Strictly Come Dancing burst back onto our screens last night with the first live show of its 21st series (yes really!).
After being paired with their professional partners last week, this year’s cast of celebrities took to the legendary Elstree dance floor for their debut performances.
As usual hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were on hand to guide us – and them – through the evening, whilst judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas shared their thoughts on every heel lead and high kick. The show also featured a dramatic opening routine from Strictly’s troupe of professional dancers, set to Tears For Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’.
The standard this year is already incredibly high, so picking out our top 5 dances was a very tough choice – shout outs to Jody Cundy’s sparkling old Hollywood quickstep, Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s infectious enthusiasm in his Cha-Cha-Cha and Angela Rippon’s incredible leg extensions! But in no particular order, here’s what we eventually decided on:
Nikita and Gorka – Waltz to ‘Run To You’ by Whitney Houston
It may not have got top marks with the judges, but I adored this Waltz from Nikita. It had a lovely soft, romantic feel about it, with some beautiful lines in her body and very decent footwork (including some heel leads!). There was a really intimate quality to the routine as well – especially in the dramatic drag – and I loved her little pause at the start of the routine with those almost balletic arms. However, what really stood out to me was the emotional connection between her and Gorka. For me that really elevated the whole routine and made them a pair to watch next week.
Layton and Nikita – Samba to ‘Touch’ by Little Mix
A Samba in week one is a very daunting prospect, so well done Layton for not only pulling it off but doing so in style. From the solo opening section the whole performance oozed sass and confidence, as well as perfectly balancing speed and precision with some absolutely jaw-dropping tricks (the splits being a particular standout!). I thought they had great synchronisation as a couple as well and the hip action was excellent. If I had one small criticism, I would have liked a little more bounce and drive into the floor, but overall it was absolutely fierce and I already can’t wait for next week!
Ellie and Vito – Jive to ‘Can’t Tame Her’ by Zara Larsson
Right from the off Ellie went into this routine full of intent and attack, from her precise, strong arm movements to her power across the dance floor and her sharp kicks and flicks. She absolutely nailed that springy Jive action and had really great hand movements, as well as some impressive tricks such as the back bend and drop kick and bags of energy throughout. I also loved her solo section which delivered playful swagger in spades! Although she had a slight wobble on her last trick, she showed that she is definitely a dark horse in this competition and could well be a contender for the glitterball trophy.
Bobby and Dianne – Foxtrot to ‘All About You’ by McFly
This was a complete sugar rush of a Foxtrot, with sweet storytelling and some lovely arms and footwork from Bobby, as well as a nice relaxed quality to the overall performance. It felt slightly rushed in places and there was quite a bit of gapping in hold which I put down to the height difference, but the whole thing was so utterly adorable and charming that I didn’t care – and actually found myself welling up towards the end! Despite Bobby previously professing to be more of a ‘hips and shoulders’ guy, I think he surprised a lot of people and I’ll be really intrigued to see just how far he can go with the Ballroom routines. (Also, Dianne absolutely won the fashion points for the evening in her gorgeous blue dress!)
Nigel and Katya – Paso Doble to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana
We may have had to wait until the end of the night for their routine, but Nigel and Katya absolutely closed the show with a bang. Their circus-themed Paso had great precision and synchronisation throughout, with Nigel delivering punchy movements out of hold as well as tons of drama. He led Katya around the floor brilliantly and was commanding out of hold too, whether that was spinning around on one leg or the fantastic shapes in his arms, before finishing off with some excellent cape work. It was a powerful performance with tons of confidence and the judges rewarded him with top spot on the leaderboard.
The leaderboard for the evening was
Nigel and Katya – 32 (8, 8, 8, 8)
Layton and Nikita – 29 (7, 8, 7, 7)
Bobby and Dianne – 29 (6, 7, 8, 8)
Amanda and Giovanni – 29 (7, 7, 8, 7)
Angela R and Kai – 28 (7, 7, 7, 7)
Annabel and Johannes – 28 (7, 7, 7, 7)
Angela S and Carlos – 23 (6, 6, 5, 6)
Eddie and Karen – 22 (4, 6, 6, 6)
Krishnan and Lauren – 22 (5, 6, 6, 5)
Jody and Jowita – 21 (5, 5, 5, 6)
Adam and Luba – 19 (4, 5, 5, 5)
Zara and Graziano – 19 (3, 6, 5, 5)
Nikita and Gorka – 18 (3, 5, 5, 5)
Les and Nancy – 16 (2, 4, 5, 5)
As a reminder, no-one goes home this week, and the judges’ scores from last night and next Saturday will be combined before the first results show and dance-off next Sunday night – so make sure you tune in for that!
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 30th September at 6.20 PM, with the first Results Show of the series on Sunday 1st October at 7.15 PM.
