Episode 58 Strictly - It Takes Two

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, and welcome to It Takes Two!

Like I said just 24 hours ago,

it's the last Tuesday of the series!

Except it's Wednesday.

And have we got a mid-week

special for you!

Back for one last warm-up,

it's my telly husband, Ian Waite!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Gorgeous man!

Fine specimen of a gentleman!

Still celebrating their first 40

of the series, it's finalists

Alexandra and Gorka!

APPLAUSE

Good work!

And we've dug out our best

china, because Lady Daly

and Lady Winkleman are in the house.

APPLAUSE

But now, with temperatures dipping

as low as -13 this week,

we need him more than ever -

it's time for Waite's Warm-Up!

Ian Waite, everyone!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

He is... I can't believe it! What a

lovely audience, a lovely crowd. 12

weeks together, what are you going

to do without me?

I'm going to

struggle, but I'm sure I will carry

on!

Your fight on!

This weekend, our finalists

will perform not one, not two,

but three dances: The Judges'

Choice, their own favourite dance,

and the ol' piece de

resistance - the Show Dance.

Now, there's only so much we can

show of the Show Dances,

but what we can show is enough

to get us nicely warmed up!

Now, show us your wand!

Then we can get things started...

That's beautiful!

First up, Gemma and Aljaz.

They're dancing to Show Me How

You Burlesque by Christina Aguilera.

Has this got enough

razzle-dazzle for you?

What a great tune. I was going to

use this for my tour, and I probably

won't be able to now. They will be

doing a charleston inspired

Showdance with touches of jive and

Lindy, as you can see. And here,

look, Zoe, they are just about to do

a lift. Now, look at that lovely

preparation from Gemma the.

Bending

in the knees.

If we can just dry it

this never goes well on this show!

Guess the left, that a new show!

Prepare, OK, and... Oh!

APPLAUSE

I did realise you are actually going

to lift me.

That was an easy one.

Better than the last one!

Next, Alexandra and Gorka are taking

on one of the great show tunes:

There's No Business Like Show

Business.

This could be a cracker.

Phenomenal

tune. There's a lot of side by side

content here, Zoe. Doing brilliantly

well, lots of energy. Galloping,

trotting, skipping. Alex has

improved so much in her feet and

legs. I'm so proud of her, because

we've been going on about it for so

long, haven't we?

She has done well.

She is pointing and stretching that

toe, lovely. That's what we want to

see, especially in that final. Just

a little note, keep your shoulders

down. Emotional shoulders, I know,

I've had it, it's been a curse all

my life.

You've had emotional

shoulders!

On to Debbie and Giovanni.

They're dancing to One Day I'll Fly

Away by Randy Crawford.

What are you getting from this

little snippet here?

Well, I love this piece of music in

the long Roush, it was fantastic. I

would be calling this a Diageo

ballet number, lots of lines and

lifts. I mean, look at her,

absolutely beautiful. And it's a

sort of slower take on a Showdance.

More contemporary, but very

emotional, as, you know, the likes

of Caroline Flack, she won with a

very emotional, contemporary dance.

I'm going to point out a few things,

and we can use as many things as we

can.

Last time.

Very good shaping of

the hands, good connection there.

Also, look at that, lovely foot.

Nice foot action. Lovely. And she's

got a lovely shaping in the body, as

you can see. And then, look, he

looks like a cat that got the cream.

Giovanni is a very happy boy.

What

else do I want to spotlight? Oh,

yes, the hits are lovely.

Is there

anything bad in that? Nothing!

No,

is pretty good.

Nice hands as well!

-- nice tanning as well.

And finally, Joe and Katya.

They'll be dancing to

You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates.

Can they top that move from the end

of their Argentine Tango?

Well, again, as you can see, is

there, he is supporting Katya every

step of the way. I love the way that

he leads her and she follows. It's a

really difficult job as a man, but

he really has got to this stage, and

that's what's got them there. A few

things that I'd really like them to

work on, there and there. That hand

is a little bit too far forward. And

the shoulder is a little bit too far

back. If he gets the shoulder up in

a promenade, he can get the handbag.

Let's hope he can get that right.

Useful. Lots of people all over the

country have been recreating Joe and

Katya's move from the end of last

week's Argentine tango, and we

thought we'd give it a go!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I am wearing pop socks, I apologise!

I've been told this is very

technical.

I've been told this is very

technical.

I have two limb up!

There

and leave me hanging!

Be careful

what you do with those massive feet.

Get them round, boy! This is going

to be beautiful, people! Are you

ready for this?!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Tell me when you're ready, honey!

Here we go, here we go, here we

go...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Brilliant!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Brilliant!

We did and Anton...

That

was our tribute to Antoine and

Rupert! Thank you, darling. We will

see you on Friday. I love this boy!

Give it up for Mr Toasty Toes

himself - Ian Waite!

APPLAUSE

I think I've done myself an injury!

Now, if there's one thing

we're going to miss,

it's our frequent visits

to the Strictly Bingo Hall.

Our numbers never came up,

but at least all the pros

had a lovely time -

they don't get out much...

Love you!

Good evening, Strictly fans! Eyes

down, because it's time for Ballrun

Bingham Oh! -- ballroom bingo. Hold

on tight, folks, it's a dirty 30.

Which is the messiest pro?

100% is

Dianne Buswell.

Diane!

Everything

around her is a mess! Diane!

I went

over to her flat once and peeked

into her bedroom and went, Wow!

There was a storm in the!

I'm so

messy, it's not even funny.

I think

I could be the messiest pro.

Of the!

I've been to her flat, she's got

clothes everywhere.

Oti, you're very

messy. Pick up after yourself, young

lady!

Young and Kim, is number 15.

Which pro is the most.

Brendan Cole.

Brendan.

Brendan Cole.

He's always

fully around.

He won't stand or sit

still ever.

I think I'm going to go

based on looks and stick to AJ.

Sorry AJ, it's you.

It's just the

boy -- boyish good looks, I'm going

to go with Neal.

Neil!

Why would

they say me?

He has silly jokes and

a silly attitude!

It really annoys

me!

That's your lot, folks! But

remember, keep spinning!

Thank you, Anton.

Time now to welcome

a couple who finally scored

top marks on Saturday.

About time, Craig!

All they had to do was serve

up the hottest Salsa

this side of Mexico.

It's Alexandra and Gorka!

It was reaching through space, and

at the same time in motoring.

Brilliant!

I love the way you held

your little fingers as if you were

holding a little porcelain egg,

everything about it was stunning,

you are stunning!

Absolutely

fabulous!

I loved it! If you are not

in that final, I'm going to get into

his speedos!

LAUGHTER

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Alexandra and Gorka everyone!

Finally, that elusive fourth

ten made an appearance!

Well, you know what that means.

Here we go...

CHEERING

Sometimes we get party poppers,

sometimes we can't afford them! Oh,

look, the baubles and literally

throwing themselves off the tree!

Just how satisfying was it?

It was amazing, did not for a second

expect it. Still to this day right

now, a couple of days later, still

can't believe it! I'm, like, so

happy!

Was it about time Craig

got out his ten paddle?

Finally! Yes, it was perfect. I

can't believe it, it was the

semifinal. One minute we would get

the 40 and help us to be in the

final, not this week.

If you were

going to write the fairy story, that

is definitely the semifinal.

Craig didn't have any criticisms.

In fact, for him it was

absolutely fabulous!

Your face said it all.

But just how shocked

were you to hear that?

I'll tell you something, I just...

It just felt so overwhelming that

day. The semifinals was the one time

that the whole Strictly experienced

that I felt so relaxed. We will both

just like, let's go out, have fun,

dance and just do this. You have to

end it that way, by having fun. To

get that kind of school, it was so

much, too much to deal with, and I

didn't cry, I was so happy with

myself!

Well done!

APPLAUSE

2014 champ Caroline Flack

tweeted: "That was MEGA,

Alexandra and Gorka".

And the lovely Joe McElderry

said: "Yes, Alexandra,

shut them down with your talent!"

Feel the love, my darling!

Darcey said if you didn't get

through to the final,

she would wear Bruno's Speedos!

She must've had a lot of faith

in you and the British public.

Which is nice! Go right that quite

encouraging, isn't it? It's really

encouraging. But if she had to put

speedos on, I think the world would

have loved it! The white I'm sure it

can be arranged at the wrap party!

--

I'm sure it can be arranged at

the wrap party! I'm not sure what

size of speedos!

You also danced the Viennese Waltz.

A completely different

routine in every way.

Did you have to get in a different

mindset in between dances?

You know what? This was the one

where actually it just felt so

beautiful. I felt like a Little

Princess on that stage. You know,

we'd taken that in during the

hassle. We didn't know how it was

going to go, because the song was

making me emotional in rehearsal, I

didn't want to show all of that on

stage, but the emotion came through,

hopefully people saw that in our

dance and hopefully they enjoyed it.

I loved doing the Viennese waltz, if

I had the opportunity to do that

again, I would.

I loved it.

Little fact for you -

with a total of five,

you have received the most 39s

in Strictly history!

CHEERING

Rulli and! It's a fact, people! --

brilliant.

That's my lucky number!

Is it?! And the! These other people

who have scored 30 94 times. Chelsee

and Pasha, Harry, Rachel and

Vincent. There you go, well done,

darling. I know just winning things

all the time.

After two weeks in a row

in the bottom two, how did it feel

to hear your name being called safe

and through to the final?

A very emotional couple of weeks?

Your reaction was something else!

Look at you!

LAUGHTER

I was over the moon, we both were! I

leapt on Walker, as I always do. You

know what, we definitely thought

that if we were going to be in the

bottom two again, let's just dance

our lives away. But I think, that

was just... I can't even put into

words how it felt to get to the

final with the public road. I'm so,

so grateful to those who have

supported us and voted for us,

because we owe it all to each and

every single person and we are

dancing for them this weekend,

absolutely dancing for them.

I love

that. Your face was an absolute

picture!

This is only your second series,

but your first final.

How determined were you to get

there with Alexandra?

It is incredible, I still cannot

believe it. Thank you for her for

helping us to this final. The way

she danced on Saturday was

incredible. For the last time...

The

last time, in inverted commas, is

never the last time.

I'm getting

emotional!

Three dances to do this

weekend.

In terms of preparation,

what level of "beast mode"

are you at at the moment?

100%.

To the point where I'm

giggling too much in rehearsals

right now.

I couldn't cope with her

today! In the break she was like...

Come on!

For your Showdance,

you're dancing to this...

MUSIC: There's No Business

Like Showbusiness.

Look at that! I love a classic

Showdance Djoum, it's so good. -- a

classic Showdance June.

Without giving anything away,

what can you tell us?

No business like show business!

The judges have picked your

American Smooth from Movie Week.

I'm assuming it because of the

celery, which we loved!

You got a total of 33

the first time round.

Do you think you can approve on the

scores this time around was yellow

on Saturday, she got a very good

comment her free arm.

I try my best.

Put it into this one, it's a bit of

a number, I love this knob at.

We

both loved it.

Please tell me you

kept the celery! -- I love this

number. You get to choose your

favourite dance. There's quite a few

to choose from. You can't tell us.

Will you be giving any tweaks or add

anything extra to?

We would like to

polish it and make it better. It was

a great number when we done it.

I

can always improve.

Fingers crossed!

Good luck this weekend. I'm so happy

you made it so far. Alexandra and

Gorka! For the last time...

I know!

We're going to see you on Friday.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I've said it before

and I'll say it again -

this show really is the gift that

keeps on giving.

Ho ho ho!

Thank you for that.

And here's another little

stocking-filler for you -

a peek behind the scenes

of the Strictly Christmas Special!

Come here, shh. You're about to get

one of your Christmas present early,

with an exclusive look at the

opening number of the Christmas

Strictly special.

We are back. It's

Christmas and it's fantastic to have

another chance to be in the sparkly

world of Strictly. It's as if I have

never been away.

We are back!

I am

loving doing Strictly again. It is

like going to the beautician and not

having to pay for it.

Amazing what

soap and water can do.

Make way for

a finalist.

Christmas is all about

Strictly, sitting down after your

Christmas lunch. You have got the

glitter, the sparkle, and Strictly

just go hand-in-hand.

We are all

dressed up in Christmas glamour now.

Without further ado, lights, camera,

action.

Today we are filming a carol

themed opening number for the

Christmas Day special. We are in

this beautiful church. Karen runs

up, the doors magically open and she

enters the ballroom. We reveal Beach

Unity choir, who sing beautifully

and then we go into a beautiful

Viennese waltz and one by one, we

reveal all the celebrities.

Or just

about to start. I am behind this

pillar and Robbie Savage is just

over there. He is counting us in.

I'm finding the Viennese waltz quite

difficult. I never did it on

Strictly six years ago. At the end

of it, I haven't got a clue where I

am.

You're not lying.

Keep walking.

Then we do a pivot and then we do a

nice Christmassy grin. My actions

speak for themselves.

We are really

lucky that we get to dance together

again. Does that give us an unfair

advantage?

Some might say.

It is

three years since I did Strictly by

haven't danced since, so it has

taken me a while to remember the

routines.

It's very elegant and

classy, perfect for a Christmas

special.

There are Christmas trees

everywhere you look. There's big

Ribbans. There really is a Christmas

dream.

I love Christmas. I'm already

looking at what decorations I can

steal. I shouldn't have said that on

camera.

Christmas and Strictly, it's

like a fairy tale. I love it.

Merry

Christmas! Ho, ho, ho!

On Christmas

Day, once the turkey is all eaten,

sit down for some Strictly, it just

cannot be beaten.

Thank you, Pasha.

And the Christmas Special

will be on your screens

at 6:30pm on Christmas Day.

Now, after countless diary

clashes, we've finally

managed to pin them down.

And right before

the final, what luck!

Please give a royal welcome

to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman!

Welcome to our humble abode.

Are you having flashbacks coming in

here?

No, but this is much more...

I

watched you every week. Shirley and

Darcey were on the show earlier this

week. Do you feel that your position

as Queen bees has been threatened?

It's over. Let's say who is really

in charge, which is Dave Arch. But

we love Shirley and Darcey.

Give

Dave Arch my love. I love that man.

We'll have our own Dance

Debrief in just a mo.

But while we're on the subject

of our new Head Judge...

Never too early to discuss Shirley.

What do you think the mighty Ballas

has brought to Strictly this series?

She has just made an effortless

transition. Big boots to fill, and

she has been brilliant. I love her

to bits. She is genuine. She feels

like the real deal. She is warm.

And

she is really funny. She is the

first person who will go up to

someone and say, can I get you a cup

of tea? She is amazing.

We adore

her.

Good.

Shirley memorably gave

you a bit of constructive

criticism during Halloween,

saying, "You need to pull in your

fuse box and flatten your chest".

I am properly in love with her, and

she said to sit back. I have tried,

but I'm not good at it.

Tess, you

are right there when the celebrities

get all the criticism.

I feel so

protective towards them. They are

still shaking when they come to me.

Their hands are shaking and they

can't speak because of the nerves.

And I just feel for them. If there

are mean comments involved, not

mentioning anyone in particular...

"Dull, dull, dull", that was nice.

But the judges have to do their job.

This year, the gag count has been

off the charts. We picked out our

favourite mega lol moment.

Will

argue for Susan's dance on a cruise

ship.

Where is she going?

Alaska.

When she tells you, let me know!

Alaska, Claud!

If it's not too much

trouble. She has never been like

this.

How do you keep a straight

face?

I don't, she cracks me up.

I

love a crash mat.

I want them to cut

away to what is going on. It is too

good.

What's the secret to

this winning combo?

What's the secret to

this winning combo?

I love this one. I am not saying the

presenting the show gets in the way,

but we get there early and we talk

like this. I get very nervous. If

Tess is ever wearing long sleeves,

it is because I have squeeze her arm

off. They tell us how many people

are watching, and I panic.

Complementing outfits

must also be key.

At a glance, we counted 25 outfits

each across the series.

Well, Claudia, for you it was

24 plus one nightie.

That was my favourite of your

outfits. I think I was having a

turn. I was in Blackpool and Sinead

said, put that on, love. And I got

this, which I think was for after.

I

love Sunday's as well with the

raffle. -- the raffle.

Now, as one of television's

strongest partnerships,

we want to find out how in tune

you really are.

So it's time to play

a game we've imaginatively

titled: Tess Or Claudia!

You both have a paddle.

Waived the right face at me.

Let's see how many

matches you can get.

Are the prizes?

There are no prizes,

we have no budget left.

No conferring.

Let's go.

Who takes the longest

in the tanning booth?

It's a match.

If Janette Manrara was

busy, who would make

the best Latin Sensation?

Who would be the toughest judge?

Are you cheating?

, Not allowed to

do that?

Is this acceptable? We are

moving on.

Who could rival Debbie McGee

in the flexi stakes?

I have heard about you.

Who's most likely to leave

their Christmas shopping

till the last minute?

Both of us.

Who's going to be first on the dance

floor at the wrap party?

Oh, both.

You are matching! Which

means you have won a crockery set

and a meal for two in Shepherd's

Bush tandoori.

Right, let's look ahead

to the main event now.

You've hosted your

fair share of finals.

Are you as excited as ever?

I so am, because I can't call it.

How many people have asked me this

week, who is going to win, and I

genuinely have no idea because they

are so close. They could be won on

the show dance.

Talking of show

dances, Claud, if the two of you did

a show dance, talk me through

concept, dance, costume, music.

It

might just be quiet. I would play

the male. Tess would come down,

suspended. It might be music- free.

And then she would come down. It

would be interpretive dance, where

we reduce props. And there would be

breathing, and there would be lifts.

I love a lift. I would lift her a

lot, weeping.

We are going to make

this happen.

Give it up for Tess

and Claud, everyone!

That's all we have time for tonight.

Join me again tomorrow, when I'll be

chatting to Joe and Katya,

our finalists' celebrity friends

will be showing their support, Vicky

Gill gives us one last preview,

and Louise Redknapp sings live!