Dancing On Ice came back with a bang last week when Hollyoaks star Jorgie Porter and her partner Sylvain Longchambon were the first to leave the competition followed by comedian Joe Pasquale and his partner Robin Johnstone.
Tonight the second half of the celebs took to the ice for the first time this series as they battled to secure their place in the competition. Before all of the action unfolded, the pro skaters did a routine that was played backwards giving us something a little different and definitely impressive.
As with last week, two couples will be leaving the competition later this evening and it could be anyone so all the couples need to up their game.
Kicking off the show tonight was 2013’s winner Beth Tweddle who is skating this year with Lukasz Rozycki. Last year Beth got a rough ride from judge Jason Gardiner who constantly criticised her every week for not letting go and enjoying herself. During training Beth knew she had a mountain to overcome to get Jason on her side this year. Beth and Lukasz skated to Katy Perry’s Roar.
Beth was great last year and she opened the show with a bang tonight. Her performance is getting better and you can tell she’s been working on it ready for this year.
Beth and Lukasz were awarded 28.5 out of 40 from the judges.
Jason opened the comments saying Beth is always physically impressive and told her to find her inner performer so she is even stronger. Ashley called Beth ‘strong, confident’ and told her she killed it tonight. Karen said the defending champion is ‘back and means business’. Robin said he saw Beth’s confidence and told her to attack with a little less aggression in the transitions.
Second onto the ice tonight was former footballer David Seaman and his professional partner Frankie Poultney. These two are together in real life and are actually now engaged. Since getting together David and Frankie have continued to skate together so his appearance in 2006 wasn’t the last time he skated. In his intro VT David admitted that he’s worried about injuring Frankie but said he was confident he’ll look after her. David and Frankie skated to The Kink’s You Really Got Me.
Well at least David got through it without injuring Frankie and we were able to breathe again once they finished the routine. It was definitely a bit messy though.
David and Frankie were awarded 22.5 out of 40 from the judges.
Karen said that some parts of the routine were strong but it was a ‘game of two halves’. Ashley said that David didn’t completely sell the performance. Jason agreed with Ashley and told David his skating has improved but told him to inject personality into the performance. Robin said he put the focus on Frankie rather than his performance calling him ‘safe and controlled’.
EastEnders star Gary Lucy and his partner Katie Stainsby were next to perform tonight. Gary came runner-up in 2010 and in his intro VT he revealed that he’s not as fit as he was the first time round. For the new series Gary has a new partner in Katie. In training he struggled to keep up having to take breaks to catch his breath. Tonight Gary and Katie skated to Pompeii by Bastille.
Gary did a pretty decent job but you could see his mind was purely on concentration. He’s better than he showed tonight we think.
Gary and Katie were awarded 24.0 out of 40 from the judges.
Jason scored Gary the lowest and said he was expecting a lot more. He said that the performance started to fall apart and called it ‘dull’. Robin said he would have marked Gary lower if he didn’t know how good a skater he is. Karen told Gary she needs to see commitment and he has to leave his nerves at the door. Ashley said Gary’s energy needs to stay up throughout the performance.
Actress Zaraah Abrahams followed Gary Lucy and she must have been feeling fairly confident after the mauling he received. Zaraah came third in the 2008 series of Dancing on Ice and judge Robin Cousins says that she’s one to watch. Zaraah is skating with Andy Buchanan and she admitted in her intro VT that she didn’t believe it when people told her she was a good skater. Tonight Zaraah and Andy skated to Lady Marmalade by Labelle.
Zaraah gave a clean and nice performance but honestly we didn’t think it was one of the best this evening. What did the judges think?
Zaraah and Andy were awarded 30.5 out of 40.
Ashley said that she was expecting more sass from Zaraah to improve her score. Robin said that Zaraah’s technique was at ‘the top of the pile’. Jason said he was underwhelmed when he heard she would be back on the show but told her that she’s ‘put the cat amongst the pigeons’ with tonight’s performance.
Actor Sam Attwater won the show in 2011 and he’s skating this year with Vicky Ogden who is also his fiancée. Love really is in the air on this show isn’t it? It would seem it’s a curse as much as a blessing as the two were filmed arguing quite a bit in their intro VT. Could they leave the personal stuff at home? Tonight Sam and Vicky danced to Bruno Mars’ Marry You. Pretty appropriate don’t you think?
Sam is definitely one of the strongest skaters in the competition but was he a bit too complacent tonight? We spotted a little slip there near the end.
Sam and Vicky were awarded 30.0 out of 40 from the judges.
Karen said that even though Sam made mistakes he covered them well. Ashley said the performance was cute. Jason said Sam would keep Ray on his toes but told him the performance tonight was a bit ropey.
The penultimate celebrity to skate tonight was actor Todd Carty. It’s been a while since Todd last skated, 2009 to be precise, and he’s become a bit of a legend for how terrible he was. This series Todd is skating with Alexandra Schauman and he’s hoping that the public will give him a fair shot as they love a ‘trier’. Tonight Todd and Alex skated to Papa Loves Mambo by Perry Como.
Well it wasn’t a great performance was it? Todd just about managed to stay upright but it was a little touch and go in places wasn’t it?
Todd and Alex were awarded 16.5 out of 40 from the judges.
Robin said he was thankful that Todd stayed in the rink and on his feet. Karen said she was trying to find the right words but told Todd he had improved. Jason said he hasn’t seen an improvement in Todd and told him that Alex was pulling him around. He went on to say he had no idea why Todd came back to the show. Ashley said Todd ‘sold it the best way’ he could.
The last to dance tonight was Suzanne Shaw who won the show with Matt Evers back in 2008. As she prepared to train for the show, Suzanne moved in with Matt so they could spend more time together and train hard. In her intro VT Suzanne seemed determined to win the show and do whatever it takes to be the best. Tonight Suzanne and Matt danced to Rihanna’s Stay.
Easily one of the best performances of the night, Suzanne and Matt are the couple to beat this series we think. The performance was fantastic but what did the judges think?
Suzanne and Matt were awarded 35.5 out of 40 from the judges.
Karen said there’s something about when Suzanne and Matt skate together and called it ‘best performance of the night’. Ashley said it was ‘emotive, sultry, grounded and elongated’. Robin said it was ‘supremely controlled and sublime’ commenting on the quality of her skating.
The leaderboard for the evening was:
Suzanne Shaw and Matt Evers – 35.5
Zaraah Abrahams and Andy Buchanan – 30.5
Sam Attwater and Vicky Ogden – 30.0
Beth Tweddle and Lukasz Rozycki – 28.5
David Seaman and Frankie Poultney – 22.5
Gary Lucy and Katie Stainsby – 24.0
Todd Carty and Alexandra Schauman – 16.5
Tune into Dancing On Ice: The Results at 8.30pm tonight to find out who will be leaving the competition.
