ola jordan and james column

James and Ola Jordan: Maisie deserved three 10s, we'd love to see Janette win and Musical Week's pro dance

See what James and Ola thought of Strictly's Musicals Week...

Deputy Lifestyle Editor
December 6, 2020

Strictly Come Dancing had the nation singing along on Saturday night as the six remaining couples performed in Musicals Week.

As the competition heats up and the final approaches, James and Ola Jordan have shared their thoughts on which couples are becoming front-runners and who is falling behind – and their top three may surprise you!

RELATED: Strictly fans blown away by incredible pro-dance opener for Musicals Week

From the professional dancers' opening number to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to why Maisie Smith deserved a perfect score, keep scrolling to see James and Ola's Strictly Speaking column...

James: I understand it's Musicals Week but I'm a purist, I like Ballroom and Latin – that's what Strictly Come Dancing is supposed to be. I'm not a disco dancer so the professionals' opening number to Priscilla wasn't really for me.

Ola: I agree, Ballroom and Latin is my world and I never really enjoyed disco dancing either. 

WATCH: Strictly pros wow with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opening dance

James: We're a different era! It's only my opinion. The dancers on the show now are much more versatile than I am – I'd look like a right idiot doing disco dancing!

Ola: Loads of people loved it.

James: I would have quite happily dressed up in a dress and gone out there and had a laugh, but for me, it's not about that. They're almost trying to go down the same route as Dancing with the Stars in America and I liked that we kept it more traditional in this country. It's fine if they want to go that way and if other people love it, fantastic! 

Ola: Boring old fuddy-duddy! Let's move onto the celebrities.

James: Musicals Week is a bit of fun but sometimes the theme takes away from the dancing and you're limited with the kinds of songs you can choose. On Saturday, it was a mixed bag.

Ola: The gap between the dancers is becoming more pronounced – there are three groups now.

James: You've got Masie and HRVY who are the crème de la crème, Ranvir and Bill are in the middle and at the bottom are Jamie and JJ.

James and Ola thought Bill's dancer was stronger in the earlier weeks of the competition

Ola: Even though Ranvir did such a good job last night, as a dancer she's not in the same calibre as Maisie and HRVY, and Bill wasn't as good as previous weeks.

James: Bill started off so strong and powerful, but the last two or three weeks he's gone backwards a bit. Strictly is about watching people progress such as Jamie, Maisie and HRVY.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Strictly's Bill Bailey: age, wife, net worth and more

Ola: Bill is still the favourite to win but if he has another bad performance I think he'll find it hard. 

James: He's done some exceptional dances that have blown me away but I've just been a bit disappointed recently. I'm sure he'll get through to next week and I'm hoping he gets a dance he can perform well.

Shirley mentioned that it's easier for a professional male dancer to lead a celebrity than the other way around. I understand what she's saying but the female pros make it look like their celebrity partners are leading. It's more difficult for male celebrities than female celebrities until you get into the league of someone like Maisie because she is next level. 

Maisie should have received a perfect score, according to the former pros

Ola: Maisie had a lot of content in her Jive this week.

James: Yes, it was full-on! The Jive is the fastest Latin dance which means more content. Kudos to her! I watched it back and Gorka is doing such a brilliant job, he's knocked his choreography out of the park this year – their routine was really intricate.

Ola: Maisie is coping very well with it and she's at the top for me.

James: I have no idea why she didn't get three tens! She 100 per cent deserved it. 

Ola: HRVY's routine was amazing. Everything came together, but when you look at the dancing, Maisie was still better.

James: I would have understood if they both got three tens, but I could pick HRVY apart more than I could pick Maisie apart if I was being ultra-critical. Maisie is just exceptional!

Ola: Why is HRVY getting higher scores than Maisie then?

James: Maisie is not getting the public support I believe she should at the moment, she's been in the bottom two a couple of times. If she's at the top of the leaderboard every week, people may think she's bound to win and wouldn't like that. Maybe it's showing she has more of a journey.

The couple would love to see HRVY and Janette lift the Glitterball trophy

Ola: Let's not take anything away from HRVY. I would love to see Janette win!

James: Absolutely, she's created some brilliant routines for HRVY and they come across as a lovely couple.

READ: Strictly's Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec reveal lockdown was tough on them financially

MORE: Strictly's Claudia Winkleman STUNS fans in glittering trouser suit

Ola: I really hope they get into the final. I would be gutted for both of them if they didn't because they deserve it.

James: I also think Ranvir deserves a place in the final because she is the best non-trained dancer left, but she would be behind HRVY and Maisie. I loved the emotion and the way she and Giovanni looked on Saturday, I thought it was understated and beautiful.

Ola: It was all of those things but I feel like she's done very similar dances, I need to see her doing something else.

James: Has she done a Jive, Samba, Salsa? I don't think she's done many of the rhythmical dances and it's a little bit samey.

As a non-trained dancer, I take my hat off to Ranvir because I know how difficult it is to learn a new routine and technique. She's in the right place as third on the leaderboard but she shouldn't be just one point behind Maisie.

Ola: Maisie, HRVY and Bill have shown so many different sides to them. You said you thought Ranvir and JJ often get dances that suit them.

James: Yes, neither of them have done many rhythmical dances – JJ has been brilliant but I think he'll go home this week.

The pair said JJ is at risk of leaving the competition

When Clara and Aljaz left the competition, they were getting a lot of the difficult dances so of course, it makes a difference! If you want someone to stay in the competition, you would give them dances that make them look good.

Ola: I don't know how it's decided anymore, I don't think the professionals get to decide the dances.

James: When we were on Strictly, we used to get told what dances we were doing because they needed a mix in the show. There are so many dances to choose from and the show is shorter so it's impossible to dance all of the dances. 

I do love the variety we see today, but in the old days it used to be fairer, six people would do the Waltz and six would do the Cha Cha, and you could easily compare them. How can you compare a Cha Cha to a Charleston?

Ola: The bottom two will probably be Jamie and JJ.

James: I love Jamie but I wasn't overly impressed with his Jive. I understand why it closed the show, it's a high energy dance and it's fun.

But I think it's JJ's time to go. If he stays this week, I take my hat off to him! At the end of the day, it's about who the public finds the most entertaining.

MORE: Ola Jordan makes heartfelt confession following birth of 'miracle' baby Ella

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