Marianne Gunn's verdict: four stars

The Strictly live show got off to a shaky start when the festooned curtain failed to rise and it appeared the band may have to be shrouded in anonymity.

After some quick talking from Host Zoe Ball, and the introduction of the three judges, the set malfunction was thankfully fixed.

This year's panel saw Craig Revel Horwood thank the taxpayer for his facelift (Botox was to be another self-deprecating joke of the evening) before Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup tried to take the places of stalwart Len Goodman and camp-ness personified Bruno Tonioli.

Chambers and Dallerup were dance partners in the 2008 Strictly line-up and, even though Chambers claimed to be part of Clan Gunn, his role as a judge was probably ill advised (stealing Goodman's "You're my favourite" quip was also a grave error).

With her six years as a professional dancer on the show, Dallerup also failed to convince in the judging role: supportive constructive criticism is not what makes the show the toast of Saturday night's light entertainment. It's meant to be panto-style feedback - especially for the live show - and only Revel Horwood achieved this.

Out of the celebrity line-up Towie's Mark Wright was urged to bring more hip action to his syncopated Cuban breaks while doing his opening Cha Cha Cha, while Simon Webbe's saucy salsa with Kristina Rihanoff and her feathery bustle (to the soundtrack of Let's Hear it for the Boy) was the first show-stopper of the evening.

Revel Horwood commented on the extraordinary difference he saw in the Blue singer and on their second half return with a breathtaking Argentine Tango, Webbe and Rihanoff received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Comedy kudos has to go to BBC Radio One's Scott Mills for his The Addams Family Foxtrot and an outlandish Under the Sea that will prove popular with younger audience members. (Crowd-pleaser Let It Go, which featured some impressive aerial moves, should please the discerning Disney fans too).

Rachel Stevens, also from the 2008 show, was a last-minute addition to the celebrity cast and her second half rumba was an impressive dance, especially considering her very short rehearsal period.

Later it seemed as if Thom Evans may have swayed a home advantage in the outcome of the vote, especially with his kilt-clad rendition of Flower of Scotland.

Current star of the show (and Friday evening's winner) Caroline Flack and her new dance partner, Tristan McManus, opened with an American Smooth (to Mack the Knife) and in the second half performed the inventive Charleston that surely won her the glitter ball trophy.

Apart from Revel Horwood's sly dig at Judy Murray - who was missing from the Scottish line-up - the ensemble pitched the show perfectly for a lively Friday night crowd.

Some Hollywood-style big band numbers finished off the evening but Zoe Ball was perhaps the revelation of the evening, as Claudia Winkleman's misfortune may result in a rousing reboot of Ball's telly career.