Strictly Come Dancing News!

Strictly Come Dancing enjoyed record viewing figures this weekend, so it seems the nation has finally got the dancing bug. And of course, we're all tuning in to see how Russell's getting on!
Here's another update from our dancing star! Over to you Russell......

Well… it was touch and go Saturday night especially for me. During a punishing practice week of not only dancing but scrambling up and down the majestic hills and valleys of North Wales with a BBC film crew in tow my leg and ankle was playing up even more than usual. So much so that at one point there was a question as to whether or not I would be able to dance on Saturday!

But “The Show Must Go On! So with the knee supported and with an ice pack strapped to the inside of it we and the remaining eleven took to the floor.

Wasn’t it lovely to see Edwina in the audience? She is so kind, generous, supportive and always encouraging.

But, there I go again getting ahead of myself… lets go back to frantic Friday when I dropped in on “Loose Women” at lunchtime and then rushed round to the Beeb where we had great fun with Zoe on “It Takes Two”. Lots of people love this show as much as Saturday’s performances and if you haven’t tuned in yet you mustn’t miss it this week.

Saturday is a busy practice day, but we still have time to have a chat here and there. Lulu and Anita are great fun and we spend lots of time chatting and chunnering over the week’s events and what lies ahead. Anita was very nervous, but she needn’t have been she produced a truly elegant performance packed with glamour and sophistication. Even our dear Craig “Loved it” calling Anita’s dance “Classy, sophisticated and a consummate pro”. Anita wowed the audience and pulled off a wonderful 32 points! Great Stuff!

Another energising and entertaining show from Robbie and Ola got a standing ovation but only 27 points. I loved it all and enjoyed seeing them at the football ground and what a wonderful response they had from the thousands of fans.

What can I say about Chelsee and Pasha’s Quickstep except to echo the judges? Craig: “1^st Class”. Len: “Fantastic”. Alesha “Ended too soon”. Bruno's “Pocket Rocket”. They were fabulous and pulled off one of the most deserved highest scores so far. A wonderful well-earned 36 points!!!

So from the top of the score board to pretty near the bottom. 24 points for Flavia and I. Are we downcast? Are we downhearted? Not one bit of it. We produced an imaginative and creative dream sequence which flowed on naturally from those shots from atop the mountains of Wales. My partners were Teddy and Flavia and both were about to perform to perfection.

The huge cheers that greeted us and Bruce’s gag about “The huge R’s” got us off to a great start and the standing ovation at the end brought a tear to my eye.

It was lovely of Bruno to call me a “Brilliant Sleeping Beauty” and an “Entertaining” from Craig was pretty good. Len pronounced it a “Whimsical and endearing performance, full of charm” and Alesha was kind enough to proclaim me a “Strictly Legend!”.

Sir Bruce threw in an “Amazing” and a “Marvellous” and suddenly it was all over.

It certainly was all over for big hearted Rory and Erin who also scored 24 points. It was oh so sad to wave them the fondest of farewells on Sunday evening. Their kindness, encouragement and support will be missed by us all. The show will miss them but the show must go on!

Next week Flavia and I are dancing the Samba! Let’s hope the knee holds up, it certainly will be a test. I am aiming for more than 24 points next week so we will be hoping to pull all the stops out.

Thanks again for all the support coming through the post and via email, Facebook and Twitter. So many friends, so many well wishers – Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

See you Saturday

“Thanks for being there!”