Strictly Week 7 results show

[shallowness]

The results show started a little earlier than it was meant to again. My main takeouts from the recap were that they didn’t mention Amy, Tasha was very complimentary to Montell and either Montell wasn’t complimentary back or they edited it out (and woman-to-woman compliment etiquette is LOADED). Also the groups were joint top (no hint that the judges don’t know how to score half-decent couples choices), the rest of the top, middle of the leaderboard, and, er, Pete.

Predictably, Shayne was called safe first ‘in no particular order’, although I felt that had more to do with the scores than the votes. Fair enough that JB soon heard he was safe, but in a message to everyone else, Pete was called safe along with Tasha.

In danger for the first time, then, Sam and Nikita (she must be thinking she should have messed up to get pity votes.) In another sign of where we’ve reached in the series: nobody needed to stand up in the Clauditorium.

Johannes enjoyed himself mightily in the much promo’d Beyonce pro group number, and I want his coat, but not the heels. Lauren almost stole the spotlight in an excellent wig, and Nikita made his envy that he wasn’t the lead dancer known when the other blokes turned up.

Claudia failed to ask Craig why Tasha hadn’t deserved a 10 in his view, but Motsi did get to talk a little about why her dancing had been so good. Shirley threw Craig’s own beloved argument that JoJo’s choreography was responding to the music in his face when Claudia raised their judgy spat over Montell’s hold. This feature ended on all the fun they’d had in their cozzies.

The second lot were called safe, leaving Montell and Johannes under the red light. Motsi gave her the bracing speech, the subtext of which was that she’d scored much more than Sam.

Most of the couples up in the Clauditorium were mighty relieved. Chris had beaten himself up in the recap, Katya had looked like she was really regretting that controversy of a few weeks ago, and Jamie had taken being the last to be called safe to heart. Bill Bailey met Dianne’s parents, Wynne was very droll about sitting next to Vito, who left his leg draped all over his fellow man in black for far too long. Katya thinks that there’s a Welsh voting bloc to woo (I’ve yet to vote for Wynne, love.)

There was an It Takes Two trail featuring the most atrocious wigs, but the ‘Claudia’ one on Fleur was meant to be bad.

And then Dear Alice (the latest tv-manufactured boyband) performed, and I got even further proof that I’m so middle-aged that I’d probably fancy their dads because I wanted three-fifths of them to have a haircut. Also, I was amused at the thought of most British or Irish boybands of my youth having to do that much choreography. (Jason Orange aside. He could have done it.)

Dance-off, and I thought Sam danced her American Smooth better, while Montell danced her stronger waltz more smoothly. (The singer must have been gutted to be doing IWALY again.) Two slow ballroom numbers to compare, but Montell has consistently been the better dancer (and Sam really should have been facing Pete to see what he could do if he started on the right foot.) The judges unanimously saved her. Sam showed what a good sport she is in what she said, and showed off what she’s learned of dancing and gained in self-confidence in the ‘final dance’.