Sheffield's Dan Walker gives a gladiatorial performance on Strictly Come Dancing

Dan and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova danced a Paso Doble to Calvin Harris and Rag'n'Bone Man’s Giant and picked up more points than on week one.

After catching Nadiya on the nose during practice it seemed that Dan was taking his role as gladiator a tad too seriously, but his dance on the night was energetic and powerful.

Dan stayed in character as the music ended, dragging Nadiya across the dancefloor before turning to the audience and, in an echo of Russell Crowe, asking ‘are you not entertained?’

But the judges were decidedly mixed on the performance. Motsi said: “You did conquer, but I am a little bit confused because I did like it but on the other side that was a little bit too much. You do want too much but maybe a little bit softer.”

Anton said: “It was a gladiatorial matador, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those before, it was quite frightening. You have to be careful that you don’t look like you’re winking on one and pointing on two. It still has to be a dance.

"I liked your energy and I liked your power.”

Shirley added: “You’ve definitely got the eye of the tiger and your heart was definitely on this floor. But when you hit a shape it shouldn't stop, there should always be some continuation of line.”

In a strange turn of events, Craig gave the most positive review. He said: “I think you made a choreographic choice because it was gladiator. I’m really glad you went for that and it was strong.”

Motsi and Shirley gave Dan and Nadiya 6 points, while Craig and Anton both awarded 7 points, giving the couple a total of 26, two more than on their first dance last week.

In response to the judges comments, Dan said: “They’re fair, they know what they are talking about. I threw everything into that. The queen of the colosseum is amazing. Two weeks ago I literally had no idea what I was doing.”

Dan will see if he can fight another day on the first results show of the series, tomorrow Sunday October 3 at 7.05pm on BBC1.