Brazier and Buswell performed a contemporary dance routine in a tribute to Brazier’s late mother.
While Strictly Come Dancing can often be full of powerful routines, it was this week’s performance by Bobby Brazier and professional partner Dianne Buswell that didn’t leave a dry eye in the house.
Tonight’s episode (Saturday 25th November) was a turning point in the competition as the couples took to the dance floor for their space in next week’s semi-final but for Brazier, this week was an emotional one as he dedicated his contemporary dance routine to his late mother.
Speaking ahead of the routine, Brazier opened up about Jade Goody, who passed away when he was aged 4. “I’d love to spend a day with her, just to see where I get my smile from,” he admitted, speaking about the important song choice of Maxwell’s This Woman’s Work.
In the interviews ahead of the routine, viewers got to see more of Brazier’s own relationship with his father Jeff, who also opened up about the death of Goody. “This dance is a tribute to my mum,” Brazier said.
The dance itself was a moving highlight in Brazier’s Strictly journey so far, leading to a standing ovation from the audience and from lead judge Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse.
When asked by presenter Tess Daly about their opinions on the routine, both Ballas and Anton Du Beke were brought to tears.
While Shirley said the dance was “very charismatic” and had some of the “most beautiful, true movements through the body”, she also noted that it was Brazier’s best number to date. “You danced it from your heart,” she stated.
Similarly, Anton admitted he was getting emotional when giving feedback and said: “Sometimes you just want to be able to speak without using any words and I thought you did that beautifully tonight.”
But he went on, saying what was “more important”, admitting: “I’ve got a six-year-old son and if he grows up to be as beautiful a man as you, we’ll be very proud.”
Aside from some minimal criticism from Craig Revel Horwood, the storytelling and overall routine was enough to bag Brazier one of the top spots on this week’s leaderboard, which eventually saw him and Buswell at second place after Ellie Leach’s final dance of the night.
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Talking to Claudia Winkleman about his performance, Brazier said: “I don’t know what to say. All I can think about is how blessed I am… I get to dance to a beautiful song and make people feel the story because we felt the story.”
Buswell also added: “It was such an honour to be a part of this… I felt a bit of pressure to do it justice but he just danced it so, so beautifully.”
Earlier on in the night’s episode, Annabel Croft also scored her highest of the season but Strictly viewers were also dished up another surprise in the form of David Tennant reading out the terms and conditions, right after the airing of The Star Beast.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 25th November at 7:30pm. The results show will air on Sunday 26th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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