Strictly Come Dancing, quarter-final: Six talking points, from Les Mis and Mamma Mia to the 'best male rumba ever'

Unlike Paul Hollywood on 'Bake Off', Craig knows the power of holding back his top scores and making a 40 actually mean something

(BBC)

Wow, that was quite the night, with only five points separating the top and bottom of the Strictly leaderboard and just a tiny pair of shorts protecting Bruno’s modesty in the opening number. It still seems a fairly safe bet that Stacey, Ashley, Joe and Faye will make it to the final, but all it will take is a surge of votes or a slip in the dance-off to cause a shock. Here’s what happened:

Mamma Mia, Anton’s playing Pierce Brosnan!

Usually, the pro numbers are masterful, but this was camp as Christmas. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but wow – Craig came bouncing on with a sequined backpack, Brrrrruno was gyrating around in shorts, Anton played the Pierce Brosnan role in a weird hat and Dianne looked slightly disturbed when AJ had to kiss her at the end. All good fun though; who doesn’t love ABBA?!

Faye and Giovanni’s ‘quirky’ flawless Charleston

Faye Tozer, who is effervescent with enthusiasm for all things Strictly, seemed oddly reticent about this routine and the best word she could find to describe it was "quirky". But she needn’t have worried. Yes, she and Gio had to dress up as puppets (he was in Lederhosen, a felt hat and a blonde wig – they definitely don’t pay him enough) but the judges were wowed by the performance, set to The Sound of Music’s Lonely Goatherd. It gained them only the second perfect 40 of the series – unlike Paul Hollywood on Bake Off, Craig knows the power of holding back his top scores and making a 40 actually mean something.

Charles delivers the best male rumba ever

He looks likely to face the dance-off tomorrow night, but let it never be forgotten that Charles took one of the most boring dances in the competition (it really is) and turned it into a stunningly emotional killer moment. This was a West Side Story-themed number that even the Queen of the Rumba Shirley Ballas fell over herself to compliment. No mean feat.

Lauren redeems herself with an American Smooth

She may be popular with the public, but Lauren has really struggled to impress the judges for the last couple of weeks. Which makes for a fairly awkward atmosphere when she sails through without even a sniff of dance-off action. Tonight’s American Smooth was beautiful and confident, and while there were errors, it was a real return to form. Lovely to see.

Technicolour dreamcoats and Les Mis rags

Musicals is always a great theme and the production went to town. Joe Sugg was playing a 1970s disco version of Joseph, with a coat of many colours and a lot of eyeshadow (I don’t remember that from the Jason Donovan version of the show...). At the other end of the spectrum, Stacey Dooley took on the tragic Fantine from Les Mis in a black woolen shawl. There were lots of lifts and air grabs, and she got two 10s for her troubles. Let’s just say it was a different take to Anne Hathaway’s Oscar-winning performance.

Follow the action as it happened with what was our live blog below (please allow a moment for it to load):

The obvious finalists are Joe, Ashley, Stacey and Faye, but could survivors Charles and Lauren cause an upset?

[1 December 2018 19:17 · emmabullimore]

WHY does AJ need to meet Lauren's nan?!?!?! Stop this. It's bad enough when Joe does it, although Nana Phyllis is obviously a legend and deserves her own chat show.

[1 December 2018 19:19 · emmabullimore]

Ha! Johannes in a towel for no reason at all, love that. They're bringing back the extra dancers for Musicals Week, which is good news for the weaker dancers - more faffing around to disguise any mistakes. This looks rather lovely and elegant, it's definitely a style that suits Lauren and she's having a much better go at acting the part than we've seen before. It's not the most spectacular of routines for a quarter final, especially considering the potential of an American Smooth, but definitely an improvement.

[1 December 2018 19:21 · emmabullimore]

Shirley says Lauren was absolutely outstanding, this is much better! Brrrrruno (in a FAB-U-LOUS jacket by the way) calls the dance a return to form and welcomes Lauren back to the big league. Craig says it proved ballroom really is Lauren's strength and praises her storytelling. What a relief for her after two tough weeks.

[1 December 2018 19:23 · emmabullimore]

Lauren and AJ: American Smooth scores

Craig: 8

Darcey: 9

Shirley: 9

Bruno: 9

Total: 35

'I've loved every moment of this week, I'm over the moon,' says Lauren while AJ calls this her best dance so far. Excellent stuff.

[1 December 2018 19:24 · emmabullimore]

The actual genie from Aladdin is reading the Ts and Cs! He's so much better at reading autocue than Tess, how embarrassing.

[1 December 2018 19:24 · emmabullimore]

Next up, it’s Faye and Giovanni! They’re performing a Charleston to Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music. Not even one of the six best songs in that film, let alone in the definitive musicals songbook. I can offer you no explanation as to why they’re dancing to this, and Faye seems to share my reticence. Speaking on It Takes Two this week, the best she could say about the routine is that it’s ‘quirky’. Oh dear. The two of them are playing puppets by the way, not Maria and Captain Von Trapp. Shame.

[1 December 2018 19:26 · emmabullimore]

A farmer and a yodel teacher?! Again, WHY?! If there are any footwork mistakes Gio should say to the judges, 'Well, if you hadn't dragged us out of rehearsals to visit that farm...'

[1 December 2018 19:28 · emmabullimore]

Wow, it's the dance remix of Lonely Goatherd, even worse than I imagined. This is all very charming and sweet, but you can't help but feel they've been scuppered by this theme. Those lifts looked a big clunky as well. Faye's maintaining great bounce and spring and she's really going for it, but this isn't my favourite of their performances. What a waste of a talented pair.

[1 December 2018 19:29 · emmabullimore]

'The audience is alive with the sound of cheering,' tries Tess. Hmm.

Brrrrruno calls it crowd-pleasing and labels it a theatrical masterpiece. Craig loved the goats. Helpful. Darcey calls it extraordinary, can't argue with that! 

[1 December 2018 19:30 · emmabullimore]

Shirley can't string a sentence together, she's so impressed. Oh wow, the close up on Gio's blonde fringe was terrifying. I'm going to hide under my desk for a bit.