AJ and Curtis Pritchard know their stuff when it comes to ballroom dancing, and the former Strictly and Dancing with the Stars Ireland pros have some major advice for Gorka Marquez about his partnership with Helen Skelton.
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Chatting to HELLO! for the latest Strictly Insider, AJ said: "Gorka, you need to make sure that you do not back off on Helen. You keep pushing. You keep making her work hard. And I feel like she's somebody that we need to see more of, as in what makes her who she is, her personality."
WATCH: Check out AJ and Curtis Pritchard's Strictly Insider
He continued: "She gets into character really well and she is such a bubbly person when you see her on camera. But I want to see more depth. But I know that girl can bring the quality to dance now… Gorka, don't back off. Don't be like, 'Oh, you did it well on Wednesday, Thursday. This is good enough.’ No, even on the day, I'd be like, 'You can do more.'"
When asked about whether Helen was getting undermarked, the brothers revealed that it can sometimes be a good thing, as audiences will be more likely to vote for their favourite if they feel they have been given unfair scores.
Helen and Gorka topped the leaderboard on Saturday
"I think it's great if people are thinking, 'She’s been under marked'" AJ explained. "This is what we want to see for her because it's going rocket her straight through the competition - not to win it maybe, but definitely to be up there in the final semifinals, quarter-final, because people are going to start getting behind them and we are going to see a big improvement with it."
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The pair also spoke about comments from viewers that it was one of the worst Strictly shows due to the BBC theme, with Curtis saying: "I wouldn't say it was the worst show because, at the end of the day, the celebrities came out, they learned a dance. They did really well.
Curtis and AJ opened up about Saturday's performances
"I would say that I just feel there needs to be more personality. You teach somebody a dance and you get in the cool lifts, you put the outfit on… But I want the celebrities and the professionals to come out and just give that infectious personality, because, at the end of the day, the reason why you vote for somebody is that you have that personal connection, that kind of emotional attachment to somebody. And you connect with that storyline or you just honestly feel that they've given their heart and soul into the performance."
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