James and Ola Jordan are getting ready for their first Christmas with baby Ella, and in between online shopping and festive preparation, they sat down to watch the Strictly semi-final - and they had a lot to say about it!
James – I don't think the semi-final was amazing this year, I think Maisie and HRVY saved the show.
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Ola – They are just standing out now. They are amazing.
James – Apart from them, I found it quite disappointing. A couple of weeks ago I found the show absolutely amazing with the costumes and the music. Maybe this week it was because they had to learn two dances so the standard dropped in general. As obviously it's a lot harder to learn two dances. I just didn't feel it was a great semi-final apart from Maisie and HRVY who I found exceptional.
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James - With Maisie, I would go as far as saying she was one of the best celebrity dancers we've ever had on Strictly. I think Gorka has done such an amazing job with her.
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Ola – Yes I agree. The Viennese Waltz was exceptional. From her frame to her footwork, everything was beautiful.
Gorka and Maisie are wowing James and Ola with their dancing
James – And it was a difficult routine. The Viennese Waltz can be quite repetitive and boring, but Gorka made the routine really intricate and interesting. She's 19 and for whatever reason at the beginning people weren't voting for her, and I'm happy to see that people are now seeing that she is brilliant and works just as hard – probably harder than anyone else. Because it's tough when you're in the bottom two.
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Ola – She's had a tough ride. It was so lovely when Gorka was saying why Maisie should be in the final.
James – Janette and HRVY's Rumba wasn't as strong as their other dances, but they were the only couple in the whole series to have done it. This is one of the main Latin dances so I find it bizarre. I think they did a great job with a difficult dance.
Ola – Because he did the Rumba and the Charleston, and he was so much better at the Charleston, it shows you just how difficult the Rumba is.
HRVY and Janette are doing incredibly well
James – It's a really difficult dance and I think it's a shame that more people haven't done the Rumba so people can see how hard it is.
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James – I think Motsi got a bit carried when she said that HRVY could come back as a pro, but it was a nice thing to say! There was no way she was being serious.
Ola – But maybe in ten years time Maisie could come back as a pro.
James – I would say she could, she looked better than some of the pro girls! She could have been a professional Latin and Ballroom dancer.
Maisie is still so young - but proving her talent every week
Ola – And she's only 19 remember!
James – Myself and Ola love Janette, we get on extremely well with her and Aljaz.
Ola – She really deserves to be in the final.
James – She does, and she should have been there before in my opinion with some of her other partners but she wasn't unfortunately. She deserves to be in that final. I'm kind of torn because I love Maisie and Gorka but I'd also love to see Janette win as well.
This is Janette's first semi-final
Ola – She's a lovely girl and works really hard.
James – She got emotional and it means a lot being in the final.
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Ola – What people don't see is all the hard work that goes into being in that semi-final. They work so hard. I remember when I was there, how special it is to get that far.
James – People go 'oh it's just an entertainment show' but that is your life for six months and they are working really hard to create something special each week. And I think they are all doing an amazing job.
James – I honestly couldn't say who I think deserves to go. But who was I most disappointed with? Probably Bill. I felt because I had seen him do such amazing performances, he didn't stand out.
James – I think Jamie and Ranvir will be in the bottom two and that Jamie will go – that's my prediction.
Ola – I think that should be the case. I think if Maisie or HRVY are in the bottom two that wouldn't be good.
Jamie has shown the most improvement from the beginning of the competition
James – I think there should be three in the final and not four, I think four in the final is too many in my opinion. I think bronze, silver and gold. When you have four that's too many – get rid of two at this stage I say!
Ola – I enjoyed Jamie's Salsa last night. He's come such a long way. He kind of deserves a place in the final because he's the most improved. He's a non-dancer and that's what Strictly's about.
Ola – When you looked at him in the first few weeks you wouldn't have thought he would be a semi-finalist.
James – But I liked him from the beginning, I liked his personality and he's really grown in himself and become more confident and enthusiastic. I admire how much he's improved.
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James – On the other hand, Bill has gone the opposite way. In week one, he was phenomenal and blew us all away. But now I feel he has gone backwards if anything and I don't see any improvement in him at all. He probably deserves to be in the final but I feel just recently it's a bit samey.
Has Bill got too confident?
Ola – I think he's got too confident.
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James – I love Ranvir and would love to see her in the final, I think she's done amazingly well, but again, it's all been a bit samey to me. But she has still come a long way. There's not one person who I don't think doesn't deserve a place in the final in their own way.
James – I think maybe the judges are being too nice this year and are over-marking too much, but maybe after the year we've had they aren't wanting to be too harsh.
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