The Strictly Come Dancing 2014 semi-final was a close fought battle and sadly it was EastEndersā actor Jake Wood and his partner Janette Manrara that left the competition.
They were in the dance-off against Mark Wright and Karen Hauer, who will be competing this weekend in the final. At this stage in the game we still have no clear winner meaning thereās everything to dance for on Saturday night.
We caught up with Robin Windsor to find out what he thought of the semi-final performances, talk about the first 40 of the series, and ask who heās backing to win the show.
Jake Wood left the competition at the weekend. Do you think it was the right decision?
I think it was one of the closest dance-offs weāve ever had. It all came down to whether you had performance or technique. Jake had by far the best performance and Mark had great technique even though his Rumba didnāt have a lot of Rumba; whatever he was doing had great technique to it. Len, the traditionalist that he is, chose to have the technique. It was a split decision with the judges again and the public Iām sure.
Mark and Karen Hauerās Rumba did get split criticism. Some of the judges criticised the lack of Rumba content but others loved it. What did you make of it?
I absolutely loved the dance and I thought it was executed brilliantly. For me there werenāt enough Rumba basics in there. Mark would have struggled with those so Karen did the most incredible job of covering up Markās discrepancies. I loved the dance and kind of agreed with Craig (Revel Horwood) but I would have loved to have seen more Rumba in the Rumba.
Similarly Jake was criticised for not having enough Cha Cha in his Cha Cha. Would you agree with that?
There was more Cha Cha in Jakeās Cha Cha than there was Rumba in Markās Rumba. Jakeās technique suffered a bit. Iām calling it the Curse of the Cha Cha Cha because thatās two weeks in a row that weāve had somebody very popular go out on a Cha Cha. Lots of heel leads and a bit too much stomping in his Cha Cha for me.
Both Mark and Jake also danced the Viennese Waltz on Saturday night. Were those routines better do you think?
I really enjoyed Jakeās Viennese Waltz and his Ballroom has actually improved over the series. I thought that was a very good dance for him. Perhaps if heād done that in the dance-off he may have made it to the final.
Markās Viennese Waltz also showed improvement and his improvement has been off the chain. Heās just getting better and better and better.
Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff had a mixed week. The Samba was a bit of a mess but they pulled it back with the Foxtrot. What did you make of their routines?
Simonās Samba was great and if there hadnāt been that incident in the middle it would have been fantastic. He just didnāt seem to get his rhythm back after he made the mistakes on the Samba rolls. I think he went into it with too much energy so it wasnāt controlled enough, hence the mistake. He came back into himself with a fantastic Foxtrot that thoroughly deserved the 3 10s. It had great choreography by Kristina and it was a great performance. He is a Ballroom boy and he does his Ballroom so well.
Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton also had a mixed week. Their Rumba received some criticism for not being traditional but their Argentine Tango wowed the judges. What did you think?
I think Frankie and Kevinās Rumba was very safe. I understand that they werenāt trying to do a sexy Rumba but for me it was just a little bit safe and flat. Yet again they were another couple that came back and redeemed themselves in the second half with an absolutely fantastic Argentine Tango. Iāve been waiting for Frankie to smoulder and she smouldered; I loved it! With Frankie and Kevin when I heard what they were dancing to I thought this isnāt going to work but once again Kevin pulls it out of the bag with amazing choreography to fit unusual music for an Argentine Tango.
Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev had a very strong week. They seem to be the ones to beat after getting the first 40 of the competition and topping the leaderboard in both roundsā¦
Carolineās Foxtrot was a little under par for me. I felt she was making lots of mistakes from the waist down and it looked a bit hesitant. She said afterwards that she was listening to the song and it was affecting her. It wasnāt a good dance for me. Then, as every single couple did, they came out and redeemed themselves producing what was probably my favourite dance of the series so far. It just had everything that I wanted to see from a Salsa. When Craig lifted up his 10 panel I actually screamed with delight. It was a great way to finish the semi-final and itās going to make it a very tight and interesting final.
This weekendās final will see all of the couples dancing up to three times. Do you still think at this point in the game it could still be anyoneās to win?
Itās absolutely anybodyās to win at the moment. As we all should know itās all down to the public vote in the final. The judges will have their say but they are just for guidance only. It is up to the winner to decide who will be the winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2014.
Who are you putting your money on to win the series?
I think Caroline may pip everybody at the last hurdle but Iām backing Simon.
Strictly Come Dancing 2014ās final starts at 6.30pm on Saturday night on BBC One. Watch Caroline and Pashaās show-stopping Salsa below: