Icons Week now, and I’m pleased to say I have a lot more to talk about this week. This is the best Icons Week of the 3 series we’ve had it in thus far. A decent selection of icons on display (3 series we’ve had this themed week for and no repeats yet which is interesting).

I wasn’t too big a fan of the judges’ outfits…. I thought they were distracting personally and made them difficult to take seriously. I don’t mind it so much at Halloween because it’s Halloween, the whole world dresses up etc… and I don’t mind when the character is subtle like Shirley as Mary Poppins back in 2024’s Movie Week, but the Gallagher brothers and Lady Gaga? Really? I didn’t mind Motsi’s outfit though so that’s something.

I liked that they were announced coming down the stairs as their icon- “Elton John and his partner Dianne Buswell”… that was a nice touch that I don’t think they’ve done in previous icons weeks… I thought most of the transformations were done very well.

Dance-wise, I don’t think this week suffered from Delta’s bye anywhere near as much as I thought it would (although I’m not surprised the bye occurred in Week 4- Week 4 often has a bit of a cursed energy). The standard was still quite high for the most part- quite a few breakout dances this week. A few were marked somewhat generously if you ask me but I think overall, this was when everything comes together.

John and Katya opened the show with a Bon Jovi Paso to “It’s My Life”- he had some decent shaping at times and I think channelled the character of the dance well, had decent chemistry with Katya. It was when it travelled around the floor that he started looking very hesitant. I still don’t think his movements feel all that connected, he just does occasional individual strong moves. It’s a 6 from me- solid, respectable but not exciting. I think he should’ve perhaps done Livin’ On a Prayer instead- just the wrong Bon Jovi song for a Paso if you ask me. Judges went 6, 7, 8, 8… scoring started high for the night. I’m with Craig on this one- the 8s very much too high.

Next we had Dani and Nikita with a Mariah Carey themed rumba to Hero (the song reminds me of X Factor 2008)…. firstly, I really liked her hair curly- I thought it suited her very well… as for the dance itself? Well, it wasn’t bad or anything but it wasn’t really engaging. In fact I found it really dull- the choreography for me wasn’t engaging at all and that’s on Nikita. She actually had some pretty nice foot placements at times, it was fluid most of the time, but there were a couple of moments where it looked like she froze and was just waiting for Nikita to tell her what to do. I’d go 6 here but it’s more of a 5.5 that I’m rounding up. Judges went 6, 6, 6, 7, and it definitely wasn’t a 7… 3 6s and a 5 would’ve made more sense to me.

Next we had Lawrence and Jowita doing a Ricky Martin themed Salsa to La Copa De La Vida, featuring an appearance by Lewis Cope in the VT- Lewis who got knocked out by the Salsa. Firstly, I liked the intro with him on the balcony at the top of the stairs… very clever having Jowita dance for the few seconds after that to give him time to get down. Once he came down, he really let loose for the first time this series. He gave an enthusiastic performance, if rather intense in his faceography? I agree with the judges that the lifts weren’t seamless… at all and that you knew when they were coming but the hip action, and the enthusiasm from him was great. His breakout dance… judges went 7, 8, 7, 8…. I agree with the 7s but I do think the 8s were rather generous given the somewhat messy lifts. Also, just as an aside, the judges comments felt like they dragged on FOREVER with him and it meant some of the later critiques were quite vague. Not sure if it’s just me who noticed that?

Then we had Tabby and Mark dance a Raye themed samba to “Where is My Husband?”… I wasn’t really feeling this dance to be honest. The song to me doesn’t really fit the samba rhythms so what my eyes were seeing and what my ears were hearing didn’t match up. However, you can only choreograph what you’re given and only dance what you’re given, and having said that, Tabby and Mark I thought did an absolutely fantastic job, it was packed with Samba content, she played the sassy samba character great, and she definitely really looked like Raye and channelled her icon well. Judges went 8, 7, 7, 7. I don’t think it was the 8 that Craig gave it considering he also gave her Argentine Tango last week an 8 and I don’t think they were level, but it is what it is. It’s a 7 from me.

Then we had Sarah and Julian with a Shania Twain themed tango to “That Don’t Impress Me Much”… Julian’s Shania getup in the VT very much made me laugh- these two do have great chemistry between them if you ask me. Unfortunately the dance itself was a bit of a trainwreck… it was two or so missteps away from being a complete dance disaster. She played a good character… but that’s about it. She had a really awkward frame, the steps she took were tiny, it just all felt overly careful. This was definitely her worst dance sadly. I’ve liked Sarah and think she’s the type of contestant Strictly is about but this was her worst dance. It’s a 4 from me. The judges went all 5s which is maybe a touch generous but not criminally so, and her leaderboard position was about right. Even a video message from Shania Twain herself couldn’t save them unfortunately… (also did anybody else think Shania sounded like Abby Lee Miller in that video message?)

Cach and Maddie were next with a Frank Sinatra (or as Cach calls him, Frank Sriracha- are we still keeping up the illusion that these are the celebs’ personal icons) themed foxtrot to New York, New York… firstly, Maddie’s dress was beautiful and reminded me of the dresses you’d see in the early series, secondly this was far and away her best choreography she’s done up to now… and thirdly, and most importantly, Cach himself… what a breakout dance this is! He’s reined himself in, and channelled a classy side, he embodied the Sinatra character wonderfully, had some great footwork, it glided around the floor beautifully… and for the first time this series, actually seemed happy to be there! His posture did seem a little bit hunched over at times, and I’m not sure if that’s just a height difference thing or not, but overall his best dance this series. It’s an 8 from me. Judges went 8, 9, 8, 9 for 34- the highest score this series, and I would say it’s fully deserved, especially considering where he started.

Bethany and Nancy were next with an Aretha Franklin themed Cha-Cha… and I did find this dance boring personally. It was technically excellent, and again she made a perfect Aretha Franklin, but the choreo was just odd… and that’s on Nancy… and I found Nancy herself really OTT in this routine and outdancing Bethany by quite a lot rather than dancing down to her partner’s level. I absolutely understand why this was in the dance-off based on how engaging the routine was (ie not very) but it was still technically good- some nice fluid moves in there, some good straight legs…. it’s a 7 from me. Good dance with weak choreo. I hope Nancy creates a more engaging piece next week.

Next was Shaun and Alexis with a Couple’s Choice to a James Brown medley. This was absolutely his best dance, no contest… I really like this partnership actually… I liked the start with the spinning record player… but he managed to stay in sync for a good majority of the dance. Alexis had some engaging tricks in there that showcased her own strengths as a dancer including that cartwheel move with Shaun between her legs… the I Feel Good section was a little bit slow but Shaun’s technique was pretty good for his level. Then on the transition into Get Up Offa That Thing, he did start lagging in energy a little bit, and he also made a mistake right at the end (although I am with Shirley in that I didn’t notice it until rewatching), but definitely a wonderful effort from him. A strong 6 from me. Judges opted for 4 7s, but again not the most egregious marking tonight.

After that was Lacey and Vito with an Adele themed American Smooth to Hometown Glory… and what a depressing song to American Smooth to. It worked back when John Whaite and Johannes did it for their contemporary based Couple’s Choice because that was him telling a story about his upbringing and his sexuality… this song for an American Smooth though isn’t the one… it’s just depressing… American Smooth should be an elegant old-school Hollywood feel dance… and this just wasn’t. I liked the fusion between Foxtrot based and Viennese waltz based American Smooth, and she did have musicality but it didn’t actually look like she was finishing her movements fully to me. I agree with Anton in that this was more a dance she coped with rather than really embraced, but I do think it was better than her Samba last week. It’s a 7 from me. Judges went 7, 7, 7, 8- that seems about right to me for Lacey’s ability. I found it funny during the judges comments when Craig was getting booed and Shirley instead of joining in with the panto booing went “no, he’s right”… that’s unusual. Also, another sidenote but Lacey’s wig to me didn’t really scream Adele- it looked closer to Dusty Springfield if anything…

Then we had Graeme and Lauren dancing Salsa to an ABBA medley… and this is far and away Graeme’s worst dance, it was dad dancing through and through… lacked rhythm… he embraced the campness of it all but he definitely had one of the weaker dances of the night. He also didn’t register to me as Benny or Bjorn, he looked more like Geoffrey from Rainbow… the judges were odd here- Craig called it the weirdest salsa he’d seen in 22 years… I do agree and I completely forgot it was supposed to be a salsa. The judges (including Craig) gave it straight 7s… that is an utter joke if you ask me. They marked him level with Shaun… Shaun was way better than Graeme this week even if Graeme is stronger overall.

After that was Jaime and Carlos with a David Bowie themed Paso to Let’s Dance… just watching the VT, does anybody else think Jaime looks like Luba? (I miss Luba…)- as for the dance itself, I thought this was fantastic. Yes, Carlos reused the same move he used in the Paso last year with Karen Carney and I do think Karen Carney executed it better, but other than that, I thought she and Carlos embraced the androgynous Bowie excellently. There was one little stiff walk from Jaime for about 2 seconds near the end, but other than that, it was fantastic- it was an 8 from me. Judges went 8, 9, 8, 9…. I’m with the 8s on that… I’m not sure if it was worth being in the same position on the leaderboard. A 32 would’ve sufficed.

And finally Will and Dianne with an Elton John themed Jive to Crocodile Rock- he looked exhausted in the VT- credit to him for committing to Strictly (and Big Brother) with a newborn at home… the last time Crocodile Rock was danced to on Strictly was in 2014 with Caroline Flack. And Will’s no Caroline… I quite liked the comedic theming Dianne went for- her choreography definitely has a unique flavour and it doesn’t always land but I liked the choreo tonight. However, I didn’t think Will’s dance was anything special. He was decent but this looked much more like an OK Week 1 dance than a great Week 4 dance… I don’t agree with the judges saying it was his best dance, for me that was last week. I’d go a 6, maybe 7 if I was in a generous mood- judges went for 7, 8, 8, 8… a total of 31. The same score that they gave Tabby’s Argentine Tango last week… I like Will but they’re not level… I also would have probably placed this more mid-show and Jaime at the end in the running order, but congratulations to Will on the arrival of his baby.

In conclusion, this was a really solid icons week, with some very peculiar judging. Graeme was in no way worth 7s… the “Craig never plays favourites” crowd can definitely stay quiet now, but overall, it was a great mix of artists and I barely noticed Delta’s absence, though I’m glad to see her back in action for the coming week.