WALTHAM's Kevin Clifton and dance partner Susanna Reid sizzled on tonight's Strictly Come Dancing, scoring a magnificent 39 points.
Kevin, dressed in a red and gold matador's jacket, and Susanna, wearing a bright red dress, emerged on to a dancefloor filled by flames.
And they kept up the heat with a performance of the Paso Doble that had the audience and the judges in raptures.
The pair were awarded nine points by Craig Revel Horwood, and 10 each by Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.
They had looked set to top the leaderboard but were matched by the final pair to dance, Natalie Gumede and Artem Chingvintsev.
Darcey said: "That was a wonderful traditional Paso Doble. You ate up the dancefloor Susanna."
Len likened the performance to a plate of Spanish tapas - "full of tasty morsels all the way through."
Bruno said: "The distilled flavour of Spain was there for all of us to savour. It was just fantastic."
Craig described the routine as "absolutely fabulous."
Speaking afterwards to presenter Tess Daly, Susanna described the experience of dancing at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom as "magical."
Kevin, who competed at the venue as a youngster, said: "I just wanted Susanna to experience what I had experienced growing up. Blackpool is one of the most important places to dance."
Another couple will be voted out of the competition in tomorrow night's show, which is on BBC One at 7.15pm. Follow us on Twitter @GrimsbyTel during the show and check out www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk for reaction to the result.
Kevin, dressed in a red and gold matador's jacket, and Susanna, wearing a bright red dress, emerged on to a dancefloor filled by flames.
And they kept up the heat with a performance of the Paso Doble that had the audience and the judges in raptures.
The pair were awarded nine points by Craig Revel Horwood, and 10 each by Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.
They had looked set to top the leaderboard but were matched by the final pair to dance, Natalie Gumede and Artem Chingvintsev.
Darcey said: "That was a wonderful traditional Paso Doble. You ate up the dancefloor Susanna."
Len likened the performance to a plate of Spanish tapas - "full of tasty morsels all the way through."
Bruno said: "The distilled flavour of Spain was there for all of us to savour. It was just fantastic."
Craig described the routine as "absolutely fabulous."
Speaking afterwards to presenter Tess Daly, Susanna described the experience of dancing at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom as "magical."
Kevin, who competed at the venue as a youngster, said: "I just wanted Susanna to experience what I had experienced growing up. Blackpool is one of the most important places to dance."
Another couple will be voted out of the competition in tomorrow night's show, which is on BBC One at 7.15pm. Follow us on Twitter @GrimsbyTel during the show and check out www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk for reaction to the result.
