Week 3 and the competition really begins! With the 12 couples being confirmed over the past two live shows I was really interested in seeing how the have stepped up their skating.

The judges are also back!

Their scores will now count towards the final mark of who goes through and they also have the final say in the skate off!

First up to skate was: Vanilla Ice and Katie

Rob’s VT was very negative and focused on the difficulties he was having during the week with his lifts and choreography but his routine was great and a complete contrast to his first ‘rock star’ routine we saw.

He seems to have refined his movement across the ice and is standing much better now but there is still work to be done there.

Going forward along the ice for him is not a problem, although backwards crossovers seem to be a little tough for him. I am sure those will get ironed out in the coming weeks.

His lifts are strong and he doesn’t falter when carrying Katie and it was a really good performance.

He could be an outside contender for the crown!

We went to am advert break and when we came there was the breaking news that Emma Bunton had got engaged!

Nice bit of sparkly diamond ice for her finger!

Chloe Madeley and Michael Chloe had the pleasure of doing the “frog” lift this week.

This is where the lady places her turned out skates onto the upper thighs of the man and arches her back forward (DOI buffs will know it as the lift that Sinitta messed up last year).

This is a difficult maneuver and I am sure every time she does this lift her heart is in her mouth, as she doesn’t want to cut open Michaels legs!

Skating to “The Climb” she looked beautiful in a dark blue dress and moved great across the ice.

Her basic skating and crossovers are really well executed and she holds herself nicely.

More work to be done on the exits of the lifts, as her legs tend to become a little stiff and turned in.

Her high score of 7 from Robin Cousins was very well deserved.

Denise Welch and Matt Apparently “it’s cougar time!”. This comes after Jason’s comment last week of ‘Matt skating with his mum’ so the song of choice – Abba’s “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (a man after midnight)” seems apt!

I thought her outfit was disgusting and I feel awful for writing that, but surely they could have put her into something more flattering but still in keeping with the theme?

And Matt’s outfit of a crop top just seemed plain wrong! But, back to the skating! She is the oldest participant in the competition and should be applauded for trying this.

She is a little bit stiff when she moves across the ice as though she is unsure of what to do but her upper body moves well and dancing on the spot isn’t a problem.

I do think that entering the rink on her own was very brave and something that doesn’t usually happen, but I think this hindered her slightly, which was a shame.

Dominic Cork and Alexandra Skating to “Feel” by Robbie Williams I thought Dominic had improved since we last saw him.

He was a little bit smoother over the ice and the highlights in the program had become a slightly more difficult.

He completed the “Deathspiral” with ease and that’s an awkward move to get right for both the man and the woman.

He does still need work on the turns to make them easier and smoother but he smiled throughout the routine and I really enjoyed watching him.

There is a lot of focus on the skating at the moment, which is inhibiting his performance slightly, but this should come with growing confidence.

Laura Hamilton and Colin The nice thing about Laura is that she finishes every thing off.

The lifts exit with a turned out foot and straightened free leg, her body posture is upright and strong and she has a lovely smile on her face when she skates.

It was nice to see her costume fitted her better this week and wasn’t as distracting as the first time she performed, so the focus was purely on her skating.

There was one awkward looking entry into a lift in the middle of the routine but she immediately sorted out her position and it looked great.

Another thing to work on is to point the foot just to finish off the positions even more (I agreed with Jason on this point!).

She seems to have reigned in some of the excess energy that she had during the first show so she now seems more in control of what she is doing.

Steven Arnold and Nina Steven was a naughty boy and partied too hard and missed the rehearsals on the Monday for choreography! Oops!

This is a first on the show and would have meant he missed a lot of important work.

Nina seems to be a hard taskmaster but maybe this is what he needs to improve.

There has been a little bit of improvement in his skating but he round shouldered when he skates and is a little bit stiff in the legs which gives the performance a stilted look.

It was a fun routine, rather like his first one but was a little unsteady in parts.

Jeff Brazier and Isabelle Jeff is really loveable looking when he skates with his cheeky-chappy smile!

I think there has been improvement with his skating but unfortunately I thought this routine was a little unstable in parts.

His roll up lift into a drag was really nice and well executed with no hint of a wobble.

The two-footed spin was a little wild and this made him falter during it. His arms flail when he moves which gives the routine a certain sloppiness.

Same score as last time, which I think, is about right and I hope he can reign in his surplus energy and make it a smoother performance next time.

I hope so as I enjoy watching him!

Dave Vitty and Frankie I like watching Dave as he pulls some great faces when he skates!

I think the dance lesson at Pineapple really benefitted him, as he looked slightly looser in his upper body although he still held his arms and hands really stiff like a puppet.

It doesn’t look relaxed when he skates and so tends to be rounded at the shoulders and slightly wobbly. His score was lower than his first but with the routine becoming more difficult that was probably a fair reflection of what he did.

I don’t think the music helped, as it needed to be loose in the body and arm movements. But overall, I enjoyed watching Comedy Dave skate!

Jennifer Metcalfe and Silvain Poor Jennifer seems to be in the wars! First her ribs and now a hole in her leg thanks to her skate blade!

She seemed very matter-of-fact about it and just seems to want to get on with the competition, which is good. She looked stunning in her outfit tonight of a sparkly crop top and a fringe skirt. I must say the skirt was a better cut on her this week and flattered her legs better.

She attacked the routine and I thought she had become more stable this week. There were a few little stumbles but this didn’t detract from the routine at all and I think she is going to be one of the top ones for this competition.

She looks good going in and out of the lifts, she holds herself well when she skates especially when she is with Silvain. I would like to see even more solo skating next time from Jennifer.

Sam and Brianne There is no arguing that Sam is a talent but sometimes it feels like the competition has already been won before it’s begun. Having said that, he was great!

He completed one of the more difficult lifts – the “platter” lift – and Brianne felt secure enough to let go with her hands which shows great trust.

A death spiral was also included which went without a problem.

Brianne and Sam make a great partnership and he really shows her off when they are skating together. His high score was well deserved and I hope this keeps motivating him to improve.

Johnson Beharry and Jodeyne I love Johnson’s spirit! He has a broken finger and he said, “If the finger come in the way [of the routine] then I’ll break it again!”

Now that’s fighting talk from a hero! He looked surer of his movements across the ice tonight and I was really pleased to see that.

The lifts were longer and more stable and the timing of the routine was better. He completed a couple of assisted three jumps and a roll down for the end position.

Nothing seems to faze him as a person and that will stand him in good stead for this type of program. His score was higher and this positively reflects what he is doing on the ice.

Kerry Katona and Daniel I love Kerry, as she seems like such a fun person! I didn’t think she skated as well as she could which is such a shame.

It was a little bit wooden in places and she seemed a little unstable moving across the ice. On the positive side, she held herself well throughout the lifts and seemed more comfortable when skating with Dan.

I think she needs a little bit more work on her basic skating as she needs to soften in the knees, which will also help her when exiting the lifts.

The performance side of it doesn’t seem to be a problem but I’d like to see more skating in the routine.

So after a break we were back for the results of the public vote. I think everyone wanted to make it through and to go out is a difficult pill to swallow. The two couples in the skate off were: Dominic and Alexandra and Steven and Nina.

Both skated well, Steve skated much better than he did first time around but still had some stumbles. Out of the two, Dominic was the better skater and the one I would have picked.

Thought Jason’s comment of “it’s a shame its not a double eviction” was harsh although what is new?!

Luckily the judges thought the same as me and Dominic survived to skate another week! Definitely the correct decision in this case I think.

There seems to be some surprise brewing on the Dancing on Ice camp…but we will have to wait until next week! Ooo, the suspense!!