It’s almost time for one of the most iconic moments of the Strictly calendar: Blackpool Week, but the pairings have another week to get through!
The competition is really heating up, with five of the remaining nine couples having finished at the top of the leaderboard during the series. However, this week has also seen some big changes as Amy Dowden has sadly had to withdraw from the competition following her foot injury, leaving JB Gill dancing with substitute partner, Lauren Oakley.
The past two weeks have allowed the theme of the dance to sometimes take over, but this week, it’s solely back to the dancing as all themes are dispensed of.
Who will shine, and who will go home?
On this week’s Strictly, two couples will be performing their Couple’s Choice routines. Pete Wicks will be dancing to the Nicotine Dolls’ cover of Tina Turner’s iconic hit, The Best, while fan favourite Chris McCausland will be performing to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon.
We’re also being treated to two American Smooths this weekend, courtesy of Sarah Hadland and Wynne Evans. Sarah will be dancing to Heather Small’s Proud, while Wynne will be putting his best foot forward to MIKA’s Grace Kelly.
Meanwhile, JB Gill’s samba will be performed to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes and Jamie Borthwick will be dancing the Argentine Tango to Do I Wanna Know? by the Arctic Monkeys.
Tasha Ghouri will be taking on a quickstep to Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, while Shayne Ward dances a rumba to Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time and Montell Douglas’ paso doble is set to the tune of Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifter
See below for this week’s leaderboard…
JB Gill & Lauren Oakley – Samba – 37 (9, 9, 9, 10)
Tasha Ghouri & Aljaz Skorjanec – Quickstep – 37 (8, 10, 10, 9)
Montell Douglas & Johannes Radebe – Paso Doble – 36 (9, 9, 9, 9)
Pete Wicks & Jowita Przystal – Couple’s Choice – 36 (8, 9, 10, 9)
Chris McCausland & Dianne Buswell – Couple’s Choice – 33 (7, 8, 9, 9)
Sarah Hadland & Vito Coppola – American Smooth – 33 (8, 8, 8, 9)
Wynne Evans & Katya Jones – American Smooth – 32 (7, 8, 8, 9)
Jamie Borthwick & Michelle Tsiakkas – Argentine Tango – 30 (7, 8, 7, 8)
Shayne Ward & Nanxy Xu – Rumba – 30 (7, 8, 7, 8)
This week, Shayne and Jamie find themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard, with the pair both receiving a score of 30, Shayne was also been in the dance-off twice. Wynne also finds himself towards the lower end of the leaderboard following his American Smooth. Despite lower scores, both Sarah and Chris have been praised highly on social media for their performances.
Last week’s Icons Week saw Olympic hockey star Sam Quek and partner Nikita Kuzmin exit the competition following their Taylor Swift-themed performance. The duo went up against Gladiators star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe, with the judges opting unanimously to save the latter pairing.
In her exit interview, Sam said: “I’m gutted, I just want to say thank you. I’ve learned so much. Strictly has just brought that spring in my step back.
“It’s just been an absolute joy. Nikita, you’ve been key in helping me find that inner Sam that was there, who went a little bit quiet for maybe one or two years and has just come back. I’m gutted because I do feel like I still have more to give.”
