Saturday Service: Week 7

First off, I am gutted that Will had to leave the competition. He brought energy and positivity to the dancefloor and beyond. It is clear that everyone loved him and it's such a shame his time was cut short. I wish him well for his recovery, and hope he is still able to smash it in Tokyo next year.

On to the competition, and overall I thought it was a good night.

Karim & Amy got things off to a brilliant start with their quickstep. Beautiful lines, lots of energy which was sustained throughout. Clean footwork. Karim looked like he was leading Amy. No faffing about either, all killer no filler. They're finally treating Karim like an adult, and it's refreshing.

I really enjoyed Michelle & Giovanni's paso, possibly even more than their foxtrot last week. It had power and performance. I liked the slightly alternative take on the dance. I was concerned about the music choice, but they made it work. Fierce and fearless. Lovely shapes.

Emma & Aljaž's samba was very sweet, but Emma continues to lack something. An earthiness, perhaps. It was just all a bit uncontrolled and lacking tone - jelly-like as Bruno said. She needs more control and more attack. Emma is always too elegant. She needs to get more into the floor.

A slightly off week for Kelvin & Oti in my opinion. The Viennese waltz set out with a story in the intro, and we really didn't see that story again until the out. It lacked emotion in the middle. I didn't like the fleckerl, it was too up and down. Lovely frame, nice drive. It just lacked emotion for me.

Saffron continues to frustrate me. She still seems to lack core strength. Or maybe it's just that her shoes are too high. It's as if she could topple over at any moment. She never closes her feet together, which makes everything look untidy. I know the salsa is a more free dance, but it wasn't slick enough for me. AJ needs to work on the finishing. It needs more polishing.

Alex & Kevin's American smooth was cute. I was concerned that Alex would struggle to return to a traditional dance after two weeks of more freestyle routines, but thankfully now Alex is out of her shell she's not going back in. It was warm and engaging. The routine made me smile. Alex's footwork was nice. Maybe having two pros coaching her all week was helpful.

I'm not sure the judges were watching the same dance of me, based on their comments for Chris & Karen's street commercial routine. It just seemed like a lot of walking and pointing. I liked the nods in the choreography to PJ & Duncan's original routine. But it just didn't move me. I really like Chris, and I want him to be great. This routine wasn't as strong as the judges' scores for me.

Emma & Anton's rumba. Oh dear. It was quite difficult to get past the Carol Vorderman-esque hair for starters. I'm really starting to feel for Emma. With another partner she could probably be getting better scores. God bless her for throwing herself at Anton in the vain hope that it would pass for chemistry. I'm starting to wonder if Anton is even enjoying Strictly anymore. Emma made some really lovely shapes, and her basic steps were really nice. It was just a little... off...

Mike & Katya had a gift getting the Charleson this week. It's always a crowd pleaser, and I think Mike did a good job. There were a couple of errors, and he seemed to struggle with the swivels.  He gave good face, and brought the performance.  Surely Mike is going to run out of these character number soon.

Best of the night was easily Michelle for me this week. I also loved Karim and Alex.

The bottom two is always difficult to predict. For me, the Emmas and Saffron were the weakest for me, which reflects the leaderboard. I think it could easily be the two Emmas in the dance-off tomorrow. If that's the case, it could be the end of the road for Emma Barton. I can't see that routine making it out of the dance-off, no matter who the competition is.