strictly james jordan ola jordan column 1

Strictly Speaking - James and Ola: We love feisty Shirley, Neil will be devastated that he can't dance and Mike deserves to stay

James and Ola Jordan had a lot to say about the latest Strictly

TV & Film Editor
November 3, 2019

James and Ola Jordan announced that they are expecting their first child together back in September, and Ola has revealed that her pregnancy has been a great reason not to do any chores! "James is helping me a lot, he's lovely," she said. "He's actually very good, bless him. He changed the bed yesterday and he's done the hoovering, he's been very helpful! I know I'm okay to be doing this stuff but I've got him so why not!" James joked about their week, adding: "She's getting on my nerves a little bit so it's easier to do some housework than listen to her moan at me!" In between his jobs around the house, the pair sat down to watch Strictly Come Dancing, and had plenty of thoughts! Here's what they had to say about Shirley's feisty critiques, who should be leaving on Sunday night, and Kevin taking over from Neil for a second time...

James: I thought compared to Halloween week, this week everyone massively raised their game. The costumes on Halloween took over from the dancing where I feel this week it's kind of back to normal. There were a lot of very good performances!

Ola: For me, it was much more fun to watch for some reason. I think it's because they wore normal costumes and you can have better music, while during Halloween week you're limited on what kind of music you can choose.

James: I still think some of the music choices are horrendous but I'm not going to go on about it! Who stood out for you Ola?

Ola: Karim was the standout for me this week. I mean, he was amazing. The Quickstep from beginning to end was amazing, his frame was amazing. It was lovely what Amy did. It was by far the best performance of the night. It was just great.

James: I agree, but I still can't put my finger on them at the moment, but it's like they're missing something as a couple. And I can't work out what it is because he is amazing. I mean, technically he's by far the best one in the competition. I also thought Michelle was excellent. Michelle is becoming a contender, I don't think she was as good as last week but I still really enjoyed that performance. So I think I think she is a contender for lifting the trophy, for sure. Who do you think might be in danger of leaving tonight Ola?

Ola: Emma and Anton were probably the worst for us, but I still feel like the public are massively going to get behind them and see what they come up with. I don't think that they were under marked, it was pretty bad. The worst performance of the night.

James: Yeah, the music was great, and they looked amazing and maybe people get carried away with the feeling they get from the music, but we're professional dancers so we're looking at the technical side and the footwork because it's still supposed to be a Rumba. The footwork is the most important thing for the Rumba and technically it wasn't that good at all. I don't think that it was under marked either.

Ola: Who else do you think might be in trouble?

James: I also think Emma and Aljaz could be going out, actually. Emma was very lucky when she was saved over Dev because in my opinion, Dev should have stayed in the competition. Maybe she's stayed a couple of weeks longer than she should have anyway. It's very difficult if you've never done this before and if you don't have that same natural ability. Some people when they haven't danced before you go, 'Wow, actually, you've got quite a natural feel', but she's competing against people who are dance trained. I think she's done a brilliant job but it's maybe her time to go.

Ola: Mike definitely deserves to stay in this week, don't you think? What did you think about the negative reaction to him being saved last week?

James: I think that's horrendous. Mike seems like a very nice guy, very bubbly, it's not his fault the judges are saving him and to be fair, last week in the dance off he was better! If he's better in the dance off, people just need to give the guy a break. I'm all about fairness but if you're better in the dance off then that's that, plain and simple.

READ: Ola Jordan displays her blossoming baby bump alongside husband James at Pride of Britain

Ola: This week he's done a good job with the Charleston. His dance is very similar, a bit jokey or fun, I'd like him to do a serious dance next, but I think even his serious dance might look jokey. How did you find some of the other performances, James?

James: I think this week Oti and Kelvin had a dance that didn't necessarily suit him. Of course, you can see the emotion, but the music was emotional. So even if you're listening to the music, you feel that music. I'm pretty sure he's going to come next week and blow our socks off. I like Kelvin, he's still my favourite to win!

MORE: James Jordan jokes about how exhausting wife Ola's pregnancy is – for him!

Ola: Did you think anyone was overmarked last night?

James: I do feel that Alex was still slightly overmarked. I don't know what it is, I just don't think she's as good as the judges say. I must be watching a different dance to the judges when they comment and say her frame is good because I don't see it! If that's a good frame I must have been learning the wrong thing for over 30 years! Of course it's difficult when your partner is injured, I think if anything she's at a disadvantage because she probably has Neil choreographing and yet she's dancing with Kevin, so it'll be confusing. I feel for Neil, it's the first time that he's had a partner this year and if he could dance he would. I've known him for over 20 years, it will be killing Neil inside that he can't do it but there's no point putting your body at risk for further injury or long term injury so he needs to rest and wait until his body is ready for him to come back.

Ola: The only problem is when people are voting for you, you get used to the couple, so as soon as you you're with someone else it feels wrong. Kevin will be there until Neil is fit to come back, but hopefully Neil will be back soon! We did think it would be nice if Gorka had stepped in though.

James: I mean, I don't really care who dances with her [laughs], my feeling is that Kevin had his celebrity partner, Gorka wasn't given one, he was relegated to being an extra dancer, so it would have been nice to share the love. And people miss Gorka, I miss Gorka! I think he should have been given an opportunity to step forward and do it but I don't care that much, Kevin is still doing a good job! Speaking about the injuries on the show so far, can I just say that it's such a shame that Will had to leave. It was so emotional last night and the last dance he performed and the way it moved everyone made it the dance of the series so far. I was in tears, Ola was in tears, their contemporary number was amazing.

Ola: He's an inspiration, he inspires everyone, to see how much he pushed himself. Like he said, he didn't know how people were going to take him, or if he was going to make himself look stupid. He had a lot of pressure and I just think that he was absolutely amazing for the show. To have to pull out because of injuries is so sad for him.

James: Agreed. How did you find the judges last night? There was a lot of talk about Shirley's feisty critiques!

Ola: I know, we don't notice Craig as much now! She's turned up her criticism but she hasn't toned down her marks. She'll give harsh criticism but then she'll give an eight while Craig will give a six or a seven or a five when he needs to.

James: She gave Anton and Emma a five!

Ola: Oh yeah but she went for them as well! [Laughs]. People can say what they want, she's there to critique. You don't mollycoddle! In our business, if you're bad you tell someone it's bad.

James: Absolutely. If I go to someone for a lesson and the teacher goes, 'Oh yeah, you're pretty good and oh yeah, that's really nice' and it's not, I don't want to hear that. How can I improve? She's giving people constructive criticism that might be a little bit harsh but I quite like that. I think it's quite funny that she's becoming feisty! People are used to it, it's all the snowflakes out there that are worried about this and that. Sometimes people just need to be told the truth. Get over it. Move on!

Ola: The truth is a good thing! If it's not good, just say it!

James: People expect it from a man so they accept it from Craig, but they won't accept it from Shirley, and I think that's a bit sexist in a way! I like it! I like feisty Shirley. And I think it was all just banter with Anton. Especially when he went into Claudia's room and said, 'That's the last time we YouTube Shirley!' People make more of it than it actually is, I thought it was hilarious when he said that. Anton doesn't let things like that bother him.

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