Helen Skelton could not hide her excitement as she had a big 'breakthrough' on Strictly Come Dancing, as she received her highest score of the series so far, the night after pro partner Gorka Marquez claimed she should have been getting higher scores.
The Cumbrian TV star has been one of the most about celebs on this year's show, with her battle with her self-confidence a frequent topic of discussion as Gorka and the Strictly judges will her to believe in herself more. Ahead of this weekend's BBC 100th birthday special, it looked like things might be heading in the right direction for the former Blue Peter host as she and Gorka prepared to dance a Charleston to the theme tune from the show that made her famous.
And what a routine it proved to be. After Helen revealed on Friday's Lorraine that her knees had been 'bruised to high heaven' by rehearsing the numerous tricks and lifts in the dance, they all went without a hitch as head judge Shirley Ballas told the couple she 'wanted to stay on her feet' it was that good. All of the other judges were also full of praise for Helen and Gorka, with their positive feedback then borne out in the scores as they received 35, by far and away their best total to date.
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Helen was beaming from ear to ear as she talked to Claudia Winkleman and many fans were celebrating with her. One reacted: "Amazing stuff Helen!!! I’m here for all of your brilliantness!!! You, wonderful, wonderful woman," with a second tweeting: "Helen and Gorka have set the standard tonight. What an incredible start to the show and an INCREDIBLE Charleston. Well done to you both."
Among the many others delighted for Helen was a third fan who wrote: "That was fab, lovely to see how much Helen is enjoying it and improving and growing in confidence."
Appearing on Friday's One Show and discussing Helen's Strictly journey so far and the scores she's been receiving, Gorka remarked: "In my opinion I think she did brilliantly and I share your opinion too and I think she is so good and could maybe have higher scores, but again it's the judges' opinions and we take them on board and try and improve all the time."
He added: "She's doing very well and she's improving every week and that's what you want. You don't want someone to be very good in week one and then just drop."
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