Strictly Come Dancing latest: Tasha Ghouri lands first 40 as JB Gill wins the Samba-thon
Craig Revel Horwood finally reached for his 10 paddle after Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec’s emotional American Smooth
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.There was plenty to celebrate on this week’s Strictly Come Dancing as the first 40 of the series was finally awarded.
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec — who had previously been given 39s on three occasions — landed the score thanks to their emotional American Smooth, dedicated to the professional’s young daughter, Lyra.
Giving their critiques, the judges labelled the routine “perfection” and “the Rolls Royce of the American Foxtrot”.
“Unfortunately, now for the truth darling, your right little finger... ” Craig Revel Horwood quipped, before adding: “Fab-u-lous.”
The live show also saw Chris McCausland take on the Paso Doble, which was extra special as his partner Dianne Buswell’s parents had flown over from Australia and were watching in the audience.
Sarah Hadland impressed with a Rumba (which Vito Coppola had packed with difficult choreography) while Pete Wicks’ fans suggested his song choice may have impacted his scores.
The action all took place after a tense Blackpool week that saw Wynne Evans and his partner Katya Jones eliminated.
Another celebrity will leave the competition in Sunday (November 24) night’s results show, which airs on BBC One at 7.20pm.
Here’s Saturday night’s show as it happened.
This week’s songs and dances revealed
Here are all of the songs and dances for week 10 of the competition:
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe will dance a Quickstep to “Get Happy” by Ella Fitzgerald.
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will dance a Rumba to “Chains” by Tina Arena.
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec will dance an American Smooth to “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi.
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will dance a Paso Doble to “El Gato Montes” by Manuel Panella.
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas will dance a Foxtrot to “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King.
JB Gill and Lauren Oakley will dance a Charleston to “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby” by Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał will dance a Tango to “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins.
Recap: Everything that happened last week
Last week was Blackpool week, which saw the departure of opera singer Wynne Evans and his partner Katya Jones.
Meanwhile, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec held their position at the top of the leaderboard for the third week running with their Paso Doble. They were joined at the top of the leaderboard by Hadland and Vito Coppola who also scored 39 points for their performance.
Closely behind them was comedian Chris McCausland who scored his highest score of the series for his American Smooth to “Jump” by Paul Anka, which left his professional partner Dianne Buswell in tears of joy.
At the other end of the scale was Pete Wicks who scored 27 points for his Cha Cha to “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred.
The reality star was praised for his upper body isolation. However, his “entertaining” hip action left judges in fits of laughter.
Will Ghouri, Hadland and McCausland be able to hold their positions in the top three this week?
Viewers conflicted over last week’s scoring
Viewers were left conflicted over the judges’ scoring during last week’s show.
Judge Craig Revel-Horwood awarded TOWIE star Pete Wicks a brutal score of four, which enraged some viewers. Others, however, thought it was fair.
Read more here:
Strictly Come Dancing viewers divided over scores for Pete Wicks’ ‘awful’ Cha Cha
‘Pure evil but I have to laugh,’ one person said
How does the Samba-thon work?
Tonight’s episode will include an extra special element, not seen on Strictly since 2018.
It seems quite simple and yet, can so easily descend into chaos. Dance-a-thons are a regular element in real world dancing competitions and championships, and involve all pairs dancing (in this case, doing a Samba) at the same time. The judges will then eliminate the couples one by one until only the winners remain. Basically, it’s exactly the same as the dance contest in Grease.
And it’s not just for fun. The couple’s standings will be converted into points and added to their scores, so the Samba-thon has the potential to change the leaderboard.
And we’re off!
There are just seven couples left in the competition and the final is in sight.
Tonight, the remaining pairs will be dancing twice as they’re performing their own routines and then taking part in a Samba-thon. The last time Strictly aired a dance-a-thon was in 2018 and let’s just say it ended in total chaos as the judges’ electronic scoreboards failed. Hopefully, they use good old pen and paper this year.
Pete opens the show
Let’s be honest: Pete is least-skilled dancer of the celebrities left (and has arguably been the weakest for at least a couple of weeks). Viewers’ votes have kept him in the competition though, and it has to be noted that he’s never afraid of throwing himself in whole-heartedly. By which I mean, I’m still not over the neon pink trousers he wore in Blackpool.
Tonight he’s opening the show with a Tango, which is no small task and, as he put it in his VT “going all at it” and it’s not too bad! There’s certainly an intensity between Pete and Jowita too, which definitely adds to it.
Pete praised for ‘improving dramatically'
Here’s what the judges told the TOWIE star.
“I’m so glad to see you back in the ballroom, this really suits you. i’ loved your top line, it was very controlled and gave a good stance to the dance,” said Motsi, though she did observe “a touch of hesistation” from Pete as he moved into the solid Tango sections.
Shirley told him: “What I love is, you come out and you’re absolutely focussed on the job at hand. I thought you did very well this week.”
“You’ve improved so dramatically, this is really great,” said Anton.
Obviously, Craig brought the mood down. “Well darling... It’s not difficult to improve on last week, let’s face it. The footwork was a little bitb unsure and unsteady. The timing was a little bit dlow and behind, I think because you’re lacking the drive this dance needs.”
Maybe he will survive another week after all!
Pete’s scores are in...
Going along the panel, he received a 6 - harsh! - then a 7, an 8 and another 8, for a total of 29.
Amy Dowden in the Clauditorium!
Amy’s back! It’s lovely to see her cheering on the celebs (including JB, who she was paired with). And she looks stunning in pink.
Sarah dances the Rumba
Sarah’s dance was a real fan favourite in Blackpool and I don’t know about you, but I’ve watched it at least once a day since last Saturday.
Now she’s doing a Rumba, the only dance style that’s never been scored with a 40 on the show. This is beautiful (and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the amazing Sarah at this point). It’s properly intense with stunning lifts and spins, and it’s nice to see another Rumba that doesn’t involve wafting around in barefeet.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments