The tension on Striclty Come Dancing this week was almost palpable as all three couple recounted how hard they’d worked on their routines this week and how much it meant to all of them to get through to the final.

List and Brendan were the first to dance and Brendan seemed to have got over his anger at last week’s judges scores on his and Lisa’s jive performance. Their first dance, the Argentine tango, was a stunning performance. Lisa wore a sequined and sparkling short dress that showed she has legs up to her armpits!

Len loved their performance and said it had great intensity. Bruno commented about how long Lisa’s legs were and remarked that she wrapped them around Brendan like “octopussy”! Craig liked the passion and said the choreography was in general excellent but thought the lifts could have been better. Arlene thought that Brendan was exceptionally nervous and Brendan answered that he just didn’t want to let Lisa down.

Craig gave the couple 8, as did Arlene while Len gave the maximum 10 – much to the delight of the audience – and Bruno 9 for a total of 35.

One of Strictly’s favourite professional dancers Flavia then came on briefly to show Brucie some tango moves and amused and impressed him with a little recap of kicks and slides before Bruce introduced Tom and Camilla who performed a jive. Tom was wearing a spangly shirt that was one of those that opened almost to his navel, but he’s got the physique to get away with it!

They opened their routine with Tom sliding on his knees across the floor and continued to perform their jive with high energy. They clearly enjoyed their performance too! The judges comments weren’t as complimentary as they were for Lisa and Brendan though with Craig commenting that the routine itself wasn’t choreographed as well as it could be. Arlene said that the energy of the dance was amazing but they lost rhythm sometimes. Len said there was fun and energy in their performance and overall, it was brilliant but Bruno said, “Could this be your Waterloo?” There was energy he said but towards the end, they lost rhythm somewhat.

Craig awarded the couple 8, as did Arlene while Len gave them a 9 and Bruno 8 for a total of 33.

Rachel and Vincent were up next and they had their work cut out to do as well or better than last week when they had great scores, but with Vincent being an expert at the Argentine tango, hopes were high for their performance.

Rachel looked stunning in a backless black velvet dress with diamante accents as they glided into the tango. The chemistry between the pair was palpable in their passionate rendition of this routine. The most impressive part of the dance for me was when Rachel ‘climbed’ Vincent’s leg – which was stretched behind him – and Vincent reached behind him and swept Rachel into an impressive dip.

The judges were equally impressed with this flawless performance, as were the audience, and the applause resounded throughout the studio. Arlene said the dance is about “longing and yearning” and the pair demonstrated that all the way through. Len said it was a technical “tour de force” but he felt there could be a bit more drama. Bruno said the dance was incredible and sensual and the moves were executed with finesse. Craig said that they did the dance brilliantly, especially as the choreography was so tough.

Again, their scores reflected how amazing the routine was, with Craig offering a 9 but Arlene, Len and Bruno all awarded 10’s taking their score to 39! This took them to the top of the judge’s leader board at this point, with Lisa and Brendan second, Tom and Camilla third.

It was now time for the couples to re-take the floor for their second dance, and first up was Lisa and Brendan. They have of course been in the dance off three times so of all the semi-finalists, they were arguably feeling the pressure the most as they began their quick-step, which they executed beautifully.

Len was the first of the judges to comment and was very complimentary about their dance, calling it “fantastic”. Bruno said Lisa had “moved with the radiance and light of a shooting star” while Craig remarked that they were marvellous. Arlene was similarly pleased with their performance and told Lisa she’d come a long way!

And this was all reflected in the scores – all the judges awarded a perfect ten giving Lisa and Brendan a score of 40 which was a record for the quick-step. The couple were absolutely delighted!

Tom and Camilla were on next and for Tom, the pressure was certainly on as Camilla has never been in a Strictly final before, but their Argentine tango was stunning with lots of passion and beautifully choreographed moves.

Bruno commented that the dance showed brooding passion and he said, “Tom, well done, you got it right!” Craig said that he loved the routine and that Tom portrayed the character in his dance very well. Arlene said there was a lot of story and not many “steps” but nonetheless, they’d performed well. Len ended the judges comments by saying that the acting and the passion were wonderful but the dance lacked the intricacy he might have expected.

The couple waited nervously as the scores came in; Craig awarded 8, Arlene 8, Len 9 and Bruno 9 for a total of 34 and on overall score of 67.

The final dance was by Rachel and Vincent and, like Camilla, Vincent has never been in a final before so Rachel was desperate to do well for her teacher. They embarked on their American smooth which they danced flawlessly, yet again. They were fluid and once again, the chemistry between the two shone through.

Arlene was first the comment and said that they’d absolutely got the dance right tonight and compared Rachel to Ginger Rogers. Len said that as a performance, it wasn’t a foxtrot, it was just “wandering around doing steps” which seemed to shock everyone. Bruno remarked that the dance had shown that not only is Rachel a marvellous dancer, but she’s also a wonderful performer. Craig said, “Don’t listen to Len, it was an American smooth and you can do what you like. It was gorgeous, I loved it!”

The scores were again very high for Rachel and Vincent; Craig and Arlene both awarded 9, Len 8 but Bruno awarded a 10, taking their scores for this round to 36 and 75 overall.

We then saw that sharing top place on the leader board were both Rachel and Vincent and Lisa and Brendan on 75 with Tom and Camilla second with their score of 67.

So now it was all up to the phone vote, and it was to transpire that an unprecedented event was about to take place!

Right at the start of the show, Tess and Bruce announced that phone lines were frozen because, as there was a tie at the top of the leader board, this meant that one couple would “always have gone into the dance off”.

Bruce said, “It’s the worst possible week for this to happen and of course, it’s out 13th show!”

So the three couples had to wait nervously while all the show’s special guests made their appearances which included the professional dancers performing a group jive, an appearance by the cast of the West End musical Chicago as well as a performance from World Showcase champions, Craig Smith and Natalie Wolf.

Backstage, everyone was incredibly nervous and emotional but excited too as they awaited the results of the public’s votes, which after amazing performances from the guests and the pro-dancers, Tess announced, and as mentioned, in an unprecedented move, all three couples were told that they would go through to next week’s final!

The relief and bewilderment were palpable as all the couples celebrated and hugged each other and the judges all stood and clapped for the clearly delighted contestants. And after hugs and congratulations all round from Tess and Bruce – and tears from Tom and Camilla who must have thought they were going home – Bruce announced that all the phone votes would rollover to next week’s grand final.

Tess then invited all three couples to take to the floor for a “celebratory dance” and one after the other – starting with Vincent – the male dancers all lifted their female counterparts into their arms to the accompaniment of Richard Marx’s classic love song, Wherever You Go. While Vincent and Tom rather effortlessly lifted Rachel and Camilla respectively, Brendan, though making a valiant effort at doing likewise, had to put Lisa down after a few seconds!

And so this emotional semi-final drew to a close but who will be victorious next week? We’d love to hear your thoughts and who you’d put your money on!

In the meantime, you can see again the moment when Tess announced that all three couples would go through to the final here…