Ian Waite says Dan got “lucky” with Strictly score as he praises Rose for topping leaderboard

By Grace Henry

Published: Monday, 01 November 2021 at 12:00 am

Halloween Week on Strictly Come Dancing went down a right treat this weekend.

On Saturday night, the remaining contestants in the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 line-up returned to the ballroom, and Strictly history was made by Rose Ayling-Ellis, who scored the series’ first 40, which was the earliest this result had ever been achieved in the competition.

Here, RadioTimes.com columnist and former Strictly pro Ian Waite shares his thoughts on Rose’s top score, Judi’s departure, as the comedian became the fifth celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly, and why he thinks Dan Walker got “lucky” with a score of 27 for his jive.

Ian on Saturday’s Halloween Week

“It was Strictly’ Halloween spooktacular and I must say, it’s one of my favourite themed weeks during Strictly season. Hair, makeup and wardrobe always manages to get better and better every year!”

How did the Strictly couples do this week?

Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova – Sadly, I felt this was difficult dance for Dan. He had flappy and flat turned in feet. He needed more bounce action in the legs. That being said, it was fun, if not a bit corny!
Adam Peaty and Katya Jones – Adam is such a great competitor and I really like to watch him every week. The left arm looked a little flat, but I thought the lowering into the leg on count one was really good, which helped him cover the floor with ease.
Sara Davies and Aljaz Skorjanec – Aljaz in full leather was a sight to behold, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to distract us from Sara’s lack of speed and power when not in hold.
Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden – A very rocky interpretation of the tango. I really liked it and it had lots of great content in the choreography. No doubts Amy will continue to develop and improve Tom’s technique, posture and top line.
Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin – Tilly is improving every week. Nice little touch of action and Tilly is looking very comfortable performing every week now. Love the choreography. It was creative and cheeky.
AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrinton – I am a massive fan of AJ and her dancing. I felt this was her best ballroom dance by far – amazing frame and flowed across the floor with fantastic dynamic presence. I agreed with Motsi that the chemistry between them is so beautiful to see. 10s all the way!
John Whaite and Johannes Radebe – As expected, as expected, very together and well matched, but it looked a little heavy for me, and I couldn’t decide whether it was the dance or the costumes. I enjoyed the energy.
Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice – The detail in this dance was off the scale! Sharp head action, keen, crisp heel leads, Rose moved across the floor like a ballroom champion. The most impressive thing was the musicality and this is all done through sight and feeling. Simply unbelievable!
Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – I was pleasantly surprised because there was a more composed, clean masterful performance from Rhys. It could have breathed in the flamenco lines to create more shaping, but overall a fantastic dance.
Judi Love and Graziano Di Prima – This dance must have been difficult with no rehearsals this week. The timing was very good, but it lacked usage of foot and ankle action and Judi’s hip action could have been emphasised greater.

Strictly High of The Week

“I have two highlights because I really loved AJ as well as Rose. The two Viennese Waltz were absolutely brilliant! They both flowed across the floor really and always the rotation is very difficult in Viennese Waltz, but in just one week, they both mastered it and produced unbelievable performances.”