Tonight's first live Strictly Come Dancing show saw six celebrities take to the floor, while the other nine will strut their stuff tomorrow night from 6:20pm.

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We had some seriously sparkly dresses, plenty of nervous celebrities, an impressive eight from the judges and more weather-based puns than we could shake an umbrella at...

EastEnder Kellie Bright was the first celeb to take to the floor this series. That's some pressure, especially considering that Caroline Flack was the first to dance last year. And she went on to win the Glitterball. Just sayin'...

Her Tango was light, totally in time and ended on an impressive note. "Just right Kellie Bright," said Len, once the EastEnder had caught her breath, while notorious meanie Craig Revel Horwood used the word "marvellous."

This was a strong start for Kellie and it was reflected in her score of 27, which included Len's first "SEVEN!" of the season.

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Next up was Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo, dancing a Jive with new pro Oti. He was light on his feet and clearly confident with the performance side of things. But the energetic dance took its toll on his trousers, which failed to make it through the night in one piece. Yep, we had our first wardrobe malfunction of 2015. Anthony Ogogo officially burst out of his slim fit slacks.

A trouser split wasn't enough to distract Bruno though, who had some less-than-positive feedback for his jolly Jive. Craig joined in telling Anthony he had "pigeon toes." We're not sure if that's a technical term or just a strange insult.

Anthony scored a respectable 21 out of 40, picking up a 4 from Craig, 5 from Darcey, 6 from Len and a 6 from Bruno.

After Ogogo, we had Helen George, who was channelling vintage vibes, a la Call the Midwife. Her's really was a Waltzing outfit Trixie would be proud of.

I personally found it quite hard to follow her footwork with all that fabric sweeping around the floor. But the judges did manage to concentrate on the technical stuff and it soon became clear why Helen has been named as a front runner. "Tremendous potential," said Craig. Darcey, Helen's childhood idol, was impressed, and Len got a little over excited...

"Hold me upside down and smack my bottom," said Goodman. "I can't believe this is week one and we are seeing this standard."

Helen George went on to bag an impressive eight, as well as three sevens when the scores were in. Someone fetch the Glitterball. We could already have a winner.

Carol Kirkwood followed Helen onto the floor - and countless weather-based puns followed in her wake. She predictably opened her number with a little weather reporting before Pasha arrived on the floor with the help of an incoming weather front.

Her attempt at a Cha Cha failed to impress the formidable judges. "A flood of errors with a total technical drought" said Bruno. "The cold front blew in darling, and you did not survive it," added Craig. But the studio audience booed in support. Because it's Carol Kirkwood. She could have stood there smiling for 90 seconds and we'd have loved it.

She scored a disappointing 2 from Craig, 5s from Len and Darcey and a 4 from Bruno - and the booing continued while Claud mopped up the remaining weather puns.

Daniel O'Donnell was next, dancing, naturally, to When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. He performed a graceful Waltz on a field of clovers. And the judges were pretty pleased by what they saw.

"Your footwork is the best I've seen," said Len. "Very pleasing," added Bruno. While Darcey said, "You danced like the perfect gentleman," before the crooner was awarded his scores: 4, 6, 7, and 7.

Next up, Countryfile presenter Anita Rani transformed into sparkliest thing we've ever seen. Dancing last, the star eschewed wellies but did start her dance clad in a yellow raincoat. Thankfully that was ditched pretty quickly.

"You're a born showgirl, saucy Anita," said Bruno, once she'd finished her confident Cha Cha. "I was shocked actually that it was so good," said Craig, using the word 'fantastic.'

Her scores were impressive too - 6, 7, 7, 7 - and concluded an evening of impressive dancing.

Our first glimpse at the leaderboard saw Helen and Aljaz in the top spot with 29, while Carol and Pasha are at the bottom with 16. Obviously this could all change tomorrow when the remaining nine celebrities take to the floor. And, while every couple is safe this week, it is worth remembering that these scores will be carried through to week two when we can phone to our heart/bill payer's delight.

Not that we have to wait that long for our next Strictly fix. The remaining nine celebs will be taking to the floor tomorrow (Saturday) at 6:15pm on BBC1. See you there!

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Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:15pm on BBC1


More Strictly news and interviews with all this year's celebrity contestants...


Robin Windsor, Alex Jones and Sir Bruce Forsyth will be at the Radio Times Festival this weekend.

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