Live Blog: 'Strictly Come Dancing'

It was game, set and match for Martina Hingis in Week One, and Richard Dunwoody fell at the first hurdle last week, but which celebrity will be joining them on the sidelines tonight? All 14 remaining contestants will perform a dramatic Paso Doble or a energetic Quick-step tonight. Keep up to date with all the action here on DS, where we'll be bringing you live score updates and commentary throughout the evening.

19:00: THE TOUGHEST STRICTLY EVER! Back solely on Saturdays, where it belongs. Ready for the TV marathon? We've got 14 couples, plenty of Brucie gags, 136 hours of waffle in between... or something like that.

19:07: First up, we've got some "mild flirting" from Hollyoaks 'babe' Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna. They are apparently romancing, if you believe the tabloids... which I don't.

19:09: We've got Quick-steps and Paso Dobles tonight. Wonder if there'll be any "mucking around with capes" for Len. Ali's Quick-Step looks rather splendid. A few faults, but she's got the basics nailed.

19:10: "It was right up my alley," says Len. Ooh-eer! Len comments on the Ali and Brian tabloid rumours as well, which gets the audience murmuring. That's put the cat among the pigeons. Bruno says that she's like a "summer sunset". Classic, barmy Bruno.

19:12: Calm down Fortuna fanatics. Brian's not having any of these tabloid rumours. Well, not right now anyway. It's 8s all round for Ali and she's going to be good competition for Whittle tonight. Score: 32

19:18: "Possibly your best dance so far" says Len. "Good shapes" and "intensity" says Alesha. Were they watching something else? Far too slow for me that Paso. Oxo woman pulls a good face, but she's not dancing yet. Craig is on the money. "It needs a lot more movement!" They must take some marks off for Darren Bennett's chest as well!

19:22: It's Score: 23 for Oxo and Darren. Over-marked in my opinion. Next up it's the 'surprise package' Chris Hollins and Ola 'what are clothes?' Jordan.

19:25: Chris Hollins pulls it out of the bag again with a Quick-step. The judges should like that solo routine from Chris. Not quite as good as the first week, but he should make it through to Week 4 with that.

19:28: Lots of criticism from Craig, but there's plenty of positives as well for Chris. He seems like a nice chap doing the show for the right reasons, in my opinion. He Scores 23 as well, which seems unfair. That was considerably better than Oxo. Maybe Ola should strip off again next week? Next up it's saucy Zoe Lucker and James 'grumpy pants' Jordan with a Paso Doble.

19:33: Bruno was expecting more raunch, but Craig was pleased with her "use of her skirt". Craig is pleased with James's musicality. It was a good Paso from the pair. Probably the toughest of the dances to do something original with, but there was a nice twist to that. None of the usual pouting and flouncing around. Score: 31. That's another impressive high score for Zoe and James!

19:37: It's big boy Rav Wilding and Alioioioauni up next. Can he do a Quick-Step and avoid a second dreaded dance-off?

19:39: A bit all-over the shop from poor Rav. You can't fault him for trying.. there's even a bloody cartwheel!

19:41: An odd routine to give Rav - and Len appreciates that. Craig is less friendly and uses the term "orangutan-ish". Score: 20. Bottom of the leaderboard for poor Rav. Will the public appreciate the cartwheel and save him from the dance-off? We're worried for the big man.

19:44: Next, it's Natalie Cassidy and Vincent 'I'm a naughty romantic Italian stereotype' Simone with what will be a very hammy Paso Doble.

19:47: Natalie and Vincent give it there all and with some authentic music that went really rather well. Felt for Vincent dragging her along the floor and I wasn't sure about her peculiar sausage roll move. Think the viewers will like that though. Plenty of fun and drama. The judges have plenty of pointers and spotted faults, but they Score 28. A good total for the celebrity formerly known as Sonia from EastEnders.

19:51: It's Flavia and Craig 'Corrie' Kelly up now with a Quick-step. His wife's been in training with him this week. She's obviously heard all the rumours about Strictly romances this year!

19:53: Ooh, deary dear. "A disaster", says Bruno. "Lumpy", according to Craig. We like Craig, but with that performance it could be another early exit for Flavia.

19:55: He Scores: 21 and that's one better than Rav. The ever-lovely Craig admits that it's correct that he's at the bottom. We're fairly sure he could go far and improve if given time... but he's in danger next week. Up next Ricky 'The Incredible' Whittle! Hold onto your knickers girls.

19:58: Well, that didn't disappoint. A dramatic Paso from Ricky and there wasn't a cape in sight. "YES! YES! YES!" screams an orgasmic Craig Revel Horwood. We have to agree, that was fab-u-lous. We don't care if he had months of prior training (which is just a rumour, we should point out).

20:02: Three 9s and a Score: 35. Alesha said that was the best male Paso Doble from any series. A bold statement, but we can't think of many better. Can you? Leave your opinions in the box below!

20:05: Up next it's Jade Johnson and Ian Waite with a Quick-step to the music of Alphabeat. I met Jade and Ian yesterday and they were delightful, so I won't have a bad word against them!

20:06: Len's not very impressed with Jade's "long-jumping" Quick-step. We agreed with Alesha, there was a good mixture of personality and dancing in that performance. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but there's plenty of potential with this pairing. Jade Scores: 31. That's the same as Zoe Lucker and should be enough to see her through another round.

20:12: Tabloid journos get your pens ready - we've got Calzaganoff (we want some money if that nickname catches on) up next. What's Joe wearing? He's forgot his shirt and is doing it in a vest. What will Len think of that?

20:14: "An improvement", says Alesha. We're not sure about that. There wasn't much dancing from Joe, there was a lift and as Len would say, 'too much flapping around with a bloomin' cape'. Bruno hits the nail on the head, and we're not sure how often we'll get to say that, describing it as a fiasco.

20:16: That's a Score:19 from the Welsh dragon. He's not disguising his romance with Kristina much, which could save him from the bottom two. If that's what the public are really interested in.

20:19: It's a Quick-step for Laila Rouass and Anton 'BRING ON THE WALL' Du Beke. We're predicting big things from these two after their first week.

20:21: Bruno is getting fussy about Laila's footwork. Craig likes it though, describing it as "classy". Len describes the routine as a "diamond". We agree with Craig and Len. If Anton can sort out that chest hair and work on his Latin, he could go far with Laila. She can definitely dance Score: 30.

20:23: Up next - phew, this is all going rather quick isn't it! - is Jo Wood and Brendan. We're fairly sure this Paso will not be up there with Ricky Whittle's.

20:27: Well, well, well. That's not too bad. At least she was dancing, which is more than we can say for Oxo Lynda. Even Craig admits that there is some improvement. She Scores: 20, she's not bottom of the leaderboard and we reckon she deserves another week with that performance. Next up... Phil 'The Cat' Tufnell and Katya.

20:34: Tuffers loses it at the end, but there was plenty of life and sparkle in that Quick-step. My girlfriend's given the Dress Of The Night Award to Katya. Plenty of criticism for The Cat, which I think is a bit harsh. But what's the score?

20:36: Score: 24 for The Cat Tuffers. Next up, Ricky 'The Gob' Groves. Will he control his jaw for the Paso Doble? Let's see...

20:38: Ricky has caught a case of the Austin Healys. "OLE! OLE!", he cries, before Queen kicks in for the backing music. This is seriously camp.

20:40: That was a stunning routine from Erin. She knows how to do a Paso Doble. "You were like a bull in mating season," says a screaming-mad Bruno. Ricky's routine is surely the highlight of the night. I'm not sure how long he can keep the 'comedy' angle going, but we have to admit, that made us chuckle. Score: 29.

20:44: Thank you to the reader, who corrected our score for Tuffers - of course, he didn't get 36. Sorry for that! Ricky Whittle is top of the board with 35, followed by Ali Bastian, Zoe Lucker and Jade Johnson.

20:47: Down at the bottom is Joe Calzaghe with 19. Just above is Jo Wood with 20. Rav Wilding and Craig Kelly. are in the most dangerous spot just above the bottom two. We fear they may end up in the dance-off. We reckon it should be Calzaganoff and Oxo Lynda, but what do we know?

20:52: All the dancers have got their excuses - most of them blame nerves. There was plenty to be proud tonight, we reckon, and in our opinion this is the most talented group of dancers in the show's history. Even the dancers at the bottom aren't too shoddy.

20:55: Len describes Laila, Tuffers and Jade as the Dark Horses. Even, Craig Revel Horwood has been won over by Ricky 'The Gob' Groves, claiming that he was the pick of the performers tonight. We agree!

21:00: Phone lines are closed! Don't bother voting now, unless you're a nutter who enjoys wasting their money etc., etc.

21:01: Is anyone finding these young professional dancing kids a little bit scary? Well, we certainly did. We've got a performance from Andy Williams (who said the BBC is ageist!).

21:06: Dum-dum-dum! IT'S THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

21:07: Calzaganoff are through! "It's not a dancing contest... Welsh voting block... personality contest... blah blah.

21:10: Woop! Woop! Craig survives the dance-off. It's big boy Rav and Oxo mum Lynda in the dance-off! Surely, this must be the end for gravy lady...

21:12: Just a note, the judges' bottom two, Jo Wood and Calzaganoff, escaped the dance-off. Why do the public always save the celebrities at the bottom rather than those in the middle? Is it the British underdog mentality?

21:15: Ooh-dear. Rav made a right hash of that. He looks a bit annoyed and quite rightly. He gave as much energy as Ricky Groves, but the public preferred Joe 'The Plank' Calzaghe.

21:17: Lynda and Darren are saved! I put the jinx on poor Rav... Looks like Rav is biting his tongue about a few things. I reckon he's angry to leave. We'll have to wait for the newspapers next week to see if he's bitter.

21:20: That's all for tonight! The show's over-run again. Do you think Rav was unlucky to go? Were the judges right to save Lynda? How long can the Calzaganoff 'showmance' keep them in the show? So many questions! Leave your thoughts in the box below and see you back here next week.