James Jordan’s Strictly Preview Week 10
It's that time again, and ahead of Week 10, Strictly Come Dancing hall of famer James Jordan is back with us to preview another weekend of ballroom drama, providing the team at Free Bets with his expert insight, analysis and predictions throughout the series.
We're down to the final six remaining celebrities, and with the final just a few weeks away, the pressure is mounting and the competition couldn't be more fierce. Let's see what James has made of the week's biggest talking points...
Christmas Special Line-Up Announced
The Strictly Christmas Special line-up has been announced. What’s your reaction to this year’s six contestants?
I think it’s a really good line-up. I know a few of them personally, and I think the mix works really well.
Brian McFadden, for example, I know very well, and even if he turns out not to be a great dancer, he will be brilliant value.
He’s fun, funny, and great to be around. He’ll give everything, and that’s ideal for the Christmas special.
Scarlett Moffatt is another standout. She did ballroom and Latin as a kid, so she’ll come in with a solid base. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it puts her in good stead. I think she’ll be one of the surprises of the line-up and probably the one most people will tip to win.
Overall, I think it’s a strong group. There’s a nice balance between recognisable names, big personalities, and people with a hint of dance background. That usually makes for a great Christmas special. I’m genuinely excited to see how this one pans out.
Predictions
Let’s move to this week’s main show. Who do you think is most at risk?
I think this week is the end of the road for Balvinder. She’s been in the bottom two four times, and as much as she fights back each week, I believe everyone remaining in the competition is now stronger than her.
Also, she’s doing the jive this week, which is one of the hardest dances for a non-dancer. It’s fast, it’s snappy, it requires sharp retraction in the legs. Vicky went home on the jive for exactly this reason.
I don’t think she’s had any real standout performances, but she’s kept going and that deserves respect. If she goes this week, I think even she’ll probably be at peace with it.
Who do you think she could beat in a dance-off, if anyone?
Maybe Alex, and only if Alex makes mistakes. But Alex has been dancing through pain, she’s got heart, and she’s generally tidier technically.
So realistically? I don’t think she can beat anybody this week.
Scores and Analysis – Week 9
Lewis & Katya — Charleston
Judges: 10, 10, 10, 10 | My score: 10
What an opening. Wow. This dance was exceptional from beginning to end. His Charleston swivel, the flips, the tricks, it had everything. It was a full-on production executed to such high level and definitely a 10.
Was it as good as his couple's choice? You could argue either way. Maybe your preference of the dance style. For me personally, I thought the couple's choice was slightly better, but this was still up there as one of the best dances ever on Strictly.
From the very first second, when Lewis launched into that Superman–style dive straight through Katya’s raised leg and rolled out of it seamlessly, you knew you were watching something special. The entire routine was jam-packed with difficulty: immaculate swivel, lightning-fast footwork, precision-sync flips, fearless tricks, and that trademark Katya complexity that only the strongest celebrity partners can cope with.
The extra dancers, which don’t always add value, actually elevated this routine. They created levels and layering that made the choreography look even more dynamic without distracting from the leads. That’s incredibly hard to get right.
This was a full musical-theatre production squeezed into 90 seconds, executed with insane clarity.
Balvinder & Julian — Argentine Tango
Judges: 8, 8, 8, 9 | My score: 7
This started with promise; nice intensity, strong music choice, and a mood that felt right for Argentine Tango. But the problems set in early.
The moment Julian had to physically lift her down from the stage completely disrupted the tone. It looked awkward, hesitant, and immediately highlighted balance issues that continued throughout the performance.
The biggest problem was the structure of the choreography. Instead of building tension and intimacy between the two dancers, which is the entire point of Argentine Tango, the routine kept breaking away into separate sections. First she danced with Julian, then with two of the female dancers, then with two male dancers. Each switch diluted the emotional connection and muddied the storytelling.
The extra dancers actively worked against the authenticity of the style. Argentine Tango requires tightness, control, grounded legwork, and microscopic changes in balance and weight. Dancing with a crowd removes that intensity entirely.
She also visibly lost her balance in several places, particularly during the trio section with the two female dancers. The routine became bitty and disjointed, almost like it was trying to fill space rather than build drama.
Having said all that, I give her kudos for giving it a go. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great, but as a non-dancer she did admirably. But the choreography didn’t help her. Without a consistent partnership or clean in-hold content, the dance lost the very essence that makes Argentine Tango powerful.
Amber & Nikita — Quickstep
Judges: 9, 9, 9, 9 | My score: 9
This was a brilliant Blackpool routine! Well choregraphed and lots of production value. Big, bold, classic, and full of content. Nikita created a fast-moving, show-quality Quickstep with real production value, and Amber handled it extremely well.
However, it wasn’t a 10 for me, and that’s entirely down to technical details. There was too much gapping in hold, which breaks the connection and interrupts the beautiful flowing look a Quickstep should have. Her left side and head position still need strengthening; the topline wasn’t consistently secure.
She coped incredibly well, but I ‘m only picking up small details because she is that good. She’s capable of near-professional shaping, and when those details aren’t there, it stands out.
She should have been second on the leaderboard, only behind Lewis, when you only focus on the dancing. I still think what she is producing is better than anyone remaining in the competition, bar Lewis.
Karen & Carlos — Paso Doble
Judges: 9, 10, 10, 10 | My score: 8
As a performance, this was brilliant. The staging, the drama, the costumes, the musical arrangement, everything was crafted to create a showstopper Paso.
It’s the kind of performance that allows the public to get lost in, which essentially, is what they’re voting for and I totally understand if the public watched it and thought, “That’s a 10,” I would completely understand.
However, looking at this from a professional dancer's point of view, it’s not a perfect score.
Karen performs with power, sharpness, and attack, but Paso requires something else as well: softness within the strength. The breath through the body, the elasticity through the torso, the shaping that flows organically rather than landing like a series of hard stops.
She hits everything very stiffly, and her upper body hasn’t improved much since earlier in the series. Her posture remains an issue. The final pose, instead of looking iconic, looked awkward, almost like she was reaching for a shape she couldn’t quite complete.
Carlos choreographed brilliantly, but the execution wasn’t at the level of Amber or Lewis on a technical scale. And this is the problem with overmarking: If this dance is awarded 10s, then Lewis’s should be 15s.
Karen is superb when given powerful, dramatic routines. But I want to see her challenged with something soft and technical — a Samba, Cha Cha, Foxtrot — to see the true range. She’s been given dances week after week that play directly to her strengths.
Alex & Johannes — Couple’s Choice
Judges: 8, 9, 9, 9 | My score: 7
The VT was incredibly emotional, and it genuinely moved me. You can’t help but root for Alex, she’s warm, inspiring, and full of heart. I was willing them to do well before the routine started. But once the dance starts, you have to judge what you see, which is what is so difficult, particularly after seeing such a moving VT.
And this is exactly why Couple’s Choice frustrates me.
There simply wasn’t much dance content. It was mostly: posing, weight transfers, lots of lifts, with long sections of storytelling rather than dancing
I think they're amazing. But I just didn't enjoy this dance. I just feel she doesn't have the speed changes, the energy changes, which creates light and shade in a routine. It was all a little bit lacklustre for me. She also lost timing. It was a bit messy in places.
Having said all that, she’s one of the older contestants left, and it’s unrealistic to expect her to be flipping and launching herself through the air like Lewis. For what the choreography allowed, she did brilliantly. It was still great despite the score.
But when you compare this to the technical difficulty demanded of the other dances, it can’t be marked at the same level. A good seven and still a lovely performance from a genuinely lovely person.
George & Alexis — Salsa
Judges: 9, 10, 10 | My score: 9
This was the perfect closer to the show! High-energy, packed with content, and overflowing with personality. In some ways, I was just as impressed with George as I was Lewis and Katya’s routine, largely due to George not being a fully trained dancer.
If Lewis hadn’t delivered such a monster routine at the top of the show, this would have been the standout of the night.
The choreography was incredibly intricate: complex foot patterns, full-body rhythm, multi-directional transitions, and seriously risky lifts. Those lifts, especially the moments where the male dancers flipped him, would terrify most trained professionals. He handled them fearlessly.
The timing stayed clean despite the speed and intensity, and his commitment was off the scale.
The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 was because the salsa grounding wasn’t always there. His weight sometimes sat too high, making certain sections look slightly flat-footed.
But I completely understand the judges giving it 10s. The difficulty level for someone with no dance background was astronomically high, and he smashed it. It’s one of the best routines I’ve ever seen from someone without vast dance training.
I love them. I back them to win the whole thing! They’re my favourites. Alexis continues to be one of the most exciting new pros Strictly has introduced. The trust between them is extraordinary, and she’s giving him choreographically ambitious, high-risk routines, and he’s rising to every challenge.
Final Thoughts
At the other end of the leaderboard, who’s impressing you most right now?
Lewis is on a different planet. He’s fully trained, and what he’s doing is beyond what most pros could do.
But the person who has my heart is still George. He’s the perfect Strictly contestant: limited training, huge growth, and a brilliant partnership with Alexis. Some dances suit him, others don’t, which is what makes the journey interesting.
If I picked up the phone to vote, it would be for George and Alexis.
It feels like we’re now at the business end of the competition. As a former pro, what changes for you at this stage?
Everything ramps up. You suddenly realise, “We could actually win this.”
It gets more competitive. Your choreography becomes more strategic. You think more carefully about music, storytelling, production, costuming, because to create a standout performance at this stage, everything has to align.
And the pressure increases massively. You start working longer hours. If you reach the semi-final, you’re doing two dances with half the rehearsal time. By the final, you might be doing three routines.
But this is also the part I loved the most. It becomes a true test: who can cope, who can grow, who can handle the pressure? And it becomes less about technical perfection and more about whether the public are behind you emotionally.
The deeper you go, the more it becomes about heart.
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