So last week we had two couples eliminated from the competition after one skate and six couples go through.

This week the show followed the same format with two couples leaving the show after their first performance.

Quoting Holly Willoughby – “It is brutal!”.

The show has taken a slightly new format as the show wasn’t opened with Jayne and Chris performing – instead we got another glimpse of the couples from last week and also the one who had their routines ahead of them.

With scores now being out of ten, and a maximum of 30 being achievable, I think it will be interesting to see who slots in where in the competition.

The media already seemed to have been speculating that Sam Attwater is one of the favourites so I was waiting for his programme with curiosity!

Craig McLaughlin and Maria

Skating to “Sympathy for the Devil’, Maria looked fab in her red leotard with Craig’s outfit of coat tails and lace cuffs finishing the look.

It’s always a difficult job being the first out to skate and although he looked a little stiff in the knees I though he did an okay job.

He interacted well with Maria and seemed to really enjoy the performance.

I have to say that personally I didn’t particularly like the song choice, as it didn’t grab your attention and pull you in.

I don’t know who makes the names up for the skills that are performed but the “Lucifer Dipping Spin” is not common in the normal skating world!

Jennifer Metcalfe and Sylvain

Jennifer has bruised ribs from practicing which is quite common when skating with a partner and you tend to get bumped and knocked.

Skating to “Crazy for You” this was a romantic number for two people who have had some headlines in the papers this week for apparently becoming a couple whilst being on the show.

She looked lovely on the ice with some nice skating but she had a stutter in the middle of the programme when she fell out of a lift, which detracted from the smoothness.

There were some nice highlights in there and Jennifer held herself really well in the lifts.

Dave Vitty and Frankie

Dave Vitty is more commonly known as “Comedy Dave” on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Chris Moyles.

I am slightly confused as to why Frankie is only using her first name – maybe she has morphed into a super human like ‘Madonna’! The routine did have a slightly comedic element to it and how he kept a straight face throughout while he danced like a robot I don’t know!

I thought he looked stable throughout and didn’t seem to trouble when he lifted Frankie.

With a 3 jump thrown in the routine (which didn’t look pretty!) I think that he has plenty of room for improvement.

Ellen Rivas and Lucasz

Ellen’s VT before her performance really made me laugh!

I thought she came across as feisty and I loved the fact that she told Christopher Dean that she wanted to change his choreography – she knows her own mind!

She was a little stiff and high in the knees whilst skated and pulled a couple of odd ‘concentrating’ faces but when she relaxed a little and smiled she looked really nice.

More work to be done on the basics to help the smoothness overall but she should be pleased with what she has achieved.

It will be interesting to see what she does next as I could see her skating to something fast with lots of dancing!

Next came a slight intermission in the competition as Ellie Goulding sang her beautiful version of “Your Song” made famous originally by Elton John. Torvill and Dean performed a routine to this on smoky atmospheric ice with the studio being softly lit.

Dominic Cork and Alexandra

Dominic competitive spirit should be good for him during this competition as I think it will make him strive to be really good.

Skating to “Are You Ready For Love” he looked great in his outfit of blue shirt and black trousers. I thought he looked a little nervous about lifting Alexandra and the lifts didn’t turn, staying on 2 feet throughout which lessened the difficulty.

His general skating though was pretty good for a first performance although I think the more he relaxes, the softer his knees will become, and in turn the whole thing will be lot more smooth.

Chloe Madeley and Michael

Chloe really surprised me when she came on to skate.

She moved with confidence and executed some nice skating moved.

She looked comfortable in the lifts but her legs lines in and out of moves need a little more work as a straight leg and pointed foot would look neater.

She achieved a 6 from both Robin and Emma and it was very well deserved and she should be pleased with what she did.

The costume on the other hand almost made her have an accident reminiscent of the one her mother had a few years ago at an awards ceremony – I know it’s TV and it needs ‘sparkle’ but skating is an energetic sport and certain things need to stay in place!

Sam Attwater and Brianne

Sam got an A - in his ice proficiency test and he has been in the newspapers as one of the favourites for this competition.

That’s fine but it is added pressure for him and skating is hard enough without additional stresses. He moves well (there were many body ripples included!) and all the dancing moves were spot on.

His basic skating is good although I noticed he had difficulty with his barrel rolls on one side. That may seem really picky but as he has the ability to do these simple movements he needs to make them more polished.

His lifts are good but I would like to see more skating from him so we can see what he is really capable of.

This routine was energetic and got the crowd clapping so for the first week he has done really well.

Denise Welch and Matt

Denise looked like she had a ball on the ice, smiling throughout her routine, which was set to “Pack Up” by Eliza Doolittle. She did much better than I thought she would and seemed comfortable on the basic skating. Her turns where nice whilst holding on to Matt’s hand and the pull through worked well. I think she has plenty of room for improvement.

Jason’s comment “It’s like Matt skating with his Mum” was a little harsh on Denise but he also said that she was ‘fearless’ and “could move up in the competition”.

So I guess he breaks even with those comments!

In the final three were: Craig and Maria, Jennifer and Sylvain and Ellen and Lucasz with two of these leaving the competition for good.

Craig skated well but I’ll reiterate my point that I made earlier – the music didn’t grab you and made the performance slightly boring.

Jennifer managed the lift this time round but had a slight stumble at the very beginning.

She also shared a kiss on the lips at the end with Sylvain – a sign of their supposed romance maybe?!

Ellen was the last of the three pairs to perform and I thought she did much better compared to the first time.

I think Jennifer was the best out of the three but with the public voting the final place was anyone’s.

Jennifer and Sylvain got the final place which I am pleased about but sad to lose yet another 2 before we got to know them.

It seems pointless having these two elimination programmes – a lot of work for 4 people to get kicked out.

So next week all 12 will compete against each other for the very first time – hopefully the competition will being to get interesting as we see who will slot into place on the leaderboard!