Strictly Come Dancing latest: Fans praise Craig Revel and Anton Du Beke’s Halloween week costumes
The annual Spooktacular is back and the remaining 11 pairs were hoping their dancing didn’t frighten the judges
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Your support makes all the difference.It was fright night in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom on Saturday, which meant the remaining 11 contestants showed off terrifying transformations as they fought for a place in next week’s competition.
It’s not just the celebrities who got in the Halloween spirit. The judges also dressed up, with Craig Revel Horwood and Anton du Beke teaming up and doing their best impression of the twins from The Shining. Professional dancer Carlos Gu — who doesn’t have a celebrity partner this year — also vied for the Best Costume crown by dressing up as Claudia Winkleman.
On the dancefloor, there were plenty of impressive moments too as Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell opened the show with a Samba to “Stayin’ Alive’” by The Bee Gees. JLS singer JB Gill and Amy Dowden, who were in the dance-off last week, bounced back with a not-so-scary Foxtrot to “Dancing In The Moonlight”.
And Sarah Hadland brought the drama with the first Argentine Tango of Strictly 2024. The actress and her pro partner Vito Coppola got off to a shaky start as Hadland struggled to get her leg into the right position for a lift. Thankfully, the pair soon recovered and the judges didn’t hold the error against them, as two of the panel reached for their 10 paddles.
One of the best moments of the night came right at the end, as Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin closed the show with a “Time Warp” jive — complete with Drag Race-esque costume reveals.
Recap all of the action as it happened below...
JB delivers a not so spooky Foxtrot
With a solid score of 30 last week, JB did not deserve to be in the dance-off (and perhaps fell victim to the new ‘curse’).
He’s bounced back well with the Foxtrot though. It wasn’t scary or Halloween-y in the slightest, but his and Amy’s scarecrow-themed routine was well-executed. And their wigs are also fantastic, of course.
JB’s scores are in...
He’s landed 32 — making his Foxtrot the highest-scored of the series so far. What a way to bounce back from the dance-off.
Tasha performs a Samba
I did find the song choice a little distracting — ‘I Like to Move It’ is an odd choice anyway and that version was a little weird.
Tasha’s brilliant, isn’t she? And she somehow still looks beautiful painted blue.
The judges have heaped praise on her Samba, which is a difficult dance to pull off but the former Love Island star made it look easy.
Craig summed it up best: “Amazing.”
Tasha’s scores are in...
Three 9s and a 10 from Anton give Tasha and Aljaz a total of 37 — which should surely be enough for a top 3 finish.
Shayne Ward brings the drama (eventually)
OK, that got off to a slow start as Shayne basically stood on the spot while Nancy danced around him, but we got somewhere in the end!
The duo upped the ante as the music sped up, building to a slightly frantic finale (in a good way).
“It was very intense,” said Motsi. “You followed the story, you were committed to the steps.”
“I was a little confused with the performance,” saids Shirley. “The Pasodoble is known as the man’s dance but you had eight sets of eight before you even took a step.”
Shayne’s scores are in...
Three eights and one 7 (from Shirley) give him a very respectable 31.
Jamie’s (not spooky) American Smooth
Jamie was joint top of the leaderboard last week after a “near-perfect” Pasodoble - and now he’s dressed as Pugsley from Wednesday. Say what you like about Strictly, but you can’t claim it doesn’t offer variety.
Jamie and Michelle’s costumes were brilliant but there was nothing scary about their American Smooth. The pair were largely beaming throughout and there were even lifts — including one that saw Michelle briefly lift her partner!
Jamie’s scores are in...
It’s another strong week for the EastEnders actor.
Two 10s (from Shirley and Motsi) and two 9s from the twins give him 38. Bravo!
Sarah delivers the first Argentine Tango of the series
And she did a good job!
There was a slight fumble at the start as Sarah struggled to get her leg into the right position to start the dance with a lift. it clearly rattled the actress’s confidence a little but she did recover well in the end.
The actress looks absolutely gutted but the judges aren’t letting the error cloud their critiques too much.
“That was the most wonderful Argentine Tango,” said Craig, before Motsi labelled it: “The dance of the night.”
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