After dancing at the iconic Blackpool Tower ballroom last week, the contestants certainly had a spring in their step on Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing.
And Faye Tozer and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice stunned with their ‘exquisite’ Quickstep to See The Day, despite having to change their dance genre completely due to his back injury.
Their magnetic performance comes after the Steps star, 43, admitted dancing on the show with the hunky Italian, 28, has put a strain on her nine-year marriage.
Wow: Faye Tozer and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice stunned with their ‘exquisite’ Quickstep to See The Day, despite have to change the routine due to a back injury
Following the breathtaking routine, head judge Shirley Ballas gushed: ‘It was graceful, elegant and absolutely gorgeous. There was so much rise and fall. I loved it, there was a full circle of pivots.
‘It all came together my goodness, I can tell you have put long hours into this. There were things we have never seen in this competition.’
Bruno echoed the panel’s sentiments as he told the duo: ‘I thought it was exquisite, effortlessly classic. It was almost regal. Beautiful.’
Chemistry: Their magnetic performance comes after the Steps star admitted dancing on the show has put a strain on her nine-year marriage
Beautiful: Following the breathtaking routine, Shirley Ballas gushed: ‘It was graceful, elegant gorgeous. There was so much rise and fall. I loved it’
Impressive: She continued: ‘It all came together my goodness, I can tell you have put long hours in this. There were things we have never seen in this competition.’
Magical: The Tragedy hitmaker was left speechless as she gained three tens, with Craig Revel-Horwood being the only judge to not give them a perfect score as he marked them nine
The Tragedy hitmaker was left speechless after gaining three tens, with Craig Revel-Horwood being the only judge to not give them a perfect score, handing out nine points.
Meanwhile, Ashley Roberts was criticised by the judges for lacking technique with her Samba.
After getting the first 40 of the series with their retro Fish and Chips themed jive last week, the Pussycat Doll, 37, shimmied, samba rolled, and pulsed as she performed with partner Pasha Kovalev to Hot Hot Hot by Arrow.
After getting the first 40 of the series with their retro Fish and Chips themed jive last week, Ashley Roberts was criticised by the judges for lacking technique with her Samba
Lethal: Kick-starting the critique, Bruno said: She’s got me, I think I need a complete rewiring. She has blown all my fuses. Your hips are weapons, lethal weapons.
Giving it her all: Performing with partner Pasha Kovalev to to Hot Hot Hot by Arrow, the Pussycat Doll, 37, shimmied, samba rolled, and pulsed in the fun-filled dance
Kick-starting the critique, Bruno said: ‘She’s got me, I think I need a complete rewiring. She has blown all my fuses. Your hips are weapons, lethal weapons.’
Craig added: ‘I felt you hit it a little to hard, a little too staccato. What you lack in technique you certainly make up for in performance my darling.’
Graeme Swann came back fighting as he was the first celebrity to take to the floor, dancing the Quickstep to Sing Sing Sing by The Andrews Sisters with partner Oti Mabuse.
Sailor-inspired: Meanwhile, Graeme Swann came back fighting as he was the first celebrity to take to the floor, dancing the Quickstep to Sing Sing Sing
The cricketer had a knock to his confidence after finding himself in the bottom two for two weeks running, but was determined to show the judges his ballroom charm.
Dressed as a sailor, Graeme sashayed around the dancefloor with Oti but told Tess Daly he ‘enjoyed it until he nearly fell over’.
However despite his efforts, the judges criticised his performance with Craig comparing him to the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, while Bruno called him the ‘drunken sailor’.
Shirley told him: ‘Well your entry was great, you had a couple of little hiccups but you recovered and that’s what happened. The frame got a little bit twisted but I commend you on picking it up.’
Woops: Dressed as a sailor, Graeme sashayed around the dance-floor with Oti but told Tess he enjoyed it ‘until he nearly fell over’
Oh dear: However despite his efforts, the judges criticised his performance with Craig Revel-Horwood comparing him to the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz
Despite gaining his highest ever score for his theatre dance in Blackpool, Graeme was left disappointed as he scored a mere 24 points out of 40.
With the semi-finals just weeks away, competition was rife, with the celebrities not only having to rehearse their individual dances but go head-to-head in a Lindy-hopathon.
For the challenge, all couples had to compete at the same time on the dancefloor, with the judges ranking them in order of ability.
Dance-off: For the Lindy-hopathon, all couples had to compete at the same time on the dancefloor, with the judges ranking them in order of ability
Shambles: A disastrous technical mishap blighted the judges from retrieving the Lindy-hopathon marks from an iPad
However viewers took to Twitter in their droves to comment on Karen Clifton’s ‘waspish stare’ during the feedback after an awkward technical mishap.
The incident happened when head judge Shirley Ballas, 58, confused the Venezuelan beauty, 36, for fellow pro Dianne Buswell, 29, when reading out the scores for the Lindy-hopathon.
The judges were left in disarray after the disastrous technical blunder blighted them from retrieving the marks from an iPad, leading Shirley to forget Karen all together, as she said; ‘in fifth place is Charles and Dianne’, with Karen responding with a bemused face.
Annoyed: Viewers took to Twitter in their droves to comment on Karen Clifton’s ‘waspish stare’ during the feedback
Oops: The incident happened when head judge Shirley Ballas confused the Venezuelan beauty for fellow pro Dianne Buswell
Confused: Shirley started off by saying Ashley Roberts came in seventh place, but had meant to say Lauren Steadman was the one who had scored the lowest marks in the dance
Shirley started off by saying Ashley came in seventh place, but had meant to say Lauren was the one who had scored the lowest marks in the dance.
She then went on to announce fifth place was for ‘Charles and Dianne,’ which left Karen looking irked, with Tess Daly rushing to correct the misread mark.
And with the head judge making such a hash of the leaderboard, Bruno was forced to takeover, reading over all the results again.
Ashley won the Lindy-hopathon, scoring the maximum seven points, while Lauren scored the lowest mark, retrieving just one point from the dance.
Chaos: With Shirley making such a hash of the leaderboard, Bruno Tonioli was forced to takeover, reading over all the results again
Entertained: Following the disaster, viewers took to Twitter to comment on Shirley’s regal connection, blasting it as a ‘complete shambles’
After the scores were totaled up with their individual dances of the evening, Faye Tozer came out top of the leaderboard with 45 points, with Stacey Dooley following behind with 44.
Following the disaster, viewers took to Twitter to comment on Shirley’s regal connection, with dozens posting pictures of Prince Charles and the late Prince Diana, while others blasted it as a ‘complete shambles’.
One wrote: ‘Shirley Ballas is chuffin useless, while another added: ‘@bbcstrictly what’s up with Karen Clifton? Looked like she swallowed a wasp…’
Aggressive: Charles Venn and Karen Clifton performed a fierce Tango to Eleanor Rigby by Big Country (originally by The Beatles)
Strong performance: The Casualty actor scored 30 points for his routine
Eager: After receiving low scores for her lack-lustre Paso Doble in Blackpool, Lauren was keen to impress the judges with her Salsa to Familiar by Liam Payne
Disappointed: However, the athlete placed bottom of the leaderboard
Stealing the show: Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton performed a powerful Paso Doble to Malaguena by Brian Setzer
Fantastic: The pair wowed during their performance, gaining a score of 38 points
Fierce: Darcey said: ‘Stacey you look amazing oh my goodness you tore up the dancefloor, it was dramatic, powerful, brilliant’
Basketball themed: Joe Sugg took to the stage with Dianne to perform their Couples’ Choice Street and Commercial dance to Jump Around by House of Pain
Divided: The Youtuber, who is leading bookies odds to win the show, faced a mixed response from the judges with Craig saying the props got in the way, while Bruno scored them ten points
Earlier this week, Faye admitted dancing on the show has put a strain on her nine-year marriage.
On Friday, the steps singer said Strictly has put a strain on her nine-year marriage – after those cosy lunch snaps with dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
The singer confessed to The Sun that she has found it ‘tricky’ being away from her second husband Michael Smith when training with the 28-year-old professional.
Last week the pair were caught enjoying a boozy one-on-one lunch between rehearsals, with the handsome dancer appearing to feed the pop sensation.
Yet Faye has insisted Giovanni was simply wiping some food from her cheek, adding: ‘I can feed myself thank you very much. But I had a bit of salad on my face so he took it off and that was it.’
Speaking about her home life, the star admitted that it’s ‘tough being away from home’ but that communication is key.
She went on: ‘It’s always tricky being away from home. You just have to keep your head above water.
‘We’ve just got to keep really tight as a family unit and make sure we communicate — I think that’s the only way. But it is tough being away from home because we miss each other.’
Faye, who has a nine-year-old son with Michael, said she is steering clear of the Strictly ‘curse’ after professional dancer Katya Jones, who is married to fellow dancer Neil, was caught sharing a smooch with celebrity partner Seann Walsh.
Meanwhile, dancer Dianne Buswell is said to be dating her YouTube partner Joe Sugg after splitting from Emmerdale actor Anthony Quinlan.
Tough times? The Steps singer, 43, has confessed that she has found it ‘tricky’ being away from her second husband Michael Smith when training with the 28-year-old professional