2 min read
ByStrictly Watch, Strictly Watch
What a strange year this has been for voting.
More often than not, we have seen underdogs and long-shots flourish, while front runners and shoo-ins fall flat.
But in a week of serious high-stake elections, politics is the least of our problems – my concerns are firmly Strictly-centric.
This weekend saw another evening of surprises, as two of the show’s finest celebrity dancers – Ore Aduba and Laura Whitmore - faced the dance-off after failing to secure adequate public support.
In the end, Ore won favour, but his victory was marred by the fact that, having sunk to the bottom two, the chances of him winning the show seemed far less likely.
All this has got me thinking about the big, bad voting game. How, for example, could the less graceful Ed Balls chasse into next week’s show, while the more light-footed among the dancers stumbled.
I tend to agree with judge Bruno Tonioli, who ranted last night: “Don’t moan if you don’t phone!”
He certainly has a point. How can I possibly get so flustered by the show’s voting outcome when I am a passive observer? Do I have a right to be so outraged?
Daisy Lowe’s Strictly journey is case in point. For two weeks running, she fell into the bottom two; but this week, the public clearly took notice. They realised their favourites could no longer rest on their laurels, and so, evidently, they voted.
As Tess Daly read her name last night, the relief exploded across the model’s face like a (topical) firework display.
Her performance, as it happens, was good, if not slightly forgettable. She and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec delivered a Viennese Waltz to “Daisy, Daisy” - both dressed in white like Vestal Virgins. It was technically precise and, in Craig’s words, “quirky”.
Bruno likened her moves to a “weightless petal in the soft breeze”, while Len called it “charming”. My complaint? The camera encircled the dancing pair so hastily I felt a sudden wave of vertigo.
Judge Robert Rinder, meanwhile, tugged at the heartstrings when he finally got to perform the quickstep – the dance he had always hoped to learn.
He, complete in top hat and tails, and partner Oksana Platero sped across the dancefloor, demonstrating boundless energy and impressive leaps along the way.
Unsurprisingly, his gaping jaw drew complaint yet again – but the TV judge had an uncharacteristically earnest response for his critics: “It’s just joy!” he said. “I cannot control it.”
Head judge Len Goodman was suitably affected, commenting: “The face is the mirror of the soul. Dancing is a joyful thing and you convey that with your face.”
The following evening, having learnt that he had made it through, Judge Rinder told Claudia Winkleman that next week's dance was extra special.
"It's the foxtrot, which I joined the competition to learn," he said. "And my grandparents are coming." I'm sure we can expect kvelling aplenty come Saturday night.
And so, at the mid-show mark, a sobering message for the enfranchised public: don’t be a passive observer. If you have an opinion, and you feel it passionately, do something about it. Get out and vote!
I’m talking strictly about Strictly, of course.
By Charlotte Oliver
