In the first episode of the series RemovalContestants faced the power of studio audience voting as well as feedback from a panel of expert judges.
Power duo Lisa McKeon and Ian White were hoping their song Jive would keep them at the top of the charts, and their number Jailhouse Rock was a huge success as they scored 30 points in a row for the second time.
“When I saw Shane (Crawford) tearing up the floor, I thought, ‘OK, I gotta step up,’” Macon said of her approach after the football star’s energetic performance in Week 2.
James Stewart’s contemporary dance story of love and loss may have been reflecting real-life events, with his current girlfriend Ada Nicodemou among the crowd watching after the actor split from his co-star and wife Sarah Roberts.
Stewart was seen in tears and emotional as he spoke to Sonia Kruger alongside his dance partner Jorja Freeman.
“You seem really emotional, because you’re so deep into the character?” Kruger asked.
“A little,” Stewart replied.
“You were fighting, what, did he leave the toilet seat up, didn’t pick up his towel… because that’s grounds for divorce, my friends,” Kruger laughed.
“You think I’m joking,” she added.
The performance was well received by the judges, although co-host Chris Brown made another joke at Stewart’s expense.
“It was a story about two lovers who wanted to be together but couldn’t be together. Can I have an unexpected adventure and assume that the inspiration for this story was Craig and Helen?” he asked.
“Maybe so,” Stewart replied.
Although his performance was very painful, the actor remained a good athlete and earned 31 points.
Viewers who are outraged by these seemingly disproportionate comments may not be aware that the show was filmed two months before its Sunday night premiere, and before Stewart and Nicodemo’s budding relationship.
It takes two to tango, and Nadia Bartel inadvertently channels her inner Karate Kid as she and partner Leo Masuda take to the dance floor for their second performance.
Despite their over-the-top attire, the judges found the performance somewhat disappointing.
Ant Middleton did his best to lead his dance partner Alex Vladimirov around the floor in a Viennese waltz, with the audience giving the duo a standing ovation.
“Compassionate, kind and vulnerable” were the adjectives Judge Sharna Burgess used to describe the SAS Australia star, and they likely weren’t used much in the past.
Ben Cousins and his partner Siobhan Power returned to the dance floor after a not-so-great first week, and they gave their best in the cha-cha-cha. But was it enough?
Commenting on the feedback he received for his first performance, the judges consoled the WA favourite by reminding him that his place in the competition largely depended on the voting power of the studio audience.
The football star was described by judge Mark Wilson as “brave”, and admitted he was “in development”.
After an injury kept her from taking to the dance floor in week one, celebrity chef Julie Goodwin made her dance floor debut with a Viennese waltz.
Claiming that “you don’t spin much when you cook,” Goodwin was lifted out of her comfort zone and into the hands of her skilled partner, Andrei Gorbunov.
Judge Craig Revel Harrod said the first participant was “confident and graceful”, while the chef left the floor with a beaming smile and a head spinning.
After dropping to the bottom two, Ben Cousins’ Salsa and Nadia Barthel’s Vals competed for the remaining spot in the competition.
Ultimately, the fashion designer and her partner Leo Masuda were sent home by the judges.
