Live blog: Strictly semi final! Can Rose and Gio make it to the final?

Posted on December 11, 2021 by



Tonight, deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis takes on the semi final of Strictly!

Charlie Swinbourne will be live blogging every dance and on the Twitter feed! And Donna Mullings is back as guest dance judge!

Refresh this blog for regular updates, or follow our Twitter account!

Most recent updates posted first – scroll down to go back to the beginning!

20.27 – Rose ends the night joint-top along with AJ, with 79 points from two dances. John is on 78 points with Rhys on 74.

Now all the phone numbers for voting come up. Deaf viewers can vote online (hearing ones can too!) at this link!

A massive thanks to our guest judge tonight, the brilliant Donna Mullings! See you for the final next week!

20.24 – IT’S TIME FOR ROSE AGAIN!

Deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis dances with Giovani Perni.

Their second dance of the night is the Argentine Tango to A Evaristo Carriego by Eduardo Rovira.

Charlie says: Flawless! That was incredible. Surely Rose has a foot in the final now!

What the judges say: Motsi says ‘oh my word – what a statement!’ She says it was ‘the dance of the night, the month, the series!’ Shirley says she wants to close her eyes and remember it forever, it was fantastic. Anton says wow, he loved it more than the waltz. He says she’s so serene, and calm. Craig simply says ‘that dance belongs in the final.’

Donna’s verdict: Rose & Gioavnni: score: 10 YES!!! Get it in!! That was soooo awesome and fantastic Argentine Tango dance!! Rose did a brilliant fantastic legs work and that is so amazing and so mind blowing!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 10
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 40!

(semi final first dance: 39 | quarter final: 39 | wk 10: 33 | wk 9: 37 | wk 8: 39 |wk 7: 32 | 6: 40 | wk5: 37 | wk 4: 27 | wk 3: 36 | wk 2: 26 | wk 1: 22)

Watch it:

20.14 – Baker John Whaite dances with pro dancer Johannes Radebe.

Their second dance of the night is the Jive to Higher Power by Coldplay.

Charlie says: Perfectly in synch!

The judges say: Craig says he wanted more retraction… then says it was amazing! Motsi says she loved it from the beginning to the end. Shirley says he simmered, bobbled and boiled, it was superb! Anton says he was marvellous.

Donna’s verdict: John & Johannes: score:10 Brilliant brilliant brilliant dance! Love their jive dance and the way they shake their body and legs! They have always been superb at everything!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 39

(semi final first dance: 39 | quarter final: 32 | wk 10: 39 | wk 9: 32 | wk 8: 38 |wk 7: 35 | 6: 33 | wk5: 38 | wk 4: 29 | wk 3: 39 | wk 2: 31 | wk 1: 30)

Watch it:

20.02 – TV presenter AJ Odudu dances with Kai Widdrington.

Their second dance of the night is the Rumba to Show Me Heaven by Maria McKee.

What the judges say: Anton rather loved it. Craig says it was an achievement and congratulates her. Motsi says she’s really impressed with the work AJ has put in on her spine and legs. Shirley says it came together perfectly and congratulates Kai on knowing the female sensual areas (!).

Donna’s verdict: J & Kai: score:10 AJ has beautiful long legs and I’m glad she use her legs to show off her fantastic dance! They have a beautiful strong connection between them, with strong emotions and strong embraceness.

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 39

(semi final first dance: 40 | quarter final: 30 | wk 10: 36 |wk 9: 38 | wk 8: 28 |wk 7: 39 | wk 6: 37 | wk5: 35 | wk 4: 28 wk 3: 35 | wk 2: 31 | wk 1: 34)

Watch it:

19.56 – CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson dances with Nancy Xu.

Their second dance of the night is the Samba to It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) by Michael Bublé.

Donna’s verdict: Rhys & Nancy : score: 9 Love their dance (and I’m jealous of their leopard as it is my favourite animal print) with energetic vibe, the rhythms is fantastic bouncing from one another. I have always love their energy dance!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 9

Total: 38

(semi final first dance: 36 | quarter final: 39 | 10: 35 | wk 9: 32 | wk 8: 40 |wk 7: 34 | 6: 33 | wk5: 32 | wk 4: 31 | wk 3: 37 | wk 2: 30 | wk 1: 27)

Watch it:

19.47 – The leaderboard halfway through the semi final shows AJ at the top, followed by Rose in joint second with John!

What will the second half bring?

19.45 – IT’S TIME FOR ROSE! 

Deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis dances with Giovani Perni.

Their first dance of the night is the Waltz to How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding.

Charlie says: Wow that was a great performance! Rose seems to have improved each week!

What the judges say: Motsi says she wishes she could give Rose more than a 10, a 10 with a star! Shirley says she has brought joy and quality personified. Anton says he gets emotional when he watches them because he loves it. Craig goes against the grain by saying he spotted a minor mistake with her right foot! But then says it’s one of the most amazing waltzes he has seen!

Donna’s verdict: Rose & Giovanni: score: 10 Oh my, that is so amazing with beautiful, embraceness with strong waltz connection between them. It’s so emotional watching them!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 39

(quarter final: 39 | wk 10: 33 | wk 9: 37 | wk 8: 39 |wk 7: 32 | 6: 40 | wk5: 37 | wk 4: 27 | wk 3: 36 | wk 2: 26 | wk 1: 22)

Watch it:

19.35 – Baker John Whaite dances with pro dancer Johannes Radebe.

Their first dance of the night is the Couple’s Choice to Hometown Glory by Adele.

Charlie says: Very emotional VT just before their performance about the support John’s had from his family and about coming out while at school.

The judges say: Craig says for the first time, John was the star, leading it and telling the story really clearly. Motsi says it was the first time John completely let go and gave himself completely to the dance. Shirley says it was on point and was a true John performance which will help people out there. Anton says it was strong, powerful, emotional.

Donna’s verdict: John & Johannes – score: 9 Beautiful symmetric contemporary dance, it is so moving and so personal but love how they engaged with each other in every moves. Can tell there are little stiffness yet strong and powerful.

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 39

(quarter final: 32 | wk 10: 39 | wk 9: 32 | wk 8: 38 |wk 7: 35 | 6: 33 | wk5: 38 | wk 4: 29 | wk 3: 39 | wk 2: 31 | wk 1: 30)

Watch it:

19.26 – TV presenter AJ Odudu dances with Kai Widdrington.

Their first dance of the night is the Quickstep to Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman.

Charlie says: That was full of energy! Got an ecstatic response from the crowd. Think there’ll be some high scores here…

What the judges say: Anton says that dance was worthy of the Blackpool ballroom dance floor. Craig says OMG darling! Motsi says she’s so proud of her. Shirley says she’s in awe and it’s all come together and she was sensational.

Donna’s verdict: AJ & Ka – score: 9 Another beautiful, elegant vibe, classical dance between them! Love how they dance with their footwork and brilliant atmosphere!!!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 10
Motsi Mabuse 10
Shirley Ballas 10
Anton Du Beke 10

Total: 40

(quarter final: 30 | wk 10: 36 |wk 9: 38 | wk 8: 28 |wk 7: 39 | wk 6: 37 | wk5: 35 | wk 4: 28 wk 3: 35 | wk 2: 31 | wk 1: 34)

Watch it:

19.18 – CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson dances with Nancy Xu.

Their first dance of the night is the Tango to One Vision by Queen.

Charlie says: I’ve got a soft spot for Rhys, would love to see him make the final. He was as smooth as ever there!

What the judges say: Shirley says Rhys is mastering his craft. Anton says he loved Rhys ‘in hold’ and his frame was immaculate. Craig says it was full of power and drama. Motsi says his improvement is sensational.

Donna’s verdict: Rhys & Nancy: score: 8 Beautiful and elegant Tango! Love the footwork with good strong arm frames! They have a strong connection and they’re bold!

Judges scores:

Craig Revell-Horwood 9
Motsi Mabuse 9
Shirley Ballas 9
Anton Du Beke 9

Total: 36

(quarter final: 39 | 10: 35 | wk 9: 32 | wk 8: 40 |wk 7: 34 | 6: 33 | wk5: 32 | wk 4: 31 | wk 3: 37 | wk 2: 30 | wk 1: 27)

Watch it:

19.08 – As the judges and couples come out, where are things at?

Dan (right)was (finally) voted out last Sunday, following Tilly, Tom, Sara, Judi, Ugo, Greg, Katie and Nina in leaving the show.

Robert also withdrew due to health issues.

That leaves just four contenders: Rose, AJ, John, and Rhys in contention for the glitter ball.

Tonight is all about which three will make the final. Each couple will dance twice this week, so there’s more pressure than ever before…

18.55 – Tonight, deaf actor Rose Alying-Ellis returns to the dance floor for the semi finals of the show.

And this time she’s dancing twice!

Our Deaf Guest Dance Judge this week is Donna Mullings (left)!

This is Donna’s third turn in the hot seat this series, and she will be be giving her own score for each of the acts, as they happen!

What will this week bring? We’ll have all the updates here, written by Charlie Swinbourne.

We’ll also be posting videos of each dance shortly after they’ve left the dance floor, via the Strictly twitter account.

If you’ve missed our previous blogs, you can check out last week’s live blog here, the quarter finals here, week 10 here, week 9 here, week 8 here, week 7 here, week six here, week 5 here, week 4 here, week 3 here, week 2 here, week 1 here and the introductory week here.

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