Strictly Come Dancing week 8: lots of emotions on show but is it time to shake things up?
This bit of Strictly always feels a bit boring!Strictly Come Dancing was back for week 8 last night, bringing some very emotional moments, a couple of wonderful dances, and, as is becoming a feature of this year’s show, some really odd song choices.
This is always the tricky part of Strictly. The contestants on Bake Off worry about having a soggy bottom, but Strictly suffers from a very soggy middle. It all feels a bit formulaic and – whispers – even a bit boring.
The relentless banging on about getting to Blackpool doesn’t help. We get that it’s an iconic place for people who know about ballroom dancing. We understand it means a lot to the judges and the pro dancers. But to the audience and most of the celebs (with a few exceptions like Angela Rippon or La Voix) it’s just another British seaside town. It’s hard to be excited about something just because you’re told to be excited about it.
We think that when things change next year – with Claudia and Tess moving on from their presenter duties – it might be time to shake things up a bit. There are Strictly spin-offs across the globe, and they’re all a little bit different. We know UK Strictly is the OG but even so, we could take inspiration from other competitions and introduce a few new challenges.
Anyway, those complaints aside, here’s what we thought of the action in Strictly Come Dancing week 8.
All the emotions
Last week, Alex Kingston was in tears. This week it was pro-dancer Carlos Gu who got emotional after his American Smooth with footballer Karen Carney.
Carlos wiped away tears as he talked about how proud he is of Karen and how hard she’s been working. Their dance was a very non-traditional American Smooth to You Don’t Own Me. We kind of loved it, and the judges did too. Craig Revel Horwood even told Karen she was “fantastic”.
Karen and Carlos scored 31 points, and they’re off to Blackpool next week.
George revealed his mum’s health troubles
Elsewhere, YouTuber George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr visited a farm in their VT. George explained he and his family often went there together when he was younger. And he shared an emotional tale about his mum’s health problems.
“She was diagnosed with a brain inflammation called encephalitis,” explained George. And then he went on to say: “Unfortunately, recently she got diagnosed with cancer. Nobody deserves what she has gone through, but least of all her.”
It was a moving story, and the judges all thanked him for sharing his emotions.
He dedicated his Rumba to his mum. He danced to Somewhere Only We Know, which he said his sister had sung at his grandfather’s funeral.
But the dance felt much more like a couple’s choice than a Rumba. We are never going to get over George’s Couple’s Choice being K-Pop Demon Hunters and it felt like the Strictly bosses had given him another go. It was a bit weird, and Craig agreed when he pointed out that it wasn’t a Rumba, even though he’d enjoyed the dance.
George and Alexis scored 29 points.
La Voix shared family memories
There were more emotions on display as La Voix – as her true self, Chris Dennis – talked about the loss of his mum earlier this year. Chris was understandably teary as he remembered his mum, and paid tribute to how supportive she was of his career.
His dad was in his VT too, proudly remembering his own appearance on Drag Race.
La Voix danced her couple’s choice this week with partner Aljaz Škorjanec to Don’t Rain on my Parade by Barbra Streisand. It may not have been the most technically brilliant dance, but the judges loved the “showbiz” and we have to admit, we did too. Even if it felt a little bit contrived to get La Voix to Blackpool!
Lewis and Amber scored 10s from the judges in Strictly Come Dancing week 8
There were some 10s on offer this week. Actor Lewis Cope and partner Katya Jones danced a very dramatic tango and got three 9s and a 10 from Motsi Mabuse.
While West End star Amber Davies and her partner Nikita Kuzmin danced a Paso Doble. They were given 9s from Craig and head judge Shirley Ballas, and 10s from Motsi and Anton du Beke.
Balvinder and Vicky faced the dance off in Strictly Come Dancing week 8
Down at the bottom of the leaderboard, were Balvinder Sopal and her partner Julian Caillon. They danced an American Smooth that Anton called “a little safe” though we thought it was great. The judges seem to be so harsh on poor Bal. Would you agree?
Anyway, she ended up with 27 points which landed her in the dance off, where her opponent was Vicky Pattison and her partner Kai Widdrington.
Vicky danced a jive this week. She danced to Sound of the Underground by Girls Aloud, which we can all agree is a proper banger. But it’s not really a jive, is it? Vicky looked awkward and uncomfortable and we weren’t surprised when she also got 27 points and a place in the dance off.
And it was Vicky who was eliminated after the judges unanimously voted to save Bal.
We’re glad Balvinder was saved again, but sad to see Vicky go. In fact, we’re not sure she should have gone – just last week some of the judges were tipping her to make the final. She’s definitely not the weakest dancer in the competition.
So the remaining contestants are off to pack their bags to head to Blackpool and we’re trying to get excited.
Strictly Come Dancing returns next Saturday at 6.35pm on BBC One.
