UPDATE: James Cracknell has been voted off the show - the first to depart.
James: Well, it's all real now. And as you all know, I think the right celebs were in the bottom two. In fact, I'm glad to know the public agrees with me - as David was clearly not getting the vote.
Ola: I did feel sorry for James, though. He was trying very hard and he seemed like he was really enjoying himself.
James: Yes he did, and I actually enjoyed his performance more than David’s because of how much fun he seemed to be having. It's sad for him. We all know it’s never nice to be the first one to leave.
Ola: He clearly struggled though, so what can you do. He seemed like a lovely guy and he gave it his best show - in the end it just wasn’t enough.
ORIGINAL COLUMN:
It's a big week for Strictly Come Dancing - the first live vote, and only the second time the celebs and their pro dancers have performed live with each other. Talking from experience, HELLO!'s star columnists James and Ola Jordan know that week two of the competition brings its own challenges. "The first week you have a lot of time to practice," Ola explains, "so the second week is a challenge in terms of rehearsal time." James adds, "It's also especially hard if you have had a good week the first week because expectations are high, and I know from Dancing on Ice, that feeling of 'What can I do to better that?' is tough. You feel the pressure."
© Photo: BBCKelvin didn't impress Ola and James as much this week
And of course as Strictly really gets underway, and the public gets used to the pairings, rumours of romances quickly surface - with AJ and Saffron's near-kiss moment on Saturday night's show already getting fans excited with the potential of a 2019 Strictly love affair. But what do James and Ola make of all the whispers? And how do they think their favourite stars are doing after the second live week? Direct as ever, James admits he felt the performances were a bit of a let down!
James: I wasn’t as blown away this week as the first week with the performances if I'm honest. A few couples impressed me, but overall the dancing definitely wasn't as strong.
Ola: Hmm, I don't know. Some of the performances definitely weren’t as good as last week but others really did surprise me with how good they were. Will for example - he was absolutely my performance of the night. You can tell he struggles with the lifts, but it's early days and his chemistry with Janette was really great. The whole dance impressed me.
James: Yes that's true, their personalities do make for a great partnership. They are very exuberant. And you know what, Chris and Karen really impressed me too. I expect a lot from him because I can really see his potential, and he delivered this week. He’s going to have to keep improving though - I can see there's a lot more in the tank with him and I know I’m harder at critiquing the male celebrities than the females but I'm expecting a lot from him.
Ola: What about AJ and Saffron. I see they've made the papers today with pictures of them looking close. And there was a lot of buzz on social abou them nearly kissing at the end of their dance. Do you buy it, James?
James: To be honest I don’t know if they are getting together and I don’t care.
Ola: Ha! Well, they do make a lovely couple on the dance floor. If they are young and single then whatever.....they're cute together.
James: If they do I'd be tempted to think it’s a publicity stunt if I'm honest. I know I’m a cynic but a lot of what goes on is about winning votes.
Ola: It is a competition after all I guess! Which is something that Catherine Tyldesley seemed to forget - I think she'll be in a bit of trouble for posting a spoiler about the results show.
© Photo: BBCCatherine made a social media mistake on Saturday
James: Yeah it's a shame. She won't do it again though. It does ruin it too as people enjoy watching the results show on Sunday.
Ola: I'm sure she just didn't think - celebrities can get over-excited and forget the results aren't being shown until the following night. Big mistake though. What about the other dancers? Who disappointed you?
James: Honesty David James' performance was a real let down. His cape work was rubbish. He was supposed to be a matador - he wouldn’t scare the bulls he would bore them to death!
Ola: I have to agree - they had all the costumes and looked great but it just didn’t work. The Paso Doble is one of the easier dances for men so it should have been much better. He didn’t have any personality at all.
James: Yeah, I mean, I’m sure he’s a lovely guy but we have to critique him for his dance and it just didn't work. Sports players sometimes take a while to settle in so who knows, he might get better. But it wasn't a good night for him. Or for James Cracknall. He just can’t dance. He was wasting time in the beginning with the pancakes to try an distract from that simple fact, but it didn’t work.
Ola: The dancing was bad but he did really look like he was enjoying himself.
James: Yes, he did look like he was having fun - we'll give him that. And I know he’s had a brain injury so I’m sure it’s hard for him.
© Photo: BBCJames Cracknell struggled to dance the jive
Ola: On the other hand Karim was really excellent on the dance floor. I'm still a big fan here.
James: You know what I think he’s actually as good if not better than some of the professionals - but he's waiting for his moment. He needs that stand out moment when everyone just goes, 'Wow! He's a contender'. Like Kelvin - he really had it last week, and I feel Karim needs his.
Ola: (Laughing) James, it is only week two, give him a chance - I can tell it will come. He’s definitely amazing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does next.
James: Actually Kelvin disappointed me this week a bit, but that's probably because he was so good last week. He has great strength but I guess he just can’t maintain that standard every week.
Ola: Some dances do of course suit people more than others but this week just really wasn’t memorable for me. And it should have been an easy dance for him. We both love him - he's a great guy and was very good. It was just hard after last week which was so impressive, he had too much to live up to.
James: Who else stood out for you Ola? It's great seeing Neil with a partner this year, but so far I think Alex hasn’t got the natural dance ability some of the others have. Neil might have made the choreography too clever for her - it's hard for him because it’s his first year and he wants to impress, but he needs to remember she doesn’t have any previous dance experience so she will struggle if he complicates it too much.
Ola: I thought Anneka did a good job on performance. Her dance wasn't over complicated but it doesn’t need to be for her.
James: Hmm, I thought it was one of the weaker of the night really, but it was definitely better than last week - I'll give you that!
Ola: No I thought she did well - Emma and Aljaz’s performance on the other hand - that was a let down to me. They both look so pretty and attractive that you are drawn to them, but they did not deliver on the dance floor.
James: It's true, Aljaz is a very handsome man, but even his looks couldn’t hide that that dance wasn’t great!
Ola: So now we wait to see what the public think.
James: Yes, sometimes they surprise us - but I think the bad ones were really quite obvious this week so I have a hunch the public will agree with us.
Check in next week to see what James and Ola think of week three!
