Sunday Service: Week 3

Theme week, ahoy. It's movie week, which is absolutely not the same as musicals week. Admittedly, many of these movies are musicals, and many musicals are movies, but they are absolutely different.

Vick & Graziano's salsa lacked content for me. Vick's performance was great, high energy, I just wasn't a fan of the content. The lifts were good, and looked effortless, which is quite rare for a celebrity. Vick has a lot of potential, but I'm not sure how far she's going to get with Graziano.

Ranj & Janette's quickstep was fun, but didn't hit the mark. Ranj lacks drive. He didn't look as though he was leading Janette. Here were heel leads missing, and the Charleston section went a bit wrong. Their body contact was pretty good. Perhaps the excitement of becoming Price Ali was too overwhelming for Ranj.

I really enjoyed Lee & Nadiya's cha cha routine. It was fun. I liked the routine. Lee is still a bit pigeon-toed. I didn't think his leg action was as bad as the judges made out. It was a shame he made a mistake toward the end. The side-by-side sections were pretty clean, and I liked the floor section. Very undermarked.

Such a shame that Kate stumbled at the beginning of the foxtrot! It disturbed the sexy vibe of the routine. Her footwork was pretty good, the heel leads were there, although she needs to flip her toes up on the backward steps. She lost body contact with Aljaž at times, and she needs to watch her shoulders on pivots as they were creeping up.

Why was Stacey in flat shoes? It made the entire jive so stompy. I liked the choreography, and Stacey is a great performer,  but I want a jive to be much lighter. Stacey and Kevin have a great partnership. I am desperate to see them do something a little less high-energy.

Joe & Dianne's American smooth was a lovely routine. However, Joe needs to straighten his legs. He danced the whole routine on bent legs, like it was a tango. He needs a bit more drive. His musicality is spot on, though. He id definitely watchable. I wouldn't say he lead Dianne especially, but he did present her beautifully. I want to see more ballroom from Joe.

Graeme & Oti's Charleston had my Spidey senses tingling! The lifts were incredible, and there were so many of them! The one at the end was amazing. His timing was great, the swivvel was pretty good too. The trust between them after three weeks is phenomenal. Brilliant routine.

Ashley & Pasha has a difficult job. To dance the salsa to one of the most iconic movies of all time, with that iconic lift, was a lot of pressure. Anyone would have been nervous, but it was confident and clean. There were nods to the original choreography everywhere. Was there enough salsa content in there? Not sure. But who cares?

Katie & Gorka's foxtrot was cute, but she is a bit out of her depth now. Gorka is doing a good job of hiding her lack of ability but not over-packing the routine with steps. It's lovely to see a more relaxed Katie. The judges are right that she's improving, and in a normal classroom situation she would improve throughout her course. Unfortunately, this is Strictly, and there isn't the time for slow development.

I loved Seann & Katya's paso doble. Brilliant choreography, brilliant mood. There was maybe one moment where Seann was a little off time, but I don't care. I loved it. Great shaping in the arms. The slow mo section was amazing - Katya's control is breathtaking. Loved everything about it. Clubbed To Death is a brilliant track. Everything just worked.

Lauren just seems to lack confidence and attack. Her cha cha action is nice, but it's way too understated. Both of the drops off the car were fearless. At times she appeared to be looking to AJ for reassurance. It's all a bit Louise Rednapp. She needs to find a way to express herself on the floor.

I was a little bored by Charles & Karen's american smooth. Choreographically, it was uninspiring. It felt like it was all about Karen, I barely even noticed Charles. And why was there no lift on that crescendo of the start of the chorus? Missed opportunity. Choreography aside, Charles could have had more drive and straighter legs and better timing.

Faye Tozer was the embodiment of Sandy Dumbrowsi. She totally looked the part, and acted the part. The routine was frantically fast, and Faye nailed all of it. She and Giovanni flew around the floor. Fantastic stuff.

Danny & Amy had a tough job, dancing to one of the world's most beloved musicals. It was a good effort as well. Danny has shaping issues - his arm lines are too straight for the paso. There was a little incident before the pivots as well. The music didn't scream paso, which made it difficult.

So many favourties this week. I loved Faye, Seann and Graeme the most, but there were other great performances too.

Katie is definitely in the bottom two for me. She is just so far behind everyone else, and won't have time to reach their levels. I don't agree with how high they were on the leaderboard. I would probably put Lauren in the bottom two with her, but Lauren has lots more to give. I don't agree that Lee was the weakest of the week.

We'll have to wait until tonight to see if the public agree with the judges.