Strictly Come Dancing, semi-final: 5 talking points, from Lauren Steadman's disappointing evening to Ashley Roberts and Faye Tozer topping the leaderboard

Joe Sugg also struggles with two dances as he tumbles down the leaderboard

Strictly Come Dancing: Ashley Roberts & Pasha Kovalev top leaderboard at semi-final for American Smooth routine

Wow. After the relative ease of learning one, fun, musicals-themed number for last week’s special, tonight’s Strictly Come Dancing semi-final really split the men from the boys. Or should we say the Ashleys from the Laurens.

With each couple performing two routines, the pressure was intense and we saw dancers crumble out on a lonely dance floor. Here’s what happened:

A tough night for Joe and Lauren

Learning two dances in one week is a big ask and it just proved too much for Joe Sugg and Lauren Steadman, only adding more fuel to the fire in the debate around dance experience and Ashley Roberts’ background as a performer. While clearly disappointed with the battering from the judges, Lauren looked fairly resigned – she’s been here before and after her disastrous Argentine Tango, she surely knew she was up against it with a ballroom version of the same dance.

Joe looked completely crestfallen though and even admitted he was "gutted". He just couldn’t find the characterisation or attack for his Argentine Tango and you could see the cogs turning in his mind as he tried to remember the steps. It’s a shame they didn’t have more time to work on the routines – they could have been better.

Stacey continues to sparkle

With four tens and nothing lower than a nine, Stacey should be thrilled with tonight’s performances. She nailed the Charleston, the dance that made her sign up to Strictly in the first place, and the Viennese Waltz wasn’t perfect, but still impressive enough to leave everyone smiling.

Plus she’s had that all-important ‘journey’, which is something Faye and Ashley would kill for to bag them a few more votes. After four years as the runner-up, you get the feeling this could finally be Kevin’s year to lift the trophy. Although we’ve definitely said that before…

Ashley and Faye top the leaderboard

Again. This time they’re sharing the honours, sitting pretty on 76 points out of a possible 80, looking down at the mere mortals beneath them. The funny thing was they both had one rough dance by their standards: Ashley’s Paso Doble was generally written off as disappointing, especially after Pasha almost fell over, and ever-chirpy Faye Tozer clearly has a real and fierce hatred for the samba. Still, it’s the glamour of Ashley’s American Smooth (a perfect 40) and the drama of Faye’s Argentine Tango (39) that we will remember.

Craig’s claws were out

Craig’s currently in panto with Paul Chuckle (why isn’t this being televised?), and he brought the essence of his Wicked Stepmother routine to Elstree this evening. He started by picking a fight with Shirley over Lauren’s frame (unwise, Craig). Then he not only criticised Kevin’s choreography (a Strictly cardinal sin), but also accused him of cheating, by allowing Stacey to avoid the more difficult steps. Then CRH’s nit-picking with Faye was so outrageous that mild-mannered Darcey felt the need to intervene. Still, no cat-fighting with Bruno, which was obviously disappointing.

An impossible show to call

It really should be obvious who will make the final by now. Weeks ago it seemed clear-cut: Stacey and Joe would book their places via the fans, with Faye and Ashley earning theirs outright with stunning performances. But Lauren has thrown a huge spanner in the works. She’s the weakest dancer by far, but she’s never been in a dance-off. Ashley is incredibly capable, but she doesn’t have the viewer support. And with all the attention on those two, is it possible that Faye or Stacey could be in for a nasty shock as people feel they’re already safe? There will definitely be tears on Sunday night…

Catch up on everything that happened during the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final below.

The Strictly Come Dancing results show is on Sunday on BBC One.

[8 December 2018 18:44 · emmabullimore]

An interesting choice to have Stacey and Kevin caricature old people in a show that has a strong older fanbase. It also added nothing to the performance. Stacey is clearly loving this dance and there's great attack, decent swivel and good characterisation, but she's sometimes unable to mirror Kevin with enough precision and a couple of those lifts were clunky. The judges are signed-up members of the Stacey fan club though...

[8 December 2018 18:45 · emmabullimore]

Shirley says she's speechless and calls the routine phenomenal. The suggestion being the dance was too perfect for her to find a single fault, which just isn't the case. Annoying. Brrrrruno loved the 1920s authenticity of the characterisation and choreography. Craig loved the eccentricity.

[8 December 2018 18:48 · emmabullimore]

Stacey and Kevin: Charleston scores

Craig: 9

Darcey: 10

Shirley: 10

Bruno: 10

Total: 39

'I'm just so delighted I got to do the Charleston, it was such good fun,' says Stacey. And then a lot of screaming about the score.

[8 December 2018 18:49 · emmabullimore]

Wow, Huw Edwards fulfils 'the ambition of a lifetime' by reading out the terms and conditions. This is getting out of hand...

[8 December 2018 18:50 · emmabullimore]

Time for the last man standing and the best signing of the series as far as Strictly are concerned, it's Joe Sugg, with his partner Dianne. He's always been impressive in ballroom numbers, so I'm expecting this Viennese Waltz to be beautiful.

[8 December 2018 18:51 · emmabullimore]

Dianne, don't pretend those messages are a suprise to anybody, you've been asking for them on social media all week. I am rolling my eyes.

[8 December 2018 18:53 · emmabullimore]

It's tough for the male celebrities to not only master the steps but also gain the confidence to actually lead their partners across the floor. This is a great attempt but the effort is written all over his face, an elegant dance like this requires so much more ease. He's also carrying that tension in his shoulders at times, which is affecting his top line. Nice choreography though. Nauseating camera spins, pass the bucket.

[8 December 2018 18:55 · emmabullimore]

Brrrrrruno and Craig agree there was far too much rise and fall in that routine. Darcey echoes their reaction, she says she wanted so much more given Joe's previous ballroom performances. 'It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what we expected,' she says. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

[8 December 2018 18:57 · emmabullimore]

Joe and Dianne: Viennese Waltz scores

Craig: 6

Darcey: 8

Shirley: 7

Bruno: 8

Total: 29

Ouch, that was harsh from Craig! 'It was a bit harder, this routine,' says Joe. He looks despondent, unsurprisingly.

[8 December 2018 18:59 · emmabullimore]

Time for Ashley and Pasha now. Two visits to the dance-off have reignited the big debate: is Ashley just too good a dancer to compete on this show? All seems a bit unfair - she was offered a gig and she took it. That's the producers' fault, not hers, surely? Still she'll need to stun us if she's going to get to the final. She was struggling with the paso in training, but I still expect this to be great.