Saturday Service: Week 6

Strictly's Halloween week was a show of two halves. Some ropy old performances in the first half, some terrible ones in the second.

Jonnie & Oti's cha cha wasn't that great. It was very ploddy. Jonnie's been pretty good in recent weeks, but this week he seemed to just stand around while Oti danced around him. It was just a bit off. And I couldn't get past how much he looked like Tim Minchin.

Ruth & Anton's quickstep was really bumpy. There was a big gap between them for a lot of the routine. They seemed to go up and down at different times as they trotted around the floor, it looked as though Ruth was fighting against Anton instead of dancing with him. It was messy and heavy. Hard to watch.

Simon & Karen left the smooth out of their American smooth. The whole thing was flat and walky. The fleckerl was pretty weak, but at least he attempted it and didn't do a standing spin cop-out. Again, it wasn't nice to watch.

Gemma & Aljaž's jive wasn't the best. I enjoyed the routine, but it all felt a bit heavy. I can't put my finger on why. Gemma's leg action was lovely, proper retraction. There was lots of content in the routine. It just missed the mark.

Joe & Katya's foxtrot was kind of strange, and I can't decide if I liked it or not. It took a bit long to get going, although I did like the opening section. Joe has good timing, but the performance didn't look as confident has it has in past weeks. I liked the armography section in the middle, but it detracted from the foxtrot content a bit. Great pivots, though.

Mollie's cha cha was really wooden. I kept waiting for it to get going, and it just never did. Lots of wriggling, but not much hip action. Maybe they suffered with AJ being poorly at the start of the week. I don't know. But I didn't enjoy it.

Alexandra & Gorka's tango put things back on track. It was sharp. It had loads of drive and drama. My only criticism is that she needs to make sure she points her toes on all of the kicks. She does it some of the time, but not all of the time. Loved the part where she held her frame and Gorka walked around her.

I loved Davood & Nadiya's rumba. It was haunting and beautiful. I thought Davood did pretty well for a male celebrity. I agree with Shirley that the routine lacked content, but that's on Nadiya, not Davood. I hate it when the judges punish the celebrities when they don't like the routine. The same happened to Greg & Natalie last year. It's not fair on the celebs.

I thought Susan & Kevin's foxtrot was decent enough. It was a bit walky, not amazing. It was confident, though. I think the judges were a bit harsh on Susan tonight. It wasn't as bad as they made out.

Debbie & Giovanni's Charleston was fun and lively. It was enjoyable to watch, and packed with steps. Debbie had a lovely swivel, better than most celebs. However, the lifts weren't perfect, and she nearly fell over at the end of the routine. Good, but not worth tens.

Aston was doing very odd things with his upper body on the appels, especially at the beginning of the paso routine. The second half of the routine was better. His lines were pretty good, and he showed great strength. Janette's make-up was the best of the night, too.

Davood and Alexandra were my favourites tonight.

I think it will be an injustice if Simon is not back in the bottom two tomorrow. But who else? Could be Ruth, could be Jonnie, could be Mollie. There is no doubt in my mind, though, that Simon should be going home now.