Dancing on Ice - Series 2 - Six becomes Five as Take That perform on ice

Tonight’s Dancing On Ice show started with an Ice show spectacular. Take That performed on the Ice stage with Torvill and Dean ice dancing their signature skate to the music.

Unfortunately with the limited space and not so nifty camera work the focus was on the background skaters and Take That and not on Torvill and Dean. The audience at home were cheated of seeing their skating heroes performing, having to be content with odd glimpses of them and listening to the studio audience’s whoops of delight and exclamations of appreciation.

Tonight’s required element for the celebrity skaters was to incorporate a classic Torvill and Dean move into their routine. The choice on offer was the Choo Choo train shuffle from "Mack and Mabel", the backwards step sequence from "Face the Music" or the underarm rotation from “Barnum”.

First to skate was Duncan James and his partner Maria Fillipova. Already booked and announced as starring on the forthcoming tour, Duncan James has to be a favourite to stay in the competition but despite some good moves, his routine failed to excite. He may have quickened up on the ice but overall his progress is more static and less of a Wow factor than the other celebrities.

Emily Symons failed to put her nightmare of last week behind her when she had a slight mis-stumble and a lapse of concentration caused her confidence to dip. It was reflected in the judges’ scores. Sadly it had all started well for Emily and partner Dan Whiston with a spell binding start to “Every Time we say Goodbye”

Lee Sharpe and his delightful partner Frankie Poultney continue to impress and pull out the stops despite again, like Emily, being excluded from the forthcoming tour. He demonstrated good range and versatility and some excellent spins and step sequences. His final aeroplane lift and spin had his partner punching the air with delight. Fabulous routine and they are an excellent partnership.

Clare Buckfield is booked on the tour and despite starting late as a replacement for Sarah Greene, has continued to impress the audiences and judges. However last week she and her partner Andrei Lipanov found themselves in the skate off. This weeks routine to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” was energetic, action packed, full of clever moves and sequences and quite rightly she was awarded the judges highest score of the current season.

Kyran Bracken and partner Melanie Lambert demonstrated their cheerful versatility to the Friend’s theme song of “I’ll be there for you”. Fast paced, energetic and most of all fun, with a great backwards step sequence, they were awarded an equal top score of 27. They are certainly the most entertaining of all the performers each week and their popularity continues to suggest he will be in the final.

Lisa Scott-Lee and partner Matt Evers were last to skate, in a Pochohontas theme to “Smooth”. For me it was anything but a smooth performance. Lisa tries hard to impress and please but at times she looked stilted and there was no natural warmth or emotion from her, more a “Look at me” approach. Matt Evers is fabulous and was a worthy third place last year with partner Bonnie Langford but I really cannot warm to this partnership. He is fabulous at complicated lifts and moves but Lisa really needs to start demonstrating that she can physically skate rather be an adornment. Perhaps more material in her outfits is a good place to start?!

With the Ice show scheduled for April and the announcement tonight that four of the remaining six celebrities will be appearing and skating in it, will the skate off tonight be between the two excluded? If so it will be Lee Sharpe and Emily Symons who face tonight’s skate off.

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