Can you believe thereās only three more weeks ofĀ Strictly Come DancingĀ left this series? Where has the time gone?
Last weekend sawĀ StrictlyĀ professional Robin Windsor break his week 9 jinx by sailing through to week 10, the quarter-finals, with his partner Lisa Riley. Team RiRo are definitely the peopleās favourites but can they go all the way to the final?
In our weekly update we talk to Robin about last weekās Quickstep, find out what all this fusion dance talk is and discuss theĀ StrictlyĀ final.
How did you find last weekās Quickstep?
It was very fast and we were both struggling with a bit of a chest problem. Lisa as always, dressed in canary yellow, brought a ray of sunshine to everyone at home on a very miserable winter day.
It was Lisa who took a tumble this week. What happened there?
During rehearsals every time Lisa had done the flip over onto the sofa it had gone perfectly. Of course on live TV the chiffon dress on the leather material of the sofa meant that Lisa just slipped right off. I shouldnāt have laughed but I couldnāt help it, it was just so funny.
What was so perfect is that the camera just missed it on the live show so we didnāt see it at home on the nightā¦
You could see it on Lenās Lens on the results show. They actually did a big close-up. As the true professional Lisa is her face did not change once. If that was me I would have gone into panic mode and pure embarrassment but Lisa just carried on.
Another week of great comments, how did you feel about that?
The judges absolutely loved our Quickstep. They just loved the vitality and the fact that we can bring a big smile to peopleās faces on a Saturday night. Itās absolutely fantastic.
Thereās cause for celebration this week because youāve finally broken your week 9 jinxā¦
My jinx week is finally over. Iām now onto week 10 which is the furthest Iāve ever made it in the competition so Iām extremely happy. I figure thereās only two weeks after this week to go. I donāt want to have come this far and not make it all the way.
It must be quite exciting to have broken your jinx and be so close to the finalā¦
It is really exciting. I was getting really nervous because we were both sick last week and I thoughtĀ āitās my jinx week, itās going to happen and itāll all be over.ā Itās thanks to the judges and the general public who have kept us in and made me a very happy boy.
What do we have coming up for this weekās live show?
This week we are dancing what is known as āthe fusionā week. Weāll be dancing the Cha Cha and the Tango. Our name for the dance is the āCha Changoā.
Can we expect another dose of high-energy and fun?
You can expect two very different dance styles in one dance. Weāre going to have very serious Tango and then weāll have a fantastic Cha Cha.
How is Lisa coping with learning to mix the two styles?
Weāre lucky that weāve done both of these styles before. Cha Cha was way back in week 1 so weāve gone for a lot more complicated choreography to show off Lisaās technique and what weāve been working on this week. Again with the Tango itās a much more complicated piece of choreography and we want to show where and how Lisa has improved from week 1 through to week 10.
Did you choose the Cha Cha because that was the dance that proved everyone wrong and made them take notice of Lisa as a serious contender?
We chose the song first and then decided to what to dance to it. Weāre dancing to AbbaāsĀ Voulez VousĀ and it was quite apparent straight away that Cha Cha and Tango would be the dances to do to this song.
Have you had any opportunity to check out your competition yet?
At this point we havenāt got time to worry about anyone else or what theyāre doing. Weāre just concentrating on us and making sure that we can get a good dance done and produce a good dance on Saturday night.
Are you feeling confident?
At the moment we are feeling pretty confident. Itās coming along really nicely. Thereās a couple of bits and bobs happening in the routine and at the moment weāre going to be ending with something very special yet again.
How are you both feeling this week? Obviously last week you were both really unwellā¦
Both of us are feeling much better. Iām still coughing and spluttering. Itās a little bit hard to shake this because we havenāt actually stopped. Weāve had to continue right through. Iām still taking medication and getting better day-by-day so hopefully by the weekend Iāll be back to my normal self.
Who would you say is your biggest competition at this point?
I think the person at the moment that is the strongest competition is Dani. Sheās come along leaps and bounds. Iāve got to say that the Viennese Waltz that Vincent choreographed last week was one of the best Viennese Waltz choreographies that Iāve ever seen onĀ Strictly. I thought it was absolutely fantastic and Dani performed it absolutely beautifully. She deserved a lot more than she got for it.
Tell us what it would mean to get through the quarter-finals this weekend and into the week 11 semi-finals.
To make it through to the semi-finals would be absolutely fantastic. Itās two dances for that week. If it all goes according to plan then weāve got two amazing dances for everybody at home and all of our fans. We just really hope that we can perform them for everyone.
Basically if people want to see you and Lisa in the semi-final they just need to pick up the phone and vote for you donāt they?
Yes. Itās all down to the public now. The judges will have their say and their scores of course but ultimately itās everyone at home that can make a difference. We just want to be there, make everyone happy and enjoy what we do.
āStrictly Come Dancingā continues on Saturday night at 6.50pm on BBC One and BBC One HD. You can watch Robin and Lisa perform the Quickstep on last weekās show: