Strictly Come Dancing LIVE: Chris McCausland sparks tears as Jamie and Montell top leaderboard
All the updates from week five of the BBC dancing competition
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Strictly Come Dancing is back to BBC One this evening for week five of the competition amid a rollercoaster few days on and off the screen for the show, with Nick Knowles being the latest star to say goodbye.
Liverpudlian Chris McCausland has delivered the most emotional moment of the night with a Waltz to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that left head judge Shirley Ballas in tears.
And while last Saturday saw former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri awarded the first 10s of the series so far, having impressed the judges with her Coachella themed Charleston, it’s finally someone else’s turn to top the leaderboard.
The honour is being shared by Jamie Borthwick, for his Pasodoble, and Montell Douglas, who performed a Couple’s Choice. Both stars landed three 10s and a 9, giving them each a total of 39.
Last week’s episode was not without controversy. Towards the end of the show, the celebrities and their professional partners gathered in the “Clauditorium” – the upstairs area where host Claudia Winkleman chats to the contestants in between performances – before the voting lines opened, just as they do every week.
This time, though, dancer Katya Jones was captured on camera as she appeared to move opera singer Wynne Evans’s hand off her midriff and onto her hip. Earlier in the programme, she seemed to reject a high five from her partner. Seeing these two incidents in quick succession moved viewers to start speculating about whether Jones was feeling uneasy. Social media was soon awash with comments from Strictly fans: “Something is off,” one Twitter/X viewer claimed, while others described the interaction as “uncomfortable”.
The pair quickly moved to shut down the rumour mill, sharing an Instagram video in which they said they were “just messing around”. In his post, Evans wrote the high fives were a “running joke” between them. Jones, a Strictly veteran of eight years, later doubled down with another video on Sunday, describing the row as “quite absurd” and asking fans to focus their attention on Evans’s “amazing” progress in the competition.
There is no theme for this weeks show so an eclectic mix of songs and performances with the tunes already being announced by the BBC.
Did this have to be set to an Oasis song?
Pete’s Rumba wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be, but the “Don’t Look Back In Anger” soundtrack kept taking me out of it.
Shirley had no trouble though. She is absolutely mesmerised by Pete’s hip action. So much so, she’s willing to overlook the lifts Jowita probably shouldn’t have included in the routine (they’re not really the done thing in traditional Rumbas).
Pete’s up next
He’s doing a Rumba which will be... tough.
But in the meantime, who out of him and Shayne is the evil twin?
Sam’s scores are in...
And it’s not too bad! A 6, 7, 6 and another 7 give her a total of 26.
It’s not a great night for Sam
The judges haven’t loved her Quickstep and she looks quite emotional hearing their comments.
“It wasn’t quite magnifnicent,” said Anton. “You went wrong a couple of times, but I have to say, in general, you’re dancing much better.”
“I felt overall you’re in a divorce and fighting one another, you’re at different paces and levels,” said Craig, though he did then admit he “enjoyed” it.
Motsi speculated that Sam had “timing issues and nerves”. “It’s just not your night,” Shirley said, as she urged Sam not to feel too sad about the judges’ critiques.
Paul’s scores are in...
Oh dear. It’s a 3 from Craig then — going down the panel — two 5s and a 6. That’s a total of 19, putting him bottom of the leaderboard so far.
Paul gives the Samba a go
Paul showed some promise last week with his transformation into Fred Astaire for a Quickstep. Now he’s doing... a samba. It’s unfortunate.
Let’s be honest, he’s probably not got left long in the competition but the former footballer is without a doubt one of my favourite contestants this year.
He always gives the live shows his all and is such a joy to watch (even if the steps aren’t quite right).
Tasha’s scores are in...
Two 8s and two 9s give them 34.
This means for the first time since week one, she and Aljaz won’t be topping the leaderboard. That honour is currently going to Jamie and Michelle, on 39.
Judges disagree over Tasha’s Tango
This time it’s Craig and Shirley who have differing opinions.
“It lacked a little bit of aggression for me,” said Craig, though he then labelled the routine “magnificent”.
“I think it had the agression you need for a Tango,” countered Shirley. “You’re on a very, very good track. Consistency in all of it is key and I believe you can find that.”
As Motsi pointed out, the judges are being seriously picky with Tasha as she’s at such a high level so the comments may not impact her score too much.
Can Tasha beat last week’s score of 39?
Tasha and Aljaz had plenty to celebrate last week after topping the leaderboard (again) and scoring the first 10s of the series.
The only downside is that this pair have set the bar incredibly high for themselves so early in the competition. But what better way to follow the 10s than with the drama of a Tango?
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