Missed Saturday night's show - catch up on the clips here

Haven't got time to watch the full show on iplayer? Then see the short clips below:


Natalie Cassidy:



Ricky Groves:



Laila Rouass:



Phil Tufnell:



Ricky Whittle:



Ali Bastian:



Chris Hollins:



The Result:

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The moment of truth, dance off, and result

I'm expecting Laila to be saved by public vote, and a Natalie Cassidy/Phil Tufnell dance-off - but how have the public voted?

Well that's one of my dance-off possibles saved by the public, could Laila be in trouble this week? Either way I think they'll save her till the bottom three.

As expected!

Out of these two I think Phil will be the one going home, assuming Ricky can make the Viennese a little smoother this time.

A nice performance from Phil & Katya, let's see Ricky's response.

Seems smoother this time, but still too skippy. Not quite as dynamic this time and I think Ricky could be in trouble.

It'll be a close call and I imagine it will be a Len decider tonight.

2-1 to Phil, then Len votes for Ricky so Phil gets sent home, the right decision I feel.

Do you agree with the decision?

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Leaderboard

So with Ian and Jade not dancing the leaderboard is a little shorter than expected:

1. 35 points - Ricky & Natalie
1. 35 points - Ali & Brian
3. 34 points - Natalie & Vincent
4. 31 points - Phil & Katya
5. 30 points - Chris & Ola
6. 29 points - Ricky & Erin
7. 22 points - Laila & Anton

A week where I'd have marked the top two quite a bit lower than they received from the judges, and personally really didn't like Natalie & Vincent's Foxtrot.

My bottom two would be Phil & Natalie (I think Laila will get the sympathy vote), but I think there could be a surprise in store this week!

What do you think?

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - American Smooth

Phil should be more at home in the ballroom dances, if he can just control his shoulders. The lifts should be interesting to see though.

It's a little frantic for a foxtrot for my liking but his top line is quite good. The lifts were executed well and overall not too bad a performance.

For me it's a 7

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The moment of truth, dance off, and result

Who stays, and who has to dance again?

Well done Ian for getting through!

So Phil gets public support, how about CK?

Out of those bottom 3 (Laila, Ricky Groves, Craig) I think Laila will be through...

Sorry CK but I think your time is definitely up now!

Good to see Ricky gets the arms correct this time, and dances better than earlier.

A better performance too from Craig but no question that it's his swan song and i'm predicting a 4-0 form the judges.

4-0 it is. Craig got his dream of getting to Blackpool but it would've been a travesty if he had got any further.

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Leaderboard

Final leaderboard is as follows:

1. 40 points - Ali and Brian
2. 35 points - Ricky and Natalie
3. 34 points - Chris and Ola
4. 33 points - Jade and Ian
5. 31 points - Natalie and Vincent
6. 30 points - Laila and Anton
7. 28 points - Phil and Katya
8. 25 points - Ricky and Erin
9. 17 points - Craig and Flavia

A much better week for performances than last week (barring Craig I'm afraid).

I think the bottom two this week could be Phil and Craig...

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Rumba

This, I'm afraid Phil, could potentially be a disaster!

Needs to relax the shoulders right from the start. Looks to have lost his timing just before going into the sliding doors.

Hip action is ok but could do a lot more. Not a bad performance but I think only 7's though - apparently he's Bruce's favourite.

Judges scores: CRH 6, LG 8, AD 7, BT 7.

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The moment of truth!

With a chance to dance in Blackpool at stake who's going to be fighting for their place this week?

Are we going to see any shocks this week...

As predicted Craig has been saved for Blackpool (though it's likely he may go out in his home town unless there is significant improvement!)

Well done Jade & Ian, I bet that's a relief after last week.

Again as predicted Ricky Groves has been saved by the audience, though obviously I was wrong about Natalie potentially being in the bottom two. I still think Phil will be saved so this could be a shock week ahead.

...and there's the confirmation.

So a definite shock in store with Zoe and Ali both ending up in the bottom two. Based on scores earlier in the night I think Zoe will be going home, though it's a shame either of these were in the bottom two.

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Leaderboard

Leaderboard is as follows:

1. 39 points - Ricky & Natalie
2. 35 points - Jade & Ian
3. 33 points - Ali & Brian
4. 33 points - Laila & Anton
5. 32 points - Zoe & James
6. 30 points - Natalie & Vincent
7. 30 points - Phil & Katya
8. 29 points - Chris & Ola
9. 24 points - Craig & Flavia
10. 24 points - Ricky & Erin

For the most part I found this to be quite a disappointing week, though Ricky was fully deserving of the 10's he received - as I said in my critique it was incredibly difficult to find any fault.

I feel a lot of the celebrities have stagnated in recent weeks and will need to seriously improve if they have any hope of getting further.

Each week this bottom two gets harder to call but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Chris Hollins and Natalie Cassidy in the bottom two (I just think there'll be more public support for the other three near the bottom)

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Tango

A dance that requires passion and control, and absolutely no hip rolling!!! Can Phil cope...

Phil needs to keep the bum in, it does appear to be protruding throughout, and this is also resulting in a slight hunched over frame.

An ok performance that should easily get 7's.

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Samba

So Phil's turn to try the Brazilian carnival dance, lot's of bounce and hip action required Phil!

Quite a fast track they've picked for this Samba and I don't think it's doing them any favours.

Absolutely no bounce and it looks very wooden except for the staged hip movement sections.

For me I'd have to say a 6 i'm afraid.

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Viennese Waltz

This was looking very good, if a little boppy in training...

Unfortunately still quite a lot of bobbing there Phil but some lovely throwaways.

A bit of a frantic ending for my liking, and the finish appeared to go a bit wrong.

Should easily get the 7's I thought it would though.

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Salsa

Phil could've done with a Foxtrot to give his knee a bit of a rest...

Surprisingly good beginning and really nice hip movement and confidence.

A little bit basic at times, with a lot of repetition but that's most likely due to the reduced practice time they've had available.

Not a bad Salsa at all and I upgrade my predicted 6's to 7's after seeing that performance!

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Quickstep

So Phil has a knee problem and is going in for surgery tomorrow, let's see how it affects this quick and high-impact dance.

I wonder if Katya had to adjust the routine after Phil's knee diagnosis?

Nice start though needs to relax the shoulders and they lose connection just as they're starting the scatter chasses.

A few mistakes but all round a nice Quickstep, but 6-7 for me.

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Cha Cha

The Cha Cha's a cheeky dance so this could really suit Phil's personality, let's just hope his hips turn up too!

Predicted a 6 for this based on the mid-week training.

Not sure about the hands on the stomach at the start, or the little skip.

Needs to relax the shoulders a bit, and the hips are a little forced, but not bad. Do think it'll be a 6 though.

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Phil Tufnell & Katya Virshilas - Waltz

Looks like they've forgiven the obvious mistake, and the marks are in line with the performance.

...

Depending on nerves this looked good in training and I predicted a 6-7.

Now that's some Brylcreemed hair!

Nice Waltz performance, a slight slip unfortunately right in front of the judges, and needs to make sure that the toe is pointed out during lines, but overall a good performance.

Think 6-7 still (though more towards 7)

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Round-up and group mambo

So my scores varied a little from the judges but I think the leaderboard so far is a fair reflection.

Alesha performed well for her first time judging, though I was sceptical about her comments at first.

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Who's good and who's not...

Phil's making a few mistakes and getting caught up but seems to be enjoying himself
Ricky can't quite seem to keep up with the footwork at points.

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WOW, that flip over the head didn't half give me a scare - thought she'd been dropped!

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So, i've tried my best - now to see if anyone was actually reading - please feel free to leave comments about any of these entries and let me know if you'd like me to continue with this blog?!

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