Sunday Service: Week 9

After a week of Blackpool fever on It Takes Two, it was great to finally see the hype train pull in after a three year absence. Anticipation was high, and we were kept waiting until 7.45pm for the show so everyone was ready.

Hamza & Jovita kicked things off with an American smooth. Hamza said in the week that he prefers to dance the ballroom routines as he's not great at counting and it's easier to dance in hold. He certainly looked the part in his gorgeous tailsuit. The routine was competent, but for me it came across a little soft. It would have been perfect for the studio at Elstree, but the Tower Ballroom requires a bigger performance and that's what was lacking here. The final lift was absolutely glorious, and that's what I wanted from the whole routine. It was clean, well-danced and sweet, but I wanted bigger.

Personally, I felt Molly was let down by the choreography this week. Carlos' rumba last week was a triumph. This week, he left Molly looking like a spare part while he jived up a storm. He had all the best moves, while she waited for him to dance around her. As always, Molly danced what she was given with accuracy and performance, but she is capable of so much more, and she just didn't get the chance to bring the house down like she should have had. It's a shame.

There are two dances you really want to get in Blackpool week - Paso and quickstep. Kym & Graziano got the former, and certainly used all of the Tower Ballroom's extra space to make everything bigger. The routine was great and Kym sold it. There were a few moments where I felt she lacked power, while in other moments she dominated. Really hit and miss. Her confidence has grown so much and it was great to see her really go for it.

Can we just make disco salsa a thing and be done with it? Tyler & Dianne certainly delivered the spirit of the '70s with their routine, and I did actually quite like it. I yearn for the kind of salsa routines that Chris & Jacqui used to perform (look them up on YouTube), but this was a solid effort. It could have had more armography and less Hustle, but Tyler sold it and seemed to be having a blast. The lifts were very impressive.

It's a good job that the judges get to watch what is happening in the room, and not what we watch on TV, because the camerawork for Ellie & Johannes' American smooth was all over the shop. Lots of bad angles and zooms, ending with us having to watch Ellie clipping herself into the lift when we should have only seen Johannes and friends in the foreground. That aside, I thought it was a nice routine. I preferred the chorus part where they covered the floor with their lovely natural turns and were alone on the floor. Classic Blackpool. I'm not sure the additional dancers really added value to this routine. Ellie seemed really upset with herself at the end, and I'm not sure why. I didn't see anything wrong.

Helen & Gorka got the other dance you long for at Blackpool - the quickstep - and they absolutely made the most of it. The routine was pure content. They flew across the floor in promenade position with virtually no gapping. The additional dancers did add value to this routine, I really wanted to be a part of their gang. Helen had the biggest smile on her face and I absolutely loved her this week.

Beyoncé lives again at the Tower Ballroom. On our last visit, we had Alex Scott's fantastic paso to Run The World (Girls), and this time Fleur gave it absolutely everything with her Destiny's Child mix Couples' Choice. I'm not sure Beyoncé is a dance genre, but who cares? It was epic. This was the dance she was destined (no pun intended) to perform. She had the moves, the attitude and the performance. Was Vito even in this dance? I barely even noticed him, or any of the additional dancers. Fleur owned the routine, and the dancefloor. I especially loved the end where they both stared down the camera as they lowered themselves slowly to the floor. Epic.

It was tough for Will & Nancy to follow Fleur, especially with a campy, '70s samba. They did a good job, but it was slightly anti-climatic. This felt like a very Gilkison routine. Very big, very bright, very camp, with feathers, silks, staging and props. It lacked a lot of samba content. It was all gyrating and voltas. It was a performance, but I wanted more steps. Will performed very well nonetheless.

My favourites of the night were Helen and Fleur.

It's difficult to decide who might be in the bottom two. Molly didn't stand out this week. Kym could be forgotten in the middle of the show. Ellie seemed a bit deflated. I just don't know. Someone good is going to be leaving us every week, and I don't think I'm ready for anyone else to leave.