Ultimate Strictly

It was an hour long marathon of a show tonight, as the last It Takes Two of the series took to our screens tonight, and with no post final programme, the two remaining couples had to have the chance to watch their highlights video montage, and it was Ricky who went first. I think the thing for me with Ricky & Natalie is that they take it all so seriously but sometimes it seems as though they trying too hard to be sincere, and I wish they would just be a bit more light hearted and fun at times. It was good to see a recap of all their dances and I'm glad they've picked the quickstep and cha cha cha for tomorrow night.

On a lighter note next it was time for the two leaders on the Strictly Dance Machine Challenge to go head to head to decide the series champion - there was even a trophy at stage for the winner! James won and was totally gracious in victory.

Time next for some of this years contestants to return to the sofa for a chat with Claudia, and Ricky Groves, Natalie Cassidy and Lynda Bellingham were the lucky ones! They're all looking forward to come back tomorrow night and take part in the megamix. Time to ask for their favourite dances, and it was no surprise that Natalie's was the jive and she's even going to carry on post Strictly. Ricky picked his paso doble as he fell in love with it and could get into the spirit of the dance. Lynda was scared most by the cha cha cha, but actually enjoyed it the most and loved her dress! Next they had to pick their favourite of the other celebs dances, and Natalie chose Zoe & James's rumba, Ricky loved Ali & Brian's Viennese waltz and Lynda picked Jade & Ian's foxtrot because Jade had started to soften and she would have been a contender if she hadn't got injured. Nice to see them all back, and looking forward to tomorrow night.

Chris & Ola's turn for their highlights package and final interview next. I love their choice of ballroom to come back with the foxtrot in the final, as it was one of my favourites of their ballroom routines, with beautiful musical choreography from Ola. I'm still not sure whether they should be allowed to pick the charleston, as it's not really a latin dance, but it is a firm favourite with the public, so I'm sure the producers would have been happy to bend the rules to allow them to do it. This interview proves why the public keep voting this pair back in each week - they are fun, animated and showed us how much they are enjoying the experience, and they've had what the Strictly audience love ... a journey! That's justification enough for most people that they deserve their place in the final.

The next video concentrated on putting the two professionals head to head, with Len and James telling us all about Ola, and Len and Ian giving us the low down on Natalie.

And then it was time for the last Friday panel of the year, with judges Len and Bruno plus Nigel Lythgoe reviewing the training footage for tomorrow nights final. They started with the ballroom, and Ricky & Natalie's quickstep, which Len pointed out the great body contact and Nigel said how Ricky is controlling his bowed legs and pigeon toes. Talking about Chris & Ola's foxtrot, Bruno says Chris's head position is too high, and Len doesn't think it looks natural enough. Ricky & Natalie's cha cha cha was given a 10 by Len last time, and he thinks as long as he doesn't mess it up this time, it will get a few more this time round. Nigel thinks the charleston will showcase Chris's personality, but Bruno says they need to make no mistakes tomorrow night. I know they keep the showdances secret but I think we could have had a look at the lindy hop training as well.

Over to TC to link up with James Jordan at final rehearsals. He explained the plan for tomorrow night, with the ballroom round first, and the head to head lindy hop in the first show, then the lines will open for us to start voting. Then back in the results show, they'll dance the latin round plus the showdances, before we had the end of year montage of all the best bits from this series of It Takes Two - one of my highlights of the series! And then it was the final traditional Christmas sing-a-long before it was all over for another year.

An update on Chris & Ola's foxtrot and Charleston training started the show, and it looks like Ola is having to do a lot of memory nudging to get Chris to remember the routines! I loved the musicality of Ola's foxtrot choreography, so if Chris can improve his technique (and there did look like some improvement in Chris's hands at least), I think this will be a good dance for them, and the Charleston is probably a bit of a no-brainer, as Ola knows the public loved it and will maximise the chance of people voting for them.

It was James Jordan's turn to tell us about his Strictly Dance Life today, with lots of old photos - wow, how orange was the fake tan then?! - and both he and Ola talked about how they first saw each other and started to dance together about six months later, and then a went on to how he got started on Strictly in series four.

Time for Ricky & Natalie's quickstep and cha cha cha training updates, and Ricky's struggling to remember the quickstep again after the break from it. They've listened to the fans and forums in deciding to go for the quickstep (which I must admit was my favourite of his ballroom dances) and staying with their most recent latin, the cha cha cha, and I really hope those pigeon toes have been sorted out by Natalie now!

The final Masterclass of the series, this week with Len recreating an iconic moment from one of the Strictly show dances of series past. I was hoping they'd maybe go for the opening lift from Mark & Karen's dance in the final of series four, but Len decided to relive "Muppet-gate" from the series three final, when Colin & Erin danced with dummies.

Some Strictly Forum Questions before it was the lindy hop training updates. Chris & Ola's faces were a picture as they watched Ricky & Natalie practising! The two couples will dance at the same time, and each will take a solo, but it looks like it will be good fun.

Finally, Mark Foster, Jodie Kidd and Mark Ramprakash joined Claudia on the red sofa. It was lovely to see some of my favourites back - Ramps looked as uncomfortable as he ever did (but at least Claudia didn't threaten to sit on his lap this time) and Jodie was as natural, warm and funny as I remember. Ramps favourite this year was Tuffers (not surprisingly), while Jodie picked Ali & Brian getting the first 50 for their American Smooth, and Mark picked Ricky & Erin's tango because Ricky bought something different to the floor and really acted every dance. Asked who they wanted to win, Ramps said Ricky was the best dancer while the other two picked Chris.

It's an hour long extravaganza tomorrow night starting at 6pm, with all the finalists in to chat to Claudia, plus the return of Natalie, Phil, Lynda and Ricky. The top two scorers on the Strictly Dance Machine Challenge, James and Brian, will be back to go head to head, and the last Friday panel will include judges Len and Bruno, plus the newest celebrity superfan, comedian and actress Miranda Hart.

Don't forget, it's an early start of 6pm for the hour long programme tomorrow night.

This year, the couples will be dancing a new dance in the final, the Lindy Hop, so It Takes Two gave us a quick run down on what to expect. Based on jive and swing, it has a direct link to the Charleston. It should have swing out and breakaway with lots of lifts and air steps which are explosive, and both dancers have to lead their partners with strength and stamina. Len thinks it will be a fantastic addition to the final, and both couples will dance at the same time, so the judges will be able to directly compare the celebrities in a head to head situation.

Mid week review with Darren and Lilia. Interesting, Darren thinks the semi final is the hardest week of the series, and they should just go out and enjoy the final. Lilia was reviewing Ricky, and he's picked the quickstep for his ballroom, and she wants him to concentrate on the quality of movement. Darren looked at Chris with his ballroom choice of the foxtrot, and Darren wants him to look at trying to work on hands and face. Ricky's latin choice is the cha cha cha, and Lilia thinks his musicality and body movement is the best we've ever seen on Strictly. Interestingly, Chris is doing the Charleston in the latin section (which I'm not sure should really be allowed), and Darren wants him to work on getting the swivel in the feet. A quick look at the lindy hop, and Lilia wanted to point out that Ricky & Natalie have just as much of a partnership as Chris & Ola, and she thinks this can get overlooked at times. Darren looked at Chris's lindy, and said it really suited them, with loose arms and loose feet, bit of an advantage having done the Charleston.

Some Strictly Forum Questions next before it was time to find out some more scores on the Strictly Dance Machine Challenge, with Matthew and Brian joining Claudia, with Brian revealing that he and Ali are in training for the Christmas Special, and they'll be dancing a Viennese waltz. Back to the scores, with Matthew scoring 36,000 and Brian scoring 37,700 with them taking third and second place on the scoreboard respectively.

A review of the costume departments work this year next, with designer Zandra Rhodes and fashion journalist Hilary Alexander picking out their favourite dresses of the series. If she could take home one dress this year, Hilary would have Natalie Lowe's Argentine Tango dress from last week. Zandra would have loved to have designed a dress for Jade, while Hilary wasn't sure about some of Jo's early dresses because a darker dress might have worked better on camera. Hilary's best dress of the series was Ali's paso dress, and Zandra's was Jade's silver spiderweb samba dress. Next Hilary chose Laila's Charleston dress which was Cleopatra in a speakeasy, and Zandra chose Natalie Cassidy's quickstep dress. More choices, and Hilary chose Jade's lime green jive dress and finally Zandra chose Ali's tango dress with the clever striped beaded body.

Finally, it was time to hear from some of the celebrities who've had a shock exit from Strictly, Zoe from this series, Gabby from series five and DJ Spoony from series four. They all talked about how it felt to be voted out early in the competition when they'd been doing well. It was really love to see them all back, and while I think this has been one of the more successful series of It Takes Two, I wish they'd done more of these sort of segments, as I loved seeing some of our old favourites back in again! As all three had been partnered with one of the Jordan's in Strictly, it was no surprised that when asked who they wanted to win, they all picked Chris & Ola!

Tommorow will include the latest training updates plus a showdance Masterclass with Len

ETA: I've just watched the programme again, and I'm not sure if Ali & Brian are dancing the Viennese waltz in the Christmas Special, or if they were talking about it as their dance for the mega mix in the final this weekend.

It was almost inevitable that with Bruce on the show tonight, it would start with a joke, and I think that's what the pre-titles segment was supposed to be? The interview with Bruce kicked off the show, and before Claudia had a chat with him, there was a video showing us why he's the "King of Saturday Night Television" (trademark), at least according to all the other Strictly participants. Bruce thinks we're in for a fantastic final, and he picked out Chris & Ola's charleston as one of the highlights of the series, with the couple having such charisma, while for Ricky & Natalie, they discussed their quickstep (which is my favourite of Ricky's dances as well). There were a few questions from the forums and some of the cast of Strictly, and Claudia tried to keep him under control, but he did waffle on quite a bit!

Time for "My Strictly Dance Life" next, and this time it was Vincent's turn to tell us how dancing has become such a huge part of his life, and a look back at his Strictly history.

Choreography Corner followed with James and Flavia talking about the weekends dances. Flavia talked about the Argentine tango, and showed how Ola worked to Chris strengths showing off his personality, with James complimenting Chris on how well he sells the dance without any acting experience. Then talking about Ricky & Natalie, Flavia gave us an example of one of the very difficult steps Natalie put in for Ricky where he has a different step pattern from her, but still has to lead her. Talking about Chris & Ola's rumba, and James explained how Ola put in a very contemporary opening in the routine, setting the mood for dance, and again in the closing of the routine as well, and quickly had to talk about Ricky & Natalie's waltz and picked up the double reverse spin Ricky had to do.

The Strictly Forum Questions were all about Bruce today, before it was a Masterclass for Claudia, but this time with Bruce instead of Len, and a tap dance lesson.

Tomorrow, there will be some Strictly past alumni - the ones who've had the most shocking exits apparently - plus Darren and Lilia with the mid week review, and Hilary Alexander and Zandra Rhodes will be in to discuss their favourite outfits of the series.

The lovely Lilia took the opportunity to show us around backstage at the semi finals to start the show tonight, with a recap of how the dancing and the results panned out before it was time for this weeks leaving couple, Ali & Brian to join Claudia in the studio. Brian told us how he felt they'd done absolutely everything they could throughout the whole competition, so they have no regrets and nothing they would have done differently, while Ali felt that the American Smooth was so great to dance, she feels that she's gone out on a high. Both were very grateful to the fans and the support (great name check for Fortuna's Fantastics from Brian!) and the highlights video was a great reminder of all of the wonderful dances they've performed this series.

Len and Bruno were the next guests, but the quick video before that was the funniest thing I've seen this year! After Craig gave Ricky & Natalie a 9 for their Argentine Tango, there was some extra footage with some "subtitles" for what the other judges were saying to Craig afterwards, which was just hilarious. Back to the interview and they all had a chat about that Argentine tango, then Ali & Brian's American Smooth, followed by some more thoughts on Chris & Ola's rumba performances. Back to Ricky's waltz, and Len explained how Ricky has the best musicality of any celebrity we've ever seen, and such great swing and sway.

Next up, Chris & Ola came in to chat and Chris said despite being delighted to get through to the final, part of him feels guilty that they've put Ali & Brian out of the competition, while Ola still seemed shocked and a bit subdued about it all. Claudia asked Chris about Craig's comments about their rumba, and he admitted that he treated both dances as if they were his last two dances, and so he really didn't care what Craig was saying at the time, and he absolutely loved the Argentine tango. Talking about how they were going to attempt to beat Ricky on Saturday, Chris told us how they started their lindyhop training yesterday, and it's obvious that Ricky is a better dancer, but he's going to give it everything he's got to prove they deserve their place in the final.

Finally, we heard from Ricky & Natalie, and Ricky was another who was convinced that the Argentine tango was going to be his last dance on Strictly this year, and it was the one dance he'd wanted to do from the beginning, so he just went out to enjoy it. Natalie was crying even before the show started, she was so emotional on Saturday, and at the end of the waltz she just couldn't hold the emotions back. They don't think about what other couples are doing, so their strategy for the final is to just go out with four fantastic routines.

Tomorrow, James & Flavia will be in Choreography Corner, plus it's time for Bruce's annual visit to chat to Claudia.

After a quick vox pop of some taxi drivers, butchers and hairdressers (?) to see who they wanted to win Strictly, before it was one of the strangest set of interviewees for Claudia to discuss some of the very high profile fans of Strictly. So we had the Daily Mirror's chief sports writer, Oliver Holt, the News of the World's royal editor Robert Jobson, and BBC political correspondent, John Pienaar. John told us that apparently Peter Mandleson is gripped by Strictly and wants to be on it, and then tried to convince us Lord Mandleson is a fun loving guy, although Claudia suggested the look of death would be great for the tango! According to Robert, Camilla is a huge fan and Charles watches it as well, although we're not sure about the queen. Meanwhile, Oliver told us Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock is a big fan as well and also want to take part, so there's no end of celebrities keen to get on the show, and (I'm not sure about these rumours) boxing fan Wayne Rooney watched because of Joe Calzaghe and perhaps even Ricky Hatton might have taken a look as well! All three of the journalists were sticking with what they know, and all chose Chris as who'd they like to win this year.

Next it was time to give a bit of screen time to Ola, with a "Story of the Dance" video explaining how she spends the week choreographing and training Chris to create a dance for a Saturday night on Strictly.

Onto the Friday panel, with Matt Di Angelo, Natalie Cassidy and Bruno Tonioli. Bruno wants to know if Ali will be able to ignite the passion and deliver the storytelling for the Argentine Tango, and I sort of agree, and it did look a bit tentative, and I hope the arrangement of the song will improve for tomorrow night. Ali's dress will be a black lace with a nude fabric base - thank god they're not putting her in another pastel dress! I really hope they nail this dance tomorrow night. Chris is looking a bit stiff in the training footage according to Bruno, but I think he'll be able to sell it, although I do agree about the spatula hands. Their song choice is "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan, which although I don't know it, the clip we heard I though could work really well. Ricky & Natalie have got everything necessary to deliver this dance according to Bruno, but those pigeon toes were still in evidence on the training footage I'm not sure, however, with a very traditional tango music choice, the chemistry and the performance might just swing my vote this week! The Argentine Tango is one of my favourite dances, and my anticipation is building already, I just hope we get at least one electric performance from one of the couples.

Some more video filler with how the remaining competitors are feeling about tomorrow night, before it was off to TC1 to catch up on rehearsals with Claudia, and James Jordan making another appearance (cleaning the mirrorball in a sequinned waistcoat with a pink feather duster!). Quick chat with all three couples, with Brian now feeling a bit more relaxed after some polishing of their American Smooth today and Ricky in agony after all the kicking he's had from Natalie in Argentine Tango training.

Training updates for the Argentine Tango to start the show tonight, with Ricky & Natalie first, and it seems like Ricky might need some padding to protect himself! I liked the look of Chris & Ola's training, and I really want Ali & Brian to get the character right, because the technique looked promising.

Straight into Len's Masterclass with an attempt at recreating part of Mark & Karen's iconic routine from series four. I'm not sure I'll ever to be able to watch Mark & Karen's dance in the same way now! I love the Masterclass.

Some more training updates and a look at Ricky & Natalie's waltz, which Natalie says is the most difficult choreography for a waltz she's ever done. It'll be another rumba for Chris & Ola, and it looks like there might be at least one crowd pleasing (illegal) lift in there! Brian's going all out for a quick American Smooth and I think they'll be great, as long as Ali can conquer those nerves.

It was an emotional Saturday for Ola, hearing that she'd got through to the semi-final, and after watching that back on the video, she was in tears again. Ola always tells Chris just to go out and enjoy it every time, and its obviously working, because if the rumours are true, they're getting the most votes from the public every week. Chris was really pleased to hear Len say he thought there was a dancer emerging, but Ola has always believed in him from day one, despite having to teach him to count to eight with the music! Chris says they know that they're going to be at the bottom of the leaderboard now, so they just have to go out and sell the performance to impress the public. It's a brave choice to go for the rumba as their second dance, but Ola has promised Chris that if they got to the semi-final, she'd let him do the rumba again, and he's loving it just as much now as he did in the beginning.

Time for a look at the effect Strictly has had on the nation, with Karen telling us how ten years ago dance schools were closing down as student numbers were falling, and now there are new ones opening all over the place and teachers are saying how enquiries have more than doubled. And it's not just kids learning, it's schools holding dance events instead of panto's at Christmas, it's couples going out to learn to dance together, plus the government have set up a group to champion dancing in the nation, not just ballroom and latin, but all sorts of dancing. Brendan and Anton then came in to chat about how Strictly has impacted their life. Brendan was as passionate talking about dancing as he is when he's performing on the dance floor, while Anton was more debonair about it, as you'd expect. When he first got the call to get involved in Strictly, Brendan laughed at the thought of it, and Anton had been part of the original Come Dancing experience so had reservations about it, but once they sat down and talked to the BBC about the concept they realised it was something they want to be part of.

Then it was the main event, the Strictly Dance Machine Challenge scores! Brendan - who decided to take the "if you can't win, have fun" attitude - scored ... 13,100 while Anton - and Erin was right, he did have his tie on! - scored ... 15,000 putting them in fifth and fourth place respectively.

The Friday panel tomorrow will include judge Bruno Tonioli, plus EastEnders Natalie Cassidy and Matt Di Angelo, and a look in on Friday rehearsals in TC1.

Ali & Brian were the first guests tonight, and both admitted they were pretty sure they were going to be in the dance off on Saturday night, so were completely relieved to be called out first. Claudia asked Ali if she's getting a bit fed up with the judges comments about the fiery, passionate character being needed, and how she has to keep apologising for being nice! But, Brian is desperate for Len to say she's given them a passionate Argentine tango on Saturday, and Ali just wants to hear her name called out on Saturday to say they've got through to the final.

Mid week review next with James and Vincent, first of all with a quick chat about what they'll both be looking forward to in the Argentine Tango. Chris & Ola's AT first, and Vincent suggested that they just need to work on the posture, and James thinks they look connected but hopes it doesn't get too passionate (she is his wife after all!). Vincent thinks Ricky & Natalie need to make all the routine look bigger, while for Ali & Brian he wants them to be closer together and create more passion. James thinks all the AT's look good, but all need to look more grounded and get closer. Onto the second dances, and Chris & Ola will be doing another rumba, which James thinks is brave, but it looks good and Vincent likes that they sell whatever they do, but James added Chris needs to work on his posture more. It'll be a waltz for Ricky & Natalie, but there was a spin that Natalie needs to keep her foot on the floor or be docked points for a lift, and need to keep his head up to prevent balance problems. Ali & Brian's American Smooth looks fast, and James thinks this might make it difficult for her to create the elegant lines she does best.

With both Vincent and James in the studio, it was time to find out their Strictly Dance Machine Challenge scores; starting with James ... 66,100 jumping straight to the top of the leaderboard, and Vincent ... 500 - well at least he isn't bottom of the leaderboard!

Time for a look at the design and style of dresses and costumes for both the women and men dancing the Argentine Tango, with some reminders of great outfits of Strictly past, before it wa time to meet our celebrity semi finalists dad's. Harry, Ricky's dad, tells us Ricky is fixated and determined to do all he can to get to the final. Nick is Ali's dad, and the family is shocked at where her dancing genes have come from. Chris's dad John told us that Chris has the single minded discipline which has got him this far.

Tomorrow, Chris & Ola will be in to chat to Claudia, while she'll be recreating an iconic moment from Mark & Karen's classic Argentine Tango in Len's Masterclass, plus Anton and Brendan will be in (no doubt just as an excuse to get their Strictly Dance Machines Challenge scores).