‘I wasn’t angry to see Angela Rippon in Strictly dance-off’, says Vanessa Feltz

Strictly: Angela Rippon does splits in the air during dance

 

What a week on Strictly Come Dancing! Unassailable Angela Rippon was pronounced “wobbly” by Craig Revel Horwood, doled a measly 6 by Shirley Ballas and ended up in the dance-off.

I wish we, her ardent supporters, were bristling with bitter indignation. We weren’t. We could see why our angel was waltzing again.

For the first time, her polished poise and elegant execution were tempered with a tiny thread of vulnerability.

Vintage contestants – even former professional dancer Debbie McGee – never get within sniffing distance of the Glitter Ball.

Angela fans nationwide were praying our girl would buck the trend. Our hearts were in our mouths.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly’s Angela Scanlon suffers embarrassing wardrobe malfunction

When the judges sent amiable Adam Thomas home instead, our relief was immense.

Adam and Luba Mushtuk were an appealing duo and will be missed but Saturday nights without Angela and partner Kai Widdrington are utterly unthinkable.

Having met and interviewed La Rippon, I’m confident she’ll shrug off her dance-off experience and dance exquisitely next week.

Strictly series 21 is turning out to be mesmerising. No longer did Shirley have to utter ominously: “We’re nearly at the halfway mark!”

We’d actually reached that crucial milestone and goodness gracious weren’t the judges acting up accordingly?

Anton Du Beke – usually benign and prone to non-verbal expostulations of guttural joy – morphed into a punitive pedant, channelling the spirit of the late Len Goodman on one of his grouchy nights.

Goodbye affable Anton, hello Judge Dredd. When he solemnly informed lovable Bobby Brazier his precision, sexily-throbbing Argentine tango was “too rehearsed”, we knew he’d be trouble.

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He wasn’t the only judge who’d switched personalities. Stickler Shirley, looking ravishing in a lurex fringed catsuit, unfurled her inner Mary Poppins.

She and Motsi Mabuse struggled to outdo one another in a saccharine gushathon. While Craig, eclipsed for once by Anton’s barbed severity, scattered “Darlings” like Smarties and barely provoked his usual battery of “Boos” from the approving audience.

If you’re wondering whether contestants and judges fraternise backstage I can tell you that – unless things have profoundly changed since my sojourn in 2013 – the answer is a resounding “No!”

The judges are treated with respectful awe. You might nod or smile humbly in their direction but no celebrity or dancer would dream of engaging them in a friendly gossip.

No one wants to be accused of “sucking up” and no judge wants to be seen fraternising.

In fact, one of my biggest shocks after being voted off the show was Craig rocking up for a good old chinwag. I had to stifle the urge to curtsy.

After a few startled moments, it sunk in. When you’re out, the judges can be your pal. While you’re in, a boundary must be maintained at all times.

For me, this week’s unforgettable moment was Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe’s couple’s choice dance to Wings by Birdie.

Still in the early stages of gnawing grief following the unexpected death of Mel Coleman, her beloved husband of 30 years, just weeks after a cancer diagnosis, Annabel told us through tears “the future is never going to come”.

Their ethereal balletic dance, swathed in floating silvery grey was inexpressibly moving. I sobbed uncontrollably throughout.

Annabel’s charming children, coping courageously with their own bereavement, wiped tears away. Shirley, quite rightly, called the routine “divine”. It was positively celestial.

This is Strictly at its very best: pure, uplifting and soulful. I can hardly wait for Saturday night.

Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday at 6.05pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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