On Strictly Come Dancing, not all styles are equal. Across the course of each series, the celebrities and their professional partners take on a wide range of dances, from elegant Vienesse waltzes to intense, sensual Argentine tangos.
It’s fair to say that some are more favoured than others. The samba has been the subject of its own curse rumours thanks to the number of celebrities who have departed the competition after performing one. In 2019, Saffron Barker even “begged” bosses for the chance to skip it (her plea fell on deaf ears and she danced it, only to be eliminated). The rumba, too, is notoriously difficult to pull off, especially for male celebrities.
At the other end of the scale, perfectly executed charlestons have often propelled pairs to the top of the leaderboard, as have phenomenal paso dobles. But one dance has cemented its place as the routine that will trump them all: the Couple’s Choice.
Introduced in 2018, the dance initially gave celebrities a choice between three styles: theatre/jazz, contemporary or street/commercial. The rules have become more relaxed as the years have gone on and a number of stars have used theirs to introduce other styles to the Strictly dance floor.
In 2022, Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal’s performance brought afrobeats to the ballroom, and earlier this series, Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez made history by performing the show’s first full Bollywood routine. In both cases, the celebs flew to the top of the leaderboards — and for Yassin, the Couple’s Choice took him from being an outsider to clear contender for the Glitterball Trophy (which he went on to win).
Dr Krishan was eliminated from this year’s series in Halloween week, but there’s no denying her Couple’s Choice three weeks prior bought her extra time in the competition. Until then she’d been lingering near the bottom of the leaderboard but the joyous Bollywood performance (rightly) propelled her to joint-second.
Montell Douglas then topped the Movie Week leaderboard with hers, while Icons Week saw Tasha Ghouri and JB Gill (who have both regularly impressed) finish joint top of the leaderboard with theirs last week.
So what’s so special about a Couple’s Choice? As well as giving celebrities an opportunity to bring something a little different, and therefore more memorable, it offers a chance for them to tell their story in more depth. Douglas delved into what dancing means to her, and paid homage to her inspiring grandmother. Former Love Islander Ghouri’s stunning routine was about “feeling not seen or unheard” and in her emotional VT, she spoke about how being deaf has presented challenges.
This week, with their place at Blackpool at stake, two more of the Class of 2024 performed theirs. And it sounds cynical, I know, but for both of them, the timing of the Couple’s Choice couldn’t have been better.
Pete Wicks danced an emotional routine dedicated to his late nan, who he was incredibly close to. As Mosti Mabuse said, the performance showed us another side to the Towie star, who by his own admission, has something of a “lothario” reputation. The dance landed him his highest score yet, putting him in joint third on the leaderboard.
Chris McCausland, who has been a standout contender from the launch episode, bounced back from a difficult couple of weeks with a celebratory number. It included a moment when the entire studio went dark, before the lights came up to show him and Dianne triumphantly spinning with fireworks in the background.
It’s not just about scoring high either. Even though neither Wicks or McCausland topped the leaderboard, their emotional performances are sure to resonate with viewers, just as they did the judges. As I’m sure Dr Krishan can attest: however long they last in the competition, these are routines they’ll look back on with pride.
