I’m back and sorted finally. As this is probably going to be quite long, I wanted to type it on a pc so I am less likely to lose it!
To those that asked about mobility problems, there is a number on the email you get that you can call and arrange a different validation process. We saw a lovely lady in a wheelchair being taken straight in.
At 7.30 ish they opened the doors so we could stand inside. It was vaguely warmer but with the door open and air con going, not by much. The great thing about this was that we could see the professionals and celebs as they arrived. Some were friendly and waved at us, others such as Graeme Swann completed ignored us. Anton and Lauren were great, having not realised we were going to be their audience, they came back and waved when they did. Pasha didn’t pay attention to us but was really lovely to all the security and production staff that were waiting to greet everyone. Poor Amy wasn’t recognised by the security staff and had to point herself out on the photo list, but she did wave to us all.
Dead on 9am they gave us the announcements about getting our tickets ready and having our photo ID out, if a passport to have it turned to the photo page so that we could all get through quickly. A change from the last time we went was that only 1 person had to be there to validate both tickets. We got tickets 3 and 4 as I was sitting on the bench when the next person had arrived so he put his chair up in front of mine. Not a problem although he claimed my time as his own!!
By about 9.02 I was through and heading back to the hotel ready for my breakfast. A one hour nap later and it was time to get ready so that we would be back for 2pm. We decided not to take our phones at all rather than leave them with security.
The security check was quick and we all went down to be seated in the circus area. This has a lot of steps and the room between rows for your legs is teeny. I am tall so this was extremely uncomfortable for me. I’m also rubbish in my heels so the steps were fun. Drinks and snacks were available to buy but all food had to be eaten before heading to the ballroom and only bottled water was allowed inside. I don’t know what the pricing was like as we didn’t buy anything. We stayed in there, playing a few little Strictly trivia games for sticks of Blackpool rock, until about 3.30/3.40. We were then called to line up, the first 20 tickets, then up to 50 and so on. We were taking through to the entrance of the ballroom but had to wait a while as the dress rehearsal was still going on. This was where Aljaz made an appearance, dressed to the nines and carrying his take away. He was lovely, big smiles and a few words to us – he’s an uncle you know!
Finally we were taking through to the ballroom. It is amazing! If you ever get to go take the time to look at the detailed ceiling. It’s also a lot smaller than it looks on tv. Our seats were directly opposite the stage and band. Fantastic view, but everything comes with a price. Ours was that we were not allowed to stand up AT ALL. No standing ovations, not standing up during Gloria’s song, nothing as we had cameras directly behind us. This meant that from the time they started filming (and this was before the live show started) we were sat until the live show finished. The seats, which appeared comfy to start with really weren’t after a few hours. You also become really good friends with your neighbours.
All the professionals and celebs came out, with all the other dancers ready for Gloria’s intro. Kate was the loveliest. She came round and was talking to almost everyone and seemed very genuine, just ecstatic to be there. Janette was also lovely, confirming our view of her following our Elstree trip. Gloria’s song was recorded twice. There was a technical hitch and a lot of the audience didn’t stand up at the right bit of the song. I didn’t think Gloria’s voice was great but her enthusiasm was obvious. The two Latin champions were amazing! We were told we should cheer and whoop at tricks but really we didn’t need tell, it was spontaneous.
Take That followed next. This was filmed 3 times, the first time Gary forgot the words and asked for the autocue. He was not happy about this and I hope this is the reason there was not really interaction with the audience. The other two were fantastic with a little banter with us all.
So onto the show itself. We were told to boo anything we didn’t like in the scoring and cheer for everything we did. One thing I will note is that there is so much going on it’s easy to miss things so if I don’t mention a mistake please forgive me.
Kevin and Stacey – Kevin REALLY loves Blackpool and he went out of his way to get us all raring to go before their dance. We loved it.
Ashley and Pasha – it may have been technically perfect, I have no idea, but there is absolutely no connection with audience. There didn’t seem to be any excitement at being there and the cheers from us were a little forced.
Kate and Aljaz – we enjoyed this and Kate’s enthusiasm for learning to dance is infectious. Her face in the lifts did seem a little fixed, I think she was really nervous.
Charles and Karen – this was my favourite dance of the evening, and the chanting that happened when he was talking to Claudia was purely spontaneous. It was fantastic.
Joe and Diane – We were impressed with this foxtrot and Joe and Diane seem to have a genuine affection for one another
Fay and Giovanni – this one was pretty spectacular to watch in person, another one we enjoyed.
Graeme and Oti - again not a lot of connection with the audience and there seemed to be less enthusiasm from us for him. He seemed over marked as far as I am concerned. To me whilst they were waiting to find out if they were through after the dance off, Oti looked uncomfortable with Graeme touching her. Purely my opinion though.
Lauren and AJ – watching it on the ballroom, there did seem to be a little lack of intensity and bless, I’m sure I heard her apologise to AJ at the end, although I have no idea what for.
In my opinion Graeme should have gone out in the dance off. Kate was so much better in the lifts second time round, seeming to relax and go with it and she and Aljaz really seem to work well together. Graeme looked annoyed at being in that position and I don’t think his timing was a good. It really seemed to me that the judges were determined that Graeme was going through no matter what.
The results show group dance was filmed 4 times in total due to clapping problems, technical problems and er problems? We really felt for the production crew having to move that door 4 times, it looked exceedingly heavy. It was fantastic to watch.
It was a late night as we then had to sit there while Claudia and Tess recorded some links. Tess didn’t know her lines and so had to record it a couple of times. Her excuse was that she hadn’t read them before as she was at CIN the night before. Claudia is amazing - so, so funny but what on earth did they put her in? Particularly in the second dress! Tess didn’t really have much to say to us and seemed quite bland.
It was very long day and we were exhausted by the time we left the ballroom at 10.50. Would we do it again? Yes, but with some provisos. We wouldn’t go for those seats again. It’s a long time to be sat without moving and not being able to give a standing ovation was a real shame. It would also mean I get a couple of extra hours in bed. I would also remember my flask for the overnight wait as it got pretty chilly by the time we were allowed to go inside.
I’m sure there is other stuff that I will remember after I have posted this, there was just so much I wanted to say. Thanks if you got to the end of this epic post!