Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec has beaten his own personal record and received the highest score he has ever received during the second week of the competition.
On Saturday night, Škorjanec and Tasha Ghouri performed the Viennese Waltz to Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore and left the judges blown away with their characterisation and technicality – receiving an eight and three nines.
The couple made it through to Movie Week and will be dancing the Rumba to What Was I Made For? from the Barbie movie, and tonight joined It Takes Two host Janette Manrara to discuss their upcoming performance.
However, before they kicked off the conversation, Manrara revealed: “Aljaz, another record! It was your highest ever scoring week two dance.”
“Thank you everyone, thank you for the standing ovation,” he joked before she added: “And not just that, Anton said he would have given it a 12 if he could, were you expecting those kind of comments?”
Škorjanec admitted: “No I wasn’t expecting those kind of comments, it did feel in the moment, I didn’t expect comments like that because you know, you always do a number and you feel there is something you can do better.
Aljaž Škorjanec and Tasha Ghouri received a score of 35 for their Viennese Waltz
BBC
“But I am not going to lie, that Viennese Waltz… When we started doing the ballroom frame, I felt like I was just dancing, it didn’t feel like for a second your side is going to drop, your frame is going to go funny, your footwork might go sour.
“Everything just felt like it was right in the pocket and it rarely happens for me on Strictly it was a beautiful moment.”
When asked why the dance meant so much to Ghouri, she explained: “Because it is such a beautiful dance style, you can really let go, you can smile, the whole time I was just smiling throughout, and the storyline as well.
“When you have a bit of a character you can really feel it, I had that thought in my head and that is why I was so emotionally connected, it just felt so beautiful to dance and we just glided around the floor.”
Aljaž Škorjanec and Tasha Ghouri joined Janette Manrara on It Takes Two tonight
BBC
Judge Anton du Beke faced some backlash for his score of nine on Saturday night after he previously commented that if he could have given the pair a 12, he would have.
Confused viewers took to their X account, as one commented: “Eh, surely if Anton said he’d give a 12 if he could, then surely he’d have to give a 10 wouldn’t he?!”
Another added: “If I could give you a 12, I’d give you a 12’…proceeds to give a 9! – Anton Du Beke #StrictlyComeDancing.”
“If I could give you a 12, I would.. it was perfect.. 9/10. Well done Anton #StrictlyComeDancing,” someone else pointed out before another quipped: “Can Anton count? Surely should be a 10 if he wanted to give them a 12?”
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This weekend the couple will be performing the Rumba
BBC
Škorjanec wasn’t the only one to hit a Strictly milestone on the weekend, as Vito Coppola and Sarah Hadland also joined Manrara, where she revealed Coppola had never gotten a score less than an eight for his Paso Doble routines.
Stunned, the Italian expressed: “Honestly I didn’t realise it until today! I just love to put all the passion and commitment and the energy into it, I just love what we do when you give all of yourself, take the best version of your partner.
“I don’t know sometimes how I do things, I just go with the flow, and lets see what comes, a surprise.”