Peter Andre and Janette Manrara danced their last routine this evening after a tense Strictly dance-off against Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton. But they can certainly hold their heads high having reached week 10, especially with such a strong field of dancers.
“I feel for Janette,“ said Peter, 42, of his dance partner. “She works, works, works. And she makes me work, only not as hard. She’s patient, she’s lovely and a little peanut. I love her.”
After a unanimous decision from the judges, Peter added: “It’s been a joy. We’ve come so far. I love everybody.”
Janette praised her dance partner, saying “she’d made a friend for life and was glad to have him as part of her life.”
The Mysterious Girl singer got off to a fabulous start in week one of the dance contest, scoring an impressive 30 points for his quickstep, but the judges have consistently said that he fails to “nail” each dance.
Last night’s programme was certainly intense as ‘The Magnificent Seven’ were each called to perform their own routines before going on to compete in a speedy quickstep-a-thon.
Helen and Aljaz came out firmly on top in both after dancing a near-flawless Viennese waltz that Len called a “marriage made in heaven” and Craig described as “gorgeous”.
Peter and Janette, meanwhile, had a mountain to climb really. Despite earning a respectable 31 points for their American smooth, they fell at the Quickstep-a-thon, picking up only one point. This kept them bottom of the leaderboard with only 32 points.
Just above them on 35 were Anita and Gleb. They lost points from Len on their rumba, who marked them down for an illegal lift and it being, well, “not his cup of tea” and, maybe more importantly, “not being a rumba”.
The middle of the leaderboard was super tight with the Double Ks, Katie and Anton, and the Double Gs ranking between 36 and 39. Truly no one was safe without enough viewer votes on their side.
Kellie and Kevin will be feeling nervous going into week 11, but clever choreography could get them through. And any of Strictly's professional dancers considering an illegal lift - or leaving out the main dance steps - will be taking a gamble with Len… That recent knee op seems to have left him a bit grumpy.
As for Peter, at least he can focus all his energies on his upcoming 24-date UK tour now...
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC1
