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Brucie is back, Len's got his "seven!" ready and we're not sure if we can wait a second longer to see whether Joe Calzaghe, Ali Bastian and the rest can actually Cha Cha Cha and Tango, or if we've got another bunch of John Sergeants on our hands. Arlene may have been handed her P45, but for the rest of us Strictly Come Dancing returns this evening and should be filling a sizable hole in our TV entertainment schedule for the foreseeable future. Digital Spy will be keeping you abreast of all the shimmys and shakes for the ballroom with live updates on this page on all evening.
20:30: Strictly's back! Will Alesha fluff her lines? Is Bruce too doddery? Can Joe Calzaghe dance? We should find out the answers in the next 90 minutes.
20:31: Brucie looking quite agile. "Never been better," he proclaims. Take that Daily Mail!
20:33: Brucie cracking some saucy gags about Tess and Vernon Kay's antics in the bedroom. A quick glimpse of Alesha, who is looking stunning in a glittering dress. Bruno looks as mad as a hatter as usual.
20:36: We get to see the pros showing off their moves. Strictly on Fridays... why haven't they done this before! Ooh, a bit of Kings of Leon... I bet Simon Cowell will be mad, they appear to be his new favourite backing band on X Factor. Stunning stuff, this, from the pros - a great kick-off to the new series.
20:41: Brucie meets the judges. Bruno's barking and off his chair. Alesha unleashes her filthy cackle. Craig does his deadpan meanie act and Len holds things together and is very sensible. Time to meet the celebs!!
20:43: Avert your eyes! What on earth is Natalie Cassidy wearing? Or not wearing may be the correct term. Everyone else is looking very splendid. Lynda Bellingham is done up in a elaborate golden number that probably wasn't the best choice either.
20:45: Tess runs down the rules. "It's the toughest year yet," is the catchphrase of the night. A little bit X Factor with this hyperbole.
20:47: Big boy and Gay Spy fave Rav Wilding is first up with "pussycat" and new member of the pro team Aliona. He ripped his trousers in training. Is that a good sign? We're not sure, but it should win him a few votes.
20:49: A bit stiff, the odd stumble, but a solid opening from Rav there. I think the judges will like that.
20:53 They were all a bit mean about him, so shows what we know. Craig said that had "spatulistic" hands. Len was grumpy about the lift and Bruno said it could do with refinement. Alesha is filling in for Arlene nicely though, doing the perving over the pecs nicely.
20:55: 19 out of 40 for Rav. Will that keep him out of the dance-off? Too early to say, but Craig's three seemed a little harsh. Next up Ricky 'EastEnders' Groves and Erin Boag. Brucie cracks a gag about Erin being an "old banger", which perks up the crowd.
20:58: Ricky Groves looks petrified, but this isn't the worse Ballroom I've ever seen. Not the best either, mind.
21:01: Len and Alesha liked it. Bruno thought Ricky and Erin showed less love than "Gordon Brown and David Cameron" (which we think is a bad thing). Craig reckoned Ricky looked like a "terrified spare part". Despite all this, he scores 21 and edges ahead of Rav.
21:03: You can leave your views in the box below. Feel free to have your say on how Alesha's doing. She's not been particularly scintillating so far, but she's looked comfortable on camera. "You tried hard," appears to be her catchphrase for the evening. BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins up next!
21:09: Surprise of the night - Craig Hollins is quite good. His "trout" facial expressions were a bit off and got Craig feeling "quite peculiar", but he had his basic technique sorted. I'm not looking forward to his "dirty" rumba, but he scores 26 and is leading at the moment. What a turn-up!
21:12: Jade Johnson claims there can "never be too much bling". Fair point, but can you dance, darling? We're about to see what she's made of alongside her pro Ian Waite. The first dress of the night (on a celebrity) and it's got the thumbs up from my girlfriend.
21:14: An early dark horse, perhaps? All the judges impressed by Jade and she was pretty impressive. "Great musicality", "great lines" and everyone's looking forward to her Latin. She scores 25 and Len wheels out his second "SEVEEERN!" of the evening. She will take some beating.
21:20: Early responses to Alesha are not positive. My girlfriend reckons the pros look disgruntled every time she comments on their performance. Give her time, people, give her time...
21:22: The "smiling assassin" is here! Martina Hingis. I imagine she might get the dad vote if she wears suitably short skirts in the Latin. Expect her to be competitive.
21:25: Not too sure about the pink dress, but I thought Martina looked quite handy. The judges were less impressed describing her as "loose" and "nervous". First dreadful pun of the series from Len, who wheels out a "foot fault" gag for the tennis star. Martina and Matthew Cutler score 22 and are currently in third place.
21:30: It's OXO time! Lynda Bellingham. Representing the over-50s, can she dance as well as she makes gravy? Let's see.
21:33: Lynda's giving it some. With 'Under Pressure' as her backing music and some dramatic acting, she's giving it some.
21:35: It's safe to say we may have found our Kate Garraway/John Sergeant of the series. Craig hates it, the audience loves it. There wasn't much dancing, but fair play to Lynda for giving her all. Alesha describes it as "fierce". That's a compliment by the way. She scores 21. Rav Wilding is still bottom, which is a real surprise. He was many people's tip to win.
21:38: Here's my tip for the series... Ali Bastian and the ever popular Brian Fortuna. If Brian can keep off Twitter for long enough, they should go far.
21:40: What did I tell you! Just call me the Mystic Meg of Strictly. Craig whips out his first "fab-u-lous!" of the series and gets out his seven. She scores 30! Ali and Brian are going to take some catching.
21:44: "They are sleeping together, definitely!" claims my girlfriend. Yes, it's finally time for tabloid favourites Kristina Rihanoff and Joe Calzaghe. Let's see if their dancing offers any hints about their 'relationship' status.
21:50: "That was a dance, only a mother could love," say Len, summing up Joe Calzaghe's rather tragic first performance. If there is a romance, there was no indication there. A very weak 16 and Welsh dragon Joe could be in danger, unless he pulls something special out with the Latin.
21:55: We get a little chat with Claudia Winkleman. A DS favourite after her sterling efforts at our Reality Awards earlier this year. We also get a glimpse of next week's eight dancers with a Mambo!
22:00: Sadly, that's it, all over for tonight. Phil 'The Cat' Tufnell, Jo Wood and Natalie Cassidy catch the eye in the group dance, but not necessarily for the right reasons. We hope you enjoyed our blogging and loved Strictly as much as we did. Keep your views on the performances and Alesha's "fierce" judging coming in.
