What is going on with the judging on Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)? Shirley Ballas suddenly whipped out two pairs of tiny shoes to demonstrate her footwork quibbles. It was like she’d spent Saturday afternoon raiding the children’s department at Clark’s. Meanwhile, her colleague Anton Du Beke seems so intoxicated by his status as fan favourite that he’s habitually over-scoring. Three 10s and four nines, Anton? Really?

Marking the midway point of the contest, this episode was mercifully theme-free. After two consecutive weeks when fancy dress drowned out the dancing – the BBC centenary bizarreness was followed by Halloween overload – it was back to proper glitterball business.  There weren’t even any of those much-maligned Couple’s Choice numbers. Instead the 10 surviving pro-celebrity pairs performed proper Latin and ballroom routines. Who’d have thought it? 

For the first time this series, there was no doubling up, with each couple tackling a different dance style. It made for 90 minutes of eclectic and electric hoofing, albeit not quite as high in quality as Tony Beak tried to convince us.

Top of the pops was Hamza Yassin, who has soared from being this year’s least-known contestant to among the best-loved. The wildlife cameraman scored a near-perfect 39 for his last Latin number and fell just one point short of repeating the tric with a fluid, technically impressive cha cha cha. Light on his feet, a natural mover and hugely likeable, Yassin is surely a finalist in waiting.

Tucked in behind were two female celebrities who might just be joining Yassin in the final. Helen Skelton notched her highest score yet for a coolly confident monochrome jive. Kym Marsh sizzled during an Argentine tango so intense that it ended with her holding a face-to-face pose with partner Graziano Di Prima for fully 15 seconds. It was like a passionate version of a playground staring contest but boy, did it work.

Down the bottom, it would be a shame if fan favourite Tony Adams failed to survive the salsa but risky lifts couldn’t conceal the distinct whiff of dad-dancer. The routine did him few favours – he had to faux-DJ, then dance to a dreadful tune by Pitbull – but it was riddled with footwork errors. Adams gamely admitted getting carried away –  “I was so busy having fun, I thought ‘Oh sugar, what’s going on down there?’” – and it could be time for the former footballer to see a red card.