Episode 29 Strictly - It Takes Two

It is Thursday. Coming up on tonight's show, Harry and Aliona.

Russell Grant and Flavia ride in for a chat. I get to see what

fabulous frocks the costume department have in store for us

this weekend. This is Strictly Come Live from Television Centre this.

Is Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Please welcome your host, it's

Zoe Ball. Hello and welcome to It Takes Two.

It is Thursday and our nine remaining couples are training

harder than ever as whoever leaves this weekend will miss out on

performing at Wembley. Yes, it is not happened yet, but in a few

minutes I will find out what Harry thought of his bare-chested samba.

First, here is the latest on how our couples are getting on in

Well, this week we are apparently attempting the jive!

Step. Step. Oh. This is potentially the hardest dance that we will have

have to do so far. It is fast. Alex has a little bit of a walking

section with a little bit of acting involved. That's not going

particularly well. I'm not even going to the beat.

The difficulty we're going to have, there will be a lot of places where

Alex is going on her own. No, I can't do it.

I have been dreading this dance. For this week, I think it would be

a good idea maybe to have the St St John's Ambulance poised.

This week we're doing the tango. I didn't do that very well. It is

difficult. I'm never going to get that.

You are. We need to be channelling seduction, sharpness, precision.

The tricky part of these performances is to balance the

technique with the performance. Seven, eight and one. You are

coming out on the wrong foot. The big he is challenge will be

remembering the footwork and being clean on the footwork.

That was 100 times better. This is the time I can improve myself.

Flick. Flick. Good. Good. That's great.

And focus on becoming a little bit And focus on becoming a little bit

of a dancer. This week I have the rumba. Artem

has hurt his back last week and therefore, he needs to have a best.

So Brendan Cole is stepping in today.

And the other way. Turn the other way.

I have got no idea what's going on. Artem is still here. It is his

choreography, it is his way. What he says goes.

It is quite annoying to choreograph, but not be able to dance.

It is a shock for Hollie to just all of a sudden have another

partner to dance with. Let me do it otherwise it is not my

memory. As always, the show must go This week, me and Natalie are doing

the cha-cha-cha. It is energetic and cheeky and vibrant.

Technically, it will be a tough dance.

Chin up. I want it to be technically correct. I don't want

any heel leads. I just need Audley to let loose and

have a bit of fun with this. With the Latin dances your

personality and character can come into the dance more. I have been

able to rock it a bit just doing the Audley person amount.

He has a personality that I really want to bring out. Now, it is your

moment to shine. With his personality it will be show

stopping! This week's the Argentine tango and

I am enjoying myself. I like the dance. I like the music.

It is different. I think that the challenges in this dance is the

lifts. The lifts are nerve-wracking

because you have to get them perfect otherwise there is a small

chance I might drop Aliona. Harry is a very strong man. I have

all the confidence that the lifts are going to be spot on.

Don't worry, we can do that lift. I wouldn't like to know what she

would do to me if I I dropped her live on Saturday night so let's

Please welcome Harry and Aliona. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello. Welcome back. Harry, you were really worried about the samba

last week. How difficult was it for you on Saturday night? It was very

difficult actually. I was nervous, wasn't I? Very.

More so than other weeks? I was really working myself up. I was

very nervous, but to be hon he is when it -- honest when the music

started, you know, I did enjoy myself. Pulling some weird faces,

but that's me enjoying myself. it? But that's part of it, you see

professional ballroom dancers, they pull strange faces. It is not a bad

thing. I did enjoy myself. I was relieved to get it out of the way.

I did feel that's one of the best I danced. Definitely.

Which shows how tough a week we had. No, I was pleased.

Well done, your mum came on the phone last week, to give you a pep

talk. Was she pleased? Yes. Hello Mrs Judd. I heard you had a

text from her? I found this amew this amusing.

Text from Mrs Judd. "pull out the stops for your dance

this week. I have just invested in a beautiful outfit. I in turn, want

to be entertained with a beautiful dance.". Let's hear it for Mrs Judd.

That was Monday morning. I was tired and I thought, "I've got to

pull out the stops again.". You got a standing ovation, Aliona. What

did you make of the judges comments? They are entitled to

their opinions and I respect them, but I give all four tens to Harry.

You would have given him tens? tens.

Craig did give you constructive criticism, didn't he? Yes.

He really enjoyed the dance and the only technical thing that he didn't

really like was the swan move which he was quite right. It could have

have a bit more bounce, but he loved it in general which was great.

Our viewers are impressed with the dancing, but with your outfit,

Harry. Rosie Said, "Harry was looking fine on Saturday night."

Another viewer said, "Watching Strictly because Harry is sexy."

Becca posted "Harry Judd is hot. That bum, samba." I think we're

getting the picture, ladies. Craig said he found the shirt distracting.

He said you should have done it bare-chested. Is that something you

would consider? I don't think. I was pretty much bare chested on

Saturday. You could see through his shirt!

When you are doing the costume and things you are in a daze and you

are being handed things. It does get you in the mood to dance

wearing those outfits. When you have got them on, you feel like

you're ready to go. It is all part of the roll? It is, definitely.

first option was more closed shirt. When I got into the room I was like,

"Cut off the arms, open the shirt, make it see through.". You don't

disagree with Aliona. Don't mess with her. Arms off, she

gets arms off! Vernon Kay said, "Harry needs to let go a bit and

Alesha says kick it up a notch." How do you plan to keep those two

people happy? I was nervous and it maybe came across for the first

part of the dance. I need to focus on enjoying myself and not working

myself up so much, I think. OK. One thing we have spotted is

that when you're drumming, you're happy indeed. Oh really.

Take a little look. Strictly has definitely taken over

my life. I haven't played the drums My life is about dancing.

Not drumming. The further I get in this

competition, the worse I get at My priority is dancing right now.

Ah, yes, our cameras are everywhere!

You have been warned. Can you incorporate drumming into a routine,

do you think? We're thinking about it. We're thinking about putting it

into a paso, but we haven't danced it yet.

That's stored and remembered! Argentine tango this week. How are

you finding it? I'm really enjoying it. I think it maybe suits me quite

well, I don't know. It is a great track that we're dancing to and it

has been a fun week. It is less stressful than last week. We have

seen in the training room that you are doing lifts. Are you finding

them a challenge? They are a challenge. Yes, they are. It is a

hole new he will -- whole new element. That looks impressive.

That looks good. You are very strong. You should be able to throw

her around with one hand! You have not been top of the leaderboard yet.

Everybody wants you to be up there, can you do it this week? I love the

way you looked at Aliona. I think so because this dance really suits

both of our personalities really. It really suits Harry and he is

doing a really good job this week and I hope... Fingers crossed.

Fingers crossed that the judges are going to like it and appreciate the

dance. There are a lot of good dancers.

There is a loted of good dancers. Good luck, Harry. Let yourself go.

Thank you very much. Good luck to Harry and Aliona.

APPLAUSE His mum calls him Dinky. Yes, she

calls him Dinky. Every so often our professional

dancers need to be kept in line and interrogated about important issues.

There is only one lady tough enough Answer the question.

Rachel has got a question for you. She wants to know, good heavens, if

you were a carrot, how would you like to be eaten?

So many answers come to mind. Shredded, boiled, steamed. I feel

strange talk being this with you to be honest with you.

Quickly. Don't slice me, don't dice me. If I was a carrot, I would love

to be eaten raw. I love a good roast carrot. I don't think you

tried it. This isn't a cookery show Brendan,

move on. I guess I would like to be eaten by

the rabbit. What? Not by the humans, by the rabbit.

Absurd answer. Then it was an absurd question. Can we have the

next question? If you were a carrot? No, next question! Artem

wants to be eaten by the rabbit. The mind boggles. Earlier, I

visited Strictly head costume designer, Vicky to take a look at

what she has up her sleeve for this weekend.

Right, I'm with head designer in the BBC, Vicky. We have had

Hallowe'en, we have had a Broadway theme. Any themes this week? Tell

us. Tell us. No main themes, but the fact that it is remembrance

weekend, we have a 40s feel. 40s gramor. -- glamour.

We have our first Argentine tangos and Anita is is doing an Argentine

tango. Let's look at her frock? This is the illustration for

Anita's. We would use black or red, but this week, we have a twist and

we're using sapphire and red. looks beautiful.

We have a lovely floral detail which is reflecting the poppy and

then a crystal belt that runs then a crystal belt that runs

around her waist. That's incredible. There are

thousands of jewels on that. We think about 2,000. Something

like that. It must be worth a bit!

I wouldn't be surprised if that goes missing.

She is She is doing lots of kicks and flicks? A slim-line skirt with

two splits which enables her to do the Argentine tango.

I'm excited about that. Holly had an interesting week. Brendan has

stepped in and is being to be dancing the rumba. What will she be

wearing for this romantic dance? This week, Holly is in a metallic

grey and pink. It is very pretty, very sexy. There is lots of light

and shade in the design. The right side of the dress is in dark

metallic grey. That will be jeweled? Yes.

A lot of work, isn't it? It is covered in crystals.

The left-hand side of the dress is lighter. Very pretty and

sparkically. Pinks and greys. I like it. What

about the boys? The boys are traditional. We have got classic

tails and and tuxs. Russell will have a little moment.

What do you mean? A surprise? reveal.

A reveal from Russell. Can you reveal anymore? I can never reveal

a reveal. She is so good. That's something to

look forward to. I will get it out of her later. Remembrance Sunday,

the professionals are doing the jitterbug. Is it tricky when you

have got to make six outfits for the ladies, all different? We are

always trying to work with the theme. It is jitterbug. It is

Remembrance Sunday, so they will be doing a swing routine. We try to

work on a silhouette that works for them and their figures. This

illustration is going to be for Ola. She is going to be in red and she

will have an accent of possibly the blue. The girls will be in red,

white and blue. They will look gorgeous. We will

have a sneaky peek tomorrow. We will reveal who is under the

gold dress this week. Who is going to be wearing this dress? It will

be one of our pro dancers. A celebrity will be wearing that. Can

you guess, there is only one girl who can carry that off. That's

barely a dress. It is like a bikini. Stunning. I hope you managed to

guess that. Keep working your Thank you very much. Bruno

Described Russell and Flavia's paso doble. Here is more news from

This week I'm dancing the foxtrot. I really can't wait.

No matter what you do with your fingers, you move your hand, and

that's how you and I will follow. Chelsee naturally bursts into this

foxy dance. The foxtrot is a different story and we have to make

sure her character is changed and she she becomes more smooth, more

graceful, refined. LAUGHTER

It is a tough job to do. Yes, that's right.

I have not had a slow dance since the first week. For me to go from

fast dances to the slow dance and show my elegance, hopefully I'll

pull it off. This week, we're doing the American

smooth. One. Where Here. And then there. The American smooth is the

hardest dance I've done, a lot of spins and lifts above my head. It

is hard this week. I think he is not going to find it easy. What am

I doing now? I forgot. The same steps.

I get very dizzy in this. When I come out of the spins, I

don't know where I am. This is going to be a tough week. But we

can do it. Nice! APPLAUSE

I'm giving it everything I've got, but all I can do is my best.

This week, Jason and I are going the waltz. I have to work hard to

bring the emotions through and the emotional connection with one

another. You disconnected from me like I don't exist.

The waltz has been a challenge. did you stop? Because I lost my

geography. I was expecting something a little less complicated.

Quicker, quicker, no. Look. It is a slippery floor, babe.

I don't think this is the reason. Can we have a couple more goes just

for my confidence because at the moment I'm lacking confidence, I

think. I'm pushing Jason to the limit

because I want to bring the best out of him. One, two, three, got

it? I think we're getting there, but it has been a challenge.

I'm so loving the American smooth. It is perfect for Russell. A

fabulous song, a bit of ballroom dancing, so hopefully it should be

a good American smooth. Slow, slow. I want to start off

very fast. I got it, I just got excited.

Well, Russell is always adding rather than taking away.

I have gone too far. If I try and make something easier,

you will put an extra two pirouettes in.

I want to go twirling around like a thing possessed. All I've got to do

is run off. No spinning.

No, promise. Please welcome the whirling dancer,

it is Russell and Flavia. They are off already.

LAUGHTER I do love you.

We were watching that VT thinking... LAUGHTER

I keep dashing off. I'm like a Labrador puppy. I can't be stopped.

We will talk about your song in a moment.

Sorry, darling, I'm jumping the gun. This is what I do in rehearsals, I

jump the the gun. Let's go back to last Saturday.

Another standing ovation, getting to be a habit with you two. Were

you happy with your paso doble? loved it so much. I just loved it

and well, my friend here... Your friend here.

What an entrance. LAUGHTER

I get worried at my performance. Don't look at it close up. You look

good. You look fabulous darling. Craig described it as astonishing,

was that the kind of reaction that you were looking for? One word from

Craig is great. As long as it is a good word. We love Craig, honestly.

If he said pants, he would have meant that nicely too.

Yeah. Probably the ones I'm wearing. They are nice pants.

LAUGHTER Bruno said you looked... We are in

red and black. Bruno said that you looked like

Benny Hill. Lots of our viewers disagreed and thought you looked

more like Dangermouse's friend, Penfold. I don't mind looking like

him. That is a great moment in my life. Look, look, do you remember

seeing the wonderful Benny Hill in the Italian Job when he used to

help large ladies up on the coaches. That's how I was on the bull.

An interesting fact for you as well, Benny Hill is Holly's grandfather's

cousin. Fact. I may need to check that fact.

There are your your your specs. Darling, you try them.

We haven't seen Flavia in them. They look flavoulous!

If anybody was saying Russell was a comedy act on this show, what would

you say? If you go back to our routines, we have had a lot of

content in all our routines. I think because Russell is a good

entertainer and perp former people -- performer people see so much of

that side that they miss the fact that we're doing lots of steps and

I think that's what people, you know, get confused by, but it is

because we have a good combination of performance and content.

And were you disappointed to be at the bottom of the leaderboard after

a crowd pleasing number? Where we? I never noticed any of that.

I go up to Tess and nick one of her Polos and she says, "You are

bottom." I put my faith in the great British public. How can I

thank them, two or three? Hello, great British public and I'm going

to include the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and I'm going to

say to all of you, Ireland, anywhere, thank you so much.

Beautifully done. If I relied on the judges, darling, I would have

been out in September, before we started!

How could you be out before we had begun? It is getting weirder.

You're doing the American smooth this week. This is what you're

dancing to. # I am what I am #

I love this song so much. He wants to sing it. I do. I do. It

is a fact. I just stand there, it is John Barrowman who is awesome,

but the arrangement of swirling strings and I do, I actually, I had

a text from my lovely friend angingly friend Angela Ripon and

she said her friends loved watching me, so I put in Royal Ballet moves

at the end. Yes, we put ballet.

Flavia always gives me ten seconds on my own.

And does Russell come with the ideas? Do what you feel.

It is working. Is that lovely man Robert Webb?

He is from Peep Show? He is adorable. But Royal Ballet.

Incredible. Hollywood-style dance. It must be a dream for you, the man

who put show in show business? Sorry darling, I'm so carried away

by that, can we have another burst? I love the fact that you are so

ecstatic whatever you are dancing, it is almost as if you have taken a

magic position for joyfulness. Someone actually said to meez

recently, -- me recently, if you can bottle what you are doing, it

would be Russell and Flavia happiness.

Working with Flavia is beyond my wildest dream. It is fabulous.

We are having a really good time. She is a wonderful person.

It feels like we've known each other forever. We're beautiful

together. I'm game for a laugh.

LAUGHTER Lovely. Who did that? The very

special boys and girls. I loved it, special boys and girls,

that was so cute. Now, this weekend, me, Hollywood,

never in the same sentence. What can we expect from your American

smooth this week? Well, I have to say it is a first for Strictly, I

think. Another first. The bull was a first. This week,

there is another first. Vicky from wardrobe said there was a Russell

moment. She is working very, very hard.

Claudia would call it The Grant. I thought she was saying the grunt,

but it is The Grant. I don't want to know about that. It was on this

show, you are terrible. Wembley in a week. How much do you

want want to be dancing there? first house was in Wembley.

Is there a plaque? No, there should be. It is in Middlesex, the countyI

was born in. I've come home and I can't wait. I want to get there.

You want to get to Wembley. If I don't get there, I will have to go

home. I'm going back to Cymru, that's gorgeous.

6,000 people stand up for Russell. Harls Harl ston.

Russell and Flavia, good luck with your American smooth.

Thank you. Oh dear. Thank you to all my guests.

Join me tomorrow when I will be chatting to Chelsee and Michael