Coming soon on Kerry Katona- The Next Chapter

Next Wednesday's (20 April) episode emotions run high as Kerry and ice skating partner Dan prepare for their first stint on Dancing on Ice. Kerry also appears on This Morning for the first time since her notorious interview in 2008, when she was accused of being on drugs.

Kerry makes a hard decision next week to let her children watch her 90 minute documentary entitled 'Coming Clean' where she talks about her old life of drug taking and depression, after the footage becomes the talk of the playground at her daughters' school.

The former Queen of the Jungle revisits her past when Brian left her and the time she spent in The Priory in rehab in Arizona when she became drug free, but on returning home to Warrington she hit the drugs again with her mother before being introduced to Mark. However, she decides to put the past behind her and concentrate on celebrating Christmas as a singleton with her four children

Sam wins Dancing on Ice

Sam claimed the title of Dancing on Ice winner 2011 last night. The soap star proved his worth after delivering an outstanding performance of his own version of Torville and Dean’s Bolero, along with children’s TV presenter Laura, whose routine was, according to the judges, ‘Slow to get going’, putting her in overall second place.

The pair were chosen by the public vote to skate the honourary Bolero after Chloe was knocked out of the competition, following the celeb skaters’ final showcase, which saw them choose the costumes, lighting and make-up, and an encore performance of their favourite routine.

Top skater Sam wowed  the judges, even with the injury he sustained in training, with his choreography to ‘Footloose’, which Jason said was ‘fiesty and very clever’, and Emma called ‘Ammmazzzing’, earning him a score of 29.5/30.

Laura skated to Madonna’s ‘Express yourself’, which saw her and two other female professional skaters don secretary outfits, while the men wore very little. But her attempt to recreate Madonna’s music video was unsuccessful. Comments from the judges included, ‘You don’t have the fire I expected’- Robin and ‘You were missing the sexy Madonna feel’- Emma. Laura’s score 26/30.

Chloe took on the part of Baby for her Dirty Dancing performance to ‘The Time of my Life’. However much like Laura, she failed to pull it off, mainly because of her tabletop lift, which Jason branded a ‘collapsible cardboard table, earning her a score of 25.5/30.

For their encores, Sam re-perfomed his Riverdance on ice, Laura her routine to ‘I’m so excited’, and Chloe ‘Kiss Kiss’. But despite Jason’s approval for Chloe’s routine, even taking his hat off to her and revealing the results of his recent hair transplant, the TV presenter come model, failed to win the support of the public to dance the bolero,placing her in third place.

Dancing on Ice- Denise fights a loosing battle

Jason got a taste of his own medicine last night as Denise’s husband jumped to the celeb skater’s defence after the straight talking judge branded her routine like ‘twister’ and said it had no flow. But even that didn’t save the Loose Women panellist who was voted off the competition by the judge’s unanimous vote.

52-year-old Denise and Johnson Beharry VC were put into the bottom two by the public vote and chosen to skate again for their survival, despite Denise being near the top of the judge’s leader board after winning the team challenge.

On the first of the Team Challenge’s last night, team Laura- Laura, Denise and Jeff, skated to Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, while team Sam-Sam, Johnson and Chloe performed to Rocking All Over The World.’

Jason said he preferred team Laura as the skaters had more energy, Emma agreed. Whereas Robin chose team Sam for their technical ability.

The win turned the leader board upside down, as top skater Sam was placed in fifth position and Denise in third. But the public vote righted the situation by choosing the weaker skaters- Johnson and Denise to perform in the skate off.

Johnson was saved by all three judges for his determination and smooth performance.

Another surprise of the night was Laura’s score of 28.5/30, the highest of the series so far, which put her at the top of the leader board, a far cry from last week when she was in the skate off.

Chloe Madeley also impressed judges with her ballet inspired routine. Her score of 26.5/30 knocked golden boy Sam into third place. Judges said they believed Sam’s role as team captain had affected his performance, with Robin claiming he could really see the soap star working at it, when his skating normally comes so naturally.

Next week the anti is upped again as the skaters have to perform with a prop.

Dancing on Ice- team challenge

On Sunday the celeb skater will not only perform a routine with their partner but take part in a team challenge.

The skaters have been split into two groups picked by team captains Sam and Laura consisting of three celeb/pro pairs each.

Both teams are to be given an epic track, around which Torvill and Dean will choreograph a routine that demonstrates team work, with the celebs taking the lead and their partners in more of a background role.

The challenge will take place after all six pairs have skated their routine. Teams will then face the judges who will vote for the winning team.The individuals in the winning team will have their points doubled on the leaderboard before the lines open for the public vote.

Dancing on Ice- The ice thaws for rapper Rob

Rapper Vanilla Ice failed to melt the hearts of the judges with his Spanish Matador routine on Dancing on Ice’s World Tour themed show last night.

 

The US star, who was voted off the competition following comments from Jason that his Matador poses looked like Space invaders, lost to children’s TV presenter Laura, who was saved by all three judges in the skate off for her Charleston on ice.

Now with only six couples left after last night, it’s getting harder to predict which celeb skaters will go, admitted the judges, who made it no secret that they thought the weakest skaters Denise and Johnson should be the ones to leave, despite the public saving them week upon week.

However they had nothing but praise for top skater Sam, who they said was back on form after performing a Riverdance on ice routine filled with complicated step sequences, jumps and lifts, which earnt him the highest mark of the series, 27/30.

Laura and Chloe were hot on his heels, both scoring 24.5. In forth position was Jeff, who Emma said was ‘the dark horse of the competition’, after pulling off a Vietnamese waltz on the ice.

The couples with the lowest score were Denise and Johnson. Denise donned an ugly wig to skate a samba, which earnt her strict criticism from Jason. ‘You looked like you needed a MRI scan afterwards’, he said. ‘It was messy and hard to watch as you played catch up to partner Matt’, and ‘You and up beat tempo’s don’t match.’

Johnson’s tango didn’t go down much better as it lacked sexual tension, according to the judges.

Both were awarded 14.5/30.

Dancing on Ice-Jennifer Metcalfe is voted off ice.

 Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe was booted off the ice last night after the judges unanimously voted to save Rob aka ‘Ice’ at the skate off. Judge Jason said his decision was based on the skaters’ personality on the ice, leaving Jennifer speechless and in tears as she left the competition.

The outcome of the public vote also came as a surprise to the other celebs and viewers as two of the top skaters Jennifer and Ice were chosen to perform again for their survival, while bottom runners Kerry and Comedy Dave escaped, proving it really is anyone’s game.

And that wasn’t the only drama last night as judge Jason and trainer Karen came head to head in a vicious argument. It all kicked off after Jason claimed he was ‘indifferent’ about Johnson’s performance, prompting Karen to defend the former soldier who said it was a bigger challenge for him than the other skaters. Jason replied ‘If your opinion was so important you’d still be on the panel’, while Karen defensively said ‘you bring nothing to the panel.’ Jason did later attempt to apologise but as he branded Karen too emotional she threw it back in his face by calling him a ‘nasty, nasty man’, handbags , or should I say ice skates at the ready.

Last night’s show was the first of the Ultimate Skills test in which celebs have to perform required elements, the first being a step sequence by themselves but in time with their partner.

There was also a Vegas theme, however it was clear none of the production team have visited Sin City what with the programmes over-use of show girls wearing feathers and the tacky decorations and sparkle, fortunately the skating was much better.

Sam was once again at the top of the judges’ leaderboard with an impressive 25.5/30, Laura hot on his heels with 24/30 and Chloe with 22/30. The most improved skater was Jeff who achieved a score of 20/30 with what Emma Bunton called a ‘smouldering, strong and confident’ performance. Whereas Kerry Katona, who admitted she was close to quitting, was exposed by the step sequence leaving her with a low score of 10.

Exclusive: The Dancing on Ice twist

Run VT can reveal that on next week's DOI celebrities, rather than judges, will have to pick who out of the bottom two skaters they want to leave the competition and provide their reasons.

The new twist to the competition could cause bad feelings amongst the celebrity skaters, who have grown to know each other over the past few weeks. So will they be honest and choose the worst skater to leave the competition, someone they don't like, or a rival celeb?

Dancing on Ice

Dominic Cork scored a hat trick last night as he was saved by all three of the judges in the skate off.

Not surprising seeing as the only competition he faced was Steven, whose skating was branded a ‘natural disaster’ by judge Jason.

The judges’ gloves were off in last night’s DOI, having regained their power over the contestants. Most faced harsh criticism from Jason, who was back on form, telling Laura she had stumpy legs and needed to point her toes, and Comedy Dave ‘he can’t act, dance or find a beat.’

Those that escaped Jason’s wrath were Johnson Beharry, who admitted his broken finger made skating more challenging, and judge’s favourite Sam, whose power and speed earned him a score of 25/30. Second and third on the leader board were Laura and Jennifer, both of whom have been in the skate-off in previous weeks.

The award for the worse dressed went to Denise Welch for her Abba inspired gold PVC cat suit, and Kerry, whose large tattoo and tangerine lipstick took attention away from her skating.

Next week all the contestants will have to up their game as a new twist to the show is announced.

Review- Black Swan

Black Swan blurs the line between reality and fantasy by delving into the dark world of a professional dancer.

If you ever had dreams of becoming a ballerina you would soon change your mind after watching this film, which reveals the extremes dancers go to in the hope of being chosen as the principal dancer.
More worryingly this truth does not seem surprising, with dancers preparing to sleep with the company's director, take drugs and starve themselves all for a part. But despite all this you feel empathy for the girls in the film who have so much passion for ballet that it become's their life's purpose, even though it's such a short-lived career.

Natalie Portman captures this spirit perfectly as Nina, a shy and retiring type, living with her mum who treats her like a 10-year-old, in order to live her life through her child having given up her ballet career years ago to have her. However this all changes when Nina is given the role of the Swan Queen in the company's (New York Ballet) contemporary performance of Swan Lake, where she is required to play two parts, the good White Swan, and her evil twin the Black Swan. While the White Swan presents no challenge to Nina, who is pure and virginal, the Black Swan is. Determined not to loose the part after convincing herself that another of the girl's-Lily, is after her role, she delves into a dark, monstrous side of her personality, even trying an illegal high, which accenuates her paranoia and psychosis, as her life starts to play out like the Swan Queen's.

Cue confusion and the use of symbolism as sub text, as the cinema goer is drawn into Nina's dark world, questioning what is real and fantasy. Does Lily really exist? What happened between Lily and Nina in her dressing room? and Was it suicide or murder?

At the end of the film you can't help feeling touched by the story, which finishes with Nina getting her wish to perform the lead role on opening night, but so accurately that she embodies the White Swan whole-heartedly.

Dancing on ice

Elen Rivas and Craig Mclachlan were voted off Dancing on ice last night.

The pair, along with Jennifer Metcalfe ,were in the bottom three and skated again for their survival.

The second qualifier got off to a slow start with Aussie Craig Machalan's lack lustre routine earning him a score of 9. Second to skate was Hollyoaks' Jennifer Metcalfe, who appeared confident on the ice despite falling out of a lift. Judges gave her a score of 12, while Chris Dean said she was one of the strongest skaters in the group.

Following the two actors was Comedy Dave, who gave a routine worthy of his namesake. His stiff performance earned him 11 points, along with fiesty spaniard Elen Rivas and sportsman Dominic Cork. Chloe Madeley surprised everyone, receiving 16 points, but it was Sam Attwood who stole the show with his complicated routine, earning him a score of 21, and its only his first show.

Last to skate was Denise Welch, who scored 10 points.Judge Jason said it looked like the professional skater was dancing with his mum. Of course it's not until next week that the judges scores actually matter.

Dancing on Ice

After 12 weeks of practice, fake tan applications and teeth whitening, two celebs were voted off the ice during last night’s DOI qualifier.



Nadia, along with Angela, is voted off the competition.

Angela, Laura and Nadia received the least public votes and skated again for survival. While Laure impressed viewers with her speed and agility on the ice, 66-year-old Angela and TV presenter Nadia’s attempts led to them being voted off the show.

Next week two other couples will join them as the eight contestants who didn’t skate this week take to the ice on Sunday to compete for the four remaining places.

First to skate last night was Steven, aka ‘Ashley Peacock’, who did a comedy routine to Baggy Trousers. There were a few icy moments earning him a pitiful seven points.

Angela Rippon followed with a some-what safe performance in which she was awarded a score of 11. But children’s TV presenter Laura, blew them out of the water with a complicated routine that put her on top, earning a score of 16 out of 30, definitely one to watch!

Johnson Beharry VC had a tough act to follow, and despite his ability to support his partner, he was only given 11 points.

Next was tentative Nadia who was awarded a reasonable nine points, Kerry Katona a score of 14 and Jeff Brazier 11 points.

Rapper Ice, who went against tradition and wore an embellished vest and baseball cap, was awarded a score of 15, placing him in the judges top two.

Must see TV

ITV 6pm Dancing on ice

This Sunday the new series of Dancing on ice starts and I can’t wait. After Strictly finished and I’m a Celeb came to an end a large gaping hole was left in my TV viewing, but now I’m pleased to say I will be glued to the box come Sunday night.

Here on Run VT we will be keeping you up to date with the latest departures and back stage gossip.

As usual this year’s contestants are largely made up of D list celebrities with the odd TV presenter and actress. They include 66 year-old Angela Rippon, Chloe Madeley-daughter of Richard and Judy, Former Home and Away actor Craig Mclachlan, Dave Vitty-Chris Moyles’ sidekick, Loose woman Denise Welch, cricketer Dominic Cork, Peter Andre’s new girlfriend Elen Rivas, reality star Jeff Brazier, Jennifer Metcalfe-aka Mercedes from Hollyoaks, Johnson Beharry VC-the first recipient of the Victoria Cross, former Queen of the Jungle- Kerry Katona, TV presenters Laura Hamilton and Nadia Sawalha, Sam Attwater-actor, Steven Arnold-or more famously known as Ashley from Corrie, and rapper Vanilla Ice.

Team Rippon all the way!