Strictly Come Dancing kicked off its live shows in spectacular fashion on Saturday night, with one couple’s routine hailed “the best first dance ever”.
HRVY and Janette Manrara were awarded a nine from judge Motsi Mabuse as they took to the floor for their first competitive performance on the BBC ballroom show.
The couple performed a Jive to Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, which netted them 25 points out of 30 and a place at the top of the leaderboard.
After picking up two 8s from both Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas, Motsi exclaimed: “I’m going to be honest here...for me this was the best first dance I have ever seen....ever ever ever!
“I have to give it you as you kind of spy on the other countries; what are they doing in Italy, America and Germany and this was awesome. My thought is where do we go from here HRVY?!”
EastEnders star Maisie Smith and her partner Gorka Marquez were not far behind, scoring 24 points for their Samba to Gloria Estefan’s Samba (Conga).
Meanwhile, Strictly’s first competitive performance from a same-sex pairing also proved to be a hit.
Boxer Nicola Adams and her partner Katya Jones received 21 points for their Quickstep to Ella Fitzgerald’s Get Happy.
Craig said the dance was “absolute dynamite” while Shirley said Katya was a “genius” for coming up with the choreography.
“I’m a dancer baby,” Nicola said.
Caroline Quentin and Johannes Radebe and Ranvir Singh and Giovanni Pernice also scored 21 points for their performances.
However, there was less success for former home secretary Jacqui Smith on Saturday night, who landed at the bottom of the leaderboard with partner Anton Du Beke.
The pair picked up just 13 points for their Foxtrot to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life from Monty Python.
Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse only fared slightly better with 15 points for their Cha Cha Cha to Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba.
Luckily for them, no one is leaving the competition this week, with their scores added to next week’s, before one couple is sent home.
Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday at 7.15pm on BBC One.
