Dunwoody thrown out at first hurdle

Jockey Richard Dunwoody and his partner Lilia Kopylova were booted out of Strictly Come Dancing last night after losing the dance-off to Craig Kelly and his partner Flavia Cacace.

Dunwoody becomes the second celebrity to leave the show after tennis ace Martina Hingis was voted off the show last week. The Champion jockey's exit came as no surprise after a mediocre set of scores for his Waltz on Friday and a lively yet technically poor Cha Cha last night. His poor set of scores and non-existent fan base meant it was inevitable that he would face the judges in the dance-off.

Whilst Dunwoody and the other celebrities had to face the judges stinging criticism it was one judge herself who was also being scrutinised by the public and the media. New judge Alesha Dixon came under fire last week for her poor performance when commenting on the dances but this week Dixon had improved and was offering some constructive points to the celebrities (even at one point openly disagreeing with head judge and dancing expert Len Goodman).

Whilst Alesha's performance and place on the judging panel will still not please all the pro-Arlene fans it seems, like the celebrities, she too is becoming more comfortable with her new role on the dance floor.

Hollyoaks actor Ricky Whittle was the star performer over the two nights as he scored an impressive 33 for his beautiful Waltz and 32 for a raunchy Rumba. With such high scores early on Whittle could be the one to beat as the competition progresses.

We have now seen all the celebrities and their pro dancers perform and next week the fourteen remaining stars will go head-to-head on the dance floor with either a Quickstep or a Paso Doble.

Picture from Telegraph.