A red-headed Laura Whitmore received plenty of praise from the Strictly Come Dancing judges on Saturday, scoring 30 points for her "out of my comfort zone" salsa - including a '9' from Bruno Tonioli.
Dancing to Rhythm of the Night from the film Moulin Rouge!, Whitmore said her Movie Week performance with professional partner Giovanni Pernice would be "fiery, feisty and very, very different" from last week's waltz.
The dance lived up to the Bray native's billing, with head judge Len Goodman somewhat surprised by its raunchiness.
"You bring the dead back to life! I was gobsmacked! - Bruno @TheWhitmore and @pernicegiovann1 #Strictly
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 8, 2016
https://t.co/s31SVVOtHg
"You're a terrific dancer," he told the presenter. "You come out and you go for it."
Goodman concluded by saying that while the dance lacked finesse, Whitmore would be on the BBC One show "for ages".
His colleague, Bruno Tonioli, said he was "gobsmacked" by the performance, describing it as one of the hottest, sexiest salsas he had ever seen.
"The showgirl has got 'va va voom' coming out of every pore!" he enthused. "You bring the dead back to life!"
As usual, Craig Revel Horwood was more measured in his assessment than Tonioli. He said that Whitmore needed more fluidity in her dancing but described her series of spins as "amazing".
"You meant business," added fellow judge Darcey Bussell. "You came out on that floor and you sold it."
The Salsa brought out a whole other side of @TheWhitmore 😂 @pernicegiovann1 30 #strictly https://t.co/PPprysh5e8
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 8, 2016
Along with Tonioli's score of '9', Whitmore and Pernice received '7' scores from each of the other judges; there are six couples below them on the leaderboard. Actor Danny Mac and partner Oti Mabuse and gymnast Claudia Fragapane and partner AJ Pritchard shared joint first place with 36 points.
"It was technically brilliant" - Craig @claudia_frag and @AJ11Ace #Strictly https://t.co/hzlgrl8BKy
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 8, 2016
Speaking to Strictly co-host Claudia Winkleman after leaving the dancefloor, Whitmore said it meant "so much" for Goodman to describe her as a "terrific dancer".
Sunday's results show will see a couple eliminated from the competition after the dance-off.
