Blue Sunday

Week 3: Top 14 Results (Movie Week) - 7 October 2018

The show opens in a cinema, where the pros are all sitting wearing 3D glasses to watch... Singin' In The Rain? Was there a remastered re-release? Did I miss something? We're then transported into the studio where Giovanni takes the starring role, hanging off a lamppost and whatnot. Except it's not quite the traditional number that was hinted at on It Takes Two during the week, because suddenly it mashes up with 'Thunder' by Imagine Dragons and everyone starts getting a little nasty, and it basically becomes 'Pole Dancin' In The Rain'. Then it starts actually raining (well, "raining") and everyone gets very wet, and I include the viewers at home in that. Then wet Giovanni gets thrown out of the screen and lands in the cinema and okay now I get why everyone had 3D glasses on.

Back in the studio, after a quick run around with a squeegee and a chamois leather, it's Tess And Claudia: Here We Go Again. Tess is in navy, Claudia's in black, both looking good. Seriously, well done wardrobe. The judges return, and may I say I am loving Darcey's hot pink shoes to match her dress. Tess tells us that we've got some Gladys Knight later, and then it's time for a recap of last night's show.

Backstage: we get to see Stacey and Kevin undergoing their Minion transformations, Faye is enjoying seeing everyone become their characters, Vick is jealous that Stacey gets to be a Minion (you get to be MERYL STREEP, Vick!) [Wasn't she Amanda Seyfried? Although point still stands - Rad], Seann jokes that his paso doble will be themed to The Little Mermaid, Lee gets really excited about his hoverboard, Graeme is getting his oats being a superhero, Hot Greg is there to summon everyone to the studio. Joe says that this was his grandparents' favourite, and I assume he means the American smooth rather than High School Musical. After being told that she's gradually getting better, Katie giggles that Beyoncé needs to watch out. Danny and Amy still don't quite seem to be talking to each other like real people yet. The feedback for Charles's American smooth focuses on Craig not liking it, so we can all see where this is going. Ranj doesn't mind getting criticised because it gives him something to work on. Antony Costa says he's known Lee for 20 years and he's never seen him move like that. Lee says that last week he had good scores and no votes, and this week he's hoping it's the reverse. Lauren still doesn't get to say anything about her cha che cha. Seann is quite pleased with how his paso went. Kate loved her eights. Graeme says that Oti told him to go and own the charleston, so he did. Ashley is still a bit tearful about getting The Lift right. Stacey still can't believe how well her jive went. Faye is very happy to have got four nines in week three. Craig liked Faye's quickstep. Shirley liked Faye and Ashley. Bruno enjoyed Spider-Man.

Tess has the cue cards of doom, and someone's about to have "a nightmare on Elstree". Heh. Safe and through to next week are: Ashley and Pasha, Lauren and AJ, Graeme and Oti, and Danny and Amy. The first couple in trouble is...Charles and Karen. Charles's reaction is to say "wow" with a subtext of "you absolute shits". [Gorka has been giving him lessons - Rad] You can see people looking around at them, partly in sympathy and partly wondering if they would beat him in a dance-off. Tess asks him how he's feeling, and he says of course he's gutted - he's learned so much already and he's going to give it his all in the dance-off. Bruno says that Charles can dance - he has the presence, he plays the part, he's graceful and he has musicality, so he just needs to believe in himself. Tess wishes them both all the best, and throws to Claudia, who's with four very happy couples. Claudia reveals that Ashley has the tango next week, and Ashley grins that they've really got to switch it up for that one after this week. She and Pasha do tango-faces down the camera. Lauren is very happy that she never has to do the cha cha cha again, and is very grateful to everyone who voted. Graeme says he doesn't so much feel humbled as outright embarrassed by how things went last week, but this week feels much better. Danny and Amy are not interviewed, which doesn't feel like a massive loss.

Time for another round of safety announcements! This is still weird. The following couples are also safe: Stacey and Kevin, Joe and Dianne, Kate and Aljaž, and Katie and Gorka. Everyone else? Has to wait a little bit longer. Tess asks Darcey about Katie and Gorka, and what she can do to continue improving. Darcey's advice is basically "keep improving", thanks Darcey. Claudia's with the latest four safe couples, and Stacey says she's just seen herself on the screen, "next to these three megababes, what about that?" Heh. Next week she and Kevin are going to Grimsby on a motorbike. I have no idea if that's their dance, or just their plans for a long weekend [if their dance is Grimsby themed with the Dock Tower and Freeman Street market recreated via the medium of comedy props and light projection I will never be able to stop laughing long enough to recap, just warning you now - Rad]. Claudia tells Kevin how much she loves him in his Minion goggles, and Stacey (who has hers on her forehead) points out that he still hasn't taken them off. Hee. I honestly thought these two were going to be too much together, but Stacey's got a pleasantly dry sense of humour that I think works really well alongside Kevin's natural...exuberance. Katie is asked about her breakthrough, and she says she feels like she actually likes dancing now. She says thank you to the people who voted, because it's down to them that she's still here. Kate has the samba next week, and she's excited because her favourite continent is Africa. Do you want to tell her, or should I? [Edit: of course African samba is a thing, this is why I shouldn't recap late at night while delirious] Also, one of Aljaž's ears has collapsed.

Gladys Knight is here! To sing 'Licence To Kill', the best Bond theme. Yes it is, don't argue with me. She's accompanied by Giovanni and Luba, Neil and Katya, and Johannes and Amy, doing some sort of full-throttle rumba. I'm glad the sitting out pros are at least getting stuff to do on the results show. And Gladys's pipes are still in fine fettle.

After that, the judges arrive to join Claudia for another chat about the highlights of Saturday's main show. Darcey wants to talk about Kate, and how impressive it was that she was able to shrug off her stumble and retain her composure. I guess she has been to war zones, this probably isn't even in the top 10 of things that have rattled her. Shirley talks some more about Katie's performance breakthrough and how she's really started to enjoy herself. Claudia, of course, wants to talk about Craig and Bruno having a fight, which she claims was about Ashley's hips, when we both know that it was just a common-or-garden gay-off. Craig explains that Ashley's hips needed to be a figure of eight, and demonstrates. He says she's not getting down into the earth as much as he would like. Bruno finishes by reminding us that Seann's paso was really creative and cool. I have to say: not terribly informative this bit, is it?

Time for the final set of results. Seann and Katya are safe, as are Faye and Giovanni and Vick and Graziano. That leaves Dr Ranj and Janette up against Lee and Nadiya for the final safe spot, and it's Lee who ends up under the red light once again. Lee, to his credit, looks very much like he's expecting that when it comes down to the two of them, and takes it on the chin. Tess asks Lee if he's okay, and he jokes that he feels more used to it this time. He vows to "go out there and smash it". Shirley doesn't know why people aren't voting for him, but she thinks his musicality is his best aspect - he never dances out of time, he just needs to remember to transfer his weight between his feet properly. Lee says he takes all that on board, and he's going to go out there and try to get his legs straight.

Claudia is with the final batch of safe couples, and she says that it's the only time she's seen Ranj not look happy. Ranj says that it wasn't even about going home, he just didn't want to let Janette down. I love how many people have said this about Janette - have they not seen her track record? Vick is back to ballroom next week, and she'll be dancing to her mum's favourite song, whatever that is. Faye's got the first rumba of the series next week, and Giovanni's lip quivers. He tells her it's going to be much harder than the quickstep, and Claudia cackles.

After a trailer for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, the podcast, BBC3, It Takes Two and the AJ Hot Chat Hotline, it's time for the dance-off. Lee and Nadiya are on first, and for some reason Lee has removed his shirt and jacket. He looks a lot sadder on his hoverboard this time, and he still can't quite keep his free arm under control - you can tell he's trying, and there are times when he just about gets it right, but a lot more times where it just flies everywhere. Charles and Karen go again, also with a lot of the same problems as the first time: gapping, a lack of connection, the fact that Karen's choreography is just so dull. Craig votes to save the better dance: Charles and Karen. Darcey says "I wish both these couples weren't here." YASSS, DOUBLE ELIMINATION! She votes to save Charles and Karen. Bruno says they were both very good and it was a hard choice, but he has to save Charles and Karen. Shirley's asked for her opinion, academic as it is, and she says she would have saved Lee for a more musical performance.

Lee tells Tess he's had a lovely time even though it's been so short, and he absolutely loves everyone in the cast and it's been a memory that he'll treasure for the rest of his life. Nadiya tells him to stay just as he is, because he's an amazing person. Lee thanks the judges for being amazing. I'm genuinely surprised that he's gone out this early. I wonder why nobody was voting for him? Is there something I missed?

Lee and Nadiya have their last dance to 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing', Joe says that Lee was like his big brother, Danny says people don't know Lee like they do, Charles is going to work extra hard, Seann is pleased to be through, Vick is filled with mixed emotions, Ranj thinks Stacey has got a coathanger in her head (I assume because she smiles all the time, but possibly he's booking her in for surgery) [edit: it has since been suggested to me that Ranj said "hair" not "head", which makes A LOT more sense, but I'm leaving this here because I like the image of Ranj having to perform an emergency cranial coathangerectomy], Katie thanks the people who voted for her last week for making her feel less nervous this week, Kate is amazed to have another week in front of her, Lauren is very excited to get back to training, Graeme's got an upbeat number, Ashley is excited for the tango, Faye can't wait to get started on her next dance. Tess and Claudia will be back next week, as will Rad - who will actually be with you for the next two weeks, because I need the weekend of the 20th off for a family event, but I'll be doing the two weeks after that. Love to end on a rota note.