Former Strictly Come Dancing finalists, Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone will represent the UK in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest.

The youngest ever Strictly Come Dancing contestant, and currently starring in The Bill, Louisa competed in series four alongside other famous faces including Mark Ramprakash, Matt Dawson and Emma Bunton.

This time Louisa and Vincent are striving to reach the top spot as they bring together elements of Latin and Ballroom for a one-chance, freestyle performance to incorporate the nation’s dancing flavour.

Fronting the sequin-showered spectacular are Graham Norton and Claudia Winkleman, who return to present the second instalment of the electric European dance tournament. Read more & comment »

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star Louisa Lytton has been recruited to play P.C. Beth Green in ITV 1 drama series, The Bill.

Swapping her ‘Strictly’ glitz and glamour outfits for a pair of sensible shoes and the Met Police uniform worn by the officers at Sun Hill, Louisa is excited about the new challenges she is about to face.

“It’s such a great start to the New Year,� commented Louisa, “and will be so different to how I’ve been spending my last few months in dance training. I’ve been fitted for my new uniform and am excited about getting out on the beat.�

Louisa’s character P.C. Beth Green is a hapless romantic who operates from the heart rather than the head, but her naturally inquisitive nature and eye for detail mean that she’s always on the ball and make her a good copper.

“We’re delighted to welcome Louisa to the show,� commented executive producer, Johnathan Young. “We’ve got such fantastic storylines to kick-start 2007, and it’s great to be working with new actors. The character Louisa will play (Beth) is going to be well-liked and fun – a great addition to Sun Hill.�

Louisa’s first episodes will air on screen from beginning of May 2007.

How does someone get voted out, who has consistently been one of the two favourite dancers, since the beginning of the series, with both the bookies and the public? What is going on? Louisa Lytton, who the judges classed as been on a par with the professionals has been voted out. Emma Bunton, whose shortcomings on the dance floor are often either overlooked or not marked accordingly, was apparently still finding favour with the judges, scoring higher than the public feels she should (as do I). while the judges’ were nit picking fault finding her toughest competitors, Louisa Lytton and Mark Ramprakash. The public obviously have not agreed with the judges, pulling Emma down from top of the judges’ board, to the bottom, by public vote. Surely the judge’s constant extreme fault finding of Louisa and Mark, which appears to be unfair and unwarranted, must have demoralised and knocked their confidence. In spite of this, Louisa has never failed to deliver the most captivating performances, as has Mark.

The most impressive dancer of the evening was Matt Dawson with his partner Lilia Kopylova in his second dance. He was utterly amazing and received well deserved praise from the judges but unfortunately not the tens he so richly deserved. Not even nines. I have not been a Matt fan in the past but willingly admit that he was phenomenal. The judges now have to get past two remaining outstanding dancers to get their favourite, Emma to win.

Is it a forgone conclusion that Emma is to be the next winner, in spite of the public and bookies’ opinion? Are the public wasting their time and money voting for their favourites?

Do the judges not value their reputations as, obviously, other experts in their field and the public, do not agree with their point distribution, favouritism, critisms of the serious contenders and weak excuses for their behaviour. Will Mark, the remaining favourite with both the public and bookies, be the next contestant to be ousted making way for the judges’ favourite, Emma, to win? None of this does anything for Strictly Come Dancing or Reality shows. Strictly Come Dancing was once one of the fairest of the reality shows and much enjoyed by all. Maybe it is time to replace the present panel of judges to enable it to be a more pleasant show for both viewer and competitor Do judges have training to judge, as knowledge of dancing is not sufficient. Viewers should be able to vote off the judges not fulfilling their positions of trust.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis. Thanks Evelyn!

Eastenders star, Louisa Lytton was voted off Strictly Come Dancing last night and will not be dancing in the shows semi final.

Louisa had struggled with her training throughout the week and she and dance partner Vincent Simone collected the lowest number of points from the TV judges of the four quarter-finalist pairings. They received cumulative totals of 31 for their American smooth and 29 for their rumba.

Although former Spice Girl Emma Bunton scored the highest on the night it was she who was in the bottom two for the third consecutive week, but yet again found herself surviving the chop.

Next weeks semi-final will feature Matt Dawson, Mark Ramprakash, and Emma Bunton.

4th December, 06

Well now, that was a very interesting showing of Take Two by Claudia Winkelman

First we were taken to Head Judge, Len Goodman’s Dance Centre where he teaches children to dance, with tremendous humour. Then Judge Bruno Tonioli came on the show with Louise Redkapp, to defend his judging on Emma, Mark and Louisa on Saturday night.

Carol Smillie and Matthew Cutler, who were knocked out of the competition last Saturday by the public, were invited on the show to share how they felt about this after having received their highest score ever. They were at the bottom with Emma Bunton and Darren Bennett (The judges had put Emma and Darren at the top with a generous rewarding of tens, beating both Louisa and Mark and their partners, unfairly, many of us thought) last Saturday. Carol said she knew she was going that week but very happy to have earned her nine and thirty total, for which she and her partner had been aiming.

The really interesting part of the evening was when a panel of four public judges made up of friends of Judge Craig Revel Norwood, were asked to judge the controversial couples. The four public judges were dance performance coach, Doreen, theatre, TV and film director, Arthur, random friend Amber and West End stage and costume designer Christopher.

Some of their remarks were as follows, Emma not very Spanish, wrong dress, cleaning her hands down the front of her dress and Doreen hotly disagreeing with Arlene’s ravings of how wonderful Emma was, shouting ‘No way Arlene, we don’t agree with you’. ‘The judges must have been taking kindness pills’. They felt there was nothing Spanish about the dance and did not like some of her movements or her smile. (I think it was a grimace for the fierce dance). They also felt she did not tell the story. Matthew, they stated, was not allowing himself to be seduced, too much posing and a fixed smile. His upper body was too stiff and they had not seen him dance. They loved Mark’s whole performance, hip movements, etcetera and felt he had earned the nines but they would have liked to see a ten. Arthur emphatically stated ‘that was very nifty, I gave him a ten’ with nods of approval from the panel of public judges. They said ‘Louisa just lights up’ and ‘this is what a waltz should be’…Arlene was strongly against their fantastic, very graceful, interpretation of the waltz, wanting something more conservative but she stood alone there. Louisa definitely deserved tens especially compared with Emma who got three tens for two dances not that well performed. Louisa’s second dance brought the house down but once again she received only nines although the judges raved about their dance, as did everyone else, audience and fellow competitors.

As said before, judges, put your points where your mouth is.

THERE YOU HAVE IT, THE PEOPLES’ VERDICT FROM THE PUBLIC JUDGES.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis. Thanks Evelyn.

Five couples remained at the beginning of the evening but only four could make it through to the quarter finals hosted by Bruce Forsythe and Tess Daly. This evening the very nervous competing couples had to dance two dances each, which they had never danced before. There was a very festive atmosphere with an outstanding band and exquisite costumes. With only three weeks to go one more couple must leave tonight. The excitement in the studio was electric.

Carol Smillie and Matthew Cutler who were in the bottom two last week and wanting to earn a thirty out of forty this week, opened with their fabulous Viennese Waltz, impressing all the judges who gave them a thirty four. Len Goodman described Carol as being like a great big red swan gliding across the water. Clever footwork and rotations, amazing, surpassed yourselves were some of the other judge’s remarks. A lovely start to the evening. Thirty four is their best score so far.

Rugby player Matt Dawson and Lilia Kopylova followed with the Quickstep. Their second dance will be the Rumba and Lilia has said that the Rumba is the hardest dance for scoring well. They did a beautiful and exciting Quick step with the high score of thirty four from the judges. One judge’s comment was ‘I’m on cloud nine watching you’, another remarked on Matthew’s growth as being the most outstanding of all the celebrities and Len Goodman, head judge, said ‘by golly that was good’ and ‘cant wait for the raunchy rumba’. Another 34.

Emma Bunton and Darren Bennett, aiming for a ten, impressed the judges with their Waltz. Craig Revel Horwood, who is said to favour Emma, said he was mesmerized and could have watched her all night and ‘Great Choreography’. Arlene Phillips felt that although Emma’s upper part was good, her footwork was a little ‘nasty’ Len’s opinion was that the song, routine and performance all came together. They received two nines and two tens giving them the highest score of thirty seven, earned only once before in this series. Ten is for perfection and faults were found so either they are scored too high or people like Mark and Karen and Louisa and Vincent are being underscored. Especially if one listens to judge’s comments, watches audience response and their faultless performances. Emma and Daren still have to get there and did not deserve 38 points.

Cricketer Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy danced the Foxtrot with a beautiful entrance, lines, twirls, falls, good head posture, to receive the ridiculous score of 28 from the judges. These are one of our two top dancing couples. Why are the judges underscoring them so badly??? Their remarks were weird, to say the least. Were we watching the same dance? 28 points!!! Enough said.

Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone made a striking entrance with Louisa wearing a breathtaking white dress. They waltzed around the floor introducing steps we have never seen before. Their joy in dancing shone through every move and a sheer pleasure to watch. The judges remarks of ‘you rocked me’, good choreography, gorgeous and great, were well deserved earning them a thirty three. We expected nines with at least one ten. The judges are not consistent in their judging and do not put their points where their mouth is. 33 was an insult.

All the contestants are working flat out and should get what they deserve.

Carol and Matt’s second dance was a Samba with excellent moves and ‘wriggles’. The judges loved it and told them to keep up their good work, rewarding them with 34 and 68in total. Carol could be a good dancer but is inconsistent and lacks concentration.

Matthew and Lilia’s second dance, the rumba, brought much deserved criticism from the judges as Matthew did very little. Lilia was doing most of the dancing with Matthew on his knees half of the time. In spite of this, the very generous judges gave them twenty seven, added to their previous dance, they had 61 out of eighty. Lying bottom.

Emma and Darren’s Paso Doble brought mixed remarks from the judges. Pleasant to watch but not enough steps from Emma, bad beginning, brilliant choreography, liked it, beautiful interpretation but not enough from Emma, great and well done. You can guess who said ‘it gave me goose bumps’. They received thirty seven which was way over scoring. 74 grand total.

Mark and Karen danced a very exciting Samba with lots of hip and shoulder movements as they sizzled across the dance floor. Arlene was very excited as she gleefully shouted ‘the sexy hip movements are back’. Other judges remarks were liquid action, good hip and shoulder movements, legs, feet, routine, good line and lovely to watch. Mark and Karen certainly looked liked they were enjoying the dance tremendously. Bruno said it was the ultimate party dance, shouting excitedly, ‘You did it’. Craig said ‘you are back and burning it, it was amazing. (They really were all of that and more. Flawless)) Len said ‘You get it in my book, that was really jolly good. Mark you are right back’. Now tell me what would you expect the judges to give them after that, keeping in mind Emma’s score of two tens???? We expected four tens, full house as it was outstanding. No, they received 36 points and not one ten (giving them a total of 64 points and 2nd from the bottom). Can anyone tell us WHY?????

Louisa and Vincent made a sizzling entrance with new exciting steps, fast moving, sexy funny, a star. Joyful, fiery and amazing footwork. They just come bouncing back after knocks by the judges, determined to show what they can do. Good for them. Louisa has been told that she is as good as the professionals, in the mixed dances. There was an outcry over the judges underscoring them last week by audience, fellow competitors and even guests on the mid week ‘Strictly Come Dancing, Take Two’, hosted by Claudia Winkleman. Louisa was invited on morning and afternoon TV shows and all shocked at the underscoring of her brilliant dance last week. Do the judges not care about their reputations and are they trying to enforce their choice, and not for the dancing, to win? Louisa’s outfit was a gorgeous gold and silver sparkling skimpy dress with a wide belt. Judges comments ‘Cutest Cha Cha Cha’, Arlene said ‘a Cha Cha Cha must be cheeky and it was’, she loved it. Len said it was cheeky and lovely and suited Louisa. The audience went crazy and it was the most exciting dance of the evening. Bruno was so excited he had to make up words to describe his pleasure in the dance ‘beautidelicious’ being one of them. These two always look so happy as they thoroughly enjoy dancing together. The judges have expressed how they have become one, essential for successful dancing. If ever a dance deserved ten across the board, this one did. What did they get??? 36 giving a total of 69 and second to Emma and Darren with their undeserved 74, as beautifully as Emma danced and as nice a person as she is, the dancing was not of the same standard as Louisa and Vincent’s and Mark and Karen’s.

Final Judges Scores out of 80: Emma and Darren 74, Louisa and Vincent 69, Carol and Matthew 68, Mark and Karen 64 and Matthew and Leila bottom with 61.

After the public votes were added, Carol and Matthew and Emma and Darren were the bottom two couples. (Does this not tell the judges that their over scoring of Emma is not doing her a favour as no one likes such obvious unfairness). This is Emma and Darren’s second week at the bottom.

There was much tension all round before Carol and Matthew were announced as the couple to be leaving. Four couples left, who will go next week.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis, a contributor here at Unreality TV. Thanks Evelyn.

Hosted by Claudia Winkelman.

Twelve weeks and with 2,181 hours of dancing has been put in by the contestants. We have the bookies favourites as follows:

Mark Rampramkash and Karen Hardy are the bookies No. 1 at 11 to 10 and will be dancing the Foxtrot and Samba on Saturday. Two extreme dances as one will be floating, sophisticated, suave and elegant with the Samba being the complete opposite. A charismatic couple who have put in the most hours of practice, 268 hours to date.

The bookies next favourite, lying second, is Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone

At 2 to 1 with 159 hours of practice, the lowest, due to two weeks of unavoidable absence from rehearsals. Everyone was so impressed with their brilliant Paso Doble, last week, professionals included, saying they were underscored and should have received tens across the board. It was amazing. This week they will be dancing the Cha Cha and Waltz. Once again, two extreme dances. Louisa has been very excited about dancing the Waltz.

Matt Dawson and Lilia Kopylova have put in 233 hours and the bookies have given them a 13 to 2 chance of winning. They will be dancing the Quickstep and Rumba. Matt has improved tremendously over the last few weeks and earned the highest score for their waltz last Saturday. For the Rumba they will have to use shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands, well and not forget raunchy hips. Last week they received the highest score of the series, 37 out of 40

Emma Bunton and Darren Bennett with 191 hours of training in twelve weeks will be dancing the Viennese Waltz and Paso Doble. They are feeling more confident but dread being placed in the bottom two again. 5 to 1 by bookies. They stunned us with their British Waltz last week. Emma is fast catching up on the practice she missed when helping to raise funds for Children in Need, recently.

Carol Smillie and Matt Cutler have put in 204 hours of training. 12 to 1 by the bookies who have predicted that they will be the couple to leave on Saturday. It all depends on their performance, as they dance the Viennese Waltz and Samba. Carol is a beautiful dancer when she concentrates although the judges feel she needs to dance with her heart more than her head.

At the end of each day the dancers go home from rehearsals exhausted, yawning with some napping on the floor, beforehand. So many hours of extensive training before each Saturday’s show. The competition is getting tougher as the gap closes between the couples and anyone could go on Saturday. We have three and a half weeks left to find a winner.

This article was written by Evelyn a contributor here at Unreality TV. Thanks Evelyn!

Claire King and Brendan Cole have been voted out after being one of the bottom two couples with Carol Smillie and Matthew Cutler. They have entertained us all with their wayward ways, raunchy dancing, Brendan’s fights with the judges and surprises each week. Actress Claire, an arthritis sufferer, has impressed us all with her cheeky cheerfulness and will be sorely missed.

The dancing has reached a very high standard with a nice variety of dances, gorgeous costumes, excellent progress, brilliant floor shows and good music. The competitiveness has reach boiling point with many contestants putting in longer hours of practice than ever before. It is going to be a real tough competition with the remaining five couple.

Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy impressed the judges the most, with their beautiful Viennese Waltz, floating romantically around the floor, fantastic choreography and intricate steps. Mark was told he danced with great Panache! After being told they were beautiful, fantastic, wonderful, very professional and charming they were rewarded with the highest points of the evening, 36 out of 40

In tie position with Emma Bunton and Darren Bennett, we have Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone dancing the Paso Diablo. The judge’s comments were passionate, fearless dancing, excellent timing and full of drama. with Louisa dancing like a professional in only eight weeks. Brilliant choreography with a great variety of exhilarating steps, well executed spins and drops. She was called a feisty cracker. 34.

Emma and Darren also earned 34 points and were told that their dancing had much improved and Emma was back amongst the top dancers. Emma’s regaining of her balance after spins was excellent but she must watch her spine. They danced the American Smooth, in the judge’s words ‘with the wow factor’, splendid lifts (stunning) and exciting to watch. Emma’s arm movements are extremely graceful.

Carol Smillie and Matthew Cutler received a thirty from the judges for their Viennese Waltz which the judges said, although very beautiful, graceful and romantic, was ordinary with Carol dancing with her head not her heart. Loved the reverse spin.

Matt Dawson and Lilia Kopylova’s jive was described as being like a warm, bubbly Jacuzzi, pronounced flicks and a job well done. Tremendous footwork but needs to be lighter on feet with more extensions. Great improvement all round. 28 out of 30

The judges liked Claire and Brendan’s samba but one judge described it as a dance after the night before. The other judges found it entertaining and said Claire was a very likable person and always made them laugh. All four judges felt that they should be the couple to go this week. They received 25 points.

The group dancing with all six couples participating found Louisa getting the highest compliments from the judges, being told she was as good as the professionals and hard to tell them apart. ‘Girls Aloud’ sang their new single and ‘danced’ with the male professionals

Next week we will see the remaining five couples dance it out to win. What surprises have they in store for us?

This article was written by Evelyn a contributor here at Unreality TV. Thanks Evelyn!

We have said goodbye to Peter Schmelchel and Erin Boag, having seen them dance for the last time. Although we enjoyed their dancing, having earned 26 points, judges Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Arlene Phillips said Peter danced pigeon-toed, entrance not good, poor lines but fabulous when in hold (Craig). Len said Peter messed up his foot work in parts but otherwise quite good. Bruno criticised his hands and said he was awkward, with Arlene saying it was cumbersome. He will be remembered by all for his ‘1-2-3 shake that body down’ Schmelchel Shake. Happy Birthday Peter!

Matt and Lilia scored the highest marks in the series with 37 out of 40, which was well deserved for their waltz, described by Craig as phenomenal, graceful, and elegant with good rise and fall. Len said it was the best dance he had seen of the whole series and rewarded them with full marks, a 10. Bruno excitedly declared it sensational with Matt improving week by week and both he and Arlene said the couple would be in the final if Matt continued this improvement. All remarked on the incredible change in Matt and his dancing as he has leant to smile and enjoy it more. We loved it.

Louisa Lytton (17) and Vincent Simone came second with 35 points dancing the Tango. They were greeted with much excitement from the audience, screams and cheers, as they took to the floor. Craig said he absolutely loved their dance routine and performance. He congratulated them on their maintaining the body contact. Arlene commented ‘some dreams are made of this’ but told Louisa to work on dramatic, strong facial expressions. Len thought it was great. Bruno found the choreography impressive remarking ‘Full Bloom tonight’.

Emma Bunton and Darren Bennett danced the Cha Cha Cha earning a 30. Emma was amazing in her shimmering, short silver dress. A pleasure to watch. Craig remarked that it was top Choreography (Craig is a top choreographer) but too many ‘still’ moments. Arlene (West End legend) agreed with Craig and added that Emma’s footwork needed attention and they needed to engage more. Len, the Ballroom expert, said they did not come out and wow him. Lastly, Bruno thought it was ‘very naughty and very nice’ but Emma did not raise her leg once. Was it because of her concern over the very short skirt? We thought you danced beautifully Emma. Plenty of hip action.

Carol Smillie and Matthew Cutler earned a matching 30 with Craig saying he really liked the amazing routine and Carol had improved but needed more hip action. Arlene said there was a remarkable improvement and liked the way they came bursting out onto the dance floor. Lens comment was ‘dark horse of the competition’, much better, very well done but sell it more. Bruno said it switched him on and Carol’s arms had improved.

Claire and Brendan wowed us with the Tango and deserved more than the 29 they were given due to Grumpy Len (has he not forgiven Brendan for his earlier attack on the judges?) giving them a ridiculous 6 against Craig and Bruno’s 8s. Disappointing Len, put personal things behind you and judge on the dancing alone. He tried to justify his low points with ‘all the aggression and passion was left to Brendan, not Claire’ and this followed with Craig hotly disagreeing saying it was dramatically excellent. Arlene felt they had nailed it and were very sexy. Bruno found their dancing strong and positive.

A heated argument pursued amongst the judges until halted by Bruce Forsythe’s whistle.

Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy received the undeserved, second to lowest points of 27 due to, in our opinion, Craig giving them a ridiculous 5 against Len and Bruno’s 8s. Craig tried to justify this by saying he did not like their dance as it was passionless, disappointing, with only occasional action. We thought it was marvellous. Len said he liked the great long lines, held the time well but needed to act the dance more. Bruno found it sexy, raunchy, smouldering and passionate. Arlene felt it did not show all the aspects of love and needed more hip movement from Mark, as performed in the past.

The dancing, all round, was of a very high standard and beautiful to watch. The entertainment was very classy and fast moving and the music superb. Next week we will see the remaining six couples dance it out in an attempt to reach the prestigious finals.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis, our newest contributor at Unreality TV. Welcome aboard Evelyn. We’re thrilled to have you with us!

Ray and Camilla have been voted out after being one of the two lowest scorers. What a shock after weeks of great performance. Brendan and Claire being the second lowest scoring couple.

All four judges having said that they felt that ‘cuddly’ Peter and Erin should be the couple to go. Having danced the Samba, as described by judge Craig as being heinous to watch but they were saved by the public. The public put the above two couples at the bottom of the leader-board, certainly not the judges. Brendan and Claire gave a particularly wonderful, elegant and classy performance with their American Smooth. As Arlene remarked ‘Gruesome twosome to Smoothsome twosome’. Well done Brendan and Claire.

Louisa and Vincent danced the Samba with passion and a sparkling, uninhibited Louisa, with vigour and fire. The judges felt the music was too fast for Louisa to cope with the many varied steps but it was exciting to watch.

The dancing of the Samba and American Smooth were of a very high standard with many of the couples earning points in the thirties (out of forty) with much applause and appreciation from the audience and fellow competitors. Most outstanding being Matt and Lilia, Emma and Darren, Louisa and Vincent, Claire and Brendan and of course Mark and Karen. All earned high praise from the judges. Lilia and Matt with the American Smooth, gave exhilarating entertainment with Matt masterfully sweeping the floor with his partner displaying poise, dignity and a superb lift. An absolutely outstanding performance deserving tens across the board, if going by judges comments. Arlene’s remark was ‘from boring to brilliant’. Len’s input being, ‘A huge transformation before our eyes’ and partner Lilia said she could now ‘die happy’.

We would love to see the final score on the leader-board after the points from the public have been added. The judges were shocked to see Ray and Camilla go just as we were.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis, our newest contributor at Unreality TV. Welcome aboard Evelyn. We’re thrilled to have you with us!

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed his favourites to win this year’s competition.

Even though fans love watching rebellious couple Claire King and Brendan Cole, they’re not contenders to win according to nasty Craig.

He believes Emma Bunton, Louisa Lytton, Ray Fearon and Mark Ramprakash have been the outstanding dancers so far.

Craig said: “It has got to be between Emma, Louisa, Ray and Mark. All four of them are extraordinary talents.”

‘EastEnders’ star, and Strictly Come Dancing contestant, Louisa Lytton has said that she is feeling more confident about performing her routine on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ this week, after last week’s negative comments from the judges.

The actress got very upset last Saturday when the judges heavily criticised her performance with dance partner Vincent Simone.

Speaking about her reaction to the comments, she said in an interview on the show’s website: “Craig’s comments did upset me a bit. The comment about not having enough energy really upset me.”

“I did need a good cry. It shows I care and that I’m passionate about the show. It is very hard. I want it so badly and I am really enjoying myself, and there’s so much tension and emotion on the night you just have to let it out.”

Looking ahead in the competition, Lytton said: “It would be brilliant to get to the final, get another ten, I just want to carry on.”

With only a few weeks left, let’s enter into the kaleidoscopic world of Strictly Come Dancing with its classy glamour, exquisite outfits, exciting music and amazing dancing. Celebrities, new to professional dancing, each have an experienced dancer to teach them various routines, week by week, to enable them to compete against each other, as couples.

Louisa from Eastenders and her partner Vincent were the most impressive competitors for weeks but now have serious competition from Ray and Camilla, Emma and Darren (who in my opinion have been over marked and favoured by the judges) and the incredible Mark and Karen who have WOWED us in the last two weeks with their dynamic, passionate performances. They leave us wanting to see more and more of them and make the waiting of a week, seem like a life time.

At first I thought the judges were mean with their points to Louisa (and remarks of her lacking passion) but when compared with Mark and Karen, I had to agree that the point distribution was fair, even though Louisa took offence as she stormed off to her dressing room. I am sure she will be bouncing back to impress us all, as in the past. Both couples danced the Salsa which has been introduced for the first time as part of the dance routines expected from the competitors,

Camilla and actor Ray swept us up into the romantic world of the Viennese Waltz as they glided across the floor with swirling skirt, arched backs and variety of graceful steps. The choreography was highly praised by the judges for Karen and Martins routine as they thrilled us with their very sensual dancing, two flames lighting up the dance floor.

Jan and Anton were voted out this week and have left us on a high, on the one hand (Jan’s best performance to date) and a low for her outburst of ‘ I hope you are happy’ to the judges, when she had to leave. Not good Jan. The judges points for their dance was fair, which Jan was most upset about as she is expected better, as improvement is expected each week so the marking becomes stricter. The right couple were voted out.

After bad boy Brendan’s head-on encounters with the judges over the past week or two (proud of you Brendan and am very much on your side as you brought out valid points against the obvious favouritism shown towards Emma and Darren and poor points for others, out of keeping with overall point distribution) we saw a very subdued Brendan. For the sake of his partner Claire I should think as they did get a ‘hammering’ from the judges, the UNTOUCHABLES.

What a pity the public cannot vote certain judges out or ban them from judging for a week or two. The outbursts of temper and deliberate spitting out of lower points than deserved, does not make a good judge. It makes a bully and should not be allowed. Do we need to retain our whistle blowing referee, Bruce Forsythe, or can we have a pleasant competition without scathing and derogatory remarks. So much laborious work is put in by the participating couples only to receive rude remarks of a personal manner. Come on judges, with your vast knowledge and experience, you can do better than that. Give CONTSTRUCTIVE criticism. Resulting in .

Strictly Come Dancing improving week by week, as the dancers are encouraged and shown appreciation for their highly entertaining, admirable performances.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis, our newest contributor at Unreality TV. Welcome aboard Evelyn. We’re thrilled to have you with us!

Jessicaindublin is no expert on ballroom dancing, but for Specialbets’ first foray into Strictly Come Dancing, she’s probably a bit more qualified than Damianinlondon. (Damianinlondon being the one who put a “cheeky tenner” on Jimmy Tarbuck… And won’t admit whether that was before or after the heart scare.)

The favourites in the competion are already clear. See here for the Betfair odds.

I won’t waste your time talking about the also-rans, so let’s move straight onto Emma Bunton. This week’s Foxtrot performance was a little disappointing. They did have various excuses and said they had little practice time. To this observer, the Foxtrot is one of the less fluid of the Ballroom section, but Emma failed to inject any grace to it. Looking over her past performances, notably her Jive last week, perhaps she’s better suited to the Latin dances (as we see Peter is more suited to Ballroom.) I note too that Arlene described Emma’s previous week’s Ballroom-section Quickstep as, “the sportiest Quickstep I’ve seen in a long time.” I wonder if Emma will struggle with the more staid Waltz or let her “bubbly” personality ruin the drama of the Tango. It’s always hard to guess how the public feel about the celebs, but I can’t help thinking that despite her protestations about never having done this kind of dancing before; her previous experience of being choreographed before will go against her. Perhaps seen as a bit of a “head start”.

I think Louisa might have some of the same problems as Emma. In her Quickstep in Week Two, Len said “they tried to cover up bad technique with clever choreography”. She did well in Week 3, but that was the Jive in the Latin section, which needs energy and vigour. Note that Len Goodman is the only judge who is actually a ballroom dancing judge (rather than a choreographer or similar) and he told us this week that her steps were wrong whilst Bruno focussed on the “chemistry”. This is a dancing competition, not “Love Island”, after all.

That said, there is palpabale chemistry between Mark and Karen. Or at least it looks like Karen is mad about Mark; always going on about how proud she is of him. And there’s just no excuse for the favouritism that Arlene is showing for Mark. He did well in his first dance with the Cha Cha Cha in the Latin section, despite the judges not liking part of the routine. His Tango was wonderful in Week Three and gave arguably the best Paso Doble of the night. Having proved himself capable of passionate Latin dances, I have no doubt after his Tango that he’ll lend himself very well to the elegance of the rest of the Ballroom sections.

Mark is the only one of the celebrities, in my opinion, who looks like a professional dancer on the floor. He has no previous experience which will surely endear him to the public and Arlene, although biased, has said, “You must have been a dancer in another life.” I think that says it all and I will be putting my hard earned tenner on him. Will the public mind if another cricketer wins this year? I don’t think so, and our poll seems to back this up at the moment.

This article was written by Jessicaindublin, our newest contributor at Unreality TV. Check out Jeesica’s own website here. You might also be interested in the Special Bet Survey on Strictly Come Dancing if you are a a fan!

Eastenders actress and Strictly Come Dancing competitor Louisa Lytton was seen weeping and running from dance rehearsals this week after panicking about her quickstep.

The 17-year-old sobbed to co-stars: “I’m not good enough. I can’t do it.”

A show source said: “Panic set in when Louisa watched the other celebs going through their moves in the dress rehearsal. It was like she had a minibreakdown - it took a while to convince her to come back to the studio.”

The source said show bosses were worried she was going to walk out, adding: “She became convinced she was going to forget her steps and embarrass herself on live TV. The pressure really got to her and the more she watched the others, the more worried she became.

“Eventually it got too much and she left the rehearsal area in floods of tears.

“She had been working hard on perfecting her steps all week. She was feeling confident and when the judges saw her dance in week one they had high hopes for her. But that all just disappeared.”

Fellow competitiors Emma Bunton and Georgina Bouzova finally managed to coax Louisa back into the studio. An insider added: “Louisa’s confidence had taken a real knock. But she picked herself up and got back on her feet like a trooper.”