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.
Montell’s closing the show
Oh, I do love a Couple’s Choice. The emotional stories behind them often make the routines extra special, as with Punam’s history-making Bollywood routine earlier this series.
Montell is paying tribute to her Caribbean roots and from what I’ve glimpsed of their outfits so far, both her and Johannes look amazing.
I think this will be another brilliant routine.
Montell has entered the chat
Erm, wow! The Gladiators star has delivered solid performances so far this series, but that the ‘wow’ moment she’s needed.
A beautiful homage to her Carribbean roots and Johannes’ life in South Africa, their routine had it all — including a costume change.
“Every week, we’ve been like, ‘she’s getting there, she’s getting there’... tonight you let it explode,” said Motsi.
Could Jamie be about to lose the top spot on the leaderboard?
Montell’s scores are in...
She ‘s officially the third of this year’s celebs to land 10s.
Montell received three — do I really need to tell you who gave her a 9? — and she’s joint top of the leaderboard with Jamie, on 34. What a way to close the show, indeed.
This week’s leaderboard
Tasha delivered a brilliant performance but she’s been knocked off the top spot.
Here’s this week’s final standings:
Strictly leaderboard scores from week five of the dance competition
Recapping how the judges marked the ‘Strictly’ couples in week five
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