Episode 24 Strictly - It Takes Two

It's Thursday. Coming up tonight: Jason and Kristina are back on the

top of the leaderboard. They're here live. Samba devils, Russell

and Flavia talk about their impending paso. I'll be finding out

what treats the costume department have in store for Saturday night

and the one and only dirty dancer, Jennifer Grey is here for an

exclusive chat about taking over from Len Goodman this weekend. This

Live from Television Centre, this is Strictly It Takes Two. Please

welcome your host, it's Zoe Ball. APPLAUSE

Hello! Welcome to It Takes Two. It is the final day of training for

our couples before they start rehearsals in the Strictly Come

Dancing studio. In Just A Minute, I'll be talking to Jason and

Kristina who bedazzled the judges with their quickstep. Here's how

our celebrities are getting on in training: This week I am dancing

the Viennese waltz. Audley is definitely stronger at the ballroom

than the Latin. If I get my frame right and keep my fingers closed -

Craig - I have a better chance. Nice hands. It's about momentum and

changing direction quite quickly. There is some tricky foot work in

there. One, two, three, release. I've made it so there's not a lot

of spinning. This week I want to be able to not just dance the dance, I

want to act the dance. I wnt to get into this acting. I'm trying to act.

He'll be fine. He has to be fine. You're going to see Audley perform

The jive is petteryifying. It's very, very fast. I'm going to have

a go. Boom, boom, boom. No. It's very difficult dance because

there's a lot of foot work. Every time I have a jive it's not about

jumping up, it's always about landing down. I'm a little bit

worried Artem will chuck me around and make me do upside down things,

throw me around like a rag doll like he usually does. I am going to

try and move my twinkle toes and make it look cool at the same time.

I'm more of a sloth. I don't move very fast. This week we're dancing

the waltz. I like this one. It's soft, gentle. I think I need one of

them routines after last weekend. Get up and try to invite me to

dance with you. Find it quite hard looking ATOLa be romantic. We have

such good banter together. would you invite me to dance?

don't dance. He finds it hard to look at me in a certain way. No.

What was wrong with that? I don't he's ever been romantic in his life.

I feel sorry for his wife. This week, we're doing the tango.

There is nowhere to hide in tango. It is fast foot work. If something

goes wrong you're going to know about it. There's so many aspects

that you have to put together. Am I supposed to be... I was like... Not

easy. Other way. Other way. It's not quite there. I'm not doing

tricks this week. It's pure content. I want it to look as fantastic as a

tango can be. That's going to be no easy feat. Wow. Chin up. Nice. This

is more like it. I must say I am very nervous about this one. I

think this could be our down fall. This week we have the rumba, which

is proving to be one of the most difficult dances for male

celebrities. I haven't found it yet. And two, three, frame, four. Frame.

It's about a relationship, about a love. There's lots of shapes. Lots

of arm formation, lots of lines. It's going to be a tough one.

has good hip action. He needs to definitely know more technically to

produce more quality. Breathe. rumba is the dance of love.

Love is pain. My back. Wow, babe. Is she putting everything into it,

it really hurts. No pain no gain. He's so right. Please welcome Jason

and Kristina! APPLAUSE

Thank you so much. No pain no gain. What a Comeback Kido. Were you

expecting such a great reaction as you got on Saturday? I knew the

dance was special because Hallowe'en has quite a dark side

and bewitched and the wonderful rue teeb that -- routine was bright, up

and fun. It was charming, in a way. It's that normal, it doesn't change

from week to week. Going out there, it just gets harder. The anxiety

levels, can I pull it off? It seemed to go pretty well. The

places, the actual dance itself was great. It was the parts that we

freestyled, the jazz hands and the showbiz parts that weren't as

precise as they could have been. We were very happy. Kristina, your

first ten on Strictly! APPLAUSE

More to come. Oh, yes! Did you say, "More to come." Let's hope so.

must have been hysterical. I was so happy. My first ten in four years

on Strictly. Thank you Jason one more time. You have paid your dews

girl. You admitted to minor mistakes. Do you think that you

were going -- you are going to have to be foot perfect before you get

tens from Len, Craig and Bruno? think it's a competition. I think

when you're trying to dance your best you have to dot best. There's

Harry, Chelsee, Anita, Holly, there's so many people out there,

Russell, so many people doing great dances at the moment. It's soo

exciting. It's impossible to call, which we love. Quickstep so last

week for you. This week the rumba, the dance of love. Your best

routine so far, they've all been pretty good, have been quite high

energy. This is understated. Are you attacking it differently?

think it's a simpler routine in a sense. Yes. It's a different vibe.

Very romantic, very beautiful song, which Jason chose. You chose this?

Can we tell them what it is? This is what you're dancing to

# Struming my pain with his fingers # Oh, Roberta Flack. That takes me

back to a bedsit in Manchester. Tell me more. It's my dad's

favourite song. Is he coming over? I'd like to think he could. He's

been watching us on YouTube. Lots of support. Good evening to

Terrence if he's watching. Roberta Flak there. We have spotted in the

training room you sometimes change the lyrics. Killing me softly with

her dance. Killing me softly with the heel, no they're not heel leads,

are they? Toe leads. Killing me softly with toe leads

# Killing me softly with toe leads Toe leads, I remember those. You

are killing him softly, gently and slowly, the best way to go. Like a

bedsit in Manchester, right? Stop! It is the dance of love. It's

sensual. It's intimate. Can you explain this Donovan? Here come the

afternoon farts. They're about to happen. Oh, my gas. There's a lot

of gas in my body. I just have to... Run! It must be the cabbage or

something. It does smell of poo I'm only human. Like Gary

Necessityman. -- Newman. Jason! Zoe! Stop it.

Let's gather ourselves. It's so romantic. This is your first rumba

on Strictly. I don't want to scare you, but you are the first of the

male celebrities to dot rumba, are you anxious Kristina? I am excited.

I love the dance. It kind of came together in the end. He worked so

hard on the technique side and there are some brilliant rumba

walks. I hope it's going to go really well on Saturday. What do

you need to finesse in the next 24/48 hours? The thing about this

dance is you can't come in cold. You can't come in cold with any

dances, but it's really good to get the steps and layer it before you

go out and dot performance. If I come in -- do the performance. If I

come in in the morning it's rough until you are warmed up. There's

lots of shapes. There's lots of character in this. There's love,

divorce, passion, fire. A story we love it. It's a story board. It's a

character-driven piece. We can't wait. Bring on the tools. Good luck

on Saturday, Jason and Kristina! APPLAUSE

Now, the costume department dazzled us with a spectacular array of

Hallowe'en outfits last weekend. How can they possibly top it? I

caught up with them to find out. We are in the deepest, darkest

parts of the BBC and this is Nicola, chief assistant to head designer

Vicky. Thanks for coming on It Takes Two. Great fun last week,

Hallowe'en, amazing. This week, back to more traditional outfits

and very exciting, first charleston of the series. How does a

charleston dress differ? The Latin dresses are skimpy and shorter.

With the charleston there's the 1920s feel about it. It's a looser

feeling dress. It's not so tight to the body, more fabric and fringing.

This is Anita's for this week. looks stunning. It's chic, classic

and elgant. We have the fringe at the hem, perfect for movement.

Kicks out nicely when you do the steps. And lots of Chrisals on the

dress this week. She's going to feel a million dollars. Now Holly

and Artem have asked for something different. Artem wants them to both

be dressed the same. In frocks? What a shame! Maybe next week.

would be a first. They're going to be in suits. We're having

pinstriped suits made for them. And Holly is wearing men's black and

white spats as well, which have got to be specially made because her

feet are a lot smaller than this. Just a bit. Will that be difficult

dancing in these when she's used to dancing in the heels and ballroom

shoes? I think she'll prefer it. In training she always wears her socks

or flat shoes. This will be a comfort for her not wearing heels

and hopefully she'll feel closer to the ground. Liking the AlCapone

look. What about Russell. We look forward to seeing what he's wearing.

They're doing the paso this week. He's always fabulous. He loves the

costume. This week we've gone for a traditional silhouette. You have

the jacket and cumber bund and Latin trousers. Also a cape. We

need a twist, so we've decided to use this, spots. He will be our

Dalmation matador in that. Very on trend. Can you give us a sneak

preview of one of the ladies' frocks. Yes, one of our celebrity

ladies dancing a ballroom. She is dancing quickly around the floor.

That's the clue. Can you work it out? That's stunning. Thank you for

talking to us. Good luck on Saturday. We're loving it. Back to

me in the studio. Thank you to nick will and the

costume department. You may know Len Goodman jets across the

Atlantic every week to be a judge on Dancing With The Stars, the

American version of Strictly. This week, he's having a well deserved

rest. We've got a new judge on the panel. Jetting in, yes, it's

exciting, jetting in to take his place is Dirty Dancing royalty and

last year's winner of Dancing With The Stars, Jennifer Grey.

APPLAUSE She's here in just a moment. First,

She's here in just a moment. First, # I ware it's the truth and I owe

it all to you # As the phrase goes, nobody puts

Baby in the corner. She's coming down the stairs instead with a It

Takes Two exclusive hot off the plane from LA. Please welcome

Jennifer Grey! APPLAUSE

I'm so excited to meet you. Welcome darling. Welcome to the show. I

cannot tell you, the crew, we have all been hysterical all day. How

was winning Dancing With The Stars? You had quite an amazing journey on

the show. I'd say next to having my daughter it was the highlight of my

life. She's here tonight. Also marrying my husband, there's been

great moments. But it was a very, very, it was like child birth, it

was like while it was happening I thought I was going to die and then,

it was the single most, it was just a much deeper experience than

anyone give it's credit for because it looks like a silly dance show.

But it's so deep. It becomes your life. You live, breathe, sleep

thinking of dancing. There's nothing else I did. I said to my

daughter "I want to read to you, take you to school." She said

"There's time for that. Do this for now." Practise your heel leads. You

were magnificent on it. Thank you. You know more than most how our

celebrities will be feeling at this point. We're halfway through the

series. What will they be going through at this point in the

journey? I remember feeling in the middle like I wanted to quit. But I

mean full on want to quit. Like I'm really done. I remember my partner

Derek saying "Well you'll be the first one to do it." No-one's done

it yet. John Sergeant did on our show. My body was giving up. It had

become so intense. Very often, it's always the people who are going to

be the real contenders, then it gets intense. The pressure is so

great. Your body's giving out. You're getting more and more dances.

It's so intense. You keep your eyes on the prize and move toward it and

don't quit. You keep going. It's so thrilling. It is. And so rewarding.

We all love it, watching it. Who stood out for you the most on our

series so far? They're all, they've all got so much either charm or

charisma or real dance talent. I mean, I think Harry is doing great

and Holly is doing amazingly. Russell is just a hoot. Jason is...

I love him. They're going to be so excited that Jennifer Grey has

mentioned their names on telly. about Chelsee. She's someone to

watch. It feels like she's maybe, I don't know, I feel like when she

gets off her other show and can really concentrate, it might be a

little scary. I know. She did an amazing performance on just 12

hours training. She's so good. Has Len given you any advice? You know

our Len. I love Len. He hasn't returned my calls. Oh, Len! Naughty

boy. I'll get him to call you. Yes, I'll have a word. We realise you're

under pressure to fill his shoes. What shoes! Amazing shoes.

thought we'd give you a bit of help and remind you of some of Len's

best known phrases. Oh, good. You're like the Government, there's

a lot going on and not all of it is good. Seven! I was a bit chilly

round the Willie, but that has warmed me up a treat. Go home and

pickle my walnuts. Hold your horses old sausage. Plentsy of boom bang

abang but nothing to shout about. There were moments of Mills & Boon

and moments of meals on wheels. You were like a Lancashire hot pot. You

little beauty I'm telling you! good. Our Len, we are wondering if

you want to give your best impression. Oh, "I'm going home and

pickle me walnuts" I love it when Americans do English accents.

badly. "Hold your horses old sausage. You may need this. You are

like a Lancashire hot pot. Get this woman and job in Coronation Street.

Try that. You may need this on Saturday. Give us a Len. Seven.

APPLAUSE You're such a great sport. Thank

you. We must mention Dirty Dancing. It was such a -- an inspiration to

so many. Ola became a dancer from watching you in that. Oh, really?

True. You got to work with Patrick Swayze. What a remarkable man. Was

that your first experience of dancing? Absolutely. I'd never

learned choreography. I was always the girl in the back of the class,

I still am, who is not able to learn the combination. It's really

hard for me. It was very much like the show, where you have a

professional dancer taking the naive person who has no idea what

they're getting into and then teaching them to dance and actually

having a much deeper experience through dance, which is a really,

it happens every season. It's bizarre. Your professional dancer

was Patrick Swayze. I know, I've been so blessed to have Patrick and

Derek. Patrick he is, he was such an amazing dancer. Incredible.

Beautiful. And he is very much missed. We have lots of questions

from our Strictly fans online. A couple here, what kind of judge are

you going to be? And aleash -- an Alesha, Bruno, Craig or a Len?

Probably like Alesha. Once you've gone through this, it's very hard

to, I have so much compassion for what everyone's going through.

you have a crush on Patrick? didn't! Yes, we all had crushes on

Patrick. Especially Tom! What was your favourite dance? You know,

it's like like saying which is your favourite child. I only have one

child. I love the jive. I loved the Argentine tango. I loved our

quickstep. I just loved doing it. You loved the whole thing.

Especially in retrospect. We cannot wait to see what you think of our

celebrities on Saturday. I can't wait too. It's official, we love

you. Jennifer Grey! APPLAUSE

Thank you so much. Wow. In Just A Minute, I'll be

talking to Russell and Flavia, who despite setting the room alight

last Saturday got a lukewarm reception from the judges. Here's

how the rest of our celebrities are shaping up in training.

This week James and I are attempting the quickstep. It would

be nice to do an upbeat dance where I can be happy and smiley and

probably very out of breath. I am feeling wrecked. And... Is it that

fast? Yes. This is a quick dance and there's a lot more content. To

be fair, she has difficulties doing one step, let alone possibly 500.

Wrong way, lovely. With every step of this blasted quickstep, I'm

feeling less, less sure. My energy is being zapped.

This week we're doing the charleston. The charleston is fun,

happy. I'll be going from that to that. The majority is acting. I

think Anita's going to be at home in this dance. It's very the marx

brorges. I hope the charleston will suit me. -- brothers. A lot of it

you dance together but not in hold. Sorry, missed it. I'm never going

to be as perfect as you are, baby. We'll get it there. Don't worry.

The problem is that having to dance next to Robin who is a professional,

I'm having to knock my game up. "I wish I were a dancer right now."

You are a dancer. No, I'm an actress.

Samba this week. Uh-huh. It is impossible. Ah, one. Samba is

notoriously difficult dance. It's really hard to make it look nice

and proper. Most of the time it looks awkward. It's really bouncy

and funky. That, unfortunately, isn't coming naturally to me. There

seems to be a thin line between camp and masculine. I'm veering

more towards the camp side at the moment. And Aliona is doing her

best to get me back on the masculine side. Look at that

sticking out. I can't do that. a little bit worried, if I'm

perfectly honest. I haven't been worried yet, but I'm worried now.

This week I'm dancing the charleston. I can't wait because

it's fast, bouncy and I think that's more me. I can't wait to get

stuck in. It's high energy dance. I think it will suit Chelsee

perfectly, because she is a little ball of energy. Push and ankle down.

Cheek to cheek. Oh, yeah. Bam. In charleston it's very important to

muster -- master the hand and arm positions. Tea cup. I mean teapot.

We're dancing side by side a lot. We want to match perfectly.

right. That's going to be our goal for this week.

In last week's performance I had a wardrobe malfunction. I still have

the nerves, but I'm going to try and overcome them and dot dance

proud. -- Do the dance proud. This week,

we have a paso doble. I think it's going to be really fun. I love it.

What will be the main challenge? I think keeping tight buttocks.

you do that, feel you stick your bum forward. That's it. Yeah.

Always bum forward. OK. In this dance there's going to be a lot of

acting. Hold it there for a little bit. Then go. Then just go. That's

where Russell will be in his element. This one in particular is

a combination of comedy and drama. I would say sort of more high camp

than high Shap rel. Krb chaperel. Welcome Russell and

Flavia. APPLAUSE

I'm loving the fact that you told me that waist coat you were wearing

was given to you by Anthony Costa. We did a show together and he left

me with that jacket. First out on Saturday night, first on the floor

d, that make it harder for you? Yeah. Scary. We were congratulating

ourselves it was going first. It was the worst thing we ever did.

You have no chies. -- Choice. It was ice cold. In fact it was

Siberia. It was not like that. But there were Craig pointed out a

couple of technical mistakes. It was a bit of aye timing issue. To

the untrained eye no-one would notice it. No, no look. Poor old

soul. I mean red was never my favourite colour. You get back into

it there. He styled it out so well. Amazing. I mean little things

happen to everybody, but it's whether you can carry on and cover

them. That's brilliant. Look at that. Look at that! You were

dancing to Kylie Minogue. I was singing as well. I hear Kylie got

in touch with you. She did. She came on Twitter. That made our

night. When I got off someone came onto Twitter and said "Have you

seen Kylie was asking how the dance went." So I sent her a note back

saying "Alesha said Russell and Kylie all in one go, what more can

you ask for." She said "Russell shimmy." It will all be back to

Kylie in a couple of weeks. Your knee, we're all concerned. What's

the latest? It's cool. It's good to go. We will go on until the great

British public vote us out. Never, never we hope. Doing the paso doble

this week, will you channel Jason Donovan's firm buttocks? I don't

know. After what you showed me earlier. Oh, yes. Oh, no. Please.

You know what I mean. I'll keep my own buttocks. But there's a lovely

Russian called Sergei. Or is it Sir Gay? Or is he just gay, I don't

know. He's Russian. One of Flavia's friends. You two make me laugh. Is

he like Arro-Grant, your friend from a couple of weeks ago? He's a

bit more, I don't know. I would say he's so slick and cool and fabulous

that if I can look Sergei or just a bit gay, I will be happy. It will

dot job. He does a great paso doble. She showed me that and I started to

go into one of my and she went "Go Sergei, go." We burst into laughter.

His paso is masculine. Are you bringing out the masculine side?

It's dramatic and full of attack. And think Bennie Hill.

combination of the two. I cannot wait to see. Nor can we. Thank you

Russell and Flavia. Thank you to my guests this evening. Join me

tomorrow when I'll be talking to Chelsee and Pasha and Robbie and

Ola, Mr Tess Daly, also known as Vernon Kay, will be here alongside