Strictly Come Dancing, week 2: Tasha and Aljaž top the leaderboard with first 9s of the series

The first dance-off looks pretty Neil-ed on

Tasha and Sarah dominated the dancefloor with their partners Aljaž and Vito – at the end of week two, they’re the ones to beat and are first and second on the leaderboard going into next week.

At the other end of the table, it looked inevitable that Toyah would be in Sunday’s dance-off with partner Neil. Two weeks in she just hasn’t been able to match Paul’s entertainment factor which, despite him being second lowest on the scoreboard, could potentially keep him out of the Dreaded Dance-Off. If that’s the case, we’ll probably see Nick under the red light – the Strictly audience is nothing if not ruthlessly efficient when injury gets in the way of a redemption arc.

The Results Show is on tomorrow on BBC One at 7.15pm, with music from the Ezra Collection – and I’ll be back next Saturday at 6.25pm for Movie Night. Have a lovely evening and don’t forget to include plenty of benchography in your week ahead.

Tasha and Toyah bookend the leaderboard

At the head of the leaderboard, Tasha and Sarah have overtaken last week’s top celebrity, JB, with Toyah and Paul at the bottom and Pete, Punam and Nick not far behind.

Tasha and Aljaž – 30 + 35 = 65
Sarah and Vito – 30 + 32 = 62
JB and Amy – 31 + 27 = 58
Wynne and Katya – 26 + 30 = 56
Montell and Johannes – 26 + 30 = 56
Chris and Dianne – 23 + 29 = 52
Shayne and Nancy – 21 + 31 = 52
Jamie and Michelle – 23 + 27 = 50
Sam and Nikita – 23 + 22 = 45
Tom and Nadiya – 23 + 20 = 43
Nick and Luba – 18 + 21 = 39
Pete and Jowita – 19 + 18 = 37
Punam and Gorka – 19 + 18 = 37
Paul and Karen – 17 + 15 = 32
Toyah and Neil – 12 + 18 = 30

Sarah and Vito’s stunning paso is a showstopper

Sarah and Vito were joint second on the leaderboard last week, and Sarah’s celebrity friends, including Ted Lasso’s James Lance, popped up to praise their quickstep. Their paso doble to a remix of Gala’s ’90s’ hit Free From Desire (weird choice but it was the end of the show, so they need a party atmosphere), was neater and more exact but just as satisfying, and Sarah’s spins took her from robin to lioness.
Craig: 8; Motsi: 8; Shirley: 8; Anton: 8
Kat’s score: 8

A yee-haw cowboy routine for Pete and Jowita

Montell and Johannes are a lovely couple, but week two or not, they hadn’t quite nailed their samba. The song, Cyprus’s 2018 Eurovision banger, Fuego, gave more than a nod to Montell’s Gladiators character, Fire, but she looked uncomfortable in hold, and stiff on the floor. Sorry, but it lacked a bit of…well, fire. Montell explained what went wrong to the judges when she revealed the sad news that her grandma had died earlier in the day. It’s a testament to the evolving world of reality TV that we could sympathise with her loss rather than seeing this as cynically as it would inevitably have been perceived 15 years ago.
Craig: 8; Motsi: 7; Shirley: 7; Anton: 8
Kat’s score: 6

A standing ovation from the judges in week two? “This was the dance of the night,” said Shirley sincerely, praising Tasha and Aljaž’s Viennese waltz which was as glossily perfect as a Christmas supermarket ad. There was a lot of earnest muttering from the judges about the excellence of Tasha’s frame – no higher praise than that on Strictly, except for the clutch of week two nines that followed in the scores.
Craig: 8; Motsi: 9; Shirley: 9; Anton: 9
Kat’s score: 8

Perhaps anxious that he couldn’t compete with Nick’s arm and Montell’s tragedy, Shayne flagged some negative social media comments calling him “overconfident”. Shayne, love, I am a nobody and still had an entire article written about me in The Sun after I appeared on Only Connect! Strengthen up your security settings and don’t go near X. His tango with Nancy was another performance with a lot of faffing about (we can hear dear old Len Goodman spinning in his grave) before some actual dance moves, but once it got underway, it was entertaining from the neck down.
Craig: 7; Motsi: 8; Shirley: 8; Anton: 8
Kat’s score: 7

Another mangling for the American smooth, although at least from an American song: Pete and Jowita’s cowboy routine to Post Malone. “I’m very dizzy, Tess,” he said after whirling Jowita around through a sequence of jawdropping lifts. “Still, she’s still got all her teeth.” Last week’s paso doble showed more charisma than technique but the balance has certainly been worked on. Jowita has drilled Pete in footwork which got lots of praise from the judges – next week, it’s got to be confidence. He’s a really willing partner and that is such an important asset.
Craig: 4; Motsi: 6; Shirley: 6; Anton: 6
Kat’s score: 6

Nick and the American Smooth overcome injury

There hasn’t been a rumba on week two of Strictly since 2009 (as we were told, several times). Tonight, Jamie and Michelle got that dubious honour and ran with it. Jamie focused enough to remind everyone why he won last year’s Strictly Christmas special and, together, they turned out a moody, atmospheric rumba with enough ’80s wind machine and ’90s wardrobe to send 40s and 50-something viewers into nostalgic flashbacks. “That has pleased me no end,” said Shirley in the satisfied tones of a Disney villain. Craig had a small breakdown about the lack of story in their dance (not to sound like Tess but, Craig, it is week two). Cue: a judges’ argument with Motsi ensued. The scores were all perfectly kind.
Craig: 6; Motsi: 7; Shirley: 7; Anton: 7
Kat’s score: 7

After last week’s dreadful tango, Toyah and Neil had plenty to make up for in their jive. Perhaps sensibly, it took a full minute for them to make it onto the floor and start dancing. Less sensibly, they have a bucking bronco on stage and, as Toyah said gamely: “It was Neil’s idea.” But when they did finally dance, it was so much better. Toyah really paid attention to Neil rather than drifting off into her own world, and they performed as a pair, but everything was still frantic, dominated by hairography rather than choreography. They’ve certainly tried, but it felt stressful to watch, rather than joyous. Neil perhaps sensing this, namedropped his little daughter and “how much she wanted to see Toyah on Movie Week” (a stretch for a baby barely a year old).
Craig: 3; Motsi: 5; Shirley: 5; Anton: 5
Kat’s score: 5

Having worked through confidence issues last week, and done surprisingly well, Nick and Luba suffered a setback when Nick hurt his arm changing a tyre on the motorway and lost valuable rehearsal time – the poor man also missed his own birthday party. They may have only had 16 hours to put their dance together, but it came across reasonably well. Happily, they were this week’s comic number with an American Smooth to Parklife. However, they spent a good while sitting down on parl benches before chinking pint glasses and spilling glitter over the stage. So much padding, hot on the heels of Toyah and Neil’s padding-heavy jive?  Eyebrows were raised.
Craig: 5; Motsi: 5; Shirley: 5; Anton: 6
Kat’s score: 5

Benchography gives Chris and Dianne’s foxtrot added edge

Doesn’t everyone switch off a bit during a traditional Viennese waltz? There’s so little potential for things to go wrong, which is quite dull. There was significant chuntering in the sitting room here over Katya’s top being “wrong” for her lovely skirt – however, the top might have been wrong, but the dancing was very good indeed. No jokes, no unexpected music choice, just the Blue Danube, Wynne was proud as punch to partner Katya around the floor, and an effervescent Katya looking as though she might float away at any moment. The judges looked as pleased as if they’d each found a £10 note in their scoring batons. “You have command, control, and leading that dance,” said Craig as though directing someone on how to use a computer keyboard for the first time.
Craig: 7; Motsi: 7; Shirley: 8; Anton: 8
Kat’s score: 7

It was a strong night for hats and music by bald singers. JB and Amy’s cha cha to Closer by Ne-Yo ticked both off the night’s bingo card, but it felt underpowered compared to last week’s leader board-topping waltz. The judges gently pressed JB for not being fluid enough, especially in hold with Amy, and for attacking more than is needed in a cha cha. In their black-and-white outfits, it did at times look like a salt-and-pepper set having an argument. Let’s see what they come up with after another week together.
Craig: 7; Motsi: 7; Shirley: 6; Anton: 7
Kat’s score: 6

The Charleston is such a crowd favourite that it feels almost a blessing that the producers didn’t add in a popular song to further pressure Sam and Nikita. Instead, it’s the original, classic number, and that’s what we got from Sam and Nikita, albeit with some literal jolly hockey sticks thrown in. Sam had lovely light footwork and went all in on the comedy – as well as some impressive flips with Nikita. Not everything was in synch but it was in character: they came across as a strong team. Shirley had some advice that felt useful for all the contestants: finding somewhere to practise that didn’t have mirrors so that dancing live in the studio didn’t throw them. “It was like an Olympic final, extra time and penalties,” breathed Sam. This was a great week two dance, especially for first-time dancer Sam (well done to Nikita for making sure everyone watching knew she was brand new to the dance floor.).
Craig: 4; Motsi: 6; Shirley: 6; Anton: 6
Kat’s score: 6

“I think I’m actually looking forward to this,” said Chris in his VT, sounding bemused. That makes him, the studio audience, and everyone watching at home. Not only are Chris and Dianne a compelling couple anyway but there is the additional “It beggars belief” element that he is completely blind. This never stops being extraordinary because each week they have delivered. So much of the foxtrot is done in hold, and far from just marching around the floor, Chris very much appeared to be leading. The benchmark was pushed even further by the inclusion of literal bench choreography at the routine’s end. The judges were full of praise for Dianne’s teaching, Chris’s frame and their footwork. All Craig could come up with was “Your fingers bothered me.” Incredible.
Craig: 6; Motsi: 7; Shirley: 8; Anton: 8
Kat’s score: 7

Paul and Karen’s BBQ salsa sets the floor alight

I watched the show with my in-laws, who remembered what my husband’s grandmother most admired about Strictly during its earliest years: “It taught people to try.” Something that certainly applies to tonight’s dancers...

Tom and Nadiya opened week two with a cha cha to Boogie Wonderland. Tom, bless him, is not a compelling watch hence a considerable amount of VT time spent on Nadiya taking him to mini golf. He is an attentive partner and looked like he’s really enjoying himself, and those swimmer’s arms were put to good use in some sharp dips. He’s very strong above the waist but needs more practise on his feet. There was a mishap that looked like Nadiya was supposed to go between Tom’s legs, but they just about recovered and the judges didn’t seem too bothered – except Craig, obviously. “You need to dance to your height,” he said. I have no idea what this means but it sounds convincing.
Craig: 3; Motsi: 6; Shirley: 5; Anton: 6 
Kat’s score: 5

Greg Davies is tonight’s celebrity Speaker of the Terms and Conditions which bodes very well for Claudia appearing on a future season of Taskmaster (she would be so good).

Punam and Gorka took to the floor for a very Latin-feeling foxtrot, with Gorka wearing some eye-popping leather trousers. Punam’s energy was superbly channelled this week – rather than giving “messy night out”, it was exact, charismatic and involved arms and legs pointing in all the right directions. For a GP, she’s a great performer – for next week, she needs to work on her frame in hold with Gorka and, like Tom, work on what her feet are doing. 
Craig: 4; Motsi: 5; Shirley: 4; Anton: 5
Kat’s score: 6

Fresh from an American Smooth clad in football kits last week, Paul and Karen performed salsa in matching leopard print with go-faster stripes down each leg. Paul tackled the footwork with all the determination of a striker about to challenge the ref’s latest decision – his lifts, though, were no joke. After years of watching retired footballers burn out on stage, watching Paul set it alight – with charisma, if not yet technique – is a total joy, as is watching how excited the judges are to see what they will do do next. Fingers crossed that this pair stay in for a while – not least to see how the wardrobe team can give a nod to training-kit-in-full ballroom attire. As Shirley remarked, that was pure entertainment. “It’s not community service, is it?” said Paul. “I don’t have to do it; I want to do it.” 
Craig: 2; Motsi: 4; Shirley: 4; Anton: 5
Kat’s score: 5

Week 2 dances and songs

Last week Vindaloo, this week, Parklife. Exactly what has the American Smooth done that Strictly is trying to box it in with the quirkiest English songs of the past 30 years? Will future weeks see the poor dance paired up with Three Lions, Tubthumping or Ebeneezer Goode?

It was a big night for bald musicians, with dances to songs from Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Teddy Swims and Post Malone – the last two of these barely five months old, if not big summer hits. Dr Ranj and Janette did a cracking samba in 2018 to the same Pitbull song, Fireball, a routine so hot that Janette’s dress came unstuck.

Montell and Johannes: Samba – Fuego (Eleni Foureira)

Punam and Gorka: Foxtrot – Man! I Feel Like a Woman! (Shania Twain)

Sam and Nikita: Charleston – Bob Wilson and his Varsity Rhythm Boys

Sarah and Vito: Paso Doble – Freed From Desire (Gala)

Tasha and Aljaž: Viennese Waltz – Misty Blue (Dorothy Moore)

Toyah and Neil: Jive – Nutbush City Limits (Ike & Tina Turner)

Chris and Dianne: Foxtrot – Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy (The Tams)

Jamie and Michelle: Rumba – Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers)

JB and Amy: Cha Cha – Closer (Ne-Yo)

Nick and Luba: American Smooth – Parklife (Blur)

Paul and Karen: Salsa to Fireball – (Pitbull)

Pete and Jowita: American Smooth – I Had Some Help (Post Malone)

Shayne and Nancy: Tango – The Door (Teddy Swims)

Tom and Nadiya: Cha Cha – Boogie Wonderland (Earth, Wind & Fire)

Wynne and Katya: Viennese Waltz – The Blue Danube (Strauss)

Chris McCausland’s Strictly Diary

By anyone’s standards, Chris and Dianne did well in week one. Their cha cha to Twist and Shout scored them 23, putting them joint fourth on the leaderboard with Jamie and Michelle, Tom and Nadiya, and Sam and Nikita.

By the scale of the nerves that Chris says he was experiencing going into the dance – not to mention only having Paul’s commentary for company – he would have been entirely within his rights to fall apart entirely, but he and Dianne pulled it together for a truly impressive first dance.

Here’s a snippet from this Chris’s week two diary:

“I was asked if I wanted the crowd to remain quiet for my dances so that I could better hear Dianne’s presence around me. It was a lovely gesture, but not something I wanted to consider. I want to fit into the electric atmosphere of a live Strictly show and for the crowd to be entertained and not to have the atmosphere flattened to accommodate me. I would rather go out in week two having disastrously immersed myself in the show’s noisy energy than get through to week 10 in silence.”

Read the whole thing here.