The quarter-finals of Strictly Come Dancing took place on Friday night, resulting in the sad elimination of Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima, who missed out on a vote from judges Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, with only one vote in their favour from Anton Du Beke.
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As the remaining celebrities battled it out in the ballroom with dances based on West End and Broadway shows, the public was given a glittering Charleston by Molly Rainford, a moving Lion King-themed Samba from Hamza Yassin and an empowering, vampy Cabaret-inspired dance from a fierce Helen Skelton - but what did the professionals think of the performances?
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Here to give their hot take on the best (and worst) moments of musicals week are former Strictly professionals and world champions Ola and James Jordan. Scroll on for their weekly column, Strictly Speaking…
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James: I want to start by saying how much we enjoyed the show. I absolutely loved all of the performances. The bar is getting higher and higher for the celebrities.
Ola: We're not usually a fan of the themed weeks, but musicals week is one of those on Strictly that just always works.
James: The dances I like the best are the ones that keep the Ballroom and Latin elements in them. I love seeing our art form being used in clever choreography, rather than just running away with the theme. The dancers that did that last night were the ones I enjoyed the most.
HELLO!: Were you expecting Kym Marsh to be eliminated?
James: I think so, yes.
Ola: Even without watching her performance you could have predicted it was Kym's time to go. It's got to that stage in the competition where the standard is so high - she is one of the weakest dancers left. She's done so well to get that far, but I think it was probably her time to leave.
© Photo: BBCKym was the latest celebrity to be eliminated from the competition
James: Kym also missed a week because she had covid, which was such a shame for her. I have a gut feeling that the public wouldn't have saved her because of that. It was almost too late in the competition to take a week out and get through. I think that could have been part of the reason.
Ola: If Kym wasn't in the bottom two this week, we think it could have been Fleur against Molly in the dance-off…
James: Kym being at the bottom of the leaderboard also played a massive part in her being in the bottom two this week. She did really well to get this far in the competition. At the beginning of the series, we thought Kym was exceptional!
© Photo: BBCX Factor star Fleur East was saved by the public
Ola: Definitely. I feel sorry for her in a way, she had a Cha Cha this week which is one of the more difficult dances to get right. She was also competing against someone like Helen, who had the Couple's Choice this week. They just don't compare.
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HELLO!: People were raging that Helen didn't get 40, what do you think?
James: Helen's dance was exceptional, but you know how I feel about Couple's Choice! There weren't a huge amount of technical steps in it. There was a lot of what I call 'fluff', and it wasn't as technical as what Kym had to do, for example.
Ola: I think there have definitely been points in the competition where Helen was well deserving of four tens and didn't get them, like her Jive, for example. I don't think her Cabaret dance was her time to get a perfect score, but there have been other times when I've been stunned she hasn't got one.
© Photo: BBCHelen send audiences wild with her powerful performance
James: I would agree with that, I think her Jive was far better than her performance last night. If she gets to the final and does that Jive again, she will get a perfect score - I guarantee it.
Ola: I really loved Helen's performance. I think it was powerful, she nailed the intensity, and she oozed confidence. I can see why people think she should have got a perfect score, but I do agree that her Jive was a far more technically intricate dance, and she's proved she's capable of doing that! I must say though, every woman in the country would have been rooting for her last night, having that moment with the camera and knowing what she's going through at home.
James: For me, personally, I just don't think it was worth a 10. I do feel she deserved her place at the top of the leaderboard though.
HELLO!: You predicted Hamza could be the one to win, what did you think of his dance?
James: Hamza and Jowita's Samba totally divided people on Twitter this week. I thought it was quite weak if I'm honest. We've seen him do some exceptional performances, so maybe I was expecting more from him!
Ola: We've said for a while now that Hamza could be the one to win… but the last couple of weeks he's struggled with his dances.
© Photo: BBCHamba was tasked with a tricky Samba in the quarter-finals
James: I still think he's going to get to the final, but I couldn't call it if he'll win or not. The competition feels very tight now.
Ola: We still absolutely loved Hamza's performance.
James: Definitely. In fact, I don't think there was a single performance I didn't enjoy last night - they were all so entertaining. I just expected slightly more from Hamza this week.
Ola: Will Mellor was one of our favourites from the very first episode, then he lost his sparkle a bit, but I think he's back in the running now to get to the final!
James: It was a brilliant Foxtrot and I liked the theme, but I don't think he deserved a 40 last night. Craig was right to give him a nine.
© Photo: BBCWill Mellor's moving Foxtrot topped the leaderboard
I really liked Molly's performance. I was so gutted for her to be in the bottom two again. What more does she have to do to get the public to like her?!
Ola: I think the public just isn't warming to their partnership, but we're really starting to like them. She got her highest score of the season, and we felt it was well deserved.
James: I saw that some people mentioned on Twitter that they felt Carlos out-danced Molly, but I have to disagree. I felt she did more than enough to keep up with him and she gave a really polished performance. I'd put her on par with Helen last night.
HELLO!: Carlos burst into tears when they got their scores last night, can you relate to that feeling?
James: We've 100 per cent been in that position before where you just want your celebrity to do well, Carlos must have been bursting with pride.
Ola: We feel so sorry for Molly who has been in the bottom two so often. She's only young, so she might feel that the public doesn't like her, which can be such a difficult feeling to overcome.
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© Photo: BBCMolly and Carlos were in the bottom two for the fourth time
James: I don't understand it personally, she's one of the strongest dancers in the competition. We've often wondered why people aren't voting for her…
Ola: I think Carlos just felt so proud of her. It was their highest score of the season.
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