Super Saturday - Opening Weekend Finishes with a Bang

Good Evening, tonight we got to the see the remaining eight couples in action for the first time. After last nights opener in which Colin Salmon revealed himself to be a nifty little mover we were treated to more celebrity Cha Cha's and Waltzes! And a bit of a surprise entry storming straight to the top of the leaderboard....

First up was Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh dancing with last years new guy Pasha Kovalev. Their energetic Cha Cha was very well received with Len declaring that although 'you can't win Strictly in the first week you can certainly make a great impression'. All the judges were impressed, Darcey Bussell said they had the 'wow factor'. They score an amazing 28.

Actor Sid Owen and his fiery partner Ola Jordan dance a very elegant waltz next, putting their heart and soul into it. Judge Bruno Tonioli agreed that it was very good and that they had created the 'mood'. Craig Revel-Horwood  decided Sid's arms were a bit 'plonky' but thought they had 'great movement around the floor'. They score a sensational 26. Well done!

Johnny Ball was up next with his new partner Iveta Lukosiute who stepped in after his regular partner Aliona Vilani suffered a hairline fracture (But it was great to see her in the audience). Their enthusiastic Cha Cha was sadly not well received by the judges with Craig suggesting that he had suffered a 'disorder of the nervous system'. They only scored 17. Still, all to play for Johnny, your ballroom will be better I am sure!
Then it was the turn of TV's Dani Harmer, dancing a waltz with Vincent Simone. All the judges suggested she needed to elongate her neck and enjoy herself a bit more. They scored a respectable 21. Looking forward to seeing a lot more from this couple.

A real treat next as Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor light up the studio with an energetic and very funny Cha Cha. The audience loved it so much they gave a spontaneous standing ovation. Len likened Lisa to a 'fizzy bottle of cola' and what it 'lacked in technique it made up for in enthusiasm'. Bruno declared it 'grand, exuberant entertainment', and it really was. Three words from Craig 'You Can Dance' - Praise indeed. This fabulous couple scored a well deserved 30 - the highest of the weekend! And they also won our 'Best Dance Of The Night' poll with a fabulous 66% of the vote.
A hard act to follow, next up was TV Critic Richard Arnold dancing a beautiful waltz with Erin Boag. Len said that Richard had fabulous footwork and 'did a great job'. the rest of the judges weren't so kind but they still scored 22, so better than some!

The penultimate dance of the night was model Jerry Hall dancing a Cha Cha with Anton Du Beke. Sadly Jerry did little but stand around and wiggle a bit while Anton did all the work. The judges obviously noticed this and suggested that she could do a bit more! Darcey said that she 'had the assets and needed to use them a bit more'. Len thought that it was a bit 'careful' and he would like her to excite him a bit more, Jerry replied 'you wait until you see my Foxtrot!' They scored a very low 18.
Finally Olympic gymnast Louis Smith closed the show dancing a sensational Cha Cha with Flavia Cacace. His bendy body was certainly put to good use and all of the judges agreed he would go far apart from Craig who thought it was a' bit awkward'. The audience and probably nearly everyone on Twitter thought it was absolutely fabulous, he even finished by doing the splits and made Darcey blush! A respectable 27.

And so we have seen all of our couples dance. What an exciting season it is going to be. I think some unexpected couples have already revealed themselves and a few are waiting in the wings... Let's see. But I am sure none of them want to be in the 'dance off' next week, yes it is BACK!

Welcome back Strictly, we have missed you.

Thanks to everyone who took part in our live blog, you can relive the show by reading it back here.