Pulling 2016 from the depths of despair, Ed Balls is much needed comic relief. The Labour politician and former shadow chancellor under Ed Miliband (who then lost his seat in Parliament following the 2015 general election) can now be seen adorned head-to-toe in spray tan and sequins, busting outrageous moves on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday nights.
Never not bottom of the leaderboard, Ed is running his own race with enormous support from the public keeping his twinkle toes cemented firmly in the competition. His dance partner Katya Jones is a World Latin Champion from Russia, and is perhaps the bravest woman alive considering her routines are not short of risk and shock-factor. His cha-cha made us cry with laughter, his american smooth had us clutching the arms of our sofas and screaming in horror, and his salsa had our jaws dropping to the floor. His wife, Labour MP Yvette Cooper, was the one who encouraged Ed to go on the show, and can often be seen from the audience cringing with horrific delight, encapsulating the nation's disbelief.
Ed is among a number of politicians who have swapped Westminster for the Strictly ballroom, including Ann Widdecombe, Edwina Currie and Vince Cable. Strictly super-fans may remember when television and radio journalist John Sergeant left the show voluntarily because he felt bad for knocking out 'better' dancers. Well, Ed has said he isn't leaving until the public vote him out, and something makes us think that won't be anytime soon...
We look back at team Balls' performances each week:
Waltz
In week one Ed stepped out onto the Strictly dancefloor for the first time and performed a waltz, with the set dressed as Westminster. This routine was safe, but from here on it was obvious that Ed and Katya thought playing the competition so safely was actually a risk for a politician on the show. Cue the transformation from Politician Balls to Dancer Balls.
Charleston
Ed began to come to life in week two, performing a charleston with speedy kicks, jumps and that all-important swivel action (or at least he tried).
Samba
Dressed as Jim Carrey in The Mask for Movie Week, Ed was beginning to show his commitment for the show, and the anticipation surrounding him started to gain momentum.
Paso Doble
A beautiful mess - Ed's paso doble lacked an ounce of technique, but did it even matter?
American Smooth
Anyytthingggg but smooth, this dance will be remembered for one thing only - the utterly disasterous lift. The audience's horror is almost palpable.
Cha-Cha
Ed went all Beyonce in his cha cha, which Katya then revealed was his own instinctual improvisation.
Quickstep
Entertainment value was on the up when the pair performed a quickstep and Ed also showed great technical improvement, shutting down sceptics who didn't think the 'joke' act should get this far in the competition.
Salsa
As Head Judge Len Goodman summed up so perfectly, there aren't words in the dictionary to describe Ed's salsa to Gangnam Style. Bruno Tonioli described it as 'the best worst dance ever', and Darcey Bussell assured him it was a moment that would go down in Strictly history.
Ed has even gained support from famous faces on Twitter:
This weekend the competition is packing up and heading north to Blackpool - the home of ballroom dance. Each year Blackpool brings more drama, bigger routines and even more sequins, so naturally the expectation for Ed and Katya is at an all time high. So far, we know Ed is going to be lowered from the ceiling on a piano to 'Great Balls Of Fire'. Of course he is.
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