Comedian Jayde Adams and professional Karen Hauer have received a standing ovation after their first routine on Strictly Come Dancing.
Saturday marked the first competition night of the popular show, with 15 couples battling it out to get as many points as possible to cement their place in the first week on the leaderboard.
Adams and Hauer danced a lively samba routine to Dirrty by Christina Aguilera featuring Redman which secured them a score of 23 and a standing ovation from judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas and members of the audience.
Dirrty, but make it #Strictly 🔥 Jayde and Karen really cleaned up with that Samba!@jaydeadams @karen_hauer pic.twitter.com/IbGYHbAAM9
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 24, 2022
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Mabuse praised Adams, saying: “You’re absolutely contagious. The energy, you’re selling parts of the performance, we’ve got all of that.
“Please do me a favour, keep it up and forward wherever the journey may move but work on those techniques, work on those feet and work on sustaining that level from one up until the end of the dance – but what a start I say.”
Craig Revel Horwood critiqued her lack of “the bounce”, which he felt is required for a samba and described it as a “little bit flat-footed”.
Actress Kym Marsh and professional Graziano Di Prima were the first couple to take to the dancefloor as they jived to Yes by Merry Clayton.
Dressed in matching canary yellow, they twirled and dipped throughout the routine, achieving a score of 23.
Ballas praised the Coronation Street star for opening the show, saying: “What a way to open the show, that was amazing.”
She added that she was glad she kept the routine simple and had allowed herself somewhere to grow throughout the competition.
However, Revel Horwood described it as “sluggish” and said she needed to be up on her toes more.
Was Kym and Graziano's Jive the perfect routine to kick off #Strictly 2022? YES! 🎉@msm4rsh @GrazianoDiPrima pic.twitter.com/d2ZAYWtvkk
Advertisement— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 24, 2022
Kiss FM DJ Tyler West and professional partner Dianne Buswell performed an elegant American Smooth to Falling by Harry Styles.
They also attempted the challenging Angel Lift, which saw West lift and spin Buswell over his head – which secured them a score of 21.
Ballas said the atmosphere they created was “stunning”, but advised him to work on learning the different footwork techniques.
While Revel Horwood said it felt “a little bit pedestrian” and lacked emotion, but added that he loved the dramatic lift.
Loose Women star Kaye Adams and Kai Widdrington took on the tango to Voulez-Vouz by Abba, and despite making a few mistakes they still secured a score of 21.
Ballas said: “I think the nerves got the little bit the better of you but your silhouette, your frame in certain areas, not everywhere, when you didn’t make a mistake you really did have a beautiful top line. You need to trust yourself and trust your partner.”
Revel Horwood admitted he was initially nervous after seeing her at the launch show, but confirmed he “really, really liked her”.
EastEnders actor James Bye and Amy Dowden delivered a retro-themed jive to What I Like About You by The Romantics, picking up a score of 22 for their efforts.
Anton Du Beke reflected on the mistakes Bye mad, joking: “I like it, if you’re going to go wrong, go completely wrong just stand still and pick it up eventually”, but added that he thought it was a “good number”.
Choose Dance, Choose the Cha Cha, Choose Richie and Giovanni! 🥳 #Strictly@richie_anderson @pernicegiovann1 pic.twitter.com/hO5kySc2ae
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 24, 2022
BBC Radio 2’s Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice performed an energetic cha cha cha to I’m Your Man by Wham! for their first routine.
Wearing matching T-Shirts that said Choose Dance, they received a score of 23 with Anderson’s mother also giving him an additional full mark of 10.
Revel Horwood joked: “For a moment I thought I was at Ru Paul’s Drag Race darling.”
He added that he thought it was stiff, but gave him “full marks for entertainment”.
TV presenter Helen Skelton and Gorka Marquez delivered an elegant American Smooth for their first dance to You Send Me by Aretha Franklin, securing them a score of 26.
Du Beke told Skelton to “own the dance” more as he said she was “great”.
Ballas praised Skelton’s timing during the routine, saying she “sat in the pocket of music”.
Helen and Gorka hit all the right notes with their American Smooth 🎵@HelenSkelton @gorkamarquez1 pic.twitter.com/1d5CNpODwC
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 24, 2022
The dance competition kicked off the first live show of its 20th series with a joyful group dance by the judges and professional dancers.
Britain’s Got Talent finalist Molly Rainford and new professional Carlos Gu performed an energetic samba to Kiss My (Uh Oh) by Anne Marie and Little Mix, securing them a top score of 31.
Mabuse said this was the best performance of the night so far for her, describing Rainford as a “shooting star”.
While Revel Horwood simply said: “I can’t wait to see more.”
Performing to a medley of songs, the female dancers wore vibrant feathered skirts with matching headdresses as the males donned bright yellow trousers and multicoloured shirts.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.
