The First Show - the Countdown to Christmas has begun

There's something about Strictly that makes it feel like all is well with the world, regardless of what else may be going on around you. I can almost feel myself relaxing and smiling with the merest hint of the theme tune and so it was with a sense of optimism that I dragged myself out of bed where I'd been languishing all day being ill to watch the first live show last night.

Bruce seemed sprightlier than ever when he did his little dance at the start. I'm constantly surprised by his fitness with every passing year. Tess looked great, in a fuschia off one shoulder satin dress with a thin black belt. I didn't look quite that good 3 months after giving birth!

It was fabulous to see the professional dancers produce a dramatic, tempo changing, complex, bright medley of all the dances they will be doing during the series.

There had been some musical chairs in the judges' panel. Alesha doesn't take Arlene's seat (which could be taken as a visual representation that she is simply not as good as the woman she's replacing) but cuddles up in between Len (who is now beside Craig) and Bruno. She was wearing some very scary green eye shadow and I think the make up people need to soften her look for tonight's show.

I like this new way of doing things - half the couples dancing a ballroom and then a Latin over two nights. It gives us a chance to see them in both disciplines to see if they take to one or the other. Although I was more than happy to see the back of the annoying Gary Rhodes last year, it did seem a bit unfair that he was given Latin dances, which he was clearly rubbish at, for his only two competitive shows.

While it may be fairer, it must be more stressful for the celebrities to have to learn two dances to performance standards which is why I really could have slapped Craig for being so mean to first up performer Rav Wilding.

Rav and Aliona kicked off with a Tango. They managed to capture something of the mood and drama of the dance, but Aliona really did all the work and Rav's posture and hold wasn't brilliant. To add insult to injury, they did an illegal lift which Aliona tried to make out was involuntary. Not big and not clever. Even so, he did a very good job but Craig was unduly mean, giving them only a 3, while the other judges gave them 5s and 6s. Rav is clearly throwing himself into the spirit of the show - and I laughed at a comment in his training footage where he shook his head and said "I can't even cross my legs."

The training footage for Erin and Ricky prompted me to tweet that her hair gets lighter every year, but it had gone very dark again by the time they took to the floor - as did her stare when Bruce referred to her as an old banger. I get the impression there might have been a few words said backstage after that one. Anyway, despite Ricky looking more petrified than a rabbit looking down the barrel of a gun, they executed a very nice looking waltz. He does have a dance background so may well be one to watch - although I'm not sure the Latin will work for him.

The Judges weren't so sweet to them, although Bruno's comment "I've seen more romance between David Cameron and Gordon Brown" was very funny.

Chris and Ola were up next with their Tango to Sharp Dressed Man - Ola certainly doesn't like conventional Tango music. I thought that they were technically very good, but there was just no great sense of drama and performance from Chris. Not surprising, seeing as he's a sports journalist, really.

Then in succession we had two elegant and graceful waltzes from the sportswomen in the field. First came Jade and Ian. Clearly they did very well, not perfect, as you wouldn't expect from a week one performance, but it looked fantastic, and it was to "Weekend in New England", which, and I don't care if it's a Barry Manilow song, I love. Jade's dress was so beautiful - creamy coloured, floaty and princess like. I think she needs to relax a bit more if she's going to get the public to take to her as competitive perfectionists don't tend to inspire votes in these shows. She was very self crtiical and clearly upset at the end of her performance.

You have to cut her a bit of slack, I think, because, unlike the likes of Tuffers and Martina Hingis, she's still part of that lonely, competitive athletic world and it'll be difficult for her to come out of that mindset. I think she needs to try though - and in fact, being able to be a bit more relaxed might actually help her on field performance, too.

Martina and Matthew were lovely, too. I think we were all waiting to see how Alesha would deal with her previous partner with whom she formed a close friendship. She told Martina to trust him because she was "in safe hands". I think the partnership has potential for the rest of the show.

They got some harsher comments from the judges than I think they deserved - I think in particular someone had hidden Craig's higher numbered paddles. No way was that only worth a 4.

Also in for some harsh criticism were Lynda and Darren. From the waist up, Lynda was fabulous - dramatic and tempestuous, but the footwork didn't really match up. She needed to be a lot faster and lighter on her feet but I certainly wouldn't write her off. Craig again was mean to her.

Then came the performance of the night - a fantastic, graceful, beautiful waltz from Ali and Brian. If she can do Latin, she's a clear frontrunner. To get 30 points on show 1 is quite something and it was well deserved. Here it is so you can judge for yourself.



Last up was a tango from Joe Calzaghe that disappointed. The guy's a boxer so I thought he'd be good with the aggression, but it was a bit of a limp lettuce to be honest. It was the only Tango of the night to be danced to proper Tango music, so they should be credited for that.

Then came the group dance of the non competing couples, a Mambo. In general it was a good effort, but it did look a bit like they were doing a Latin version of the Hokey Cokey at times and you could see the confusion in some of their faces. I have a horrible feeling that Natalie Cassidy is going to take a lot of flack in the press, but she looked fantastic and you could tell she was allowing herself to get swept up in the music.

Craig's comment at the end was unforgivable - saying "Good luck Brendan" in a very disparaging way. Jo Wood looked devastated and I felt that was outrageously cruel and unfair of Craig to be quite so horrid.

I wonder if he was deliberately upping the vinegar to counteract the sweetness and fluffiness from Alesha. I think the almost universal pleading from the Strictly Twitterverse was that we all desperately wanted to see Arlene back. Alesha's lovely, but I don't think she has the potential to even grow into Arlene's shoes. She can be very funny and I think she needs to relax and bring that side of herself out. Ricky Whittle seems to be the one to lust over this year, and I can imagine how Arlene would have played that. I think the BBC have put Alesha into a role she's just not suited to, which is a great shame.

One thing I think would have enhanced the experience of the first show would have been a pre-match ITT with a Friday Panel and Claudia. I hope they think about doing that next year.

It's exciting that rather than a week, we have only another few hours to wait until the next instalment of the new Adventures of Strictly.

See you tomorrow, I hope, for a round up of the Latin performances.

The Draw for the first two weeks

Reigning champion professional dancer Camilla Dallerup, who has decided not to take part in Strictly this year is, I'm glad to see, keeping in touch with the show.

Here she is making the draw for the first two shows:



This has put up some interesting results.

In week one we have:

Lynda Bellingham and Darren Bennett

Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna

Martina Hingis and Matthew Cutler

Jade Johnson and Ian Waite

Rav Wilding and Aliona Vilani

Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff

Ricky Groves and Erin Boag

Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan

I know we haven't seen any of them dance, but I do have to say that it seems like couples with the most potential are in this draw. I fear probably for Ali Bastian and Rav Wilding. Ali is probably the least known and Rav's partner Aliona is new. I know that people do vote on the basis of their favourite professional, which might favour Ali's partner Brian who was immensely popular last year.

I'd hate to see Erin out so soon, but it was a soap actor in Brian Capron who was the first to go last year.

In week 2 we have:

Laila Rouss and Anton Du Beke

Natalie Cassidy and Vincent Simone

Zoe Lucker and James Jordan

Jo Wood and Brendan Cole

Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe

Craig Kelly and Flavia Cacace

Phil Tufnell and Katya Virshilas

Richard Dunwoody and Lilia Kopylova

In this one, there's a few vulnerabilities. Jo Wood might be begging for mercy from Brendan by that stage and may go - although I expect she will have the sympathy of many women, which might keep her in. I expect Phil Tufnell will sail through on personality alone. For the same reasons I expect Laila (cos she's with Anton) and Natalie to sail through too.

I would worry about both Ricky because I suspect he needs to light up the dance floor as he's relatively unknown and his partner is new.

If truth be known, out of 16 celebs, 3 are called variations of Richard. Surely they can't all survive the first fortnight?

Sequins are Go - Couples for new series announced

Let's get that glitter ball dusted off and pull on our dancing shoes, cos it's that time of year again - the new season of Strictly Come Dancing is upon us!

I thought I'd revive this blog for this new series. I've tried the patience of my readers of Caron's Musings enough with copious postings about Formula 1, and I fear that I may lose some of them for good if I add too much Strictly to the mix, too.

Several of us across the Twitterverse have been awaiting the announcement of the participants for this year. And here they are.

The problem is that when you've had months of speculation about Fern Britton and Sharon Osbourne, a list that doesn't include them is bound to disappoint a little.

I'm pleased to say that I have actually heard of most of them. There's 5 sports people, and 5 soap stars to start with, so I'm fearing we're not quite going to have the diversity of previous years.

Anyway, let's have a look:

The Girls

Natalie Cassidy and Vincent Simone

The actress has the dubious honour of dancing with the occasionally sleazy Vincent Simone, who previously partnered her ex Eastenders colleague Louisa Lytton and last year got Rachel Stevens to the final. Since Natalie left EastEnders, she's done a fitness dvd which has led to her being stalked by the more pathetic elements of the press who think they have the right to take the mickey out of her weight at all times. There is comedy potential in this partnership and I suspect that Natalie will be able to dance having been co-ordinated enough for a fitness DVD and having been to stage school.

Lynda Bellingham and Darren Bennett

Lynda, of Oxo ad, All Creatures Great and Small (I'd forgotten she played Helen Herriot), Calendar Girls and Loose Women Fame. she should be around for quite a while even if she's not great at dancing on personality and support from her current tv audience. She also has a fantastic partner in Darren Bennett who will get the best out of her. Hopefully Darren will be around for much longer than he was last year with Jessie Wallace.

Zoe Lucker and James Jordan

Zoe's the first of the Footballers' Wives alumni to take to the floor in this series. She's interested in the Dalai Lama and his teachings. She might well need his calming influence given that she's been paired with fiery, grumpy James Jordan.

Martina Hingis and Matthew Cutler

Former tennis champion Martina follows in the footsteps of lucky women like Alesha Dixon, Carol Smillie and Christine Bleakley as Matthew's partner. I suspect that if she can dance, they'll go a long way.

Jade Johnson and Ian Waite

Another athlete for Ian Waite. Can he repeat his successful partnership with Denise Lewis of 5 years' ago with long jumper Jade?

Laila Rouss and Anton Du Beke

I'm quite excited that Anton hasn't been given the oldest contestant this time as he has for the past few years. This is a partnership with potential - let's hope Laila can dance.

Jo Wood and Brendan Cole

This partnership has disaster written all over it. Why take someone who's not used to being in the public eye in her own right, who's maybe not all that confident in her ability (as she said to 5 Live a few minutes ago) and give them to Brendan? Cruel and unusual punishment, surely? Surely Matthew, Brian or Darren would have made more sense? Brendan is not known for being kind to his partners - Clare King, Fiona Phillips and Sarah Manners all felt the sharp end of his tongue. He and Lisa Snowdon made the final last year, but unless he calms down a bit, their bid will be over before it really begins.

Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna

I don't know much about Ali apart from the fact that she used to be in Hollyoaks and is now in The Bill. She's lucky to have Brian as a partner, though - he was very good at dealing with Heather Small's nerves last year and probably kept her in for about 2 weeks' longer than she should have been.

The Boys:

Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff

John Sergeant stayed in last year for much longer than his dancing ability merited, partly due to his own entirely lovable personality but partly down to the fun dance routines created by Kristina. This year, she's been rewarded with a young sportsman - but will he have the grace and elegance for the dancefloor. He's also popular - he beat Lewis Hamilton to Sports Personality of the Year in 2007. One to watch, and he'll get the Welsh vote.

Rav Wilding and Aliona VilaniWell, Crimewatch presenter Rav has been in the Army, the Police and survived 3 months on a desert island for a tv show. I wonder how he'll cope with the finesse of the ballroom and will his service background inhibit him from really letting go in the Latin?

His partner is Strictly newcomer Aliona Vilani, one of 3 new girls brought in to replace the departing Karen Hardy, Hayley Holt, who apparently found out by e-mail that her services were no longer required and Camilla Dallerup, the highly popular series winner from last year who left on her own accord.

Phil Tufnell and Katya Virshilas

No pressure, either, for ex cricketer and King of the Jungle Phil Tufnell as he has to defend a strong cricketing record. Darren Gough took series 3 by storm. He found himself unexpectedly being bitten by the dancing bug and went from the guy who danced an ungainly cha cha cha in episode 1 to the gentleman who danced an amazing foxtrot to Big Spender. He also won subsequent Christmas specials. Then there was Mark Ramprakash whose sultry Argentine Tango and hot, hot, hot salsa with Karen Hardy propelled him to the 2006 title.

Ricky Groves and Erin Boag

The actor who plays EastEnders' Garry Hobbs teams up with former finalist Erin. Erin will be after a victory after being robbed in the quarter final last year. I wonder if his ballet training as a youngster will help. He could be our unexpected gem.

Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan

Will Ola Jordan be able to whip BBC Breakfast Sports correspondent into shape? The programme has a proud record, with Natasha Kaplinksy winning and Bill Turnbull being something of a legend. No pressure, then........

Richard Dunwoody and Lilia Kopylova

Champion jockey Richard Dunwoody has been teamed up with Lilia Kopylova, who's had successful partnerships with Aled Jones, Matt Dawson and Darren Gough. She has had a good record with her sportsmen. Richard Dunwoody may be 45, but he's recently completed a 1000 mile charity walk, so he's fit.

Craig Kelly and Flavia Cacace

Can Flavia do a Matt Di Angelo with actor Craig, who to be honest I'd never heard of, but if he was in the highly acclaimed Queer as Folk, I'm hoping he'll be interesting.

Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe

I have to say I know precious little about either of these, not ever having watched an episode of Hollyoaks in my life, so let's hope they are in long enough to get properly aquainted with them. Natalie is a veteran of five series of Dancing with the Stars in Australia which Craig judges, so she's no stranger to what it's all about.

There are a couple of changes - this year it's not going to be girls in first show, boys in second - we're going to have a mixture, and for the first two weeks, there will be two shows, one on Friday, one on Saturday. I presume the idea behind the Friday show is to hook you in so you decide you'd much rather watch Strictly than the X Factor on the Saturday. We'll see.

It all kicks off on 19th September. I can't wait. Bring it on!

Sergeantgate and sickness

Just so you know, I haven't been ignoring you over the last week and a half - I have not been well.

It's actually been a bit of a mean virus which has made me feel very poorly indeed, but nothing serious. I hope it will go away soon - it's seriously annoying me, now, rather than overwhelming me, which has to be a good sign.

I have found it frustrating not to have had the energy to comment on so many of the week's news stories, particularly in such a momentous week for Strictly. For the record, I can understand why it was all getting a bit much for John Sergeant, but I don't necessarily think he would have made the Final. However, when his family were getting abusive phone calls suggesting he should apologise to better dancers who had left before him, you can kind of understand that he thought it was all getting out of hand.

Part of the joy of Strictly is that the contestants can captivate us either by their dance ability, their personality or both. I hope that the furore over Sergeant's departure doesn't detract from that.

The Judges have come in for criticism - I don't think they deserved it. They are there to comment on the dancing.

It's the public who have the choice on that show - and if they choose to take what the judges say with a pinch of salt, then they surely have the right to do so.

John's dance partner, Kristina Rihannof, deserves huge credit for helping us all to fall for John's charms. Her choreographic miracles showed a very shrewd understanding of British humour and she got the best out of John. I feel really sorry for her in all of this. The dancers are hugely competitive and it's a shame that she's had to leave before her time.

It has been quite amusing that as soon as the Sergeant departure hit the headlines (Newsnight, for goodness sake, Question Time - Jim Murphy, you should be ashamed of yourself) the X Factor mob went into overdrive to try to grab some of the attention back. A supposed row between Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh over song choices was the best they could come up with. I suspect they'd need to wrestle naked on the live show to trump Sergeantgate.

What this now means, ironically, is that we are now going to lose a really good dancer every week. While John was there, there was always the chance that he would go and save the likes of Christine, Jodie, Rachel or Lisa who are now the most vulnerable. I have a feeling that the boys will be ok, but I am concerned that we could soon lose Christine and the adorable Matthew Cutler before we are ready to.

Week 8 Report - over half way through

While I'm glad that Christine is safe after her excellent, bright jive, I can't hide my shock at seeing Rachel and Vincent in the bottom 2. Their quickstep based American Smooth was innovative, technically very difficult and the lifts, I thought at least, were amazing. The judges had no choice but to keep them in. Heather and Brian danced better this week than at any other time since week 2 - I saw more passion and drama in their tango than the judges did and Heather looked absolutely beautiful in red.

And John is safe again. He must have come at least third in the public vote to have avoided the bottom two. Maybe if the judges didn't savage him quite as much, people wouldn't feel they had to save him. For heaven's sake, he's in his 60s, he's doing his best, but how many portly gentlemen would you see dancing cha cha cha with amazingly talented Russian choreographers? We can't really expect more of him, but it is probably, regrettably, time for him to go next week.

I was a bit annoyed with the judges for their comments on Austin's rumba. I have seen dances with a lot less connection and it was technically very good. It is horrendously difficult for, especially a man, to act out the heat of passion if they are already in a relationship. Austin did one of the best jobs I'd seen at this and is still in contention.

Lisa's American smooth gave me goosebumps. I actually didn't believe that she didn't get a 10. It was completely beautiful. I could kiss Brendan too for being restrained, not breaking the rules and bringing the best out in her.

Cherie's waltz was charming and romantic too. I thought her footwork was delicate and her upper body is absolutely gorgeous.

Tom and Camilla's Quickstep got better and better. I thought his first solo spot looked a tiny bit awkward - but by the end he had warmed up and was nailing it. A fabulous effort.

Finally, I felt Jodie and Ian's pasting from the judges wasn't quite fair. Jodie got the performance right, and, sure the technical stuff wasn't fair, but Craig ought to be ashamed of himself for giving them a 3.

If Rachel fans want her to stay in next week, they will have to support her and encourage others to do so - her public vote isn't great, although I can't see why. She's beautiful, full of energy and a consistently good performer.

Next week will be a bit of a nailbiter because, apart from John, whose time, much though I love him, has come, there is nobody I want to leave.

I'm also sad that we are passed the half way point - we need to savour every moment from now on.

What will tonight hold for John and Christine?

I'm going to stick my neck out now and say that I am worried about both John and Christine for tonight. I love John to bits and he has made this season of Strictly really enjoyable. Kristina has shown that she is a very clever choreographer, playing to John's strengths. However, is it now time for them to bow out gracefully and keep the best dancers in the competition. I'm not one of the ideological purists who believe that Strictly is a dance competition. It's a Saturday night light entertainment show and John does entertain us. There's always a tension at about this stage of the competition as better dancers are sometimes voted off to keep the entertainers in. Sometimes that annoys me, but it's just part of the show.

By the looks of the footage on ITT, it seems that Craig is wild about Heather's tango so I expect high marks for her which will insulate her from the bottom 2. Jodie is on a roll at the moment, and her Samba looks marvellous. If Rachel's smooth doesn't excite Len, it's time to start putting viagra in his tea, frankly. Cherie's waltz is fabulous and suits her down to the ground. Christne's jive has received approval from the judges so far, and I hope that she can pull it off after a couple of rocky weeks. Christine and Cherie started well and have faltered in the past few weeks while Jodie started badly and is improving immeasurably. My worry is that if Christine ends up in the bottom 2 with any of the other girls, she'll go.

I haven't mentioned Tom or Austin yet as I am assuming that they are safe - but is that a dangerous thing to do?

At this point, I can't think of a single one of them that I actually want to see go. It's quite early to get to that stage which is an indicator of how high the standard is this year.

A few years ago on the Strictly forums, we had this mega thread going called "No-one Should Leave. In it we outlined ever more outrageous tactics for keeping everyone in the show for ever more. It was very funny, and went from the absurd to the ridiculous and back again on every page. Perhaps it is time to resurrect it.

Anyway, I'm out tonight for dinner with a friend who leaves the area tomorrow so I won't bbe able to watch the show until the morning. See you tomorrow.

Strictly Beats X Factor

Yippee! Strictly beat the X Factor in an award voted for by the public at the National TV Awards tonight.

Simon Cowell and the X Factor judges did not look happy..........

Tess, the judges and Alesha were among those accepting the award. Tess paid tribute to Bruce, as well.

Austin and Erin did a bit of their Quickstep, which looked fabulous, on stage.

Good to see people power work to give Strictly a well deserved first place.......