Strictly Come Dancing latest: 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 was back on BBC One for week five of the competition after a rollercoaster few days on and off the screen for the show.
Liverpudlian Chris McCausland 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. He landed a score of 35, putting him third on the leaderboard.
While last Saturday saw former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri awarded the first 10s of the series so far and top the leaderboard yet again, this week she fell to fourth as two other celebrities shared first place. The honour went to Jamie Borthwick, who performed a Pasodoble with Michelle Tsiakkas, and Montell Douglas, who together with Johannes Rabede closed the show with a Couple’s Choice. Both pairs scored 39, with all judges apart from Craig Revel Horwood giving them 10s.
Last week’s episode was not without controversy — but it went unaddressed in tonight’s show. Towards the end of last Saturday’s programme, 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.
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 show, 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.
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.
Fans had speculated about whether the pair would mention the controversy during the live show, but they decided against it.
Sam’s scores are in...
And it’s not too bad! A 6, 7, 6 and another 7 give her a total of 26.
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?
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 scores are in...
He’s landed a total of 22 with the judges almost performing a Steps cover as they reached for their paddles: 4, 5, 6, 7.
Sarah and Vito’s Samba
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again... the Strictly hair and makeup department knows a good wig when they see it.
In other news, Sarah’s Samba was a solid effort! And she seemed to relax into it as the dance went on.
Sarah’s scores are in...
Four 8s give Sarah and Vito a solid 32. Very well done!
Shayne bounces back
Now, that is how to make a return after being in the dance-off.
It seemed a little unfair when the former Corrie actor was left fighting for his place in the competition last week and it’s clear the lack of votes from viewers got to him too. But what a way to bounce back.
His and Nancy’s American Smooth was beautiful and packed with graceful, well-executed lifts.
Shayne’s scores are in...
It’s a 7 from Craig, and 8s from the rest of the panel, including Shirley who was so over-excited she lifted up the paddle before her cue. Whoops!
Shayne has a total of 31 and will hopefully pick up enough votes to avoid dancing off again.
No mention of the drama so far...
Wynne and Katya are up now. Their VT included no mention of the drama that plagued them after last week’s episode — which I had thought they might mention, if only because Wynne seemed very emotional about it all when he apologised.
Their Quickstep was solid though! And they genuinely do appear get on very well, laughing through the critiques and joking with the judges.
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