Strictly’s Alex Scott not scared to take on samba this weekend

Alex Scott has said she is not worried about doing the “dance of death” in this weekend’s quarter finals on Strictly Come Dancing.

She and Neil Jones will be performing a samba for musicals week – the same dance which sent Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard packing last weekend.

Football star Scott, 35, has also said she is ecstatic with her song choice: Joyful Joyful from the Sister Act musical.

She told PA news agency: “I come in and get to dance to a song that I absolutely love every single day.

“When you tell people you’re doing the samba, straight away it’s ‘difficult’ it’s ‘technical’, it’s ‘the dance of death’.

“I’m just like: ‘Do you know what? We’re in the quarter final!’ I could absorb everyone’s fear about the dance and come in dreading it every day – or be like, ‘do you know what? We’re in the quarter final and we’re having such a good time’.

“Every dance for me is difficult. There’s no dance that has been easy. So it’s just like every other week. I come in on a Monday, I’m starting from scratch, I don’t know any technical elements. For me it’s just having fun with it”.

The couple failed to impress judge Craig Revel Horwood with their most recent routine, a fiery Argentine Tango, which saw him score them just four points. A wardrobe mishap also saw the couple get stuck together as their routine ended.

Former Lioness Scott said that while she still found learning dances difficult, her overall confidence “has improved”.

She said she will “go out there on the Saturday and totally be 100% in the dance, not worrying like I was in week one about if I miss a step and it showing on my face. I’m just going to go out there and have fun with Neil”.

Professional dancer Jones, 37, missed two weeks of live shows because of an injury, but said he is now “good”.

He said: “I hated not dancing. You come into a show, you want to do as much as you can.

“Alex was great to me. She turned around straightaway and was like, just recover, do everything you need to do to recover as quick as possible. So I listened to her.”

Strictly favourites Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse will dance the American Smooth to Gaston from Beauty And The Beast, while Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden will jive to You Can’t Stop The Beat from Hairspray.

Comedian Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer will dance the foxtrot to Consider Yourself from Oliver!, with Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke taking on a Charleston to Thoroughly Modern Millie from the 1967 musical film of the same name.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.