Strictly, a challenge Anneka couldn’t live up to!
SHE spent a large part of her career tackling some of the most tricky challenges on television.
task But The too 61-year-old Strictly far for Come Anneka has become Dancing Rice. the was second one celebrity to leave the competition after judges chose to save former England goalkeeper David James for a second time in last night’s dance-off.
Miss Rice and her partner Kevin Clifton, 36, finished bottom of the leaderboard on movie week, scoring just 11 points for her ‘frenetic’ Charleston – eight points less than she received for her waltz the week before.
Their routine – which began with Miss Rice wafting around a stick to The 5.6.7.8.’s Woo Hoo from the movie Kill Bill – failed to impress the judges. Bruno Tonioli, 63, said: ‘ You got the brief wrong. You were supposed to do Kill Bill and you did “Slaughter the Charleston”.’
Craig Revel Horwood, 54, said the routine was ‘stopping and starting like a bad internet connection’ and it was ‘ not very good at all’
Miss Rice faced James, 49, and his partner Nadiya Bychkova, 30, in the dance-off.
James, who finished second bottom in the table with 16,
performed his American
Smooth to Kiss From A Rose from Batman Forever again and the judges unanimously chose to save them. Speaking after being voted off, Miss Rice – best- known for her Challenge Anneka BBC1 show of the 80s and 90s – said: ‘ I will miss Kevin hugely. It’s been the most amazing experience. Much better than I thought it would be.’ Clifton, who won last year’s competition with documentary maker and his now partner Stacey Dooley, said it had been ‘a privilege’ to dance with Miss Rice. ‘I’m going to miss her scientific analytic brain applied to every step that we did.’
Elsewhere BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell put on another comical performance with his cha- cha- cha to It’s Raining Men from the movie Magic Mike.
The 53-year-old made quite an entrance by sliding down a fireman’s pole and then stripping off his uniform to reveal his sequin shirt and trousers. But there were gasps from the audience as his partner Katya Jones, 30, slipped on what was thought to be confetti towards the end of the dance, falling to the floor. She tumbled again moments later, tripping on her way to hear the scores after her dance.
Speaking about Bushell’s performance, Revel Horwood said: ‘You go for broke and I love that about you.’
Revel Horwood, however, was left red-faced after EastEnders actress Emma Barton, 42, and Anton Du Beke, 53, performed a salsa to the Austin Powers tune Soul Bossa Nova, with the professional dancer dressed up as the spoof secret agent.
The pair caused the judges to collapse into laughter after Revel Horwood said he was distracted by Du Beke’s fake teeth – which were actually real.
Former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher, 35, and Oti Mabuse, 29, had the crowd on their feet following their Charleston, which secured them a leading score of 38, including two tens from the judges.