After week 3 it was looking as if Robin Windsor and his celebrity partner Deborah Meaden were on their way to the top of the leaderboard.
Last week their Jive, despite being loved by the audience and the public, didnāt receive great feedback from the judges. Robin and Deborah found themselves next to the bottom of the leaderboard and the fear they may be in the bottom two was very much real.
We caught up with Robin in our weekly chat to find out what went wrong last week, what he thought of the judgesā scores and to discuss this weekās Viennese Waltz.
Last weekās Jive didnāt quite get the reception from the judges that youād hoped for. How do you feel the performance went?
Our Jive last week was absolutely wonderful and it was everything it had everything it said on the tin; it was Bucks Fizz, it was camp and it was fun. Unfortunately as far as Deborah goes it wasnāt her dance and she was well aware it wasnāt going to be her best dance. She went out there and gave it everything she had.
Would you say that the judgesā scores were fair?
I thought the judgesā scores were fair. They all agreed that it just wasnāt the more suitable dance for Deborah to do and Iām glad that weāve done it now and weāve got it out the way. Especially now I never have to see that wig again.
The wig was pretty special wasnāt it?
I thought, āif weāre going to do Bucks Fizz, then letās do it properlyā so I put myself right in the zone, as did Deborah, and I think the public absolutely loved what we did. It wasnāt the best technical dance in the world but I think as far as performance for the show goes it was brilliant.
Last week was probably the first time you had genuine reason to be concerned about your position on the leaderboard. How nervous were you during the results show?
Last weekās results show was absolutely awful because we actually thought we were going to be in the bottom two. We were second to the bottom of the leaderboard. Thanks to the public and thanks to them loving Deborah and what we do, theyāve voted for us and got us through. Weāre really, really happy and weāre coming back fighting this week. Weāve got an incredible Viennese Waltz for you guys.
What can we expect from your Viennese Waltz?
Weāre dancing to James Brownās Itās a Manās World. Clearly in 1966 when he wrote the song it was a manās world but we now have living proof with Deborah that itās no longer that way. The whole number is about empowerment and who can take control. Youāll find out who wins on Saturday night.
Previously youāve said that you consider Deborah to be more of a Latin than a Ballroom girl. How is she getting to grips with doing Ballroom again?
So far I have considered Deborah to be more of a Latin girl, however itās her ballroom that seems to be going from strength-to-strength. Iām really pleased with how everythingās gone this week. Weāve been working very hard on technique, hip placement, rotation and sheās doing very well. Weāve got quite an unusual Viennese Waltz to do tonight. We have a prop that we use for pretty much half the number. I donāt think itās ever been done before on the show so Iām really looking forward to it.
Props are notoriously difficult. What has Deborah been doing to get used to dancing with one?
Deborahās always found it very difficult to dance up-close and personal to me and the prop makes her dance about two feet away from me so for her this is absolutely perfect.
Tonightās live show is week 5. How is Deborah feeling as the weeks seem to be flying by?
Deborah is loving ballroom dancing more and more and more. I think she got a bit of a knock last week but for Deborah in business if a deal goes badly she needs to shrug it off, pull her socks up and carry on; thatās exactly what sheās going to do this week.
The competition seems to be more of a level playing field now than it ever has been before. Does that make it even tougher in terms of getting through to the next week for you and Deborah?
The standard of the competition is so close this year that it makes it so much worse for us. Normally we can work out whoās going to be in the bottom two and whoās going to go home. This year itās really difficult so everyone has to up their game every week to make sure they can stay in the competition.
Natalie, Sophie and Abbey are hogging the top of that leaderboard arenāt they? Do you think you may have the chance to topple them this weekend?
We do have our three frontrunners at the moment who are now expected to come out every week and bring brilliance to the Strictly dancefloor. However there are some others that are bubbling over from underneath and I think they need to start and watch their backs.
The professional dances have been nothing short of incredible so far this season. The pros have really upped the ante. Have you got another spectacular routine this weekend?
Weāve got a fantastic group number this weekend. Itās focused a lot on projections. I think itās going to look very, very clever and I think itās going to be different to anything youāve seen on the show before. The professional numbers this year have actually upped their game a huge amount and weāve got some incredible ones coming up. If you think youāve seen some good ones so far just wait because there are some amazing ones on the way.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC One HD. Rewatch Robin and Deborahās Jive from week 4 below: