Strictly Come Dancing, week four: Shirley Ballas confuses Charlotte Hawkins with Mollie King
The evening featured a Morecambe and Wise tribute and the first '10' of the series
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Your support makes all the difference.Week Four on Strictly Come Dancing saw the celebrities step it up a notch with a range of seriously impressive dances.
Astonishing lifts, lightning-fast footwork and the first '10' score of the series all took place during the evening, with just one apparent blunder as judge Shirley Ballas seemed to get her celebrities mixed up.
After a difficult Week Three as Charlotte Hawkins' professional partner Brendan Cole clashed with the head judge over criticism of his choreography, the TV presenter returned with a wedding-themed jive to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” and danced with energy and confidence.
Shirley Ballas began her judge's comments on the dance with “Now, Mollie…” to everyone’s surprise and a quick correction. Hopefully Charlotte’s improvement will make sure the public doesn’t forget her name anytime soon.
Elsewhere, singer and actor Alexandra Burke scored the first '10' of the competition with an astonishing final score of 39. It was an emotional evening for Burke, as the success of her performance led to a tearful tribute to her late mother, who passed away earlier this year.
Following stunning performances from frontrunner Aston Merrygold and pop singer Mollie King, Emmerdale actor Gemma Atkinson impressed audiences and judges with a fierce paso doble to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”.
She made her way up the leader board with a strong 35, while chef Simon Rimmer remained at the bottom with 19. His samba was “more Benidorm than Brazil” according to judge Bruno Tonioli, and provided a lighthearted salute to every drunk dad having a boogie on holiday.
Comedian Susan Calman closed the show, also showing signs of improvement, with a delightful Morecambe and Wise-themed quickstep.
Calman admitted her performance added to the “second best day of [her] life” after her wedding, when she danced to “Bring Me Sunshine” in the first dance with her wife. A special dance closed an impressive show. The stakes have been raised.
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