After the highs and lows of the last show, week 4 has arrived along with the twist, which intrigued us all last week.

All 12 couples will be skating but sharing the ice and sharing the music with another pairing!

Competing head to head this section is known as The Dual, and the winning 6 couples will gain automatic entry into next week’s show.

The remaining 6 couples will then fight for their place on the ice. The pairings were very fair and I thought that they were well matched in abilities, which only helps to maintain the interest throughout the program.

All couples wore outfits that were very similar in style or colour, which further helped to identify the pairings as they were introduced to the ice.

I have to admit some costumes had me wondering what they could be possibly skating to!

And Matt and Jorgi sported a nice line in stretch PVC-look lycra – something which few people could get away with!

The competition got underway with the only male vs male dual:

Sam and Alexandra vs Chico and Jodeyne

Up to now Chico has beaten Sam in points each week although Sam has been improving and becoming a better skater.

I think the competitiveness really came out in both Sam and Chico as they skated really well.

For me, Chico had the edge, as his basic skating is slightly cleaner and more polished.

The lifts from both gentlemen were nice and assured. I particularly liked Chico’s opening lift where Jodeyne jumped up and somersaulted down. With a unanimous decision from the judges Chico was saved and put directly into the show next week.

Sebastien and Brianne vs Jennifer and Daniel

Looking over the previous skates from both of these people, Jennifer has more grace across the ice but Sebastien is exciting to watch.

For me they have both needed to adopt each other’s traits – Jennifer to gain more attach and Sebastien to have more finesse as he skates.

Jennifer has beautiful poise is her lifts, with her toes pointed and elegance to her fingertips.

I would just like to stand behind and give her a little push to go faster! She looked stunning in her purple dress that really accentuated her long leg lines.

Sebastien didn’t fail to deliver on the excitement front with some nice jumps and a safe lift with Brianne.

His spin was very nice with plenty of rotations and variation in the arm position.

Dividing the two for me was difficult but looking at how far they can go in the competition, I would say that Sebastien was my choice. The judges agreed with me, again unanimously, so Sebastien gained immunity this week!

Corey and Brooke vs Chemmy and Sean

This is a slightly uneven pairing as I think Chemmy is the stronger skater out of the two.

Corey is not my favourite person to watch on the screen and even less so now that he will not listen to Brooke.

Brooke is the professional skater, he should respect that and take her advice and stop bleating about how sensitive he is. Rant over! Following on from that it was an ironic song choice in“Opposites attract!”.

The girls looked stunning in pink dresses and really stood out. Corey was up first and he was quite weak again with his skating. In a pairing the man showcases the lady, but Brooke was the focus point.

Chemmy was strong again throughout, really attacking her skating and also the lifts. She did a nice pair Camel spin with Sean and it was a positive performance.

Chemmy was allowed immunity, which is only right. I can only hope this is the last we see of Corey and his strand of diamanté hair!

Breaking up the show and skating to a live performance from Christina Perry, Torvill and Dean performed a beautiful routine to “Jar of Hearts”.

Jayne wore a green dress with handkerchief skirt with Chris sporting a dark shirt.

Littering their routine with lifts and highlights that reflected the nuances of the music, their skating quality speaks for itself.

Heidi and Andre vs Charlene and Matthew

This is a close coupling with both ladies having different strengths and weaknesses.

Skating to “Islands in the Stream”, Charlene reminded me of Dolly Parton with his her big blond hair and tight, sparkly black dress!

She holds herself well in the lifts and is nice to watch as she skates although I think she relies on Matthew to help her remain upright whilst on the ice! Her facial expressions are brilliant and really add to the routine!

Heidi looked fabulous in a contrasting white dress and again skated well for her.

She too is slow on the basic skating and relies on Andre to pull and push her around the ice surface. The lifts are slightly more exciting from this couple as Andre is such a strong guy and can move Heidi into more intricate lifts.

She gained automatic entry into the competition next week leaving Charlene to fight it out at the public vote!

Jorgie and Matt vs Matthew and Nina

This was the battle that I was looking forward to the most! With them both being very talented on the ice it is difficult to pick between them both!

Matthew has been having trouble with his back this week, resulting in dropping Nina in practice this week on a drape lift.

That lift provided no problem in this routine and he looked strong in his skating. Lifting Nina is no problem at all and he is safe and balanced throughout.

Jorgie looked fabulous in a cropped top and tight lycra leggings which accentuated her great leg lines. She was slightly less polished in her skating skills for me but the difference was nominal.

She works well with Matt and and very light and dainty when she moves.

Apparently, she was trending on Twitter thanks to her figure hugging costume!

This one was not a unanimous decision and at one all after 2 judges, Robin gave Matthew the immunity! This was probably the correct decision but I think both of these couples need to remain in the competition for many, many more weeks!

Andy and Vicky vs Rosemary and Mark
Out of this dual I have to say I like them both equally!

Both are lovely people and have their strengths when on the ice! Andy was up first and looked confident and like he had improved on his skating skills this week. Lifting Vicky was done well and with ease and he placed her on the ice well after each one.

He is such a nice, humble person you cannot help but warm to him when he is on the screen!

Rosemary held herself with all the lifts and didn’t seem to have any stumbles this week, which was a marked difference from her. Mark is great with her, a total professional and guides her around the ice extremely gently and with confidence. I would like to see more solo skating from her and hopefully this will be shown in the weeks to come.

For me Andy was the best and has much more to give in this competition. The judges gave their award to Rosemary, putting Andy into the public vote mix. For me, Andy skated more and had greater responsibility during his routine but Rosemary and Mark are lovely too, so no complaints!

The Skate Off
After the public vote the bottom two celebrities were Corey and Charlene. Up first was Corey and he provided us with a similar performance to the first.

A little wooden in the skating skills but I think it was his best one so far.

Charlene was as delightful as ever but reliant on Matthew again.

I do like watching her but realise she is limited in what she can currently do and everything is rather basic.

She really ingratiates herself with the audience, as she seems to really enjoy her performances with Matthew.

Thanks to Louis, Charlene was saved to skate next week and we waved goodbye to Corey! I am going to miss Brooke skating as she was fabulous out there, but I have to say it’s definitely Corey’s time to leave the competition.

One Direction are making an appearance next week which I am sure will heat the studio up no end! Until then, have a great week and get your skates on!