'Bonza, you beauty!' Jason Donovan blows the competition out of the water on second night of Strictly

By Andrea Magrath

Last updated at 1:45 AM on 2nd October 2011

He was the final contestant to take to the dance floor during this weekend's Strictly Come Dancing premiere, but judging by the reaction Jason Donovan was well worth the wait.

The Australian singer and actor received a screaming standing ovation from the audience for his sexy Cha-cha-cha with partner Kristina Rihanoff.

The 43-year-old was awarded a score of 32, the highest of the weekend by far and even won high praise from the harshest critic, judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Steamy: Jason Donovan raised temperatures with a sexy Cha-cha on the second night of Strictly Come Dancing

'From one Australian to another,' Craig said, 'Bonza, you beauty!'

Bruno Toniolo was equally enthusiastic, shouting after the steamy performance that 'Now Strictly's in business!'

Len Goodman added: 'The audience told you - best dance of the night,' while Alesha concluded: 'Jason, the boys said it all. Super fun, everything we wanted to see. Good on you.'

Cha-cha: The Australian star received the highest score of the weekend of 32

Raunchy: Jason apologised to his wife beforehand for the sexy performance

The judges awarded the couple eights across the board, to put them in front of last night's tied-top scorers Holly Valance and Anita Dobson, and the second best of the evening, Harry Judd, by four points.

The McFly drummer kicked off proceedings tonight with a well-received Cha-cha-cha to Moves Like Jagger.

His bandmates could be seen cheering him on from the audience and the judges were mostly pleased with the performance.

'I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed myself': McFly's Harry Judd was first to take the stage and impressed with his Cha-cha to Moves Like Jagger

'That was a very fit, tight, muscular performance,' said Bruno. 'Full of confidence and spunk. You really went for it. It could be a bit more sinuous on the crotch- or the hips - but very confident debut.'

Len added: 'A Little bit mechanical, bit bloomin' good you are, let me tell you.'

'You're wasted behind the drugs,' said Alesha. 'I loved how focused you are. For a first dance you made it look really easy.'

Heartthrob: 'That was a very fit, tight, muscular performance,' said Bruno of the performance

Impressive: The drummer received a high score of 28

Craig received boos from the audience for telling the pair that their dance was 'Too placed, too clean, too straight. You were depositing the steps rather than dancing them.'

He started the night on a high with a score of 28 - including a relatively high six from Craig - to match Holly and Anita's high scores from last night.

The low point of the evening was Nancy Dell'Ollio's waltz, which received a dismal score of 12, the lowest score of the weekend by five points.

Disastrous: Nancy Dell'Ollio received terrible reviews from the judges for her waltz

Dismal: She received the lowest score of the weekend of 12

Her only positive review cam from Alesha, who said generously: 'You are the glamourpuss this year. I loved the bit of acting, and yes it went wrong but you dusted yourself off and carried on,' but she still only awarded a three.

Bruno and Len each gave Nancy a four, while Craig gave the lowest with just one point.

Edwina Currie raised eyebrows and temperatures with her enthusiastic Cha-cha-cha to Build Me Up Buttercup, even flashing her knickers at the end by kicking her legs up above her head.

Build Me Up Buttercup: Edwina Currie raised eyebrows and temperatures with her enthusiastic Cha-cha-cha

Not shy: The former Minister flashed the audience but was only awarded 17

'The old cougar dancing with the toyboy! It was great fun,' Bruno said in delight.

Len added: 'It was a red hot Currie. It was great fun and you danced it with full confidence. I'm proud of you.'

Their fun routine wasn't enough to score highly with the judges, who gave them 17.

Waterloo Road's Chelsee Healey performed a waltz and impressed the judges with her elegance and grace.

Little princess: Chelsee Healey thrilled the judges, who called her waltz elegant

Dazzling: Even Craig had positive words, telling the actress, 'fantastic work, well done'

Bruno said: 'You have the ability to extend your lines without stopping, it takes some people years. Looking forward to seeing you grow and grow.'

'A whirling dervish,' said Craig. 'Your turns were great... you had a few balance issues but fantastic work, well done.'

Len added: 'It turned into Lady Gaga in the end. It started off with great elegance. Overall I liked it. Near the end I think you got a bit excited but overall it was jolly good.'

'You look like princess,' said Alesha. 'It was beautifully feminine, you should be really proud of yourself tonight.'

Shimmy: Alex Jones performed a sexy Cha-cha, but was told to work on her confidence

Next came Rory Bremner who performed a stylish waltz to Weekend in New England and was told he had nailed an impression of Fred Astaire.

'That was fantastic for the first week,' Len told him, but Bruno accused him of having a frozen, botoxed expression.

Craig dished out a number of technical critiques but added, 'you danced it with absolute elegance and panache.'

Flirty: The judges awarded The One Show presenter 22 for her performance

The judges gave Rory a good score of 27.

The One Show host Alex Jones shimmied through the Cha-cha-cha to Love Takes Over, for which they received a score of 22.

The judges told her she had to work on her confidence for next week.

'You've got believe in yourself and go for it all the way,' Bruno told her.

' It was very starchy and stiff,' Craig added.

'You did a really good job, you had the fun and flirty, you've just got to believe in yourself,' Alesha enthused.