BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 11, Christine Dances out

The Public alas failed to save her from the bottom two and after performing two dances and the subsequent dance off, Christine becomes the 11th person to be voted out of Strictly Come Dancing.

The One Show Presenter landed in the bottom two against the impressive Rachel Stevens, who had already scored a maximum. With Lisa Snowdon finishing top of the Leaderboard, Christine must have known that the end was inevitable.



Rachel danced brilliantly once again in the dance-off to survive to the last 4 and Semi-finals. This is the Second time Rachel Stevens has landed in the bottom two despite brilliant scores. It may show that she does not have much Public voting support. This could be crucial if she makes the final.



Christine Bleakley's happy personality will be missed from the show, but it was the right decision for her to go. The Judges votes were unanimous in keeping Rachel in.

There are just four people left in who can win now. They are Austin Healey, Tom Chmabers, Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon. Austin is still the favourite to win, but this year it looks very close and unpredictable to call. If Lisa Snowdon takes it from where she started in Week 1, it would be an amazing achievement.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 11, The Judges Scores

Week 11 in Strictly Come Dancing, the celebrities had to perform two dances. One Ballroom, one Latin. The Ballroom dances have tended to score slightly higher this series, but with everybody having to perform both, there were no advantage to be had.

There were a lot of perfect 10 scores bring waved around this week, but here is the Leaderboard before the crutial Public vote is added.

Lisa Snowdon & Brendan 76
Austen Healey & Erin 74
Rachel Stevens & Vincent 71
Tom Chambers & Camilla 70
Christine Bleakley & Matt 58

Lisa Snowdon was odds-on to go out before Saturday's performances. It's extremely hard to see this happening now. She tops the leaderboard on 76 after performing two superb dances.

If the voting public get behind Christine Bleakley again, which is very possible, we could lose one of the big favourites! Tom Chambers looks very vulnerable to finishing in the dance off. If Christine escapes, then Rachel could be dragged into the bottom two with him. This would be amazing after Rachel's maximum 40 score of last week.

Stay tuned this Sunday night, because there may be some carnage!

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Who is going in Week 11?

Week 11 in Strictly Come Dancing and there are just 5 people left who can win. All 5 definitely have a chance in the closest series the show has ever had.

Here is how the market values the chances of each celebrities chances of being eliminated.

Lisa Snowdon 11/10
Christine Bleakley 2/1
Rachel Stevens 4/1
Tom Chambers 12/1
Austin Healey 12/1

Lisa Snowdon is the favourite to go. I would not be confident putting any money on this, Lisa has topped the leaderboard in this contest on two separate occasions. Christine has very strong public support and Rachel Stevens has only dropped a single point in two weeks.

So who is going to go then?

I haven't the faintest idea! Have you?

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 10, Rachel is Perfect

So.. you're in Strictly Come Dancing and you manage to survive a bottom two dance-off. How do you come back from this?

Well, if you're Rachel Stevens, you score an amazing 39 the next week, followed by an Outstanding maximum 40 the week after !!!

Yes, 40 was the perfect score awarded to Rachel Stevens and professional dance partner, Vincent Simone for this wondrous Foxtrot.

Rachel was falling out of favour with the Betting market to win Strictly, and at one point, her odds has edged out to as much as an incredible 10/1 ! She is now back down to 11/4 and this still looks amazing value. The quality dancing of both Austin Healey and Tom Chambers are allowing her odds to remain this high, but I still think they maybe a little too high. Rachel has a great chance of winning the series.

Miss Stevens, just has to maintain this standard. She has come good, just at the right time and hopefully she can win this on the finishing line. How do you follow a week where you scored a perfect 40 though? We shall see !

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 11, Latest Odds to Win !!!

Week 10 saw two of the Strictly Come Dancing Celebrities leave the contest. First in dramatic fashion, John Sergeant and then, through more conventional means, Jodie Kidd.

The contest is really too close to call this year, but here is how the Market currently values each Celebrities chances of winning.

Austin Healey 7/4
Tom Chambers 2/1
Rachel Stevens 11/4
Christine Bleakley 7/1
Lisa Snowdon 12/1

Austin Healey has edged out slightly to 7/4 and is now more or less the same odds as Tom Chambers to win.

The rapid improving Rachel Stevens looks fantastic value at 11/4. Last week she scored 39 and this week a perfect 40. If she maintains this form, Rachel will be virtually impossible to beat.

Christine has undoubtedly got very strong support with the voting public, but it looks very much as if this will finally develop into a three-way tussle between Rachel, Tom & Austin. I would personally bet on Rachel, simply down to the great odds offered.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 10, The Judges Scores

It just isn't the same without John Sergeant in Strictly Come Dancing. Gone is the clever humour and comedy, but now we have a rather interesting little dance competition. Strictly Come Dancing is now much a different animal.

Here are the marks after the Judges Saturday scores.

Rachel Stevens & Vincent 40 !!!!!!!!!!
Tom Chambers & Camilla 36
Austin Healey & Erin 35
Lisa Snowdon & Bendan 35
Jodie Kidd & Ian 30
Christine Bleakley & Matt 27

Rachel Stevens continues her sudden increase of form with a perfect 40.

In my opinion any one of four couple can win it this year, but it will be very interesting to see this week where the public vote goes. Before John Sergeant got oractically all of it, and who know now where those votors will go. They could very well decide to save Christine and leave Jodie Kidd and Lisa Snowdon in the bottom two dance off.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing - Week 10, Austin Healey still the Favourite

Austin Healey was back on form with a fantastic Tango in Week 9 of Strictly Come Dancing. Great music, Great choreography and a Great performance sees Austin maintain his place as the Favourite going into week 10.

The ever excitable Bruno Tonioli said of the dance, "You went for that Tango like a rampaging beast!". I think that meant he liked it.

This dance was Austin's best so far and scored an impressive 38 points. This was somehow beaten by a 39 from the new and improved Rachel Stevens.

With the shock exit of Cherie Lunghi, Strictly looks set to eventually become a three-way battle between Austin Healey, Tom Chambers and Rachel Stevens. There are some that would add John Sergeant to this trio. Good God!

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008, Rachel Stevens Coming Good

In Strictly Come Dancing, Rachel Stevens is getting good just at the right time. She had a fairly modest start, but last week scored 35 and this week, an astonishing 39!

Her Rumba earned the highest score of the Series so far and one suspects there maybe even more to come.

I can't believe that Rachel's Boyfriend had to sit and watch this. To describe the dance as steamy would be a bit of an understatement. It certainly ticked all the boxes with the four Judges anyway!

It was a fantastic dance by Rachel and dance partner Vincent Simone. Maybe they will start getting a bit more Public support from here on in. They finished in the bottom two the previous week.

A very tight competition this, but it will probably be down to 4 couples. The Enigma that is John Sergeant is not one of them, but he may very well take out one of the Favourites along the way. Not directly of course. The voting public will save him from the Bottom two one week and two of the Favourites will have to battle it out for survival.

The big four are currently, Austin Healey, Tom Chambers, Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon. Lisa landed in the bottom two this week, but survived to knock out Cherie Lunghi. Both Jodie Kidd and Christine Bleakely were safe this time and it will be interesting to see what they can come up with to close in on the leaders. The task will be tough, but not entirely impossible.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 9 - The Judges Scores !

It's week 9 and the dancers of Strictly Come Dancing are really looking good now. Well... all of them apart from one. But that one was so entertaining then I will let him off this week. Here are the Judges scores!

Rachel Stevens & Vincent - 39
Austin Healey & Erin - 38
Tom Chambers & Camilla - 35
Christine Bleakley & Matt - 34
Jodie Kidd & Ian - 33
Cherie Lunghi & James - 32
Lisa Snowdon & Brendan - 30
John Sergeant & Kristina - 25

After drifting in the market week after week, suddenly a bomb goes off and Rachel Stevens delivers the performance we all she was capable of. Last week she performed will with 35 points, but this week was something else entirely with a huge 39 to top the leaderboard. Wow! She is safe from the bottom two this week... unless some one changes the rules.

Austin was back in gear, scoring 38 and everybody did particularly well. If the Public save John Sergeant again, the bottom two are going to be fairly unpredictable.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing - It's Week 9, Who is going out this time ?

Not many weeks left to go now. Week 9 marks the start of serious territory in the BBC Strictly Come Dancing show. Here is how the betting market values each celebrities chances of being eliminated from the dance floor this time round.

John Sergeant 8/11
Jodie Kidd 9/4
Christine Bleakley 7/1
Rachel Stevens 12/1
Lisa Snowdon 14/1
Cherie Lunghi 14/1
Tom Chambers 50/1
Austin Healey 66/1

John Sergeant is odds on to go, which probably means he won't. Judges have never seemed to grasp in these contests, the worse you say about a performance, the more the Public vote for the performer to stay in. There will be plenty of bad things to say about John this week. That is a given.

Taking the Sergeant Factor into account, Jodie Kidd looks extremely vulnerable. Jodie was very appreciative that the voting Public kept her in last week and has promised to give a great performance in thanks.

Rachel Stevens scored a fantastic 35 points last week, but still ended up in the bottom two with seemingly very little or no Public voting support. You need the Public behind you on Strictly Come Dancing otherwise it is very difficult to win. If this pattern continues, the bottom two this week could well be Rachel Stevens verses Jodie Kidd.

If this is the case, Jodie would have to pull off something pretty stunning to stay in the running.

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BBC Strictly Come Dacing - Week 9, The Latest Odds to Win

Week 8 in Strictly come dancing was a bit of a bad week for Austin Healey. He escaped the bottom two however and his odds in the betting market to win are virtually unchanged.

Austin Healey 5/4
Tom Chambers 5/2
Cherie Lunghi 5/1
Lisa Snowdon 8/1
Rachel Stevens 10/1
Christine Bleakley 16/1
John Sergeant 33/1
Jodie Kidd 33/1

It was a great week for Tom Chambers. He finished joint top of the leaderboad with 36 for his Quickstep. His odds now shorten to 5/2.

The odds of Rachel Stevens winning Strictly Come Dancing continue to drift outwards and she is now looking a bit of an outsider. This is quite surprising. She has taken quite a few weeks to hit her true potential, but this week Rachel really nailed it with the American Smooth. 35 points however was not enough with inadequate votes from the viewers at home.

It is rumoured that a great percentage of the viewers votes are either going to Cherie Lunghi or the hapless John Sergeant.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 8, Rachel Stevens 35 points = Bottom Two Dance Off

So... these days in Strictly Come Dancing, 35 points from the Judges can leave you ending up in the bottom two dance off. What a joke this is and not a very funny one.

Professional dance partner, Vincent Simone, choreographed a brilliant American Smooth routine and wouldn't have believed what happened with the voting public. This was Rachel's best performance week so far and she was rewarded with this travesty of events. It appears she must have very little support with the viewers at home which is a bit of a mystery. Has something gone wrong with the vote counting system?

One thinks that maybe it has.

Thankfully Rachel survived the dance off this week, but it was to the detriment of Heather Small, who also danced well. Truth be told, neither of the women should have been there.

Head Judge Len Goodman said of Rachel's original routine, "Diamonds come in small packages and that was a gem of a performance."

Bruno added, "it was Fred and Ginger for me tonight, so elaborate and demanding... you did that effortlessly."

It is perhaps impossible to fathom. Bruno said he felt as if he were in the Twilight Zone. In a week where a score of 35 out of 40 can land you in the bottom two, the dance part of this competition is becoming less and less relevant.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 8 - Heather Small leaves

Shocks aplenty on UK television voting competitions this week. This time on Strictly Come Dancing, singer, Heather Small, was the one to go. It was the fourth time in the series she had landed in the bottom two and this one, by far, was the most unfair.

And who was in the dance off with Heather?

Rachel Stevens of course.

What??? How did this happen? Rachel scored 35 out of 40 with the Judges, just 5 points short of a maximum score! There's something very odd going on this week. Maybe someone should check the water supply.

Heather's Tango was the best she had danced so far and she didn't really deserve to be in the bottom two either. Judge Craig described the result as a travesty.

The Judges voted unanimously to keep Rachel in the competition. Having originally scored her a whopping 35 points, there was little much else they could have done. Public voting figures for Rachel must have been ridiculously low which does not bode well.

John Sergeant must genuinely be feeling a bit guilty this time. Maybe he should invent a fake illness and drop out. At this rate, there is a distinct possibility he could reach the final. This week, John scored a meagre 12. That is 23 points less than Rachel Stevens.

Strictly Come Dancing is in danger of becoming a bit of a mockery. A dance competition where you don't have to be a good dancer. Next year my money is on Stephen Hawking to win.

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BBC Strictly come Dancing 2008 - Week 8, The Judges Scores are in

It's week 8, the dances have been done, and the Judges scores are in. Wow, what a high scoring week... well... for all non-former ITN people.

Here are how things shape up at the half-way stage,

Tom Chambers & Camilla 36
Cherie Lunghi & James 36
Lisa Snowdon & Brendan 36
Rachel Stevens & Vincent 35
Christine Bleakley & Matt 31
Austin Healey & Erin 29
Heather Small & Brian 27
Jodie Kidd & Ian 23
John Sergeant & Ola 12

3 couples top the table on a fantastic 36 points. This is the first time this has ever happened. Tom Chambers was outstanding, Cherie Lunghi was back to the style of dances she does best and Lisa Snowdon showed she is not to be underestimated.

Rachel Stevens finally came good to indicate she perhaps now will be a threat in the competition's final stages ahead. Thank goodness. Up until now, she had been Strictly Come Dancing's serial under performer. Not by any means bad any week, but you sensed she was not performing to the best of her ability. Rachel's American Smooth scored a well deserved 35.

Jodie Kidd struggled a bit with the Samba, but compared directly to John Sergeant's Shambles, she was the greatest dancer of all time.

Favourite to win, Austin Healey, had his worst week yet, but that's mainly due to being scored a shocking 5 by Craig. He totalled 29, but should still escape the bottom two.

What can be said about John's Cha Cha Cha this week? Judge Craig said it was a Disaster. I think he was being polite. Craig scored it a 1, but that is only because there were no score paddle with zero written on it. A woeful total of 12 points still seemed way over-marked. It was the worst dance I have ever witnessed and I'm not 100% sure he was really bothered. I've honestly seen people on fire dance better than him.

In danger of being in the dance off this week are Jodie Kidd and Heather Small.

What? No John Sergeant?

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 8 - The Dances this Week

It's Strictly Come Dancing, it's Week 8, the competition is now starting to get tough. Survival is everything as distant thoughts of the final begin to enter the minds of those left in.

What dances are being performed this week and by who? Well, here's the lineup,

Jodie Kidd and Ian - Samba
Rachel Stevens and Vincent - American Smooth
Heather Small and Brian - Tango
Christine Bleakley and Matt - Jive
John Sergeant and Kristina - Cha Cha Cha
Cherie Lunghi and James - Waltz
Tom Chambers and Camilla - Quickstep
Austin Healey and Erin - Rumba

In training, Austin has been finding the Rumba a little awkward, but should go through without much difficulty. Apparently he has been struggling with conveying the emotional side of the dance.

Jodie Kidd's Samba could be tricky. The Samba felled Andrew Castle previously and is a dance to try and get out of the way. She is much better at the Ballroom dances.

Cherie Lunghi should be back in the groove this week after two relatively poor weeks for her. She has remained in the contest however and is now back to a better suited dance for her, a Waltz.

If Mr Sergeant is rescued from the bottom two again, the dance off could be very tense indeed. John has a great chance of doing this as I'm sure, many people only watch the programme, to see him. John Sergeant has the entertainment factor in spades and is a joy to watch... but, for all the wrong reasons.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Week 8, Money for Austin Healey

Money continues to pour in for Austin Healey to win Strictly Come Dancing 2008. His odds of victory have now shortened to 11/10. If it continues in this manner, he could soon be odds on!

His Quickstep with Erin Boag last week topped the Leaderboard with 36 points.

Rachel Stevens is gradually losing favour and her odds have now edged out to 6/1. At this moment in time, she is not fancied to win.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing - Week 7, Rachel in the Pack

Is it just my imagination or does Rachel Stevens get under marked every week in the Strictly Come Dancing Contest?

Rachel's Jive scored 32, placing her fourth after the Judges votes.

The dance seemed pretty good to me, but normally jovial Head Judge, Len Goodman, seemed somewhat annoyed by the whole affair. He remarked, "It was competent, and I liked it, but it didn't really wow me."

Thankfully Bruno roared, "Welcome back Rachel, the firecracker! You were selling it - tonight you ignited!". He scored it a 9 which compensated slightly for Craig's rather feeble 7.

Rachel Stevens was one of the hot favourites before Strictly began, but as of yet, has never quite made it to the top spot.

It is possible that the Judges are comparing Rachel with last years winner, Alesha Dixon. Slightly unfair maybe. Alesha was absolutely brilliant in the previous series and she shares a similar background. There are some... and I don't know who they are... that say... she was even better than John Sergeant.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2008 - Austin Healey, the one to beat

Austin Healey certainly looks the one they have to catch this year. After a dip in performance last week, week 6 saw him bounce back with the Viennese Waltz performed with professional dance partner, Erin Boag.

A great dance which saw Austin top the leaderboard with 34 points, 2 points clear of nearest rivals Tom Chambers and Rachel Stevens.

In was never in doubt that he would qualify into Week 7 and frankly, it will be a major shock if he does not reach the final. Although, in this competition, you can ill afford to be complacent.

The big four strongest supported in the market are, Austin Healey, Tom Chambers, Cherie Lunghi and Rachel Stevens. I wouldn't completely rule out Lisa Snowdon either as she continues to improve.

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BBC Strictly - Week 5 - Lisa Snowdon Top of the Shop

Last Saturday Night, Lisa Snowdon made yet another massive improvement to top the leaderboard after the Judges scores with a whopping 35 points. You could tell that Professional dance partner, Brendan Cole, was extremely pleased. This year, you can now sense, he has an outside chance of winning it which is not looking so far outside as each week goes by.

Courtesy of the BBC Strictly Come Dancing programme and YouTube here is Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole's well performed American Smooth.

She shared the top spot with actor Tom Chambers. Lisa Snowdon has emerged from nowhere and is definitely the one to watch as she threatens the established favourites, Austin Healey, Tom Chambers, Rachel Stevens and Cherie Lunghi.

Lisa Snowdon is quoted at 10-1 to win this year.

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing - Week 6, Latest Odds to Win

Week 6 into the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing Competition, here are the latest odds on each celebrity to be declared the winner!

Austin Healey 7/4
Tom Chambers 7/2
Rachel Stevens 4/1
Cherie Lunghi 4/1
Lisa Snowdon 10/1
Christine Bleakley 10/1
Jodie Kidd 25/1
Mark Foster 33/1
John Sergeant 50/1
Heather Small 66/1
Andrew Castle 66/1

In terms of movement, the market seems quite stubborn this week. Austin Healey failed for the first time to top the leaderboard, but despite this strengthens from 2-1 into 7/4. The Bookies can't seem to shake of the thought that Austin will win.

Cherie Lunghi is finally adjusted to her proper odds, level with Rachel Stevens at 4-1. Rachel so far, has looked good without being spectacular and hopefully there is more to come.

Lisa Snowdon looks value at 10-1. After topping the leaderboard this week, she is definitely the dark horse.

Predictably chasing the pack are Andrew Castle, Heather Small, John Sergeant and Mark Foster. Ignoring John Sergeant as he is immune to the bottom two, such is his public support, the dance-offs in the next few weeks should be combinations of Castle, Small and Foster. After this time, the contest is going to get really tight indeed.

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