We donāt know whatās going on with the public voting this series on Strictly but we were gobsmacked when Karen Hauer and her celebrity partner Mark Wright ended up in the bottom two last week.
Thankfully they survived the dance-off and we waved goodbye to Bargain Huntās Tim Wonnacott and his partner Natalie Lowe instead. Karen and Markās Quickstep was their best dance yet and we still canāt believe they ended up in that situation.
We caught up with Karen to talk about the shock of being in the bottom two, Markās fight to get back on top, and how she feels about how well Kevin Clifton and Frankie Bridge are doing this series.
We have to start by talking about the weekend. There was no way you and Mark should been in the bottom two. What happened?
The competition is just so fierce that it could have been any one of us and unfortunately it was us. I thought Mark danced brilliantly this weekend and the Quickstep was one of his best dances so far. Itās just one of those things. That red light went on us and we had to do the dance off. It felt awful. I felt so upset and I was really sad for Mark because it really broke his heart. It really got to him and he was really upset about it.
He took the news really graciously at the weekend and fought for his place in the competitionā¦
It could have been anybody and obviously you never want to be in the bottom two. Heās a fighter and he just took it in his stride. He went out there and performed the best that he could.
Earlier in the week we spoke to Robin Windsor and he suggested maybe you and Mark were in a dangerous place on the leaderboard that may have led people to assume you were safe. How important is it that people pick up the phone and vote for you this weekend?
Itās very, very important that the fans vote for you. Sometimes people might think youāre safe because the judges give you good comments and youāre in the middle of the leaderboard but actually thatās the most dangerous place to be. Itās really important that our fans get behind us even more. We know theyāre all out there and they care. We got some really nice messages over the weekend after we did the dance-off and they were shocked. It was just one of those things where they feel that youāre safe because itās not going really good but itās not going really bad either. Itās the toughest place to be in the middle.
Putting this little knock aside, Mark is really progressing every week and the judges are giving him great comments. He must be feeling more confident about his abilities?
Definitely. I can see the improvement and Iām really glad that the judges see the improvement as well. He feels really good and every time he comes into rehearsal heās picking up the steps and he has a better understanding of the technique and of his posture. Little by little heās really catching up. It was a little bit of a knock to his confidence over the weekend but heās really, really strong-minded. He just got back on it and started working hard again this week so I was really happy about that.
This weekend you and Mark are performing the Samba. What can we expect from the routine?
Well heās coming back kicking and fighting. Heās really got a fire in his belly and heās looking absolutely brilliant so Iām really excited for this dance. Heās really got a nice feel for the Samba and heās actually having a lot of fun with it. Weāre going to see the same Mark that we saw in the Cha Cha; the smiley one, the one we always see! Youāll definitely be getting that out of him and I think heās doing brilliantly this week. Seriously I thought that being in the dance-off would knock him down and it would be hard to get him back up but if anything itās really fired him up and heās a fighter.
Weāve heard it said that the Samba is one of the hardest of the Latin dances. Would you say that was true?
Each dance has itās own characteristics and the Samba has to have that double bounce action and the footwork has to be there. The attitude of it is very festive and you have to feel like youāre in a carnival. Heās handling it really well actually and heās got a nice little rhythm to him that comes very natural. Iām still drilling every single part of his body right now and Iām trying to get that bounce action as much as possible. It is one of the toughest Latin dances definitely.
Something we havenāt talked about yet this series is Frankie & Kevin. Both of you are having a great year so far on Strictly this year but how proud are you that Kevin is doing so well?
Iām extremely proud of Kevin and Frankie. Frankie is just a little dynamite and I absolutely love the fact that she really turns it on when she goes out there and sheās not afraid of performing. I absolutely love them and theyāre a great partnership. I always look forward to seeing their dances and theyāre really inspiring for Mark and I every week. We really look up to them.
What can you tease about this weekendās pro dance?
Thereās going to be shouting, clapping and youāre going to see cowboy boots. Thatās all Iām going to say.
Strictly Come Dancing 2014 continues at 6.30pm Saturday on BBC One. Watch Mark and Karenās Quickstep from week 4 below: