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In the most competitive opening night yet, the high standard of the performances in this season’s first episode of It Takes Two turned the betting on its head at Sportingbet Australia. 

All Saints star Virginia Gay replaced Home And Away actor Paul O’Brien as favourite and had Sportingbet Australia CEO, Michael Sullivan, singing her praises. 

“Virginia continued where fellow cast member Jolene Anderson left off in the last series,” said Mr Sullivan. “If these two girls are any indication of the depth of talent in that hospital, we can hardly wait for All Saints – The Musical,” he said. 

IT TAKES TWO CHAMPION – (Pre-series odds in brackets)

Sportingbet Australia Market 

Virginia Gay 2.50  (6.00)

Sara Groen 5.50  (6.50)

Russell Robertson 7.00 (8.50)

Julia Morris 9.00 (9.00)

Chloe Maxwell 9.50 (8.50)

Mark Wilson 11.00 (17.00)

Scott Draper 12.00 (6.00)

Paul O’Brien 14.00  (4.25)

Candice Falzon 21.00  (21.00)

John Mangos 34.00 (14.00)   

What The Bookmaker Saw…  

·         Julia Morris & David Hobson – We never thought we’d hear ourselves say we wanted more volume from comedienne Julia Morris, but she relied a little too heavily on her greatest asset – being  paired with proven vote-magnet David Hobson. While it looked like Everlasting Love on screen, the judges didn’t actually comment on her singing, but they did give her 29 (we thought it was generous). Definitely one to keep an eye on. 

·         Sara Groen & Adam Harvey – The chemistry couple – who cares if she can sing? TV personality Sara gave the audience Fever in her red dress, with those sultry looks and she certainly knew her way round the camera. They started applauding before she sang a note and applauded long after. At this end of the comp, would seem to have major vote-pulling power, but don’t forget Jennifer Hawkins’ shock departure from DWTS. 

·         Candice Falzon & Anthony Callea – The Iron Woman Suddenly.…looked all at sea with her role as a singer. Anthony pulled off a clever diversionary tactic, channeling Flock of Seagulls with his new hairstyle (rivaled only by Grant, channeling early Beckham with his own new coiff). 

·         Chloe Maxwell & David Campbell – The former model and mum gave a spirited performance of It Had To Be You and hit the right note with the audience and the judges. She’s well matched with David and now we all know that when she’s nervous “sometimes, a little bit of wee comes out” – we assume she means the high notes (whheeeee!).

 ·         Russell Robertson & Kate Ceberano – AFL star Russell kicked a goal with his singing and he’ll certainly get the girls’ Best & Fairest vote. Kate said it best “He’s hot-hot-hot”!  And they were on fire with their rendition of Listen To The Music. He also gets the prize for sucking up to the judges – he and Ross Wilson have a mutual admiration club. Capable of more than the odd screamer and set to make his mark in this competition. 

·         Paul O’Brien & Jade Macrae – Wonder Wall had us wondering why the soapie actor chose such a tough song to attempt first up – Paul looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights for most of his debut performance. His Home and Away popularity will keep him safe for the time being, but this TV cop will need to get back on the beat, tout d’suite. 

·         John Mangos & Wendy Matthews – John was silky smooth in front of the camera, but he looked better than he sounded. He got bonus points for his song dedication to his baby son, but if (as the song says) this is only the beginning, we think that the end may come quite soon. 

·         Mark Wilson & Rachael Beck – We enjoyed his performance, but we’ll have to wait and see how he handles other musical genres before we get a handle on the DWTS judge. We noticed that the ITT judges were supportive, but they didn’t actually say anything at all about his singing. They did tell him to stop “mincing” (which is something we’d expect from Todd).

 ·         Virginia Gay & Ian Moss – Their performance was heart stopping, but all hospital jokes aside – the All Saints contender was smoldering, easy, relaxed and mesmerising. They should have sung A Star is Born - the bonafide rock legend and the TV nurse put in a stellar performance and Virginia scored an unprecedented 10 on her first night! Surprisingly their lowest score was from judge James, who might have related better to their song title – My Funny Valentine. 

·         Scott Draper & Ricki-Lee Coulter – while the catchy song theme Playing To Win suited the champion Tennis player and Golfer to a tee, unfortunately he didn’t prove quite so versatile on the singing stage. Songbird Ricki-Lee is new to the mentor role and her singing showed him up a little.