Strictly Come Dancing, quarter-final: Six talking points, from Les Mis and Mamma Mia to the 'best male rumba ever'

Unlike Paul Hollywood on 'Bake Off', Craig knows the power of holding back his top scores and making a 40 actually mean something

(BBC)

Wow, that was quite the night, with only five points separating the top and bottom of the Strictly leaderboard and just a tiny pair of shorts protecting Bruno’s modesty in the opening number. It still seems a fairly safe bet that Stacey, Ashley, Joe and Faye will make it to the final, but all it will take is a surge of votes or a slip in the dance-off to cause a shock. Here’s what happened:

Mamma Mia, Anton’s playing Pierce Brosnan!

Usually, the pro numbers are masterful, but this was camp as Christmas. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but wow – Craig came bouncing on with a sequined backpack, Brrrrruno was gyrating around in shorts, Anton played the Pierce Brosnan role in a weird hat and Dianne looked slightly disturbed when AJ had to kiss her at the end. All good fun though; who doesn’t love ABBA?!

Faye and Giovanni’s ‘quirky’ flawless Charleston

Faye Tozer, who is effervescent with enthusiasm for all things Strictly, seemed oddly reticent about this routine and the best word she could find to describe it was "quirky". But she needn’t have worried. Yes, she and Gio had to dress up as puppets (he was in Lederhosen, a felt hat and a blonde wig – they definitely don’t pay him enough) but the judges were wowed by the performance, set to The Sound of Music’s Lonely Goatherd. It gained them only the second perfect 40 of the series – unlike Paul Hollywood on Bake Off, Craig knows the power of holding back his top scores and making a 40 actually mean something.

Charles delivers the best male rumba ever

He looks likely to face the dance-off tomorrow night, but let it never be forgotten that Charles took one of the most boring dances in the competition (it really is) and turned it into a stunningly emotional killer moment. This was a West Side Story-themed number that even the Queen of the Rumba Shirley Ballas fell over herself to compliment. No mean feat.

Lauren redeems herself with an American Smooth

She may be popular with the public, but Lauren has really struggled to impress the judges for the last couple of weeks. Which makes for a fairly awkward atmosphere when she sails through without even a sniff of dance-off action. Tonight’s American Smooth was beautiful and confident, and while there were errors, it was a real return to form. Lovely to see.

Technicolour dreamcoats and Les Mis rags

Musicals is always a great theme and the production went to town. Joe Sugg was playing a 1970s disco version of Joseph, with a coat of many colours and a lot of eyeshadow (I don’t remember that from the Jason Donovan version of the show...). At the other end of the spectrum, Stacey Dooley took on the tragic Fantine from Les Mis in a black woolen shawl. There were lots of lifts and air grabs, and she got two 10s for her troubles. Let’s just say it was a different take to Anne Hathaway’s Oscar-winning performance.

Follow the action as it happened with what was our live blog below (please allow a moment for it to load):

The obvious finalists are Joe, Ashley, Stacey and Faye, but could survivors Charles and Lauren cause an upset?

[1 December 2018 19:50 · emmabullimore]

Ashley and Pasha: Quickstep scores

Craig: 9

Darcey: 10

Shirley: 9

Bruno: 10

Total: 38

Not quite a perfect 40, but that score should leave Ashley in a much safer position on the leaderboard...

[1 December 2018 19:52 · emmabullimore]

Here come Stacey and Kevin doing the American Smooth. As a big fan of Les Mis, I think I'm just going to have to forget she's playing Fantine and treat this as a separate entity. Although look, the cast are here!

[1 December 2018 19:54 · emmabullimore]

Where's Kevin?! These backing dancers are annoying, Stacey's just spending most of the time being lifted. OK, here we go. I'm really not buying the performance element of this, where's the misery and broken dreams? The dance itself is quite difficult to judge, I feel Stacey was capable of a lot more, but Kevin prioritised crowd-pleasing lifts and air grabs. Will be interesting to see the judges' reactions on this one.

[1 December 2018 19:56 · emmabullimore]

Shirley calls it seamless and says the dance encapsulated the strength of a woman. Brrrruno is crying and calls the routine 'so special and unforgettable'. Stacey's welling up. Craig reminds us all it wasn't technically perfect but says it didn't matter because the dance was so honest. Who is this man and what has he done with Craig?

[1 December 2018 19:58 · emmabullimore]

Stacey and Kevin: American Smooth scores

Craig: 9

Darcey: 9

Shirley: 10

Bruno: 10

Total: 38

'We had the best time, we're so thrilled,' says Stacey.

That score is bad news for Ashley...

[1 December 2018 20:00 · emmabullimore]

The final couple of the evening is Joe and Dianne, dancing a salsa to music from Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. I remember the coat, I do not remember Joseph wearing that amount of eyeliner. Bizarre. Joe's being lifted this week and the routine promises to be spectacular. IT'S ACTUAL JASON DONOVAN! Sorry Joe, you cannot compare.

[1 December 2018 20:03 · emmabullimore]

Ooh Joe looks very serious. Phew, he's shimmying all over the place. This is extremely camp and that's no bad thing. I remain totally unconvinced that this is appropriate salsa music, what a tough track to choreograph to. But that's not Joe and Dianne's fault. There's some great hip action here and disco breaks are really fun, but the routine itself is rather uninspired, ruined by the fact the music doesn't work. The dance was sacrificed for the concept. But what a crowd-pleaser.

[1 December 2018 20:05 · emmabullimore]

Brrrrruno says Joe had the magic charm and sparkling energy he was looking for, while Craig points out there was an element of style over substance. Darcey enjoyed the armography and praises Joe for how he dealt with the lifts. Shirley gives an A* for presentation and thanks Joe for making the routine his own.

[1 December 2018 20:06 · emmabullimore]

Joe and Dianne: Salsa scores

Craig: 8

Darcey: 9

Shirley: 9

Bruno: 10

Total: 36

Sorry, it really didn't deserve a ten. Brrrrrruno is obsessed.

[1 December 2018 20:09 · emmabullimore]

That's it! Faye is at the top of the leaderboard, closely followed by Ashley and Stacey, with Charles and Lauren tied at the bottom. Despite that brilliant rumba, it's difficult to see how Charles will avoid the dance-off, especially with Lauren being so popular with the voters. Saying that, unlike in the early weeks, public votes really do have the power to turn the leaderboard upside down and I wouldn't rule out Ashley dancing again tomorrow night. Joe is safe as houses, and you would think Stacey and Faye are too. But you never know for sure...