Strictly Come Dancing live: Paul Merson’s Vindaloo nightmare leaves fans divided over week one dance
The pressure is on as celebrity contestants perform live for the first time this season
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Strictly Come Dancing has returned to our screens for the first live show of the series.
The new season kicked off last week with a dazzling pre-recorded show to mark the beginning of its 20th anniversary series after months of scandal surrounding the programme’s professional dancers.
However, the pressure will rise this week as the 15 celebrity contestants perform live for the first time before the voting – and first elimination of the series – happens next weekend.
This week’s routines include three cha chas, two foxtrots, two tangos, two sambas and a Viennese waltz.
Comedian Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell perform a cha cha to “Twist and Shout”’ by The Beatles, with TV doctor Punam Krishnan and Gorka Márquez performing the same style to Kylie Minogue’s “Love at First Sight”.
Former Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec danced a cha cha to Sabrina Carpenter’s summer anthem, “Espresso”.
As announced last week, former Arsenal/England player Paul Merson paid homage to his sport by performing the intriguing combination of an American Smooth to the popular football chant song “Vindaloo” by Fat Les.
Gladiators star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe foxtrotted to “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” by Dinah Washington, while Olympic Hockey player Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin also performed a foxtrot to The Supremes’ hit “Where Did Our Love Go”.
Tango-ing this week Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova danced to Harry Styles’s “Golden”, while Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones performed to Madonna’s “Ray of Light”.
In the samba corner were Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, dancing to Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do”, and Wynne Evans and Katya Jones performing Tom Jones’s “Help Yourself”.
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TOWIE’s Pete Wicks and his partner Jowita Przystał performed a paso doble to “Breathe” by The Prodigy.
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas danced a Viennese Waltz to Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” and JLS’s JB Gill and Amy Dowden performed a classic waltz to “When I Need You” by Leo Sayer.
Who’s who on this year’s Strictly line-up?
In case you need a cheat sheet for this year’s couples, here’s your who’s who guide for Strictly 2024
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 couples – full list of celebrities and their partners
Meet the cast of 2024 – and their professional partners
And the first scores are in
Nick and Luba received 3, 5, 5 and 5 from the judges, giving them a total of 18 points.
No surprises as to who dished out the lowest score. Craig didn’t pull any punches with this one, calling the first routine of the night “stiff”. But can we take a moment for Nick’s bejewelled hi-vis jacket, perhaps the ultimate Strictly and DIY SOS crossover? It’s very Bob the Builder in space.
Claudia’s outfit is reminding viewers of a certain Star Wars character
Did Claudia get her dress from a galaxy far, far away? The Princess Leia vibes are strong with this one
Sam and Nikita’s foxtrot
A solid start for Olympian Sam and her professional partner Nikita, who received 6, 6, 6 and 5 from the judges, giving them a total of 23 points.
Shirley reckons that her fellow Scouser Sam could be “a force to be reckoned with”, while Craig said that we have “much to look forward to” from this couple. Praise indeed, coming from the panel’s resident grump.
Shayne and Nancy’s samba
It’s 4, 6, 5 and 6 for Shayne and Nancy’s swaggering samba, giving them a total of 21 points. Shirley (who’s got her notepad out for the first time this series) loved the confidence, Motsi likened Shayne to John Travolta... and Craig reckoned it “failed miserably” as a samba. Well, there’s no pleasing everyone, and it’s still a promising start for these two.
Toyah’s a Ray of Light
The routine is a little bit stop start, but Toyah certainly has the most Strictly-tastic costume of the night... and I for one am actually really enjoying the Dave Arch band’s Madonna cover...
Oof. Toyah and Neil’s tango got a bit of a drubbing there. Shirley’s brutal verdict? “Poor Neil looked like he was going for a walk in the park with you”. Yikes.
It’s 2, 4, 2, and 4 for them, giving them a total of 12 points. As Tess says, it’s only week one.
Strictly does Sabrina
It was only ever going to be a matter of time before Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” got Strictly-fied, wasn’t it? You’ve got to love how literal the production design can be - massive coffee cup, anyone?
Aljaz’s comeback
Just as Craig says: “Slay, slay, slay” (side note: this will be my new reaction meme). It’s great to see Aljaz back on the dance floor after a few years away from the show, and it seems like he and Tasha will be a force to be reckoned with.
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