When Peter Andre was voted off Strictly last week it meant that Jay McGuiness was the only fella left in the competition. But if anyone was saying that we were definitely heading for an all-female final this year, they might end up eating their words by the end of the weekend.
In tonight’s show, Jay and the other remaining celebrities – Georgia May Foote, Anita Rani, Kellie Bright, Katie Derham and Helen George – performed routines to songs from West End musicals. And by the time they had all strutted their stuff on the dance floor, the former Wanted star was at the top of the leaderboard with 39 points.
Jay performed a smoochy rumba with professional partner Aliona Vilani to Falling Slowly from the musical Once. After getting some advice from former Boyzoner Ronan Keating, who appeared in the West End show, Jay and Aliona glided across the ballroom and ended up with three ‘10’ paddles from judges Bruno, Len and Darcey, and a nine from Craig Revel Horwood – well, no one expected him to give top marks did they?
When you think of a Viennese waltz, you don’t exactly expect to be transported back to a Victorian drinking den, but that’s exactly what EastEnders star Kellie Bright and her pro-partner Kevin Clifton did with a routine to Oom Pah Pah from Oliver! By the end of the rousing number, Kellie looked nervous when Craig began his critique by saying it was unsophisticated and ‘as common as’ but loved it! So no wonder Kel and Kev looked relieved when they scooped up 36 points, placing them second on the leaderboard.
Lower down on the leaderboard were Georgia May Foote who scored 35 points with foxtrot to the theme of Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. Katie Derham equalised with the former Corrie star with her Cabaret inspired foxtrot. And Call The Midwife star Helen George picked up 34 points with a paso doble to a song from her favourite musical Les Miserables.
The least popular routine of the night was Anita Rani’s Argentine Tango which she performed with super-sexy Gleb Savchenko to Cellblock Tango from the musical Chicago. Craig, again, wasn’t exactly complimentary and said poor Anita was ‘pigeon footed’! Bit harsh, Mr R-H! When Anita went ‘up them stairs’ to talk to Claudia, she defended herself by saying that after 38 years it was hard to point her feet in a different direction! Good on ya, girl!
