Rachel third place in Strictly special

Last night the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special aired. Rachel and Vincent performed a romantic rumba to the Spice Girls hit "2 Become 1". Rachel came second in the main series, broke three Strictly records and scored more 10s than any other contestant. Her performance in the special was up to her usual standard, recieving high praise from the judges and an almost-perfect score of 39 points.

As reported before, three other couples also scored 39 points. This meant that the head judge Len Goodman needed to rank these four couples so that a winner could be chosen. Len awarded Rachel third place. When combined with the audience votes, previous winner Jill Halfpenny was the winner and Kelly Brook from last year's series was in second place.

Video: Rachel's final performances

Training Update

Strictly Come Dancing Week 13 - Semi Final

In the semi-final, each couple performed an Argentine Tango and their favourite dance of the series (but with new music and choreography). Rachel and Vincent chose the American Smooth.

Rachel and Vincent danced the Argentine Tango to When Doves Cry by Prince. After last weeks' stunning Tango, expectations were running high, and the couple didn't disappoint. Arlene said: "This dance is about longing and yearning. You connected, and the yearning and burning was so hot, it was burning a hole in the floor." Len thought: "A technical tour-de-force. So precise. It could have done with a little bit more of a dramatic edge." Bruno enthused: "It was incredible, at moments you seemed to morph into a sensual being with four legs. Talk about caressing the floor, your feet were kissing the floor. The sequences were so difficult, and executed with such finesse and ease, it was superb. Craig mused: "What is difficult about this dance is maintaining that connection and stillness of body, while the downstairs is going mad. And you did that absolutely brilliantly. Once again they were given 39 points.



Rachel and Vincent danced an American Smooth to Mandy by Barry Manilow. Rachel has confessed to being desperate to make it into the final, and a good performance here could seal it for her. Arlene had high praise: "If ever there's a return to Hollywood movies, Rachel is our Ginger Rogers." Len said: "As a performance, I liked it very much. And I liked the lifts. But it was just wandering around the floor and doing a few steps." Bruno felt: "For me it had the quality of the most beautiful dreams... you've always been a great dancer, and you'll be a great performer too." Craig added: "It was gorgeous, and I loved it." They scored 36 points for this dance.



With Rachel and Lisa both getting 75 points from the judges, the audience vote was unable to save anyone from the dance-off. So it was decided to put all the couples through. Viewers were assured their votes would be included in next Saturday's final.

Strictly Come Dancing Week 12 - Quarter Finals

Rachel and Vincent were back at the top of the judges leaderboard this week with a total of 76 points (out of 80).

Their first dance was a Tango to 'Here Comes The Rain Again' by The Eurythmics. The couple are hoping to nail this difficult dance, and Rachel realises it would be a dream get through to next week's semi final. Arlene said: "this dance needs to be full of drama and emotion... and my goodness did you have it, it quite possibly is the most erotic Tango I've ever seen!" Len thought: "...I loved the light and shade of it, then all that sharp Staccatos... and the musical interpretation... I wish I had (a score of) 11 - it was fantastic!" Bruno said: "this is one of the rare times when the music, dance and the dancer is indistinguishable... it sent chills down my spine. Tango terrific!" Craig felt: "I have to commend you on the choreography. But two things I spotted, your (Rachel's) displaced balance and your kick ball changes were slightly ahead." Score: Craig 9, Arlene 10, Len 10, Bruno 10. Total 39.



They later returned for a Cha Cha to 'Signed Sealed Delivered' by Stevie Wonder. With the judges feeling Rachel is a very technical performer, can she show them her emotional side? Arlene said: "well we waited a long time, but that performance sparkled!" Len felt "two fantastic dances, well done!" Bruno said: "you are a great dancer!" Craig added: "compact, tight, absolutely gorgeous!" Score: Craig 9, Arlene 9, Len 9, Bruno 10. Total 37.

Strictly Come Dancing Week 11

In week 11 each couple performed two dances. Rachel and Vincent performed a Waltz and a Paso Doble. They were awarded 39 points out of 40 (three perfect 10s) for their Waltz to 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan. But after receiving a full house of 10s last week, Rachel was feeling the pressure of setting the standard. Len said that watching their performance he "felt like the cat who got the cream, and you looked like the mice that got the cheese. Lovely." Bruno thought Rachel "looked like an angel, danced like an angel. You're a natural, glowing." Despite thinking that Vincent's choreography was a bit stop-starty, Craig said Rachel made "beautiful shapes. Brilliant." While Arlene said: "That was one of the most soul-tingling waltz we have seen on Strictly."



Their second dance was a Paso Doble to Europe's 'Final Countdown'. Bruno was pleased Rachel had gone "from angel to devil. Senorita, you could have any bull you want! A great dance." Craig liked "all the hand shaping but it needed more aggression." Arlene thought it was "very dramatic, thrilling. But the body language wasn't there for me." And Len went further: "I was disappointed. Too much messing about with the cape and not enough content." They were awarded 32 points in total.



Rachel and Vincent earned an overall total of 71 points, putting them in 3rd place (out of 5 couples) on the judges leaderboard. Unfortunately the public were not as impressed as the judges and once again Rachel and Vincent were one of the two lowest scoring couples. They performed their waltz again in the dance-off and the judges unanimously chose to save Rachel.

Rachel later revealed that she expected to be in the dance-off. Speaking to Claudia Winkleman on 'It Takes Two' she said: "It's absolutely horrible. It's really horrible. But we were more prepared. We had a feeling that we were going to be there. I think every week, no matter where you are in the leaderboard, you're never safe. You need the votes more than anything now."

Rachel gets perfect score on Strictly

For the second week in a row, Rachel and Vincent were top of the judges leaderboard on Saturday night. They also became this first couple this year to get a perfect score. Each of the judges awarded them a perfect 10 for their Foxtrot.

Bruno felt "this dance was not close to you, it was close to heaven... bliss." Craig said "one word; fab-u-lous!" Len said "ever since the Jive a few weeks ago you've knocked my socks off" and Arlene's view was "I'm afraid... close to perfect, strictly, something special!"

At this point, Rachel and Vincent have become the highest scoring couple of the series with a total of 272 points (out of 320).

Video of Rachel's samba

On Saturday evening Rachel and Vincent performed a samba to Shakira's Hips Don't Lie. Judge Bruno was impressed, but said Rachel had to "get the raunch out." Craig agreed: "Technically you're very good... but go a little bit more wild." And Arlene added that Rachel "just didn't get on fire" for her. The judges gave her a total of 30 points, putting in her in joint fourth place (out of eight). This was her lowest position in the judges leaderboard so far, but the public vote saved her and she will perform again next week.

Here is a video:

Video of Rachel's group dance last night

Here is video of Rachel's apearance on Strictly Come Dancing last night, as part of a group dance with the other female celebrities and their dance partners. The video shows footage of their training and then the performance.

Video of Rachel's salsa and introduction

Here is Rachel's dance from last night:



And here is her introduction on the show:



And finally this video includes shots of Rachel practising and a brief interview with her at the beginnning before going into the group dance I posted before.

Rachel in second place

Rachel looked stunning as she performed a sexy salsa on Strictly Come Dancing tonight. Her first dance earned her 31 points from the judges, putting her in second place. But the judges scores only count for half of her final score, and the other half comes from the public vote. The result will be revealed tomorrow.

I will have a video of Rachel's performance up as soon as possible, but in the mean time here is her group dance from last week.