Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween costumes: whose frocks were a fright and whose were ghoulishly good?

 Scottish Ballet senior wardrobe technician Ciara Nolan gives us her verdict on this year's Halloween costumes.

We have finally reached Halloween Week, traditionally one of the most thrilling nights on the Strictly calendar. And as the remaining couples set out to impress the judges, the costume department had plenty of tricks up its sleeve to provide the costume treats we have all been waiting for.

Injuries plagued the show this week with professional dancer Neil Jones and contestant Will Bayley resting up and missing their performances. Luckily for Neil’s celebrity partner Alex Scott, Kevin Clifton stepped in for their Ghostbusters-themed routine. Injuries are a huge part of the dance world and ballet is no exception. We must often deal with last-minute cast changes at Scottish Ballet and it can be quite stressful for the costume department. Dancers’ bodies aren’t all made the same and it can result in quick costume alterations. But fortunately, a Ghostbusters boiler suit is a “one size fits most” scenario and Kevin had no problem fitting straight in.

It was Telegraph columnist Michelle Visage’s turn to top the leaderboard this week and it was no surprise why. Both her performance and her costume were spectacular. She played the Addams Family’s Morticia for her spooky Foxtrot, still sparkling from top to toe (or around mid-calf). The Foxtrot is very technical and it would be hard to pull it off in anything else other than a fitted eight panelled ballroom costume. But the gothic hair, heavy make-up and extra-long trailing cuffs kept the theme.

Wigs were used to full advantage last night. Emma Barton looked every inch the Hallo-queen of Hearts in her bright red regal wig. Meanwhile, Saffron Barker sported a lovely blonde bob as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, although I think her, and her partner AJ Pritchard’s costumes were much too subtle for the Halloween special!

Alja? ?korjanec sported some grey hair as Professor Plum in his Cluedo-themed routine. In fact, I think he used baby powder or dry shampoo, a technique used regularly in ballet as it can be easily applied and is a much cheaper alternative!

Karen Hauer wore a tall “Marie Antoinette” wig in her haunted opera house-themed dance with partner Chris Ramsey. However, with her shorter hair, it must have been much harder to pin it in place as we saw it lift and eventually come straight off. Often male dancers have this problem and we have to quadruple the number of pins used and add wig glue around the brow and sideburns.

Karen’s creepy Georgian costume for the Samba was my favourite this year and was a brave choice by costume designer Vicky Gill. Samba costumes normally have feathers bustles or fringing for lots of bounce, but Vicky kept the volume in Karen’s dress using plenty of layers of pleated georgette at the hips and ignored the era’s rules on dress length by keeping it extra short, showing lots of leg.

When it came to menswear, Johannes stole the show. While his corpse bride Catherine Tyldesley was shaking in her fringed number for their cha-cha-cha, Johannes Radebe sported a creepy tailcoat jacket with a beautiful cobweb effect created using thin tinsel trimming stitched sporadically over the top. And of course, it sparkled! (Not that Johannes needs any help in standing out.)

We’ve seen many great Halloween specials over the years on Strictly, and even though I feel there were a few costumes that lacked imagination, it was still a spectacular show. Who goes home tonight is anyone’s guess.