Source: Daily Mail
Last night Ann Widdecombe scaled new heights – literally – with her performance on Strictly Come Dancing.
The former MP, who was strapped in a harness, flew across the stage for a tango with partner Anton du Beke.
While it was not quite Peter Pan in smoothness, her daring start did receive a standing ovation from the audience and a score of 21 from the judges.
However the initial comments from the show’s judges didn’t quite match the audience’s warm reaction.
‘When you landed on the floor, that’s when the problems began,’ said Craig Revel Horwood.
‘I thought it was very well done,’ said head judge Len Goodman.
‘You did a lot of basic steps… A nice placement of the feet. It was very, very entertaining,’ he added.
‘I love that you’re trying and I love you,’ said Alesha Dixon.
‘Truly out of this world. Was it a bird? Was it a plane? No it was Starship Widdecombe,’ beamed Bruno Tonioli.
On overcoming her vertigo, Ann explained: ‘I am scared of heights but if you saw Anton on the dance floor wouldn’t you fly down?’
Anton, who seemed to be enjoying the dance as much as the audience, joked that next week it would the ‘bungee jump’.
While Ann and Anton’s audacious dance still found them in the bottom two, there were two couples at the top of the leaders’ board with 35 marks out of 40 apiece.
In a night of standing ovations, Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani gave the ‘best Charleston’.
‘Not perfect,’ Craig told the CountryFile presenter, but the best was to come: ‘Some unison time issues but I have to say I lo-vvvv-ed it.’
‘It was effortlessly done,’ Alesha said.
‘The showmanship was amazing,’ Bruno added.
Eastenders star Scott Maslen was the other contestant vying for top spot with his ‘masterful’ tango.
‘The tango’s all about passion, intensity, good clean lines, good staccato action and I saw that by and large,’ Len told Scott and his dance partner Natalie Lowe.
‘That was the best dance I’ve seen this series,’ he added.
‘It was full of passion, you’re oozing confidence,’ said Alesha.
‘Scott. You tangoist. Masterful, a bit of arrogance, yet slick and stealthy… Best dance so far this series,’ said Bruno.
‘The performance was strong, dynamic, you make great use of the floor… Full of machismo,’ said Craig.
Last week her ‘bendy’ rumba grabbed the headlines and Felicity Kendal didn’t disappoint with her smouldering tango.
The actress initially played at alluring but succumbed to partner Vincent Simone’s charms in the end with a kiss which surprised the audience and veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth.
‘You were the seductive temptress,’ said Alesha.
Pamela Stephenson continues to outshine her fellow female contestants winning 34 points with her ‘stunning’ tango and another standing ovation from the audience.
‘God it was like catwoman,’ said Bruno.
‘That steamy look for determination. You’re so precise, musical, you surprise me every week,’ he added.
‘It had style, it had attack…You did lose your neckline, but brilliant,’ said Craig.
Husband Billy Connolly looked on thrilled as his wife blew him a kiss at the end of her passionate routine.
He may not be a huge fan of the costumes but he revealed he had been picking up tips from Pamela’s dance partner, James Jordan, on how to handle his fiery spouse.
The lowest score of the night went to Peter Shilton and his partner Erin Boag’s Charleston.
‘You’re so sweet. I really liked the lifts… However there were massive time differences,’ said Alesha.
‘You looked like a penguin stuck in the mud. You couldn’t get going. It didn’t really gel,’ added Bruno.
‘I’m glad you had a good time, I couldn’t wait for it to finish,’ commented the always-acerbic Craig.
‘The white gloves were a big mistake, it just magnified every mistake,’ he added.
‘They’re in a bad mood tonight,’ the former goalkeeper said of the judges’ scathing comments.
Gavin Henson also had a bad night with a lacklustre tango which placed him in the bottom three.
‘I don’t know if nerves got to you,’ said Len.
‘This needed more passion and attack. You did OK,’ he added.
‘You looked vulnerable. You didn’t look sure,’ said Alesha.
‘Facial expressions… I just wondered when we’re going to lose the botox advertisements… Your legs were shaking,’ said Craig.
‘There are some moments when everything comes together, there very short. We don’t want parts, we want flames,’ said Bruno.
The rugby seemed dejected but admitted it was not surviving last week that was his biggest worry.
Gavin: ‘My fear was being voted off in front of my hero Peter Andre,’ Gavin said of last week’s guest singer.