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Frockwatch
Here come our leading ladies, so time for a Musicals edition of our usual fashion match-up. Tess Daly is in pink with bows. Claudia Winkleman is in a black minidress with boat neck. It’s not a competition. (But if it was, Claud would win.)
East End meets West End. Get outta my pub!
Karen Carney and Carlos Gu are last out, cutting some rug to Flash Bang Wallop from Half A Sixpence.
Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton did a Charleston to it a decade ago, as did Tyler West and Dianne Buswell in 2022. Tommy Steele swagger. What a picture indeed. Strike a light.
Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin dance to Trip A Little Light Fantastic by Lin-Manuel Miranda from Mary Poppins Returns. The 2019 glitterball winners Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse danced a Charleston to it, if you recall.
Wow, that was spectacular and lift-packed. Tripping the light fantastic, like it says on the tin.
Lewis Cope and Katya Jones tag-team in, throwing shapes to Me Ol’ Bamboo from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
This was originally written as a morris dancing number, before morphing into a vaudeville turn with walking sticks. Dick Van Dyke said the movie sequence was the most difficult dancing he ever undertook. Lewis, as suual, makes it look easy.
Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon take centre stage now, performing to With A Little Bit Of Luck from My Fair Lady. Not to be confused with 1999 UK garage hit A Little Bit of Luck by DJ Luck & MC Neat. Holler with the rinsin’ sound. No, this one’s the Cockney showtune sung by Eliza’s bin man dad, Alfred P Doolittle.
American smooth-meets-quickstep-meets Charleston vibes. Ironically, that wasn’t rubbish.
We kick off with George Clarke and Alexis Warr, dancing to Consider Yourself from Oliver! – sung by the Artful Dodger when he first meets Oliver Twist. Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer foxtrotted to it in the 2019 series. Charleston moves ahoy.
ShareCoer blimey, guv’nor, it’s Dance Relay
Unusually for a live show – but it’s Musicals Week, so all bets are off – we open with a razzle-dazzle group routine. This five-minute spectacular will see each pair take to the floor as part of a high-energy celebration of musicals, dancing to songs from different shows. It won’t be marked by the judges but is an extra chance for them to earn viewer votes.
ShareCue clap-along credits
We’re 10 couples down and just five remain. It’ll be a slimline four by tomorrow. Who’s about to bow out, I beseech thee?
ShareAaaaand we’re off!
Roll pre-titles VT to ratchet up the drama. Has anyone mentioned that it’s Musicals Week yet? Oh.
Turn off your phones, open your “sharing” bag of sweets and give a hard stare to noisy seat neighbours. We’re about to be beamed live to the Elstree Studios ballroom…
ShareRobin rockin’ our screens
Aardman Animations’ Robin Robin just wrapping up on BBC1. This charmingly festive, Oscar-nominated stop-motion short film first appeared on Netflix at Christmas 2021. It tells the story of a young robin who tries to prove her worth to her adoptive mice family by stealing a shiny star from a human’s house.
The voice cast includes Richard E Grant, Gillian Anderson and the reliably ace Adeel Akhtar. A mere five minutes to wait now…
SharePaddington makes his Strictly debut
The duffel-coated Peruvian bear will appear in the ballroom tonight during a special number from the new Paddington musical. Hey, maybe he’ll dance to Lady Marmalade.
Hold onto your large felt hats, it’s 10 minutes until the clock strikes sequins…
ShareOn your dance cards tonight
As well as the Dance Relay, this week’s five “proper” routines from our couples are heavy on the Latin and speciality dances, with a Charleston, an Argentine tango, a salsa and a samba. Only Balvinder Sopal is flying the flag for ye olde trad ballroom with her Viennese waltz.
Extra dancers are also back for the first time since Blackpool, lending that big production feel to the musicals-themed numbers. Fifteen minutes until that ba-ba-da theme tune…
Updated at 13.45 EST
Let’s play Strictly bingo (Broadway edition)
Cross them off as you spot them on-screen! Take a drink for each! Get manhandled out of the theatre by usherettes for singing along too loudly! Threaten to sue and then fall over! Here’s your 10-point spotter’s guide for Musicals Week:
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Training VT sees couple visit the West End cast of the musical they’re channelling for “tips”
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Celebrity gushes unconvincingly about how much they love musical theatre
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Overuse of the words “iconic” and “legendary”
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Anton refers to his Musicals Week routines of yore, even though he only made it this far twice
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Fickle Claudia transfers her affections from Dave Arch to Paddington
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Craig modestly mentions his West End choreography credits
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Anton ropes in a secretly delighted Shirley to demonstrate waltz frame or tango hold
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Motsi says someone “brought their A-game” or “shut this ballroom down”
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Someone gets compared to Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers/Gene Kelly/Bob Fosse
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Shirley picks up a female celebrity on her footwork fundamentals but male celebs get away with it
ShareA new bookies’ favourite for the glitterball
George Clarke has headed the betting for most of the series but in the wake of last week’s perfect 40, Karen Carney took over this week as the new glitterball favourite.
Unsurprisingly, poor Balvinder Sopal is odds-on to depart the dancefloor this weekend. Again. It’s 25 minutes until the spangly safety curtain comes up…
ShareSparkly batons at the ready for Dance Relay
Following the runaway success of last week’s enjoyably chaotic Instant Dance challenge, there’s another new innovation tonight. A special relay-style performance will see each couple take it in turns to hit the floor as part of a high-energy celebration of musicals.
It won’t be scored by the judges but is just an extra bid to win viewer votes. If Instant Dance chaos is anything to judge by, it should be interesting. Wonder what Nikita will wear this time? We’ll get our first clues in half an hour…
ShareWho will make a show of themselves in Musicals Week?
It’s time for Strictly’s annual night out at the theatre. Good evening and welcome to week 11 of Strictly Come Dancing 2025. I’m Michael, your fellow thesp for tonight’s musicals-themed quarter-final. I’d love you to watch along with me as our couples perform routines inspired by West End and Broadway hits, hoping to make it through to the semi-final. They will also tackle Strictly’s first ever Dance Relay in their bid for viewer votes.
Last week saw two perfect 40s from Karen Carney and Amber Davies but these were thoroughly upstaged by the first ever Instant Dance challenge. Our couples raided the Elstree Studios clothes rails in a panic – cue Claudia Winkleman wearing a fruit hat, Nikita Kuzmin in the world’’s flounciest sleeves and George Clarke in a red fur pimp coat – before improvising mini-routines. Bonkers and brilliant. Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe were eliminated after defeat to dance-off destroyer Balvinder Sopal.
Now just five pro-celebrity pairings remain in the race to become the next glitterball champion. You know the deal by now. Tonight’s scores will be combined with the public vote and the bottom two will dance-off for survival on Sunday night. Balvinder is bookies’ hot tip for the chop yet again but she’s defied the odds five times already. Who would be foolish enough to write off this year’s great survivor?
It’s showtime at 6.50pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 6.20pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and heckles from the stalls. So don your theatrical finery, pre-order your interval drinks and I’ll see you on the sofa.
As always, I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, contact me on Bluesky or Threads @michaelhogan100, email me michael.hogan.freelance@guardian.co.uk and the comments section below is for your first night reviews. I’ll pop a coin in my opera glasses occasionally to peer at you’re all saying.
It’s week 11 and we’re off to musicals heaven. Nearly time to staaaart all-singing and all-dancing!