Strictly Come Dancing: week nine – live

Here come our Tower Ballroom hosts, so time for a seaside sartorial smackdown. Tess Daly is in slinky red sequins. Claudia Winkleman is in a kaftan-cum-slanket. Tess wins.

Well, that was a pretty fab-ew-lous way to kick off.

We begin proceedings with a suitably starring group dance. Synth-pop veterans the Pet Shop Boys – aka Neil “not Jones” Tennant and Chris “No relation to Natalie” Lowe – perform a medley of their hits. It’s a… it’s a… it’s a shiny one.

Lauren Oakley and Carlos Gu lead the hoofing accompaniment from the professional troupe, clad in silver 80s-style outfits for space age glamour. The choreography takes in elements of Viennese waltz, samba, contemporary and jazz. It’s futuristic, arty and abstract.

Half these couples have now departed and didn’t get to make the trip up the M6. Sob. Still, we’ll see them again in a month’s time for the traditional “Class of 2024” group number in the final.

Cue Blackpool-themed montage as the celebrities all tell us how much it means to make it here.

There are not one but two Kylie Minogue numbers on tonight’s playlist, with both Montell Douglas and Sarah Hadland’s dances soundtracked by the pocket-sized Antipodean pop princess.

We’re also being treated to some Rick Astley, Right Said Fred and, ahem, Las Ketchup. A Blackpool pop bonanza. Ten minutes until showtime…

For the first time this series, we’re not doubling up on any hoofing styles tonight. All eight couples will perform a different dance. We’ll see an American smooth, a salsa, a quickstep, a cha-cha, a jive, a paso, a Charleston and a Couple’s Choice.

Lots of bouncy numbers to take full advantage of that famed sprung floor. Not long until that ba-ba-da theme tune…

Colour me excited because tonight’s musical guests in the Tower Ballroom are one of my all-time favourite bands, the perennially brilliant Pet Shop Boys. Would I book them for Strictly myself? Left to my own devices, I probably would. Fifteen minutes to wait…

Cross them off as they happen! Take a drink for each! End up wearing a feather boa in a dodgy seafront “nitespot” with Ginger Neil! Here’s your 10-point seaside spotter’s guide for tonight:

• Tess and Claudia make knowing jokes about the cast and crew hitting the town post-show

• Judges join in the group dance, including a run of spins from Shirley or Craig

• A bouncy quickstep, jive or Charleston is said to “take full advantage of the sprung floor”

• VT includes a couple screaming on a rollercoaster/playing in seafront amusement arcades

• Visual gag involving a rubber seagull, kiss-me-quick hat or a windbreak

• Anton makes misty-eyed reference to Blackpool dances of yore with clod-hopping partners (probably Widdy)

• Celebrity makes misty-eyed reference to coming to Blackpool on childhood holidays

• A carb-averse pro or celeb is shown unconvincingly scoffing chips on the beach

• Cute/creepy snap of a professional dancing at Blackpool as a child dance prodigy

• After a lengthy pause to prolong the drama, Craig raises his 10 paddle and everyone goes bonkers

After his narrow dance-off escape last week, Wynne Evans is bookies’ odds-on favourite for the Blackpool boot. Pete Wicks is their second top tip, followed by Montell Douglas and Jamie Borthwick.

With the pressure on, will things go according to the form book? We’ll see when the glittery curtain comes up…

Over the years, the judges have awarded 107 perfect 10s in Blackpool. The quickstep is the dance style with most 10s (good news for JB Gill, who dances one tonight), followed by the American smooth, with the Charleston in third place.

Twenty minutes until our Blackpool minibreak…

A quirk of the seaside stats: Strictly history tells us that whoever tops the Blackpool scoring usually doesn’t go on to lift the glitterball. Kelvin Fletcher and Ellie Leach both finished joint top and went on to win but they’re the only ones in the last 11 years.

With the scoreboard beginning to bunch up and a split judges’ decision last week, the contest is starting to get serious. We’re into the climactic four weeks of the series after this, so the end is in sight and stakes are high. Not long until the clock strikes Strictly…

You’ll hear the B-word a helluva lot tonight, so what exactly makes the Tower Ballroom so special? Well, the spiritual home of ballroom dancing dates back to 1894 and positively oozes with hoofing history. As the home of Strictly’s mothership show, Come Dancing, and host to international competitions, it means a lot to the professionals and judges.

The room itself is full of baroque Victorian splendour. Crystal chandeliers hang from a high ceiling, with tiered balconies and carved panelling. With a full crowd, the atmosphere in there is electric. The famous sprung dancefloor is several times bigger than the familiar Elstree Studios ballroom, hence the use of backing dancers, props and production tricks to fill the cavernous space.

In Strictly’s 20th year, tonight marks the show’s 15th visit to Blackpool. It’s a landmark weekend which always adds extra sparkle. Who will rise to the big occasion in these storied surroundings? We’ll get our first clues in 25 minutes…

The Tower Ballroom demands a towering performance. We’re set for a rollercoaster night of dancing – but nobody wants a big dip in their scores.

Good evening and welcome to week nine of Strictly Come Dancing 2024. I’m Michael, your Pleasure Beach buddy for tonight’s special live show. I’d love you to watch along with me as eight surviving couples take the trip 200 miles north to the fabled home of ballroom.

Last weekend saw just a seven-point margin between the top and bottom of the scoreboard, followed by only the second split judges’ decision of the seres. Yes, the hoofing contest is getting as tight as Vito Coppola’s trousers as it enters its home stretch. It proved third dance-off unlucky for Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, who were narrowly eliminated.

Our eight remaining pro-celebrity pairings now make the annual pilgrimage to Strictly’s spiritual home. As always, tonight’s scores will be combined with the public vote. The bottom two duos will perform again for survival on Sunday night. Wynne Evans and Pete Wicks look most at risk but it’s all to dance for.

With the venue’s famed sprung floor and backing dancers to help fill out the bigger space, we can expect routines with extra razzle-dazzle. It’s showtime at 6.45pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 6.15pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis and reaction, plus plenty of salt and vinegar. So grab yourself a chippy tea (well, it is Blackpool weekend) and I’ll see you on the sofa.

As always, I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, email me michael.hogan.freelance@guardian.co.uk and the comments section below is open for Blackpool business. I’ll ride my donkey down there from time to time to see what you’re all saying and report on your reactions.

The Blackpool special is one of the biggest nights in Strictly calendar. But who will be a bright light in Lancs Vegas and who’ll be a seaside washout? It’s nearly time to staaaart seaside dancing!