Strictly Come Dancing Live, Capital FM Arena

It really was a truly A-MAZ-ING show.

And it was refreshing to, at last, see all of the dancers, celebrities and pros from Strictly Come Dancing in the flesh after a winter of building anticipation.

The judges, who are also the stars of this glitter-ball of a show, were Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and the show director Craig Revel Horwood.

All lived up to their billing – even if we were denied the famous "Seven" cry from good old Uncle Len.

This was the first of three shows at the Capital FM Arena and they weren't afraid of dishing out a good hiding with their scores, despite it being a glitzy gala night for the celebrities and their partners.

For the record, we were treated to Artem Chigvintsev dancing with Fern Britton, James Jordan with Denise Van Outen, Karen Hauer dancing with Phil Tufnell (who first competed in 2009), Natalie Lowe and Michael Vaughan, Ola Jordan with Louis Smith, Robin Windsor dancing with Lisa Riley and Pasha Kovalev with Dani Harmer – so a couple of changes from the TV partnerships to digest. It'll be an open secret who won – and there was really only one contender.

Gymnast Louis, although joint second on the judges' scorecards, came out on top in the final shake-up.

Although the judges were inevitably scripted for large chunks of the night (something that presumably can't be avoided on a show that's running almost every day in one part of the country or another) there were plenty of histrionics and a pantomime atmosphere with cheering, booing balanced with applause and admiration for the talent on show.

The biggest cheer was reserved for Olympic hero Louis, who won this season's TV show, and for Denise, whose signature Charleston was simply amazing.

Fern hoped to raise her score – and a few pulses – by stripping Artem's top half, while cricketer Phil played it for laughs trailing what looked like toilet paper out of his trouser leg!

The format was for each couple to dance a ballroom and a Latin number, punctuated by some stupendous routines from the professionals.

Kate Thornton, who was an able MC for the night, celebrated her special birthday with the crowd wishing her well in traditional style with a rousing chorus to kick-start the fun.

The evening closed with the ensemble – including judges – hitting the dance floor and those within touching distance had to hold themselves back as Bruno got carried away enough to swing his shirt around his head!

But everyone was close to the action here in Nottingham for a truly FAB-U-LOUS show (... that's one word, three syllables, begins with 'F').