How hard were the BBC trying to get Ricky in the final last night?

From speeches from the judges, to standing ovations from the pros, to shots of Natalie Lowe's tears, to shots of Mr Whittle bursting with pride, they threw it all in. Of course, by far the easiest way would have been to give the public what we wanted and put him through to a three person final.

And so to the dancing. Team Cola has a risky strategy in revisiting the rumba, and I was crossing fingers, toes and eyes that it paid off. I don't think that it did. The emotion and intensity were there, but Chris was in a supporting role to Ola, and didn't really dance much. There was no real technical improvement, no hip movement and his splayed hands were a real distraction. The judges were kind.

Ali and Brian's AT was a bit of a wet weekend of a dance. She was visibly shaking (how is she going to cope with the tour?)and it lacked emotion and even purpose in the moves. Nice choreo, stunning dress, but otherwise pretty unmemorable.

Ricky and Natalie came aht and performed a technically very accomplished waltz, but it lacked emotion and connection. The fact that the song they danced to will still be in the SCD collective memory as the song of Vincent and Flavia's heart rending "farewell waltz" did not do them any favours.

And so to the Cola AT - which had everything - intensity, mood, focus, a real sense of a partnership. It suited Chris' posture much better than the traditional ballroom, and I wished that Bruno had not got on about the gurning so much. Yes, it is off putting at times, but it is one element. And overall Chris can act the emotion of a dance so much better than the two actors can!

Ali and Brian were back with a perfectly nice AS that really played to her strengths, and she even managed to sell the dance. And they had a real kiss at the end - looked likes tongues in as well! Have they finally decided to come out as a couple? Or was it one last outing for the showmance card?

Ricky and Natalie were everything that an AT should be. They had the music, the drama, the passion, the moves, the lifts (and we can be in no doubt now that Natalie has had a Brazilian....). Dance of the night.

Darcey was very, very brave. Big respect to her for actually having a go at another genre of dance (more than Craig and Bruno have ever done), and of course, an accomplished performer will be able to sell anything. I would have preferred to see her dance a rumba or a paso, which would have showcased her shaping more, rather than a very slow, very nice, very poised jive-inspired piece of ballet. With no bounce. But Ian Waite was divine!

And so to the results via a lovely pro foxtrot, an exuberant jive with the cast of Hairspray and Austin Healey (compensation for his lack of inclusion in last year's semis), and some warbling from Lily Allen. Oh yes and a display of acrobatics (wonder how much they are insured for).

The inevitable happened. The female celeb with the record of perfect 40 and perfect 50 got knocked out in favour of a two hander between the entertainer and the hunky man. Could the BBC have got this series any more wrong? Well yes they could because it was announced at the end that they are throwing a brand new dance into the mix for the final. The lindy hop.

So as well as making the two couples dance 5 dances in one night (with one celeb who struggles to remember choreo for one dance, and the other who makes mistakes in most dances), pull off a stunning show dance, and remember to smile nicely to camera at all times, they are making the poor couples learn an entirely new discipline. Proof at last that the SCD production team are actually X Factor fans, and probably don't even watch Strictly.