Strictly Come Dancing: Live, Birmingham NIA; touring, review Usually at this time of year, I'm the one dragging the kids to places they refuse to go to. When it comes to Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour, though, it's the other way round, and not even the obvious logistical problem of roads turning into icy death-traps and trains being up the spout were grounds for me telling the nippers that it was no go. They wanted Strictly, they needed Strictly and I'd jolly well get them there. It was Birmingham or bust. Truth be told - much as I like the TV show, and have enjoyed the live spin-offs for the past three years, I was pretty take-it or leave-it about Series 10. I'm so behind on those epic Danish serials I couldn't spare the viewing time and only glimpsed the salient aspects of this last season: chief among them being the have-a-go triumph of nimble-on-her-pins Emmerdale actress and "size 16-plus" mascot Lisa Riley and the 2012 feel-good factor of Team GB heartthrob gymnast Louis Smith, who leapt off with the trophy in handsome style. The faultlessly slick live vehicle serves as an efficient digest of the recent competition - albeit that fewer couples (seven) take part and that it's presented as two "for real" rounds of judged and voted on routines. This year, presented again by Kate Thornton, is no exception. Aside from the catty remarks of Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli - offset by the spluttering indignation of Len Goodman (but no Darcey Bussell) - there isn't as much comedy value as of late, as TV commentators noted. Butt of the jokes here are two cricketers, smiley Michael Vaughan - stumped by any Latin moves - and series seven old-hand Phil Tufnell, on a disastrously sticky wicket throughout. We need a Nancy or a Widdy, really. Never mind, though. The glitzy occasion still sparkles, still warms the cockles. Here, as on telly, Lisa sweeps us off her feet with her delighted personality - her sunny smile almost radiating off the seven glitter-balls tirelessly spinning above the arena stage. First into the ring, she has the judges cooing in rare unison with pleasure at her Cha-cha-cha. Once again, too, it's a case of stand back and swoon as Smith - sweetly tongue-in-cheek in the behind-the-scenes video grabs - bowls everyone (except Len) over with his acrobatic flips, turning a rhumba and tango fusion into a cocktail of pure sex - before returning with a steamy round-two rendition of the final routine from Dirty Dancing: "Time of My Life." One could almost weep for Denise van Outen, who shows she's got more than it takes to wow us on a dance-floor - but the public just won't give her that final leg-up in the voting. The whole thing, in sum, is fun, reassuring and not strictly surprising but there are times when you need a bit of that, aren't there? You emerge little the wiser, but much the happier. The kids, it should be added, thought it was Fab-U-Lous.