Strictly Come Blogging: Saturday Service: Week 13

Semi-final week. This has to be the closest Strictly in years.

Lisa & Brendan's Argentine tango has fantastic intensity. It was hot, with a brilliant lift at the end. Lisa's knees were a little on the bent side on the odd occasion, but that's mega picky. I loved the routine, I loved the performance.

Their quickstep was magical. It was all Hollywood. Wonderful choreography and bags of performance. It was much improved on their first quickstep.

Tom & Camilla took a risk with the jive. It wasn't Tom's strongest dance first time around, and while improved with a good performance, perhaps a ballroom dance would have given them a higher score. Tom's timing was out in a couple of places.

I loved the performance and storytelling in the Argentine tango. The choreography wasn't as packed as the other two couples, but that is not really the fault of Tom or Camilla, and they shouldn't really be penalised for that. It was always going to be more difficult for Tom than Brendan or Vincent, because the man has to lead the Argentine tango in a much stronger way than any other dance. They performed what they were given to the best of their ability.

Rachel & Vincent's Argentine tango was never going to disappoint. It had intricate footwork, and Rachel had that better than the other two. The lifts were excellent and it had good musicality. I agreed with Len that it could have had more intensity - I thought Lisa & Brendan's Argentine tango was far more smouldering.

The American smooth was slower than I anticipated, but it showed off the great control that Rachel has. It was beautiful and the choreography suited Rachel's personality.

I'm sorry to say that I think Tom should be in the dance off. Neither dance really suited Tom, and you simply cannot afford to make a mistake at this stage. However, I believe that the girls have been stronger than the boys for a few weeks. I don't think that the jive alone can be blamed here. The girls have just raised their game. Tom's mind seems to be with his wife and not with his partner, while the girls have been totally focused on their partnerships. He seems less focused generally.

You cannot split the girls, as we saw from their scores tonight. I just hope that the judges are not forced to choose between them tonight. I think they should both be in the final, and let the pressure of five dances sort the women from the girls.

Here are the videos...

Lisa & Brendan - Argentine tango