host is

a massive deal in Brazil. She has

sold over 50 million copies of her

records. She is an all-round

entertainer and even gets involved

in the group dances. Like on

Strictly, the Brazilian version is

predominantly Latin and ballroom

dancing. However, they do have some

extra styles we do not have in the

UK. Being a South American country

with the Latin influence they have

the bolero. And as home of the

carnival they perform a dance with a

fast carnival beat. Just like us,

the Brazilians love a themed week.

Check out the circus extravaganza,

country week and even the Oscars.

One of the biggest differences to

Strictly is what they call a twist.

In series one, the twist involved in

actual partner swap. You heard it,

with only six Couples remaining and

eight weeks together, the

celebrities changed partners. In

series two, they brought in a series

twist. This time they have two

Couples sharing the dance floor and

performing the same dance at the

same time. The judges choose the

favourite couple from each group.

The show's elimination process works

slightly different to ours. It is

only the bottom three that go into

what they call the red zone. Those

in the red zone are up for

elimination. Well, Brazil, it has

been fun, but I have a plane to

catch. I need to make it back to the

Strictly Ballroom before the

weekend.

Welcome back to our Friday panel.

Onto our final two couples now.

Let's start with

Alexandra and Gorka.

Rick, despite finishing top of the

Leader Board found themselves in the

bottom two second week in a row.

Viennese waltz, will this get the

votes? Have a look. Dancing to Tina

Arena.

MUSIC: Everybody Hurts

by Tina Arena.

I think it will get the votes. It

made me quite angry last weekend. So

good, why are people not voting for

her? Such a nice girl, brilliant at

dancing, what is not to like?

She is

gorgeous. Danny, they are also doing

a salsa which could not be further

from the Viennese waltz. It is a

party dance and she has been

brilliant in the Latin dances.

It

will show the diversity between the

two.

MUSIC: Finally by CeCe Peniston.

I have had the pleasure of working

with people recently who have worked

with her and people speak so highly

of her, she is fantastic.

She has

had 39 for four dances, could she

finally get the perfect 40.

# Finally. I did not realise!

She

has got to get 40.

She is fabulous.

Danny, you deserved 40 quite a lot

of times and when you got it, it was

amazing. Debbie and Giovanni.

Foxtrot with the Stevie Wonder

classic.

MUSIC: Isn't She Lovely

by Stevie Wonder.

It is going to make me cry, I love

this song and I love the foxtrot.

Why is she so good? She is

effortless and she has so much

elegance and strength. Core

strength. She is fearless.

She makes

it look easy and it clearly is not

easy.

She puts everything into it,

brilliant.

Jive, as well. I'm so

excited, let's hear it.

MUSIC: I'm So Excited

by the Pointer Sisters.

She can extend her legs. Can she do

flicks and kicks? Danny, what do you

reckon? Go on, Debbie.

Any pointers?

I am no expert. I think that is

earlier in the week and I think she

is stronger now.

She is rehearsing

for panto, as well and I said to

Giovanni why not do it slower and he

said she would keep up.

He is

pushing her and it is showing. This

is the hardest week with half the

time to do a dance.

You are

exhausted by this point, emotionally

and physically.

For me, jive was the

hardest week. I do not doing that as

well as another dance will be as

good. It is half the amount of

jiving.

The taller you are, the

longer you have to go...

It is

tough. Brendan was never going to

make it easy for me, but this is

Giovanni's dance, the jive. I think

she will be good at this.

It is a

conversation not one wants to have.

Rick, who do you think will miss out

on the final? Do I have to?

I am

making you. I think Mollie.

Lisa?

I

agree, Mollie. That is an easy way

out!

Look at Danny's beautiful eyes.

You know how this feels.

I don't

know. I reckon Lisa made me say

Mollie.

What a Friday Panel they

have been. I think Mollie will be

fine. You cannot take it back.

It's time for our final check

in with Mr Gethin Jones.

Let's see who's he's

found on his travels.

It has been a full on day but I have

two semifinalists. Congratulations

for getting here. The glitter wall

is here but the glitterball is

inside an Joe, you are the last man

standing, are you feeling the

pressure?

Not at all, the men have

had it too easy for far too long. It

is good there are so many girls and

such brilliant girls.

Lovely company

to have. Argentine tango, American

Smooth to a Bridget Jones theme, are

you Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcey?

Probably more Colin Firth than Hugh

Grant.

Mollie, nines last week and

to say you were ecstatic is an

understatement. I have seen your

rehearsals, there is definitely

attend. If you get a ten, how would

you react?

Do you think it could be

a ten? I am so nervous, I cannot

believe we got to the semifinals but

getting the two nines, I thought I

was going to collapse on the floor.

Thanks Shirley, thanks Bruno. They

are worlds apart, the samba and the

waltz, one of them I have to looked

like the life and soul of the party.

You have changed colour. That is

from feeling dizzy on the pivots. I

had to tell AJ to slow down because

he is flying me around the room. But

I love it, it is so much fun.

And

how is the monster shoulder?

It

could show himself at any moment.

Best of luck tomorrow. Thank you.

That's all we have time for tonight.

A huge thank you to all my guests.

Strictly semifinal tomorrow

at 6:45pm on BBC One.

I'll be back on Monday.

Singing us out with 2000 Miles

from his new album,

it's Tom Chaplin.

# He's gone 2000 miles

# It's very far

# The snow is falling down

# Gets colder day by day

# I miss you

# The children will sing

# He'll be back at Christmas time

# In these frozen and silent nights

# Sometimes in a dream you appear

# Outside under the purple sky

# Diamonds in the snow sparkle

# Our hearts were singing

# It felt like Christmas time

# 2000 miles

# Is very

far through the snow

# I'll think of you

# Wherever you go

# He's gone 2000 miles

# It's very far

# The snow is falling down

# Gets colder day by day

# I miss you

# I can hear people singing

# It must be Christmas time

# I hear people singing

# It must be Christmas time #.

APPLAUSE