Our insider’s thoughts on a Strictly week of highs and lows

Strictly’s Russell Grant gives us the lowdown on his week…

It takes two to Tango and Flavia certainly put me through my paces this week. Tango is a precise, non-smiley, aggressive dance but Flavia makes everything seem so simple and straightforward. She is a great teacher and a wonderful charismatic partner.

One of our gruelling practice sessions left me wearily wacked out. But lamb chops for dinner! The waning waistline keeps on shrinking. I feel on top of the world!

Monday saw me doing my regular slot with Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Radio 2. Flavia came along with me to the BBC studios to make a special guest appearance which I’m sure made Steve’s day – well it would wouldn’t it? Praise indeed from Mr Wright when he told Flavia that it was my “infectious enthusiasm that made me so watchable”.

A blustery, showery Wednesday with a definite nip in the air saw me filming outdoors as well as dancing. Scrambling up and down the majestic hills and valleys of North Wales with a BBC film crew in tow, meant my leg and ankle were playing up even more than usual. So much so that there was a question of whether or not I would be able to dance on Saturday!

But “the show must go on” so with the knee supported and an ice pack strapped to the inside of it, we took to the floor with the remaining eleven.

Wasn’t it lovely to see Edwina [Currie] in the audience? She is so kind, generous, supportive and always encouraging.

But, there I go again getting ahead of myself… lets go back to frantic Friday when I dropped in on Loose Women at lunchtime and then rushed round to the Beeb where we had great fun with Zoe on It Takes Two. Lots of people love this show as much as Saturday’s performances and if you haven’t tuned in yet you mustn’t miss it this week.

Saturday is a busy practice day, but we still have time to have a chat. Lulu and Anita are great fun and we spend lots of time chuntering over the week’s events.

Anita was very nervous, but she needn’t have been as she produced a truly elegant performance packed with glamour and sophistication. Even our dear Craig loved it calling Anita “classy, sophisticated and a consummate pro”. Anita wowed the audience and pulled off a wonderful 32 points! Great stuff!

Another energising and entertaining show came from Robbie and Ola, who received a standing ovation but only 27 points.

However, I loved it all and enjoyed seeing them at the football ground. What a wonderful response they had from the thousands of fans.

What can I say about Chelsee and Pasha’s Quickstep except to echo the judges? Craig: “first class”. Len: “fantastic”. Alesha: “ended too soon”. Bruno: “pocket rocket”. They were fabulous and pulled off one of the most deserved highest scores so far. A well-earned 36 points!

So, we go from the top of the score board to pretty near the bottom… us. 24 points for Flavia and me. Are we downcast? Are we downhearted? Not one bit of it. We produced an imaginative and creative dream sequence which flowed on naturally from those shots on top of the Welsh mountains.

The huge cheers that greeted us and Bruce’s gag about “the huge R’s” got us off to a great start and the standing ovation at the end brought a tear to my eye.

It was lovely of Bruno to call me a “brilliant Sleeping Beauty”. Even “entertaining” from Craig was pretty good. Len pronounced it a “whimsical and endearing performance, full of charm”, and Alesha was kind enough to proclaim me a “Strictly legend!”

Sir Bruce threw in an “amazing” and a “marvellous” and suddenly it was all over.

It certainly was all over for big hearted Rory and Erin who also scored 24 points. It was so sad to wave them the fondest of farewells on Sunday evening.

Next week Flavia and I are dancing the Samba! Let’s hope the knee holds up. It certainly will be a test. I’m aiming for more than 24 points next week so we hope to pull out all the stops.

Thanks again for all the support coming through the post and via email, Facebook and Twitter. So many friends, so many well-wishers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

See you Saturday and thanks for being there!

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