The Strictly Come Dancing contestants graced the stage for Musicals Week – but were rocked by a surprise departure hours before the show was due to begin.
Five became four as Nigel Harman withdrew from the show due to an injury sustained in rehearsals.
This didn’t mean the remaining celebrities were performing for fun, though: hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced at the start of the episode that, while there would be no elimination, the judges’ scores would be carried over to next week’s semi-final.
Musical theatre star Layton Williams used this to his advantage most effectively, receiving the first perfect score of the series for their paso doble to “Backstage Romance” from Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Yes, you read that correctly – judge Craig Revel Horwood used his “10” paddle for the first time in 2023.
On the other side of the table was former tennis pro Annabel Croft whose foxtrot to “For Good” from Wicked saw some judges deliver scores considered to be fairly low at this stage of the competition.
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola on ‘Strictly’— (BBC)
EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier embraced his inner Patrick Swayze to perform a salsa to Dirty Dancing track “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”, while ex-Coronation Street star Ellie Leach danced the quickstep to “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast.
Find the leaderboard, which will be carried over to next week’s semi-final, below:
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin: 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 40
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola: 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 36
Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell: 8 + 8 + 9 + 34
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe: 8 + 8 + 8 + 9 = 33
So that places Williams at the top of this week’s leaderboard, and leaves Croft and Brazier in danger of the dance-off next Sunday (10 december) night, as the judges’ scores are combined with the public vote.
However, all that could change should Croft and Brazier receive perfect scores in next week’s episode.
