Strictly 2011 - The Ladies!

Strictly Come Dancing 2011 kicked off in style last Saturday as the celebrities were paired up with their dance partners. So who's got the favourites and who's doing a Widdecombe?

Lets start with Alex Jones - she started off at BBC Choice and welsh station S4C before ending up on the The One Show's sofa with the delectible Matt Baker (who you may remember was a runner up last year). She has been paired up with James Jordan.

She's best known as Angie Watts from Eastenders (even though she left the role in 1988), Anita Dobson is the next for the sparkle treatment. Since leaving the square, she's starred in other shows such as Casualty, Hotel Babylon, The Stretch and Holby City. I have also just discovered that she's married to Queen guitarist Brian May! Anita has been paired up with Robin Windsor for the series.

The youngest contestant from this year's show is 23 year old Miss Chelsee Healey who is better known as Janeece Bryant from the BBC show Waterloo Road. She has been paired up with new dancer Pasha Kovalev (who was a finalist on the 3rd season of So You Think You Can Dance USA).

The fourth female contestant is former Tory MP and novelist Edwina Currie. She served in the House of Commons for 14 years before losing her seat in 1997 and has since become a tv and radio contributor. Oh and she also had an affair with the ex PM John Major. She has been paired up with Vincent Simone.

She's all grown up since we last saw her leaving Ramsey Street, and she's wearing a lot more clothes than she did in the video for her UK #1 single Kiss Kiss - it's Holly Valance. Lets hope that he particiaption won't be as big a disaster as her second album. She's been paired up with the reining champion Artem Chigvinstev.

Next up is 60's songstress Lulu. Still fresh faced (shame she has none of the original parts), she's most recently been on tour with Anastacia and Heather Small (of M-People fame) for the Here Come The Girls show. She has been paired up with Brendan Cole (but she was not happy about that!).

And the final female contestant is Nancy Dell'Olio. She's credited as a property lawyer but is best known for being Sven Forehead Erikssons girlfriend around the time that he was banging Ulrika Jonsson. Could be a loose cannon.... She's been paired up with Anton du Beke



Eurovision: Semi Final 2 LIVE BLOG

Here we go again! For the next three hours, your we're gonna have commentary on everything from songs to hair styles! Are we ready?



1930 30 mins to go. If you don't know who's performing tonight, then make sure you check out the previews here and here

2000 Live from the Espirit Arena in Dusseldorf, it's the second semi final. Watching this on BBC Three because commentary cut out on RTÉ on Tuesday...

2002 I think that comedian chick is the better looking of the two....

2004 And so our first contestants are Bosnia and Hertzigovina. An old folksie song that really doesn't sound great.

Did that hyperactive dude with the trumpet actually play?

2008 The Austrian contingent are next on stage with The Secret Is Love. First observation is that she has a lobsided bob.

Its a very shouty Celine Dion type ballad - i don't like it

2013 The Netherlands are next out of the gate. Scott Mills just pointed out that they haven't qualified for the last six years and I don't think tonight is going to be any different.

The song isn't bad, but it could have been better of they had got cute blonde guitarist to sing it... The lead singer looks greasy and scruffy in his white suit ... I'm gonna guess that he smells too

2016 La Belgique next singing With Love Baby - it's like something you'd see in a school talent show ... If the teachers were performing.

That said, the harmonies, beat boxing and acapella are spot on. Outfits are a shambles - they really do look like teachers. Love the comment from Scott Mills that they look like Glee in 20 years!

2020 The Slovakian Twiins are next (that's the correct spelling) with I'm Still Alive. They have the cleavage out, so the boys will definitely be voting for this one!

They look like Marcia Cross from Desperate Housewives!

This is supposed to be one of the favorites, but the song is a bit "bleh"...

2026 Off to the Ukraine now with Angel. Now this song I like! This chick really rocks the posh frock with feathered shoulders look! Kinda looks like Taylor Swift....

Oh, and the sand artist is amazing!

2030 Moldova look SCARY! Love Scott Mills comment that the song is 3 minutes too long (it's only 3 minutes long!).

Unicycling horn players wearing white? Did someone spike my Diet Coke? This entry is as ridiculous as the things on theirs heads.

NEXT!

2034 Sweden are up next with Popular. Sounds like a summer dancefloor stomper! Such a shame that he's SO out of tune. Guaranteed to qualify with the young girl and clergy vote.

2038 The Cypriot entries are next with a song in Greek, so I'm not gonna try to write the name down.

This better liven up because they're singing like someone is about to get buried. And now a chick swinging soap on a rope... ...

If I've missed anything or you have any feedback, leave a comment in the box below or tweet me @daveindub

2042 Bulgaria are up next with Na Inat. It's a good song with good energy but who the f*** dressed this girl?

2048 FYR Macedonia next with another foreign song name. Starts off like a dance song that I can't remember the name of and the just sounds like the normal Eurovision tripe.

NEXT!

2051 And now Dana International is back with Ding Dong! This is one of the most anticipated performances of the night. It looms like someone put her dress in the shredder.

Overall the song is nothing special which is a shame

2055 Slovenia are next with No One. Why do they all feel the need to do the Mariah voice thingy?? This chick is trying too hard to be Xtina
Aguilera.

2058 Next up are Romania with Change. Did you know that their lead singer is from Newcastle?

It's okay but cheesy.

2105 Back from the ad break and we've got Estonia. She looks great but she's out of tune and flat. Such a shame because I had high hopes for her :(

2108 Next is Belarus with I Love Belarus. Bad song title, bad song and crap singing. Need I say more?

NEXT!

NOTE: There was more of this blog, but unfortunately it fell into the abyss when blogger went tits up :(

- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

BREAKING NEWS: Eurovision Semi Final 1 - The Result

19 countries competed (although some may as well have stayed at home with the crap that they sent .... I'm looking at you Portugal) and we now have our 10 who move on to Saturday's final! The lucky countries are:

Serbia
Lithuania
Greece
Azerbaijan
Georgia (How??)
Switzerland
Hungary
Finland
Russia
Iceland

A special mention for Norway who didn't get through but really did deserve to :(

More Eurovision tomorrow with a sneaky peek of the second semi final.

- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kylie - New Years with Jools Holland Part 2

Kylie also sang Try Your Wings, which was featured in 2007 documentary White Diamond.

Kylie - New Years with Jools Holland

Kylie graced our screens again over New Years by appearing on Jools Holland Hootenany. Here she is performing Better Than Today.



Come back in the morning for a bonus song

Strictly - Semi Final Catch Up ... Part Four

So the results show had come around once again and three places were up fpr grabs in next week's Strictly Come Dancing final ... but who would they go to?


Bruce Forsythe entertained us with the story of Little Red Riding Hood (played by the gorgeous Ola Jordan)


Then Take That sang one of their classic tracks - Back For Good


And then it was time for THE RESULTS!

Strictly - Semi Final Catch Up ... Part Three

Following on from Friday night's dances, each couple had one dance left to win themselves votes and a place in the final.....



Opening the show were Scott and Natalie and their Charleston


They were followed by Kara and Artem with the Rumba


The third couple were Matt and Aliona with the Tango


Following them were Gavin and Katya with their Viennese Waltz


And closing the show were Pamela and James with the Quickstep


Come back later this afternoon for a special performance from Bruce, Take That and the results!

Strictly - Semi Final Catch Up ... Part Two

To round off Friday's Semi Final show, we were treated to something that hasn't been done on Strictly before - a Swing-a-Thon. All five couples took to the floor together and were eliminated one by one with the winner picking up 5 points.



The whole dance only lasted for two and a half minutes, but you can see that the contestants are exhausted from dancing their little hearts out!



After lunch, we'll show you the five dances from Saturday night's show and then later on today you can see the results!

Strictly - Semi Final Catch Up ... Part One

If you missed any of the action from this weekends Strictly Come Dancing semi-final, fret not! Between today and tomorrow, we'll be posting all of the weekend dances as well as the results. We start with Friday nights dances which saw some of our celebrities lose it completely....

These videos are wider than this page, so you'll need to click through on the link below to watch them.

We opened with Pamela and James' Paso Doble


That was followed by Kara and Artems Viennese Waltz


The third dance came from Gavin and Katya with their Samba


The penultimate couple were Scott and Natalie who danced the Argentine Tango


And the nights show dances were rounded off by Matt and Aliona and their Samba


Make sure you come back in the morning for the Swing-a-thon!

Strictly - Semi Final Results LIVE BLOG

So tonight, our fantastic five become the final three, but who's going to miss out on the final?



We open with our professional showdancers and another of their fantastic routines set to the Scissors Sisters track Fire With Fire.

And now it's our usual recap, but slightly longer this weekend as we have to see Friday and Saturday highlights. I think I heart Matt Baker even more now that I've seen him crying on that VT :(

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

Pamela and James are safe
Kara are Artem are safe

Both couples have guaranteed themselves a spot in the final and we'll find out the fates of our other three couples a little later.

Now a musical pause from the legend that is Bruce Forsythe. It's hard to believe that this man is 82.

A quick chat with our "dancers in limbo" before we head straight over to another performance from the original man-band Take That.

And now we find out who'll be joining Kara and Pamela in the final!

The first couple LEAVING tonight are Gavin and Katya

The second couple LEAVING tonight are Scott and Natalie

And that means that Matt and Aliona head through to next weeks final!

It's been quite a weekend - roll on the FINAL!

- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

Your results start soon!

Don't forget that it all kicks off at 7pm with our Strictly results as we find out which two couples have fallen at the final hurdle.

Then it's over to the X Factor where the winner will be crowned before 9:30pm.

Strictly - Semi Final Part 2 LIVE BLOG

Nice to see you, to see you NICE!

So here we go - our semi finalists have one more dance to try to get to the finals next week.



Opening the show are Scott and Natalie with their Charleston. There was a whole lotta energy in that routine - he's really giving it his all! The judges like it but a usual Craig is mentioning sole technical errors.
Score: 35/40

Our second couple are Kara an Artem with the rhumba. These two really do have chemistry and it looks like a flawless performance. Alicia called it pure magic and Bruno called her the Goddess of Love who danced like a professional.
Score: 39/40

The third couple to take to the floor are Matt and Aliona with the tango. I loved the performance and the choice of music. It can't get any gayer than madonna on strictly! Thankfully there's a complete reversal in the judges comments and they love him tonight.
Score: 38/40

Our fourth couple are Gavin and Katya with the Viennese Waltz. It's a good performance. Craig slated him but Katya is biting back! All judges are telling that there have been big improvements since week one.
Score: 31/40

The final couple fighting for survival are Pamela and James (my favorites!) with the quickstep. This woman looks at home no matter what dance she does! Judges love it - Craig called it FABULOUS!
Score: 40/40

And thats it, our contestants cant do any more - its now all up to the public. Here's how the leader board looks after their two dances and swing-a-thon:

Kara and Artem: 83/85

1st: Kara and Artem
39 + 5 + 39 = 83/85

2nd: Pamela and James
35 + 3 + 40 = 78/85

Joint 3rd: Scott and Natalie
33 + 2 + 35 = 70/85

Joint 3rd: Matt and Aliona
28 + 4 + 35 = 70/85

5th: Gavin and Katya
27 + 1 + 31= 59/85

Tune in tomorrow at 7pm as we find out who our three finalists are!

Strictly - Semi Final Part 1 LIVE BLOG

Well it's part one of the Strictly Semi Final and remember that it's a double elimination this week!

We have five dances tonight and five tomorrow as our five couples hope to progress to the final three!



First up it's last weeks leaders - Pamela and James and they're dancing the Pasa Doble. For me, that routine was a bit all over the place but the judges seek to love it.
Score: 35/40

Next up are Kara and Artem and they'll be dancing the Viennese Waltz. It's a light and airy routine - very well put together by Artem! Very positive comments from the judges but Craig says that she lifter her foot twice (does it matter that much?)
Score: 39/40

The third couple are Gavin and Katya who are performing the Samba. Dancing aside, Gavin looks HOT tonight! Energetic routine with a great finish but HR looks so awkward. He lacks the rhythm and flow according to the judges.
Score: 27/40

Our penultimate couple are Scott and Natalie with their Argentine Tango. Its sultry and sexy with lots of lifts - I like it! Judges seem positive but he's been pulled up on some technical items.
Score: 33/40

Our final couple are Matt and Aliona and they're dancing the salsa. It's a good song choice but not received well by the judges which is a shame because he genuinely seems upset by the comments.
Score: 28/40

And now it's the Strictly Swing-a-thon! Couples will be eliminated and scores will be added to those above to make their total score for this evening.

It's mayhem! And the first couple off the floor are Gavin and Katya. Scott and Natalie are next off and they're followed by Pamela and James. Our runners up are Matt and Aliona which means that Kara and Atrem are the winners!

And that leaves our leader board like this:

1st: Kara and Artem
39 + 5 = 44/45

2nd: Pamela and James
35 + 3 = 38/45

3rd: Scott and Natalie
33 + 2 = 35/45

4th: Matt and Aliona
28 + 4 = 32/45

5th: Gavin and Katya
27 + 1 = 28/45

- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

Strictly - Quarter Final ... A Bonus!

During the quarter final, we got the chance to see two of our professional stars in all their glory. Anton DuBeke and partner Erin Boag treated us to a Slow Waltz which I can only describe as breathtaking.

Strictly - Quarter Final Catch-Up

As we know this week saw the first perfect score of the series - well here it is along with some of the other dances from Saturday and Sunday nights:


Pamela and James dance the Viennese Waltz


Matt and Aliona dance the Jive


Kara and Artem dance the Tango

Strictly - Quarter Final Results LIVE BLOG

Last night Strictly went to the movies and we had our first perfect score of the season with Pamela and James scoring 40/40!

And we start with a performance from the professional dances who have a routine set to an Abba medley. It's good but not up to the standard o previous weeks.

Sidenote: I love Darren Bennett ... when did he expand?

After a brief recap it's on to our first batch of results!

Gavin and Katya are safe
Kara and Artem are safe
And Scott and Natalie are in the bottom two!

And now Anton du Beke and Erin Boag are treating us to a waltz. If I had to pickling word to describe this, it would be BREATHTAKING!

And now our next batch of results!
Pamela and James are safe
Matt and Aliona are safe
And that leaves Ann and Anton in the bottom two

Now on to a musical interlude from the Manic Street Preachers. I can't see myself downloading this tripe.

So it's decision time! The couple with the fewest votes and who
Will be leaving the competition tonight are Ann and Anton! At long last! Finally the British public have come to their senses!

And thats it for the quarter final - next week, the remaining five couples will have to perform THREE dances including a swing-a-thon! And as if that wasn't enough, TWO couples will leave! I can't wait!

- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

Your weekend results!

Not long to go for this weeks results shows. Strictly kicks off at 7:30pm when we see who will make it to the semi-finals next weekend.

Then it's off to the X Factor where, not only do we have performances from Alexandra Burke and the cast of GLEE, we will also be finding out our finalists!

Stay tuned!


- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone

UK Soap fans will love this!

From the same Children In Need fundraiser comes this crossover of the UK's two biggest soaps - Eastenders and Coronation Street. It's very well written and very funny if you can get the references!

Kylie rocks Children In Need

Kylie performed her brank new single Better Than Today this past Friday on the BBC's annual fundraiser "Children In Need". The night was a smashing sucess with over £18 million raised - not bad in the middle of a recession!

Click through to watch in HD!

This weeks best Strictly Come Dancing performances!

So here are the top three perfromances from this weeks Stricty. Because the vids are in HD, you'll have to click through to view them.

First up is a woman who I dodn't like at that start of the competition (I don't know why), but now I love her and look forward to her dances every week - Pamela Stephenson and her partnrt James Jordan. Look at her joy when she gets the 10!



Next are Kara and Artem who had a nasty mishap in training. You'll also see her slip up inthe post dance interview and give away that Blackpool is a romantic place for them both!



And last up is the delicious Matt Baker who gave an energetic and acrobatic performance on his way to the top of the leaderboard!



.... Okay I'll admit that I can't not post the video of Ann and Anton. You'll laugh so hard when you see her getting thrown and dragged!