This programme contains scenes of Repetitive Flashing Images.
We train for hours and hours.
We train and train.
And we've only got 90 seconds to make our mark.
90 seconds to move an audience.
90 seconds where nothing else matters.
Where nothing is more important.
The pinnacle of the week.
But a lot can happen in that time.
So we must use our time wisely.
To fill every single second.
Because if we want a place in that final...
If we want a chance to lift that Glitterball trophy...
We need to embrace every single second.
The short breath before a turn.
The glance at your partner to stay connected.
The heel placement landing exactly where it's meant to be.
The gliding across the studio floor.
The neck tilted at the perfect angle.
Tonight in the semifinals...
More than ever...
We will be making the most...
Of every...
Single...
Second.
APPLAUSE.
Welcome to Strictly Come Dancing - it's the semifinal!
There is just one week to go until we crown our champions and,
tonight, our remaining stars will dance twice to try
and earn their place in the final.
Over the past 12 weeks, 15 couples have been
whittled down to just four.
Each of them has trained tirelessly to make it to this point.
And double the dancing means double the scoring.
Please welcome...
BOTH: The judges...
MUSIC: Take On Me.
Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.
Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke.
MUSIC: Take On Me.
APPLAUSE.
Thank you, judges.
Our couples all want to make it through to next week and nobody
is going home without a fight.
Please welcome...
BOTH: Our Strictly stars...
MUSIC: 2 Be Loved.
George Clarke and partner Alexis Warr.
Balvinder Sopal and partner Julian Caillon.
Karen Carney and partner Carlos Gu.
And finally Amber Davies and partner Nikita Kuzmin.
MUSIC: 2 Be Loved.
Welcome back, everyone.
Karen, George, Balvinder and Amber - it's a big night in the ballroom.
The very best of luck to you all.
Opening the semifinal with a salsa, it's Balvinder and Julian.
Before she performs her first dance of the evening,
let's see what the judges have made of her time in the competition.
Balvinder and Julian, we'd like to know how you feel
about your journey so far.
Thanks to this guy here, I think I've come a long way, actually.
I mean, a long way!
You've been in five Dance-Offs.
You're just resilient in everything that you do.
I know the Dance-Offs aren't the best place to be but, for me,
I think that means that we get to just implement
and try and enjoy it.
I mean, you have to be absolutely thrilled with yourself.
It's truly growth, isn't it?
The comeback queen!
It was before one of the Dance-Offs, I said to Bal, I was,
like, you know what?
What a privilege that we get to do this again.
Once upon a time, I was on the other side of the world,
wishing that I would, you know, get to be a part of this.
You were at home watching seasons, going, how great would it be?
How amazing.
Great attitude.
For me, particularly, I enjoyed your Insta dance.
I was, like, what is this?!
Where did this come from?
You have such quality in storytelling.
It's a real, real gift.
Yeah, it's a gift.
Last weekend I thought was absolutely fantastic.
Viennese waltz.
A changed person, you know, a complete and absolute dancer.
Wow!
For your first dance, you'll be doing a salsa.
I want to see finish, line and rhythm, rhythm, rhythm.
And failing that, get yourself into the Dance-Off,
and then you're guaranteed to make the final.
Yeah.
For our salsa, it's a real party vibe so that it really does look
like a show that we're putting on.
We just need to have crispness and ends to our line.
One, two, three.
We've taken on board all of the advice that
the judges have given us.
We just have to leave everything on the dance floor.
Dancing the salsa, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon.
MUSIC: Rhythm Is Gonna Get You/Get On Your Feet
# O eh, o eh (O eh, o, eh)
# O eh, o, oh-ah (O eh, o, oh-ah)
# At night
# When you turn off all the lights
# There's no place that you can hide
# No, no, the rhythm is gonna get you
# Rhythm is gonna get you
# The rhythm is gonna get you tonight
# You say I know it's a waste of time
# There's no use trying
# Deep in your heart is the answer
# Find it, I know it'll pull you through
# Get on your feet (Get on your feet)
# Get on your feet (Get up and make it happen)
# Get on your feet (Oh yeah)
# (Hey!) Get on your feet tonight!
# (Hey!) Yeah!
# (Hey!). #
You
You just
You just set the mood for the
semifinal, you came out fighting,
you
you threw
you threw yourself into those lifts!
Brilliant! Motsi, you said you
wanted
wanted three things, rhythm, rhythm
and
and more
and more rhythm, did you get to?
Yes,
Yes, hallelujah! She gave us rhythm
and
and more,
and more, Balvinder, I love your
attitude,
attitude, I absolutely love you
coming
coming out, you are fearless,
strong,
strong, pushing through, he did not
move
move it,
move it, you were independent, I
loved
loved the
loved the cheekiness! She gave us
some
some softness but also strong, that
was
was the
was the opening and fight and you
set
set it.
set it. You said, I want to be in
the
the final! Shirley?
the final! Shirley?I am in shock,
but
but did
but did you see the wonderful...
Some
Some of
Some of the positions you did were
outstanding, immaculate timing,
precision, it reminded me of being
in
in Miami
in Miami at that salsa club, it was
really
really authentic. And those lifts,
no
no fear
no fear for you now, you trust
completely, fantastic, well done!
Anton?
Anton?What a start! You have set
the
the benchmark right there, you have
gone,
gone, OK,
gone, OK, this is what I have got,
do
do your
do your best and beat this! It would
take
take some
take some beating, that was amazing,
energy
energy personified, the performance
was
was great, timing was great, thank
you
you very
you very much, well done you!
you very much, well done you! The
transitions were a bit stop and
start
start for
start for me. In and out of lifts,
lacked
lacked fluidity, getting in and out
of
of them,
of them, but you have a way of
isolating
isolating a body which is
commendable, you have fantastic
rhythm
rhythm and you gave that dance your
all,
all, my
all, my darlings.
all, my darlings. Anton said it, you
set
set the
set the benchmark and you have
another
another chance to impress later with
your
your second dance, can't wait for
that,
that, great start, well done!
that, great start, well done!Great
work,
work, well done!
It
It is
It is a
It is a lot, how have you found this
week?
week? We
week? We have to shift through them
are
are not
are not spend too much time on
anything!
anything! You put so much into it, I
know
know you
know you loved meeting with the
judges,
judges, didn't you? It felt like a
personal
personal one-to-one and you were
able
able to
able to have a proper conversation
and
and in-depth feedback which is not
often
often possible when we are dancing,
so
so I
so I loved it, I thought it was
really
really inspiring and made me feel
like,
like, yes, I can do this.
Absolutely! We have to talk about
your
your Mum,
your Mum, what did she do? My mum
flew
flew all
flew all the way from Australia to
surprise
surprise me, just to come and watch
the
the semifinal.
the semifinal. She is flying back on
Monday,
Monday, so she literally flew in,
all
all I
all I have ever wanted to do my
whole
whole life is make my family proud
so
so to
so to have her here is, yeah. Well
done
done to
done to both of you, good luck, the
scores
scores are in.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
And Anton Du Beke...
If you want Balvinder and Jules to make it the final,
then please vote for them at the end of tonight's show after all of our
couples have danced twice.
To get ready to vote, please sign in or register
for your BBC account.
All you have to do is head to bbc.co.uk/strictly or scan
the QR code on your screen using your mobile or tablet.
Bal, it's the waltz next.
How are you feeling?
I
I didn't
I didn't like it at first, a bit
slow
slow and
slow and I couldn't quite get the
footwork
footwork right but when I think of
ballroom
ballroom dancing, that is the one
you
you go
you go to, it's the classic, and we
have
have done
have done it a few times and
actually
actually I have fallen in love with
it,
it, it's
it, it's a very beautiful dance.
Everyone
Everyone is very relieved, there was
a
a sharp
a sharp intake of breath! We can't
wait
wait to
wait to see it.
Tess?
Last week proved difficult for Amber and Nikita.
Despite achieving their second perfect 40, they found themselves
facing arguably the toughest Dance-Off of the series.
Ahead of two new routines tonight, the judges had some advice on how
best to move forward, starting with the tango.
Welcome to the judges' lair.
Ooh!
Thank you.
I think you're super.
Thank you so much.
Your best quality for me is how versatile you are,
the way you can bring every dance a new character with full impact.
I think your charleston was one of the best things I've ever seen
on Strictly Come Dancing, I have to tell you.
Your swivel, darling!
Yes, please.
You have got that down, babes!
Yeah.
You've managed to rack up two 40 marks.
That is pretty amazing because I don't hand tens out
willy nilly, darling.
Sorry, guys, I'm such a crier.
The cha-cha-cha was one of those bumps in the road for you.
You scored 33 and you struggled a little bit with that.
He said, you're going to love it!
And when we started on the Monday, I thought...
You've also had to do the Dance-Off.
That knocked my confidence a lot.
But going into the semifinals, I'm going to go for it.
Tango.
Whoa!
Now, I want to see a better shape.
OK.
Too often in the ballroom dancing, your shoulders don't match up.
OK.
When you're in promenade, I don't want to see funny, cued your lines.
Good exercise is if you can dance pretty much all the tango,
but don't touch and hold.
So how much can you follow him without him putting his frame up?
Remember, this is a unit and just bring you because you are
an extraordinary woman.
After being in the Dance-Off last weekend, it was a really good time
to just have that moment with the judges and to get
some incredible advice.
Let's go.
Shirley Ballas!
One, two.
We lost contact.
I'm going to do everything in my power to implement that.
Shoulder blades are down.
Extension.
I hope the judges can see how hard we've worked and I'm just
going to give it everything I've got.
Anton Du Beck.
Dancing the tango, Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.
MUSIC: Higher by Michael Buble
# You know you have it, mm
# You take a moment, make it magic, yeah
# The way you move is so dramatic
# I think I might make you a habit, eh eh eh
# Every step you take
# Everyone ever knew ya
# Sing, Hallelujah
# Woah, because when you go low, and I get higher
# When you move that slow, it lights my fire
# I might be falling for ya, I don't know (ahh)
# I think it might be what you came here for
# Stuck in this game you've started
# Don't leave me broken hearted
# Cos I've got nothing left to lose (oh)
# Woah, because when you go low, and I get higher
# When you move that slow, it lights my fire
# I might be falling for ya, I don't know
# I think it might be what you came here for (whoa)
# When you go low, and I get higher
# When you move that slow
# It lights my fire (the way you slide across the floor)
# (Slide across the floor)
# I think you know (I think you know)
# That I'm only gonna beg for more (only gonna beg for more). #
Cheering
Cheering --
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Awesome!
Awesome! Yes, Amber! Well done, my
darling.
darling. Oh, my goodness. You mean
business
business tonight. I could see the
intensity, the power, the drama.
I've
I've had
I've had goose pimples. It comes
down
down to
down to two dances, Shirley, how was
Amber's
Amber's first?
Amber's first?You groomed
beautifully, fantastic costume.
Beautiful
Beautiful balance, hip on point, I'd
have
have liked a bit of passion, you
looked
looked a
looked a bit unconfident here and
there
there but
there but the frame is getting
better,
better, you moved across on one side
at
at one
at one point, you need to stay more
to
to the
to the left, but overall you did
extremely
extremely well in this really flat
staccato
staccato dance. You did show some
quality
quality in that, well done. Thank
you.
you. Anton?
you. Anton?It was a tale of two
halves
halves really, I liked your shoulder
line,
line, much more connected with
Nikita,
Nikita, I
Nikita, I know you've been working
on
on that,
on that, thank you very much for
that.
that. When you did your openwork
it's
it's so
it's so brilliant, the stuff on the
chair
chair and
chair and the work you do apart, the
sweeping
sweeping round, it's also
magnificent. It's like your
charleston, absolutely wonderful.
When
When you
When you are doing the tango, in
hold,
hold, I
hold, I found the disconnect between
the
the upper
the upper body and lower body, the
legs
legs were
legs were a bit hesitant, there
wasn't
wasn't the driving through we want.
BOOING
Well,
Well, we
Well, we are in the semifinal, you
are
are amazing. If this was the M1,
you'd
you'd have got 25 points, I'm sure,
you
you can
you can get going. That's really it,
I
I know
I know it's nitty picking but we are
at
at that
at that point in the competition.
Your
Your actual performance was
magnificent, you are a tremendous
dancer,
dancer, well done. Craig?
Unnecessarily harsh, you two.
CHEERING
There
There wasn't actually that much
wrong
wrong with it, I've got to say. I
would
would have liked may be more of a
wide
wide frame, more air between your
chests
chests and stuff but it was clean,
passionate, full of purpose,
darling.
darling. I loved the little flashes
of
of Argentine tango stop you are
brilliant.
CHEERING
Don't
Don't tell me the tables have
turned!
turned! I
turned! I was being honest. They are
turning.
turning. The daddy's are fighting,
the
the boys
the boys are fighting. Not as! I
agree
agree with Craig, you are absolutely
marvellous. You have improved. You
have
have improved your ballroom. This
line
line over
line over here, this was
magnificent, and you kept it up
throughout the whole choreography.
You
You kept
You kept the passion, the centre and
I
I can
I can see
I can see an improvement in the way
you
you work
you work together with Nikita and
the
the way
the way you move through the dancing
in
in your
in your ballroom. After the week
you've
you've had you came back with a
bang,
bang, girl! Motsi says back with a
bang
bang and
bang and we cannot wait to see what
you've
you've got in store for us. I can't
wait
wait to
wait to see what you've got in store
for
for us
for us next. Amber and Nikita, thank
you.
Well
Well done. Brilliant comments from
Motsi
Motsi and
Motsi and she is right, after that
week
week you've had, to come back with
that,
that, are
that, are you very proud of
yourself?
yourself? Yeah, I am. There's
something
something about being in the
dance-off, especially against Katya
and
and Lewis
and Lewis that puts fire in your
belly
belly and
belly and I want to make sure I was
kept
kept for
kept for a reason and I wanted to
show
show and
show and push, yeah. You really did.
What
What did
What did you think of the tango? I
loved
loved it,
loved it, actually I thought it was
letting.
letting. Fine. I didn't know it was
ballroom,
ballroom, so I brought my Latin
shoes
shoes and
shoes and he said, it's ballroom and
I
I thought, not the frame. But
Shirley
Shirley said it's got better, and
Anton.
Anton. How was it to you to sit down
with
with the
with the judges, both of you, did
you
you like
you like it?
you like it?Loved it, we know the
judges
judges a
judges a bit in person as
professional dancers but especially
for
for Amber, after being criticised
for
for so
for so many weeks and obviously
praised,
praised, it was nice to chat. They
are
are human. Not all... Job King!
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
If Amber and Nikita are your Strictly finalists,
then please vote for them later in the show after all of our couples
have performed their second dance.
Talking of second dances, you've got Couple's Choice next.
What can we expect?
It's
It's got
It's got everything in it. OK. And
more.
more. It's in sync. Good, I love
them,
them, we
them, we can't wait to see it.
Our next semifinalist was the first celebrity to top the leaderboard,
all the way back in Week One.
She's
She's received ten tens and she's
hoping
hoping to
hoping to dance her first dance of
the
the night
the night and impress them her
waltz.
I'm a little bit nervous.
I feel like I'm at parents' evening here.
How do you think your time's gone?
You know what?
It was always about having the best time, so I can't complain.
I've enjoyed every single minute of it.
You always put your heart on the dance floor.
You are always powerful.
The projection is there.
Week one, jive - top of the leaderboard.
I think we were all just stunned.
You set the bar.
And then you had a plateau moment where nothing was changing.
And then suddenly week six - Argentine tango.
A little bit of a breakthrough moment, I thought.
And the most inspiring paso doble in week nine
at Blackpool I think I've ever seen.
Your Couple's Choice in week ten - you even got a ten from Craig!
I know, it's the first perfect score!
I thought it was absolutely fantastic.
I'm not the most elegant of dancers, but football has taught me
to not regret anything.
The waltz - what we need to see from this is softness.
If you've got any open work, make sure that you're
turning your hands so that softness and flow.
Don't be afraid of it.
Love it.
Sprinkle a bit of, you know, elegant magic over you, darling.
Yeah, please!
Give it our best shot.
Yeah.
Of course!
We expect nothing less.
It was amazing to sit down with the judges.
They gave us some incredible feedback, which I think we need
to go and put into practice now in training.
Exactly.
Let's go.
Soft.
One, two.
Don't turn your head.
You have to make it really slow.
Every part of her body has to work extremely hard to look
like she's not working at all.
Don't lean forward.
I've just got to visualise myself being soft and graceful
and just being so relaxed.
Always stay there.
Beautiful, beautiful!
Having a beautiful position and posture is really important.
Yeah, that's the feeling.
The judges have asked for elegance and we've worked really,
really hard on being that little bit softer.
I'm really excited to do this and feel like I can really give
it my all at the weekend.
Dancing the waltz, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.
MUSIC: One Moment In Time
# Each day I live
# I want to be
# A day to give
# The best of me
# I'm only one
# But not alone
# My finest day
# Is yet unknown
# I broke my heart
# Fought every gain
# To taste the sweet
# I face the pain
# I rise and fall
# Yet through it all
# This much remains
# I want one moment in time
# When I'm more than I thought I could be
# When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
# And the answers are all up to me
# Then in that one moment of time
# I will feel
# I will be free. #
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Come
Come here, Karen, come here!
That
That was
That was a real moment, wasn't it?
It
It was
It was so
It was so elegant. How did that feel
for
for you?
for you?I
for you?I just love this guy, I
looked
looked into him and I crumbled and
then
then I
then I saw him go, mid dance. You
held
held it
held it together really well, I can
feel
feel you
feel you are shaking now, bless your
heart.
heart. You did so well.
heart. You did so well.Thank you.
You
You are
You are all looking for softness,
you
you all
you all wanted softness, did you get
it?
it?I
it?I got
it?I got a bit emotional. Me too.
it?I got a bit emotional. Me too.I
need
need to
need to take my glasses off, it's
the
the dust!
the dust! I mean this in the nicest
possible
possible way, I never thought you
would
would be
would be capable of doing that. I
never
never thought for a second you could
dance
dance like that. I know what you can
do,
do, you
do, you can do crash, bang, wallop,
I
I never
I never thought you could do that
quality,
quality, that softness, that
sensitivity.
CHEERING
You
You came
You came into this competition with
a
a certain
a certain aptitude for a style of
dancing.
dancing. We saw that with your jive,
you've
you've carried those qualities on
through
through into other dances. Look at
the
the State
the State of me! Emotional! When you
start
start off
start off and your first ballroom
dance,
dance, tango, weak two, it was all
right,
right, a
right, a bag of spanners but all
right.
right. For you to be able to come
out,
out, this
out, this is your journey, being
able
able to
able to produce this quality of
dancing.
CHEERING
.
.My
.My heart
.My heart skips a beat when I see
this.
this. This is beautiful and I love
you
you for
you for this. Congratulations, that
was
was amazing.
was amazing. I thought the left
elbow
elbow was
elbow was a tad low. But you know
what?
what? It
what? It had flow, it had elegance,
darling,
darling, totally natural. It was
actually
actually very, very beautiful, it
really
really was.
really was. I honestly could not
recognise
recognise you any more because again
I
I remember the first show you did,
you
you came
you came out there in this black and
white
white thing, it looked quite
athletic,
athletic, and I think this time you
actually
actually let go. When we speak about
you,
you, we
you, we think we... Coming from the
soccer
soccer field to come and dance a
warts
warts like that, this growth for me
is
is one
is one of
is one of the biggest in this whole
competition, you have faced your
challenges but with such courage and
now
now who
now who have shown that everything
is
is possible, beautiful waltz and
beautiful
beautiful feet, beautiful connection
between
between you two, this is the
connection you want to see on the
ballroom
ballroom dance, well done. Shirley?
I
I just
I just found it also overwhelming,
weeks,
weeks, months, hours, you have spent
all
all of
all of you in the studio doing your
very
very best, to bring this kind of
performance, Karen, is fantastic,
your
your rise
your rise and fall at the beginning
was
was exceptional, your pivots was
beautiful, your sensitivity with
Carlos
Carlos was just where it needed to
be
be for
be for a
be for a semifinal, you stayed in
hold,
hold, perfected it beautifully and
we
we never
we never thought we would see that
so
so thank
so thank you to Strictly and thank
you
you to
you to you for showing us what you
can
can do!
can do! Your growth in the
competition has blown the judges
away
away tonight, will that take you
want
want --
want -- one step closer to the
final?
final? Fingers crossed!
Well
Well done, everybody was crying up
here,
here, right? I am not trying! Why
the
the emotion? It was very emotional
tonight.
tonight. Because for the first time
I
I let
I let loose and let go and I leaned
into
into him,
into him, I have always done in this
competition, I have always felt so
safe
safe with
safe with him, but today, I was
like,
like, go
like, go out there and just enjoy it
and
and lean
and lean into him, it is me and him
on
on the
on the floor, and when I connect
with
with him
with him there is no better feeling,
he
he made
he made me emotional, I saw him
wobbling
wobbling and I was going, and that
felt
felt so
felt so nice. I want to thank the
costume
costume team because they have made
me
me feel
me feel beautiful. She looks
gorgeous!
gorgeous! Not in an arrogant way.
But
But I
But I really appreciate them for
making
making me
making me feel like this tonight.
They
They are
They are amazing, you are always
thanking
thanking people, I love it! Carlos,
tonight
tonight was about you two, was on
to?
to? We
to? We have been in so many dances
that
that to
that to the people who inspired us,
our
our mums,
our mums, the audience, the public,
but
but this
but this is the first time I said to
Kaz,
Kaz, this
Kaz, this is the slowest dance we
will
will ever
will ever do, it is like the title,
one
one moment in time, I want us to do
this
this dance for each other and for
the
the journey that we had.
the journey that we had. I am going
to
to cry!
to cry! I
to cry! I am just happy. And it's a
moment
moment for us, let's cherish our
moment
moment together and thank you for
trusting
trusting me and giving everything
that
that you
that you have, thank you so much. It
was
was beautiful, good luck.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
To help Kaz and Carlos get to next week's final,
please vote for them later tonight.
Voting will open after our second round of dancing.
Salsa next - how are you feeling?
I
I will
I will switch over to him, guys.
Tess?
Our judges have always seen great potential in our next star.
They've pushed him each week to believe in himself,
and tonight they're hoping he can overcome his biggest hurdle
of the competition - his self-confidence.
Starting his semifinal with a samba, it's George and Alexis.
Well, congratulations for getting through to the semifinals.
Thank you very much.
What I love about you is, at the beginning, I had no hope
for you, I've got to be honest.
I thought, he so does not care.
And you proved me completely wrong.
And I'm delighted.
Thank you.
Yeah, I appreciate that.
When we first met you, I think, in your mind, you thought,
maybe I'll be in one or two weeks, let's see how this goes.
And we particularly have seen this strength and growth
in your mind that you think, maybe I can do this.
I always just sort of appear as, like, a jokey,
chilled out kind of guy.
So I quite like this opportunity to show it does
really mean a lot to me.
When you came into the ballroom world, you became a dancer.
And you got high marks - 34 for your Viennese waltz.
I felt that you embraced that dance.
Especially for me, I remember you dancing
in Blackpool and I was, like, oh, whoa, those
lifts, your hip bums!
I think that definitely felt like a turning point for us
that week, at least.
Your dance is going to be the samba.
There is a lot of cross rhythms in it.
There's a bounce action that one has to try and achieve as well.
I would go out there, rotate that body.
Every step you take, a little bit larger than life.
You have a little bit of a hip action - move it a little bit more.
I want to see more George.
I believe in you.
I want you to believe in you.
Listen to the voice that says you're amazing!
Throughout the process, I've always been very appreciative
of all of your feedback.
This is a really fun experience.
It's only going to get better if I just fully embrace it.
So I do really appreciate everything that you've said.
I think you're going to be great.
Good luck!
I think what I'm enjoying about the samba is it feels
like a dance where you're just letting loose and just trying
to have a good time.
To the front.
My main thing throughout has been battling myself and having
the belief to just let loose and just not care.
And I think this is like a perfect opportunity to do that.
Dancing the samba, George Clarke and Alexis Warr.
MUSIC: Volare (Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu)
# Pienso que un sueno parecido no volvera mas
# Y me pintaba la' mano' y la cara de azul
# Volare, oh, oh
# Cantare, oh, oh, oh, oh
# Nel blu di pinto di blu
# Felice di stare lassu
# Y volando, volando feliz
# Yo me encuentro ma' alto, ma' alto que el sol
# Y mientras que el mundo, se aleja despacio de mi
# Una musica dulce, se ha tocada solo para mi
# Volare, oh, oh
# Cantare, oh, oh, oh, oh
# Nel blu di pinto di blu
# Felice di stare lassu
# Y me hizo ir a volar en el cielo infinito
# Volare, oh, oh
# Cantare, oh, oh, oh, oh
# Nel blu di pinto di blu
# Nel blu di pinto di blu. #
APPLAUSE.
APPLAUSE. Yes, George! We are
sensing
sensing that! I mean...
sensing that! I mean... I think they
like
like to!
like to! I mean... So glad to see
you
you fully
you fully embracing the salsa! It
was
was brilliant.
was brilliant. Spectacular, you are
having
having the time of your life out
there!
there! It
there! It was brilliant!
Brilliant music - Dave Arch, his band and our fantastic live singers.
Oh,
Oh, my
Oh, my goodness! George, you said
you
you wanted to let loose with that
samba,
samba, how was it, Craig?
samba, how was it, Craig?You
certainly
certainly let loose, darling, as
soon
soon as
soon as that jacket came off, I have
never
never seen tight trousers, to be
honest!
honest! I
honest! I was losing all sense of
focus!
focus! APPLAUSE.
focus! APPLAUSE.There is however a
few
few problems within the dance, bent
knees.
knees. I
knees. I guess what it lacked in
technique
technique it made up for in
entertainment, darling, and
personality, those hips were going
mad.
mad. A
mad. A real crowd pleaser,
congratulations. Motsi?
congratulations. Motsi?It was
perfect
perfect in the entertainment sense,
that
that song
that song is iconic and somebody
told
told you
told you whatever goes wrong, shake
that
that hips! He was shaking and
shaking,
shaking, you are entertaining,
cheeky,
cheeky, you did not have fear. I was
like
like you,
like you, you ripped the jacket and
I
I was,
I was, like, OK, this is not
stepping
stepping -- stopping today, whatever
dance
dance you
dance you have next, shake those
hips!
hips! Shirley? I will start with a
tiny
tiny negative thing, the posture,
you
you got
you got a
you got a bit out of line.
you got a bit out of line.But you
did
did set
did set of shadow reverse roles into
reverse
reverse roles, that was spectacular.
Your
Your positions in your basics you
did
did and
did and your knees were better than
stiff
stiff knees so I like just
flexibility and that, your hips were
going
going the
going the dozen, darling. Left and
right
right in
right in round the corner, let's go!
You
You really embraced the full samba
but
but how
but how you danced this, this
choreography was not easy, this is a
full
full on
full on competitive routine and you
don't
don't Alexis beautifully, well done!
--
-- you
-- you danced. And to think
confidence was once an issue!
confidence was once an issue!I
hardly
hardly recognised you, that was
tremendous, I enjoyed that
enormously, could straighten the
knee
knee every now and again, shake your
hips,
hips, you
hips, you have lovely crinkly bottom
action
action in
action in the middle there, you
turned
turned round and pointed and I
thought
thought you were pointing at me, the
disappointment when you put your
glasses
glasses on, I thought you were down
the
the other
the other side of the table, it was
magnificent to behold, just like you
are
are now,
are now, well done, great dance. I
don't
don't say
don't say this often but that was
one
one of
one of the most entertaining sambas
I
I have
I have ever seen, I loved the! -- I
loved
loved it.
George and Alexis.
A
A magnificent sight to behold, how
you
you with
you with this? Very happy, a lot of
the
the comments were about the outfits.
I
I had
I had a
I had a good time, I think it is
fairly
fairly obvious. I said how was your
week
week and
week and you said lovely, I have
just
just thrown myself in! I think that
is
is why
is why --
is why -- what I wanted to take away
from
from the
from the process, I would prefer if
it
it was
it was my
it was my last week it was one I
enjoyed.
enjoyed. The judges asked for more
George
George and they got it, didn't they?
In
In every
In every way!
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
To see George and Alexis in the final next week,
then please get behind them and vote at the end of the show.
George, one more dance - charleston?
Talk
Talk to
Talk to me. It's got a jacket. We
cannot
cannot wait to watch.
All of our couples have danced once.
Let's have a look at where they currently stand
on tonight's leaderboard.
But that can all change as our couples get ready to dance again.
Tess?
Thanks, Claud.
That's the semifinal leaderboard so far.
Craig, all our couples have got one more chance to prove they deserve
a place in the final.
What would like to see from this next round of performances?
I
I think
I think they just need to stay
focused
focused and try not to let nerves
get
get the
get the better of them, that's the
most
most important thing, because they
don't
don't want to be making mistakes, so
it's
it's about concentration and trying
to
to actually enjoy it. Thank you.
Listen
Listen to
Listen to the music, beyond the
beat,
beat, waltz is about time and space
and
and using
and using the standing leg to use
the
the whole
the whole floor and I want
entertainment as well, I want it
all.
all. You
all. You want it all, great advice.
So, despite all the odds, our Strictly superfan is now just
one waltz away from a possible place in this year's final.
It's Balvinder and Julian.
CHEERING
I am really looking forward to the waltz, and I can't tell
you how big my heart feels to be here.
# Now I'm ready.#
It's semi-finals, so everything has to be
at the highest calibre.
I have to rise at a particular time and fall at a particular time.
And that's taking a little bit of time to sort of lock in.
One, two.
Bal and I's relationship has really grown.
We take the mickey out of each other quite a lot.
How about I lead it?
But I feel like at its core, we have a really trusting relationship.
We need to carry all the lessons that we learned last week...
Hello!
What are you doing here?
My girls from Huddersfield and Leeds have come down to see me.
This is amazing!
This is a lovely surprise, actually.
We've known Bal for 27 years.
I mean, how is this kind of awesome foursome kind of come together?
We all ended up working at the theatre in Huddersfield.
We did every single job going.
This is the thing is that we used to work on box office
together and Bal would come in talking about Strictly.
"Oh, my gosh, have you seen Strictly last night?
"Did you see this dance?
"Did you see this?"
And to see that you are now a semi-finalist.
We're very, very proud of you.
Yeah.
Really, really proud of you.
Oh, girl!
It is emotional.
We know how much it means to her, don't we?
Yeah, yeah.
It's been brilliant.
And I wouldn't change a single thing.
I love dancing with you, Jules.
Just go out there and smash it.
Enjoy every moment.
They are my second family and I love them.
I'm going to do my absolute best for everyone who supported
me on this journey.
CHEERING
Dancing the waltz, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon.
MUSIC: At This Moment
# Oh what did you think
# I would give at this moment
# If you'd just stay I'd subtract twenty years from my life
# I'd fall down on my knees
# I'd kiss the ground that you walk on
# If I could just hold you
# Mmmm
# If I could just hold you
# I would fall down, down on my knees
# Oh God please, let me hold you
# Let me hold you
# Again
# Oh-oh-oh-oh
# Woah-oh-woah-woah
# Oh. #
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
That
That was
That was so beautiful, Bell.
That was so beautiful, Bell.Thank
you
you so
you so much. Is that the first time
you've
you've seen snow, Julian?
you've seen snow, Julian?Inside a
room,
room, yeah, the magical Strictly.
Valve
Valve in
Valve in coming have surprised a lot
of
of people
of people this series. How was the
waltz,
waltz, Shirley?
waltz, Shirley?It was lovely, and
so
so glad
so glad your mum gets to see you
live,
live, you
live, you accelerating yourself even
that
that bit
that bit more because your mum was
sat
sat in
sat in the audience. You set the
most
most beautiful mood when you did
this,
this, it
this, it was really stunning. For an
actress
actress that knows how to act, I
found
found this not to be acting at all,
very,
very, very sincere and everything
you
you did,
you did, beautiful standing spin on
one
one foot
one foot with the other in the
figure
figure four. A lovely sense of line.
A
A whole
A whole beautiful atmosphere you set
today,
today, just lovely, lots of tears
today,
today, isn't there, today? Thank you
for
for that,
for that, it was lovely. That bit of
confetti,
confetti, fake snow, got it, snow,
sorry.
sorry. Anton?
sorry. Anton?I completely agree,
there
there is
there is a lovely naturalness about
the
the way
the way you dance. The whole
ballroom
ballroom thing can get for standing
ends
ends up
ends up in a funny crooked line, but
you
you had
you had a
you had a nice naturalness about
your
your dancing and that struck me as
you
you are
you are dancing, about your whole
time
time on
time on Strictly Come Dancing,
you've
you've always have this lovely
naturalness about your dancing, this
genuine
genuine you when you dance, you get
you
you and
you and this wonderful performance
quality
quality you have, and I've enjoyed
watching
watching you dance so much. We've
talked
talked about your legs and wanting
more
more power and strength from legs
and
and they've improved so much, but
fundamentally your timing and your
field,
field, your general feel of the
dance,
dance, is
dance, is of the highest quality and
I
I enjoy
I enjoy it enormously. Well done.
Thank
Thank you. Craig?
Thank you. Craig?For me it lacked a
little
little bit of finesse.
BOOING
I
I felt
I felt the footwork needed to be
fine
fine tuned ever so slightly. Getting
up
up from
up from the floor was a little... I
know,
know, dishevelled, darling. I tried.
It's
It's how
It's how you get up, darling, isn't
it?
it? There
it? There was ice on the dance
floor.
floor. Well, it happened, just
saying
saying what I saw. You know what, I
love
love about you the chemistry you
both
both have, actually. You have now
formed
formed a
formed a solid partnership, which I
think
think is
think is you can see that, everyone
at
at home
at home will see that too. So,
congratulations. Motsi?
congratulations. Motsi?I am
impressed
impressed with your spine and
because
because there was a slip, the way
you
you used
you used your centre to get up and
fight
fight to
fight to stand was really
impressible, I hope that's a word.
The
The finesse, it was so fine, so
beautiful, detailed, and the
emotions,
emotions, working together, well
done.
done. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Your
Your connection on the floor is so
lovely
lovely to
lovely to watch and that is it,
you've
you've done all you can, two dances
done.
done. Best of luck with the scores.
Thank
Thank you. Thank you. Valve in and
Julian.
APPLAUSE
--
-- Balvinder and Julian.
APPLAUSE
APPLAUSE.
Two
Two dances, they could not have been
more
more different, you ended up loving
up,
up, as
up, as did the judges. They talk
about
about how
about how you dance dancing
genuinely
genuinely as yourself, does that
resonate?
resonate? It's lovely to hear, to be
able
able to
able to feel the music and you have
a
a lovely
a lovely connection is really lovely
and
and I'm
and I'm glad we managed to find
that,
that, you
that, you know, after this whole
competition. How wonderful was it
for
for you
for you that your friends came? It
was
was a
was a wonderful surprise. We used to
sleep
sleep on
sleep on couches in each other's'
houses,
houses, we had nothing and they've
seen
seen the
seen the journey, they've seen me
work
work really hard and to see it and
experience it with me is incredible.
Do
Do you
Do you think you've converted
Balvinder
Balvinder to ballroom? I think she's
converted
converted me to ballroom. It feels
so
so lovely
so lovely and so nice and this whole
journey,
journey, the best feedback we've got
is
is what
is what Craig said then about is
having
having a
having a genuine connection, because
we
we feel
we feel that and we love each other
and
and we're
and we're so glad that comes across
in
in our
in our dancing. Well done, it's
beautiful, good luck, the scores are
in.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
To support Balvinder and Jules, or any of our couples,
please vote for them at the end of the show.
Details of how to get ready to vote are on your screen now.
Just head to bbc.co.uk/strictly or scan the QR code to get
signed in or registered.
Jules, why does Balvinder deserve to be in the final?
I
I mean,
I mean, as far as her Strictly
journey
journey goes, I can't think of a
more
more inspiring one, because I know
we
we talk
we talk about improvement and to see
the
the improvement in her dancing is
incredible, but it's obviously
setting
setting a
setting a record of winning, not
being
being in
being in the most dance-offs, but
winning
winning them and it's not that,
actually,
actually, it's that she keeps coming
with
with a
with a positive, fighting spirit and
she
she is
she is the embodiment of as long as
you
you believe in yourself you can and
you
you will
you will do it and dream big because
you
you have
you have made your dreams come true
and
and you've created some dreams I
didn't
didn't even know I had, and I'm
genuinely
genuinely so proud of you and to
make
make the
make the final I feel would be the
perfect
perfect ending to your story in
Strictly
Strictly and I'm so proud of you.
Very
Very beautifully said, thank you so
much.
Tess?
Now back with their Couple's Choice, it's Amber and Nikita.
Over the series, Amber has given her all to Strictly and,
through the highs and lows, her family have been
with her every step of the way.
This
This couples choice dances to
celebrate
celebrate growth and determination.
So,
So, I
So, I grew up in a small town in
Northway
Northway called Denby. I was
actually
actually a very timid, shy young
girl,
girl, but
girl, but my older sister constantly
was
was singing around the house and I
would
would copy absolutely everything she
did.
did. We'd
did. We'd spend a lot of Friday
evenings
evenings watching them perform and
honestly,
honestly, we've got so many
beautiful
beautiful memories. This is
definitely where it all started
from.
from. Yeah. We used to charge them,
50p,
50p, may
50p, may be. It was a full on
production. Nobody believed in is
more
more than
more than my parents. At 16, I moved
to
to London. I was auditioning so much
and
and I
and I just was not landing a job and
I
I always
I always remember thinking, I'm not
good
good enough. I was 20 years old. An
opportunity came up for me and that
was
was Love
was Love Island. That year it
absolutely blew up. She had gone in
a
a young
a young girl from Denbigh and she
came
came out
came out this famous person,
experiencing negativity, it was
really,
really, really hard. Every move I
made
made I
made I felt like I was being judged
by
by the
by the whole world. She'd really
lost
lost her
lost her way with what her dream was
and
and I
and I think we had to sit down and
think
think about, what can we do? That
was
was to
was to live life for me and not live
life
life for
life for other people, because I
felt
felt like
felt like that's what I was doing. #
We
We believe #.
Evina
Evina Strictly fan since I was a
young
young girl. To be on the show is
literally
literally a dream come true. I want
to
to do
to do this dance for any young girl
who
who is
who is ambitious and has a dream. Go
for
for it,
for it, reach for the stars, you can
do
do anything if you put your mind to
it.
#
# believe, we believe #.
Dancing their Couple's Choice, Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.
MUSIC: Fly Me To The Moon
# Fly me to the moon
# And let me play among the stars
# Let me see what spring is like
# On Jupiter and Mars
# In other words, please be true
# In other words, I love you
# Yeah
# Fill my heart with song
# And let me sing forevermore
# You are all I long for
# All I worship and adore
# Baby, in other words, please be true
# In other words
# In other words, I love you
# I love you. #
APPLAUSE.
Amber,
Amber, that was so magical! It was
just
just pure
just pure show business! Glam vibes.
Your
Your last
Your last chance to impress the
judges
judges tonight, how did she do?
judges tonight, how did she do?You
are
are right, Hollywood or the way,
Glam,
Glam, gold, all that jazz, darling.
That
That was
That was just absolutely
sensational. Unbelievable.
sensational. Unbelievable. You are
just
just amazing, darling! Thank you so
much.
much. We
much. We have to appreciate every
single
single thing you did on that dance,
I
I thought
I thought charleston was great last
week,
week, and
week, and if there was a way to show
how
how much
how much more, this was even really
special,
special, I would, but this dance was
phenomenal, it belongs in the top
Strictly
Strictly dances, it is up there,
122,
122, you
122, you know? I went back to the
beginning
beginning when you stepped in at the
last
last minute with 24 hours to do your
number
number and now we watch you and week
after
after week we have seen you work
really
really hard on the ballroom and
Latin
Latin because even if you have a
little
little dance here and there it is
nothing
nothing like doing ballroom and
Latin
Latin and
Latin and you have done sensation at
this
this but
this but this kind a number, the way
you
you moved
you moved through space, your
awareness
awareness of yourself and how like
you
you are
you are on your feet, how you danced
with
with Nikita and how you both bring
this
this picture to life is just
absolutely beautiful in every way.
APPLAUSE.
APPLAUSE. Anton?
APPLAUSE. Anton?To coin a phrase
from
from my
from my lovely friend Motsi, you are
impressionable!
impressionable! I have read that it
is
is Vera
is Vera Ellen's birthday this week,
Hollywood, beautiful music and dance
lady
lady from
lady from another era, you remind me
of
of her,
of her, have a watch of white
Christmas
Christmas and you will see Vera
Ellen
Ellen and
Ellen and you remind me of her, you
are
are spectacular, I thought last week
was
was good,
was good, I even prefer this one a
bit
bit more
bit more than last week, you are
magnificent! What incredible
comments
comments from the judges, Amber.
comments from the judges, Amber.I
am
am overwhelmed, thank you so much. I
know
know you
know you have given it your all for
a
a place
a place in the final say the very
best
best of
best of luck from all of us.
APPLAUSE.
APPLAUSE.Everyone is emotional
tonight,
tonight, it was so beautiful,
congratulations on those comments,
how
how special was it for you to do a
Couple's
Couple's Choice? I feel like it is
an
an amazing way to get to know
people.
people. I
people. I have watched everyone's
Couple's
Couple's Choice all season that has
been
been my
been my favourite moment, getting to
know
know them, and after doing the dance
of
of last
of last week I thought we might not
get
get to
get to do
get to do it, so that fact we have
done
done it
done it means the world to me. And
you
you have
you have always dedicated everything
to
to your
to your family, they have been right
there
there by
there by your side. My mum has been
by
by my
by my side since day one, she has
turned
turned into my best friend and I
could
could not
could not live a single day without
her,
her, she
her, she is just amazing, and my
boyfriend, Ben, thank you for
everything as well. Good luck.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
If you loved Amber and Nikita's performances tonight,
then you can support them after the final dance
when voting opens.
Nikita, why should Amber be in next week's final?
I
I am
I am close to getting emotional. You
had
had so
had so much hate from the moment you
joined,
joined, you have had so much hate
this
this week, and yet you came every
single
single day into the training room
with
with a
with a big smile, ignoring everybody
and
and giving me Love, giving me a
little
little ginger shot as well! You were
kind
kind and
kind and caring, you cared more
about
about me
about me when I am supposed to care
about
about you. You are such a lovely,
positive
positive person and I think
sometimes, and I speak to the
audience
audience at home, guys, please be
kind
kind because it costs nothing and
you
you don't
you don't deserve anything less. All
you
you deserve is love because without
you,
you, I
you, I would not be here and the
show
show would not be as good as it is
because
because you bring so much joy, that
is
is the
is the only thing you bring, and you
deserve
deserve all the love in the world.
Beautifully said, thank you, Nikita.
Tess?
With their second dance of the night, it's Karen and Carlos.
With just a salsa now standing between them
and a place in the final, it fell to one very special person
to give Karen some last words of encouragement.
Our second dance is the salsa.
I think we all know I don't have hips, but I'm trying my utmost.
Relax!
Salsa's all about celebration.
It's Latino.
It's hip, it's leading and following.
It's partnership.
But sometimes she goes ahead of me.
Oh, you travel too much back.
So I really want her to just relax, to lay back, to chill,
and let me lead her.
You move nice, you see?
I think, as much as it's a fun, energetic dance, I've just got
to really stay focussed with Carlos on this one.
Hi!
Oh, hello!
Hello!
Oh!
That's exactly what we needed today.
My mum came in and surprised me.
How's it going, all right?
Yeah, it's good.
Good, good, good.
There's no better feeling than having your mum.
Someone that I think tried to make you strong.
You've been absolutely amazing.
I am so, so proud of you.
I know you haven't had it easy.
You have such a fighting spirit.
I couldn't have done it without you.
I love to watch Karen dance each week.
And I just sit there sometimes and go, wow, that's my daughter.
Yesterday at work, five customers come up to me.
They just come for a chat about Strictly.
I'm quite a celebrity now, yeah!
Everyone back in Birmingham are all rooting for her.
It's just been amazing.
Thanks for coming all this way.
It's been such a good boost for us.
I feel like you've got a new son who's part of the family now.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You're more than welcome.
Having my mum here, there's nothing like it.
As long as I give it my best and give it everything,
I know that Mum will be happy for us.
Dancing the salsa, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.
MUISC: Turn The Beat Around
# Turn it up, turn it up, turn it upside down (down, down)
# Turn it up, turn it up, turn it upside down (down)
# Turn the beat around
# Love to hear percussion
# Turn it upside down
# Love to hear percussion
# Love to hear it
# Blow horns, you sure sound pretty
# Your violins keep movin' to the nitty-gritty
# When you hear the scratch of guitars scratchin'
# A-then you'll know that rhythm carries all the action
# Woah, yeah
# Turn the beat around (turn it around, yeah)
# Love to hear percussion (my, my, my, my, my)
# Turn it upside down (turn it up, turn it up, turn it upside down)
# Love to hear percussion (yeah)
# Love to hear it (got to hear it)
# It's got to be the rhythm, no doubt about it, woah, woah
# And when the drummer starts beating that beat
# He nails that beat with the syncopated rhythm
# With the rat, tat-tat-tat-tat-tat on the drums, hey yeah
# Turn the beat around (turn it around and around and around)
# Love to hear percussion (oh, yeah, yeah)
# Love to hear it (yeah)
# Love to hear it (woo)
# Love to hear it (woah)
# Love to hear it (hey, yeah, yeah). #
APPLAUSE.
They
They are
They are going wild!
They are going wild! Goodness me,
they
they are
they are going wild! And rightly so,
your
your energy, it is off the scale,
you
you were
you were spinning for days. You
enjoyed
enjoyed that, didn't you?
enjoyed that, didn't you?I had so
much
much fun.
much fun. You got three tens for
your
your first dance, how was that
salsa,
salsa, Motsi?
salsa, Motsi?I wish I could jump
and
and join
and join you! APPLAUSE.
and join you! APPLAUSE.It feels
like
like a
like a final and it feels like
you're
you're saying, I am not going home,
those
those spins, oh, my God, don't look
at
at me
at me like that! I was looking at
your
your address! I will give it to you.
--
-- I
-- I was
-- I was looking at your dress. At
the
the end
the end of the day you have to ask
yourself,
yourself, what makes a magical
performance? You have quality, your
balances
balances outstanding but you have
grit,
grit, determination, you go out
there
there and
there and thought, I am giving
everything I am capable of and
sometimes
sometimes you look at it and you are
convinced, you write your markdown
because
because that is who you are, I am
sure
sure it
sure it is the same in the football
pitch,
pitch, you are getting 1000% of me
and
and that's what we got from you and
I
I loved
I loved it! Look Anton, he is giddy!
You
You don't
You don't have any tonight, because
you
you have
you have laid it all out there, you
have
have not
have not saved anything for the
potential
potential final, you have gone, this
is
is it,
is it, this could be the final for
me,
me, I
me, I will treat it like the final
annual
annual waltz was exquisite but this
was
was just
was just out of this world. -- and
York
York waltz. For me, it was a little
bit
bit skippy.
Also,
Also, there was a little hiatus
getting
getting up from the floor spin. I am
just
just saying what I saw. You do tend
to
to dance
to dance ahead but then so does Vito
anyway!
anyway! But you know what, it was
clean
clean and
clean and crisp and flashy, darling.
I
I love
I love the!
I love the! -- I loved it. We are
all
all rooting for you, Karen, you can
do
do no
do no more, well done.
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
I
I so
I so hope
I so hope you could hear everybody
up
up here
up here just screaming, what a
dance.
dance. Did you enjoy it? I loved it,
you
you don't
you don't know when your last
dances,
dances, you've got to go for it and
enjoy
enjoy it
enjoy it and it's a privilege to be
on
on that
on that dance floor, so we enjoyed
it,
it, we
it, we went for it and we tried to
bring
bring a
bring a party and I loved it, so
thank
thank you. Not at all. Let's talk
about
about your mum, Marie. She was in
the
the audience. She came to training.
How
How important has she been? I can't
put
put into
put into words what that word means
to
to me.
to me. She's an incredible mother,
an
an incredible grandmother,
incredible wife, and we are so lucky
to
to have
to have her and I'm blessed every
day
day to
day to have her in my life. She's
inherited
inherited a son as well, so...
APPLAUSE
Well
Well done, mum. She's amazing, good
luck,
luck, the
luck, the judges' scores are in.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
If you loved Kaz and Carlos tonight, then please show your support
for them shortly when the final couple has performed
their second dance.
Carlos, why does Kaz deserve to be a finalist?
I
I mean,
I mean, honestly, she is what
Strictly
Strictly is about, honestly. If you
look
look back
look back to day one I believe no
one
one expected Karen Carney to be in
this
this position, in the semifinal, and
she
she proved with her own actions,
determination and hard work, but
alongside
alongside that she is an incredible
human
human being and so humble. Every
time
time when
time when she gets praised, she
never
never takes anything for granted,
she
she will
she will always give other people's
congrats
congrats and shout out, she is a
team
team player. I have learned so much
from
from her
from her and being a team player,
most
most incredible is when she dance
she
she makes
she makes you smile. She makes you
feel
feel something you can connect with
her,
her, that
her, that is incredible. Thank you
very
very much, beautifully said.
Tess?
Our final performance tonight is a charleston
from George and Alexis.
He had a visit from his sister to remind him how far he's come.
The boogie.
Our charleston is inspired by The Inbetweeners.
It's the perfect mixture of goofy and civilised,
which I would like to think I am.
Whoa, show me what you've got.
I feel like he's really just taken the role and just ran with it.
It's been actually really fun to watch.
The focus is much more on how silly and fun it can be,
and I think that's the sort of dance that suits me, so that's what I'm
really enjoying about it.
Hi!
What are you doing here?
I just had to come and see you both!
How's it going in training?
I feel like of the dances we've done it's the dance
that feels most natural.
Since doing the show I've stopped putting so much pressure on myself
and I've just learned to sort of release and just
embrace everything.
Mum and Dad are so proud of you.
What's lovely for them is seeing their son blossoming
into this amazing dancer.
We as a family have loved how people are seeing the real, like,
beautiful, genuine soul that you are, and that everybody can
see the lovely George that we know and love.
Oh, thank you!
Strictly has really helped him find this new wave of confidence.
It's just amazing to see as a big sister.
It means a lot to me to have my sister's support.
She's always someone I've looked up to.
It's lovely to know she's right there with me.
I'm hoping that gives me the extra boost that I need.
Dancing the charleston, George Clarke and Alexis Warr.
MUSIC: We No Speak Americano/Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano
# Comme te po capi chi te vo bbene
# Si tu le parle miezzo americano
# Quanno se fa l'ammore sotto 'a luna
# Comme te vene 'ncapa 'e di': "I love you"?
# Pa-Parla americano
# 'Mericano, 'mericano
# Sient'a mme chi t' 'o ffa fa'
# Tu vuoi vivere alla moda
# Ma se bevi "whisky and soda"
# Po' te siente 'e disturba'
# Tu abball' o' rocchenroll
# Tu giochi a baisiboll
# Ma e solde p' e' Camel
# Chi te li da
# La borsetta di mamma'
# Pa-Parla americano
# Whisky e soda e rock 'n' roll
# Whisky e soda e rock 'n' roll. #
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
O,
O, George! You have brought so much
personality to the dance floor
tonight.
tonight. We are loving it. I mean,
that
that was
that was some school disco, wasn't
it?
it?I
it?I hope
it?I hope you are not hoping for
some
some words for me, after that!
Totally
Totally out of breath. What about
those
those lifts?
those lifts?Man alive, I thought it
was
was impressive and normally a normal
person,
person, like Miko would go, it's
been
been a
been a delight, I'm glad you are up
there
there for
there for a second but you tossed
her
her in
her in the air and caught her by her
wrist
wrist and
wrist and courts her, more of this,
round
round the
round the back... House my hair?
Nice.
Nice. Carry on. It was the most
incredible thing. You are so
brilliant, I have to tell you, your
timing,
timing, you're partnering I've loved
but
but you
but you are under the desk and in
perfect
perfect harmony, perfectly together.
I
I just
I just thought that this dance and I
know
know you
know you will be delighted about
this,
this, this dance was you and the
best
best of
best of you. Well done.
CHEERING
It
It really
It really was. He is a performer
now,
now, Craig.
now, Craig.I thought personally it
was
was a
was a little heavy footed. Just a
little.
little. Billing-macro I am being
picky.
picky. It's true.
BOOING
I
I love
I love the lifts, they were
incredible, a little bit of running
man,
man, all
man, all sorts of stuff in there and
your
your swivel, I've got to say, was
brilliant, absolutely brilliant. And
you
you know
you know how he feels about
swivelling, it's not easy to please
him.
him. Motsi?
him. Motsi?Tidy, compact, fast, but
your
your best
your best and you've shown it
throughout the competition as you
are
are a
are a great partner, you are there
for
for her,
for her, she can roll, go up and
down,
down, do
down, do whatever she wants, catch
her
her stop
her stop you have an eye for her
which
which means you are looking at her
and
and that's something nobody can
teach
teach you, she can trust you are
therefore
therefore her and you want a man
that
that is
that is there for you, well done.
APPLAUSE
Shirley?
Shirley?Listen to mummy here, OK?
Let
Let me
Let me get my breath here.
Sometimes, if something is not smack
bang
bang wallop in somebody's face it is
hard
hard to
hard to appreciate. This had
hundreds
hundreds of small details, tiny
nuances,
nuances, the feat going, a flick,
all
all subtle, very much together and
the
the dynamic was the speciality of
the
the highlight, the trick we've never
seen
seen before, the partnering on that,
this'll
this'll young lady felt totally safe
in
in your
in your arms. For me personally, I
think
think this is your best number yet.
Well
Well done.
CHEERING
Wonderful
Wonderful comments, George. You have
pulled
pulled out all of the stops tonight,
you
you really have. I've got my fingers
crossed
crossed for you. He does so well.
Well
Well done, George and Alexis.
CHEERING
Go
Go on,
Go on, amazing timing, when Shirley
said
said it
said it your best dance, you loved
it,
it, didn't you? It was really good
fun.
fun. I'm
fun. I'm looking at myself, I look
so
so stupid. You do not, you thought
the
the charleston would be his dance?
Minute
Minute we
Minute we spoke, randomly he was
doing
doing swivel is, OK, noted. How
wonderful
wonderful to have your sister and
girlfriend here, I know you wanted
to
to say
to say thank you to both of them. I
feel
feel very
feel very grateful, I've got a
lovely
lovely support network around me and
I
I think
I think they've both been there
since
since the
since the beginning, most weeks. I
feel
feel it's
feel it's an all-encompassing show
and
and I
and I know that it's my life, but it
also
also brings it into theirs, and
they've
they've been nothing but
understanding and supportive so
kudos
kudos to
kudos to them. It's their experience
as
as well.
as well. Very well said. Good looks,
the
the scores are in.
The judges have their scores...
Craig Revel Horwood...
Motsi Mabuse...
Shirley Ballas...
Anton Du Beke...
That is it for George and Alexis tonight.
If you want to support them, then you can do that in just a few
moments when voting will open.
Alexis, why should George be in the final?
Well,
Well, I
Well, I just think his
transformation this series has been
incredible, from dancing to
performing every week he has showed
up
up and
up and really pushed himself
mentally,
mentally, physically, creatively,
but
but showed up every day with
kindness
kindness and this grit to him and
even
even on
even on the floor, just so much
kindness,
kindness, humility, so genuine on
and
and off
and off the floor and I see how you
treat
treat other people. He is the most
supportive, he makes people feel so
loved
loved and
loved and appreciated, he's there
for
for people and the qualities George
possesses
possesses defined him as a finalist.
Thank
Thank you
Thank you so much.
Let's have look at where everyone stands on tonight's
final leaderboard.
Soon, we'll find out which judge has the last Casting Vote of the series.
To keep your favourites away from the Dance-Off,
please support them right now because the vote is officially open!
You can vote online by scanning the QR code on screen now
or by visiting bbc.co.uk/strictly, where you will also find
the terms and privacy notice.
Voting closes at 8:30pm.
Please do not try and vote if you are watching on demand.
Here's a reminder of tonight's performances...
#
# rhythm
# rhythm going to get you
#
# Rhythm
# Rhythm is going to get you
#
# Tonight
# Tonight #.
#
# Again
#
# Whoa
#
# I'm
# I'm falling
# I'm falling for you
#
# I'm
# I'm what you came here for #.
#
# Please
# Please be true #.
#
# I'm
# I'm falling #.
#
# Whoa
# Whoa #.
An incredible semifinal.
Congratulations to all our couples on a night of double dancing.
Tomorrow, we'll find out who makes it to the final.
For two of these couples, the last Dance-Off will
decide if they get there.
Voting closes at 8:30pm.
You have until then to save your favourites.
And we can now reveal that the judge who has the huge
responsibility of the casting vote for the semifinal Dance-Off is...
Craig!
CHEERING
Merry
Merry Christmas!
In tomorrow night's Results Show, we have music from the amazing
James, and the one and only Kylie performs alongside our
professional dancers.
We're back tomorrow at the later time of 7:45pm, where we'll find out
who will be your Strictly finalists.
Until then, Claud...
Time to double dance?
BOTH: Keeeeeeep dancing!