Laila Rouass must have known the writing was on the wall the moment she discovered she was up against show favourite Ricky Whittle in tonight’s dance-off.
In the face of harsh criticism over her lack of technical ability, the Footballer Wives star was voted off Strictly Come Dancing and she took to the floor for an emotional last dance with partner Anton Du Beke.
The star had taken a mauling from the judges this week, scoring the lowest on the leaderboard for both of her dances.
Judge Bruno Tonioli described her salsa as devoid of rhythm and tone and added: ‘I’ve never seen, in the quarter final, such a mess.’
Craig Revel Horwood said her performance was ‘disappointing, at this point of the competition’ and, in his usual cutting style, told her: ‘You have turns that would rival [former contestant] Fiona Phillips.’
Laila’s exit now means Hollyoaks actor Ricky Whittle will join sports presenter Chris Hollins and The Bill star Ali Bastian in next week’s semi-final.
This week’s quarter final of the dance contest was a survival of the fittest, leaving little room for error in the judges’ eyes.
Praise was sparing and the criticism was barbed from all judges in tonight’s show, as the contestants were left in no doubt that the highest possible standards were expected of them during these final stages of the contest.
The four regular judges were this week joined by world-class ballerina Darcey Bussell, who will act as the fifth judge for the last three shows of the contest.
The celebrities were under twice as much pressure this week as they were required to learn and perform two dances for tonight’s show.
Ricky Whittle bounced back from the blow of being placed in the bottom two last week, earning him the nickname of the ‘comeback kid’.
He and dance partner Natalie Lowe took up their regular spot at the top of the leaderboard as they gained a combined 95 points out of 100 their foxtrot and cha cha cha.
Craig Revel Horwood simply described Ricky’s foxtrot as ‘amazing’ and his cha cha cha as ‘marvellous and sexy’.
Despite his performance – astonishingly – Ricky was forced to take part in tonight’s dance-off after the public voted to save Chris Hollins.
The Bill actress Ali Bastian and her dance partner Brian Fortuna weren’t far behind Ricky and Natalie on the leaderboard, but the star’s ‘nice girl’ image continued to hold her back.
Alesha Dixon told her she saw ‘flashes of insecurity’ in what should have been an ‘angry and passionate’ tango.
And Len Goodman added: ‘You’re a bit of a one-trick pony. You only seem to be able to to do elegant.’
However, by the time it came to her second dance Ali managed to inject a little spice into her and Brian’s samba.
The judges praised the couple for defying the ‘samba curse’, named so because every other contestant on the show has been defeated by the technically-complicated dance.
Sports presenter Chris Hollins showed a marked improvement this week, with Len Goodman declaring after his foxtrot: ‘I am seeing signs of a dancer emerging here.
‘It was slick throughout with just a bit of slack.’
While his samba with dance partner Ola Jordan went down well with the audience, it received a lukewarm response from the judges.
However the public thought otherwise and secured Chris a place in next week’s semi final by giving him those all-important phone votes.
Veteran singer and actress Bette Midler, who performed on the show, was treated to the sight of presented Bruce Forsythe pretending to strip in honour of her forthcoming birthday.
Pop singer Lily Allen will appear on next week’s semi-final show.
Source: Daily Mail