Strictly Come Dancing Musicals Week – HuffPost Verdict

K E Y   P O I N T S

  • Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Škorjanec scored 29 points for their Quickstep to the title track from ‘Hello Dolly!’. Score breakdown: 6 (Craig), 7 (Darcey), 8 (Shirley), 8 (Bruno).
  • The judges couldn’t agree on whether Gemma’s posture and acting deserved praise. “The character lost impact,” Bruno told her.
  • Mollie King and AJ Pritchard scored 31 points for their Rumba to ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ from ‘Grease’. Score breakdown: 6, 7, 9, 9.
  • An illegal lift stopped Craig from scoring Mollie higher. “I liked it but I did not love it,” he said. 
  • Joe McFadden and Katya Jones scored 37 for their Samba to ‘Money, Money’ from ‘Cabaret’. Score breakdown: 9, 9, 9, 10. 
  • Joe’s acting skills made sure this unusual take on a Samba impressed the panel. “I was ready for it to fail, but it was incredible,” Craig said. 
  • Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice scored 39 points for their American Smooth to ‘Memory’ from ‘Cats’. Score breakdown: 9, 10, 10, 10. 
  • The first wow moment of the episode. “It’s going to be a memory etched in people’s hearts for a long time,” Shirley said of the routine. 
  • Davood Ghadami and Nadiya Bychkov Atkinson scored 29 for their Argentine Tango to the title track from ‘Phantom Of The Opera’. Score breakdown: 7, 8, 7, 7. 
  • The ‘EastEnders’ actor lacked balance. “You can’t be wobbly in the Argentine Tango,” Bruno said.  
  • Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquezscored 39 points for their Charleston to ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ from ‘Mary Poppins’. Score breakdown: 9, 10, 10, 10. 
  • A show-stopping lift sequence made this a dance for the ‘Strictly’ history books. “You couldn’t tell who was the pro,” Darcey said. 

S N A P   V E R D I C T 

After getting off to a slow start, the ‘Strictly’ quarter-final stepped up a gear when last week’s leaderboard-topper Joe McFadden took to the floor. His partner Katya Jones took a risk, with an unconventional song choice and choreography, but their efforts paid off. 

Conversely, while Davood Ghadami and Mollie King’s routines looked like surefire crowd-pleasers on paper – with well-known tunes and familiar dances – the celebs failed to impress the panel. 

The first wow moment of the episode came courtesy of the phenomenal Debbie McGee, who battled through back problems to deliver an emotionally-charged American Smooth.

And providing a lesson in how to bounce back in style, Alexandra Burke reminded everyone why she’s still a favourite to win the competition, barely pausing for breath between cartwheels, lifts and footwork-heavy bars. 

B E S T   L I N E S   F R O M   T H E   J U D G E S

Bruno Tonioli on joe McFadden:

Divine, decadent and slightly twisted – your character not me.”

Craig Revel-Horwood on Mollie King: 

 

I thought you were dancing by numbers.”

E V I C T I O N   P R E D I C T I O N  

Ahead of the quarter-finals, Mollie labelled the rumba the “dance of doom” and it certainly seems like she had a point. With ten points separating her from the top of the leaderboard, it would take a lot of viewers votes for The Saturdays’ singer to avoid the dance-off.

It also looks likely that Gemma’s divisive Quickstep will be performed for a second time tomorrow, but Davood and Nadiya’s uncharacteristic lack of chemistry could fast-track them to a spot in the bottom two.