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Ola and James Jordan's Strictly verdict: Our dance-off predictions and Adam & Katya's 'kiss'

James and Ola break down all the drama on Strictly Come Dancing's week four

ola and james strictly speaking
Georgia Brown
Senior Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
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The competition really started to heat up in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom last night, as Week Four saw the ten remaining professional-celebrity duos perform some of their most challenging dances to date. 

SEE: How much is Claudia Winkleman paid for her Strictly Come Dancing role?

From predicting who will face the dreaded dance-off to discussing *that* moment between Adam Peaty and Katya Jones, HELLO!'s favourite professional couple, Ola and James Jordan, are here to break down all the glitz and glamour of the night in their weekly column, Strictly Speaking.  

WATCH: Adam Peaty and Katya Jones turn up the heat in their Argentine Tango

Ola: It must have been tough for Judi Love last night. It's so hard to come back with a performance when you know it needs to be a dance to save you from the dance-off again. 

James: It is so tough mentally to come back from a dance-off because whatever way you look at it, even if you're at the top of the leaderboard, there's nothing worse than realising the public aren't picking up the phone and voting for you! 

MORE: Strictly judge Shirley Ballas thanks fans for their concern after they notice lump

RELATED: Strictly star Judi Love moved to tears as she dedicates dance to her late parents

Ola: We didn't really see any standout performances last night. Maybe Robert Webb dropping out and missing Ugo Monye from this week's show made it feel flatter than usual?

tom fletcher had to miss show covid

Tom Fletcher also had to miss week two of the show due to COVID

James: Even some of our favourite performers weren't as impressive last night, it could just be that the pressure has really started to kick in!

Despite the show feeling a bit flatter than usual, I don't think that means there will be any unexpected couples in the dance-off tonight. I predict that Greg Wise will be the one to go this evening. 

Ola: Last night really was Greg's worst dance, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is the one to leave. It's a shame because he's trying as hard as anyone else, but it wasn't even funny for me. He even messed up his first step!

I'd then predict that Judi will face the bottom two, but only because she was in the dance-off last week. She's clearly not so popular with the public. 

judi love dedicates dance to parents

Judi was moved to tears after dedicating her dance to her late parents

James: Really! I wouldn't necessarily expect Judi to be in the bottom two. I liked her performance, she always commits to her characters and puts on a fabulous show. 

There's something about her that makes me want to watch her - even though I wouldn't always score her highly for her technique. I'd be surprised to see her in the dance-off two weeks in a row. 

I do really like Dan Walker's dancing, but I think compared to the other couples he is one of the weaker dancers of the competition, we might see him land himself in the dance-off this evening if the public don't vote for him.

dan walker predicted for bottom two

BBC Breakfast star Dan Walker thrilled fans with an explosive Cha Cha

Ola: Don't you think, when we were professionals on the show, the standard of dancing was nowhere near as high as it is now? There are a lot more trained dancers competing now, which is why we have such higher expectations. 

James: Before on Strictly, it used to be that everyone was a beginner (except for maybe one celebrity), so the standard was far lower. I really think if Dan was competing in an earlier season he probably would have been one of the best dancers, but this season he's sadly one of the weakest.  

Ola: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni opened the show last night - probably one of her weaker dances don't you agree?

MORE: Strictly's Tilly Ramsay close to tears after message from surprise family member

SEE: Tess Daly turns up the glam in velvet mini dress on Strictly Come Dancing

James: I do. Cha Cha is such a difficult dance to get right, especially for a female dancer. She had some timing issues this week which is the first time I've seen her struggling with that. 

Ola: Exactly, and the Cha Cha especially has a much more intricate timing than the other styles, which for her is obviously much more difficult. I do think it was a bit rigid and mechanical, whereas her Foxtrot a couple of weeks ago had far more finesse. 

James: I totally appreciate it's harder for Rose given her hearing impairment, but if she's going to be in the competition I believe that she should be judged in comparison to the other dancers. 

rose ayling ellis and giovanni

Rose revealed she broke her hearing aid during rehearsals earlier in the week

Ola: She is capable too! We've seen her pull off some incredible dances on the show, but I agree it wasn't her best dance last night - when she does create an amazing performance it makes it that much more special. 

James: I know the judges raved about Sara Davies, but I didn't think it was a winning dance. It was still good, but nowhere near as impressive as her Foxtrot from week two. 

Her head positioning was awkward, there was lots of gapping at times and it looked like she couldn't keep up with Aljaz in certain sequences. The judges' scores were too high for me. 

Ola: But then I think the issue was that there were no standout performances last night, so Sara and Aljaz were probably one of the better dances of the night? 

James: The judges were really divided over their scores for Tilly Ramsay's Paso Doble too, but I did think it was one of the strongest dances of the evening. 

It was her most committed dance so far, so I do think she was deserving of her higher scores. 

tilly ramsay and nikita paso doble

Judges were seriously divided over Tilly and Nikita's Paso Doble

Weirdly, I'm not 100% sold on the partnership between Tilly and Nikita - I can't quite work out why. There's something that I can't connect with when I see them dance together, but it will be interesting to see how far they go in the competition. 

Ola: John and Johannes are still at the top for me. Their performance was a little forgettable, but I have a feeling they're going to come back next week and absolutely smash it. 

And AJ and Kai have always been our frontrunners too, but do you think could it be the first week they're in trouble?

James: Their performance wasn't good last night. It was the first time I felt like AJ looked like a novice. 

Again, Samba really is the death dance! It's so difficult to perfect and I don't think AJ hit the mark, unfortunately. You could see she really struggled to pick up the fundamental techniques of the dance. 

aj and kai dance

This week's Samba was AJ Odudu's weakest dance so far

Ola: We never enjoyed teaching the Samba when we were professionals on Strictly! It takes such a long time to nail the timing, the hip and bounce action, let alone the choreography. That's why it's so impressive when a celebrity does well with a Samba - I mean look at Neil and Nadia's dance in week one!

James: Rhys had so much power behind his performance last night, but I do think he needs to control that energy. He has moments that are really brilliant, but looks quite awkward doing the Latin and Ballroom steps - I have mixed feelings about how far he'll go in the competition!

Ola: We both think he's got something really special, but I don't think we've seen it yet. Week after week, he hasn't yet performed something where I've been spellbound - but it could be just around the corner.

I was divided over Adam Peaty and Katya's Argentine Tango last night. It had amazing lifts, but there was something missing for me - I don't think there were enough Tango steps. 

adam and katya

All eyes were on Olympian Adam Peaty as he tackled the Argentine Tango

James: Some of the lifts he pulled off last night I would have never been strong enough to do when I was a professional on the show. I like watching them because they look so good together, you can tell they're going to be good before they've even started! I agree though, last night's performance looked like a show dance with all of those lifts.

Ola: Of course it's not just their dance that everyone is talking about. Twitter seems to be going wild over their supposed 'kiss' at the end of their performance. 

adam and katya kiss sparks rumours

Strictly fans were left convinced the duo almost kissed after their Tango

James: As former professionals on the show, this talk of the Strictly curse can sometimes be frustrating. If Adam was 60-years-old I don't think anyone would even bat an eyelid, it's only because they're both young and a good looking pair that the public love to assume their connection goes further than just being dance partners!

Ola: The beauty of being a good dancer is getting into the character of your performance. They're supposed to make you believe at home that there's this passion between them. When I watched it I didn't even notice it!

SEE: Adam Peaty and Katya Jones speak Strictly friendships and swapping the pool for the dancefloor

James: If you look at some of my routines in the past, there have been moments where my lips were almost touching some of my partners', but when you're in character like that it shows that you're selling the moment. 

I do think it's a shame that people like to jump to conclusions, I honestly think the public are reading far too much into it.

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