Strictly Come Dancing: Amy Dowden in tears at JB Gill’s score as Sarah Hadland wows with Madonna tribute
The professional dancer fell ill during the filming of last weeks show
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One tonight for week seven of the show with a special theme, though professional dancer Amy Dowden was unable to dance following a health emergency.
The Welsh dancer, who is partnered with JLS singer JB Gill, fell ill during the filming of last week’s live show (26 October). An ambulance was summoned to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood and the 34-year-old was taken to hospital. A spokesperson for the dancer later said that the ambulance was “just a precaution”.
Fellow pro dancer Lauren Oakley instead partnered with Gill for the Couple’s Choice, which won high praise from the judges and landed the JLS star his first 10s of the series. Dowden joined the pair in the Clauditorium as the scores were delivered and became emotional as the numbers were revealed.
Icons Week is celebrating 20 years of Strictly Come Dancing with couples dancing to songs by music legends such as Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey and Queen.
Gill and Oakley topped the leaderboard along with Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec, who performed a Couple’s Choice to “What About Us” by P!nk. Both pairs landed totals of 39, with Craig Revel Horwood still yet to reach for his 10 paddle.
Another standout performance came from Sarah Hadland, who transformed into Madonna for a dramatic Cha Cha. She finished in third place on the leaderboard.
Strictly Come Dancing (Taylor’s version)
Sam closed the show last week with her jive to “Time Warp” which, despite the judges’ scores, was one of the most entertaining and fun dances of the week.
Now she’s transformed into Taylor for an American Smooth, and that was another solid effort. Sam really has started to look a lot more comfortable on the dancefloor too, which is a joy to see.
“I just fulfilled my dream,” she said after.
“I think [Sam] has the right to celebrate today,” Motsi told her.
Shirley told her: “You’re on a great track - charm, grace, beauty, you’re going in the right direction.”
Sam’s scores are in...
It’s a 6 from Craig, which felt harsh. 8s from Motsi and Anton, and a 7 from Shirley, give her a total of 29 - two lower than last week.
Chris bounces back from last week’s Samba
Chris is back! He said it himself that last week was a struggle but he seemed more comfortable this week, dancing to a track by his icons, KISS.
What did the judges think?
“Unfortunately your side step was out of time,” Craig said. “It became a bit stompy on occasion. You travelled so wonderfully across the floor though, I have to say.”
“It felt like a fusion between Paso and Tango,” Motsi said. “I don’t know if it was intended in that way but I’ll take it.”
Chris’s scores are in...
After a 26 last week, he’s landed a total of 29.
That was thanks to a 6 from Craig, 7 from Motsi, and 8s from Shirley and Anton.
Sarah smashes her Madonna tribute
Sarah’s Argentine Tango put her joint top of the leaderboard last week (even though she had a nerve-wracking error at the start) and now she’s tranformed into one of the most legendary stars of all-time: Madonna.
And despite her mishap last week, Sarah showed no fear as she took a task inspired by one of the Queen of Pop’s most nerve-wracking moments: Walking up a set of stars while wearing a giant cape.
That was truly sensational wasn’t it? Also thank you to whoever at the BBC put Vito in those trousers. The Strictly wardrobe department are my icons. Could we be about to see the first 40 of the series? I hope so.
Vito’s trousers cause a stir
Just in case you’re out and following along, here’s his outfit:
See what I mean?
Anton had one word for him: “Wedgie.” Unfortunately, the Italian dancer didn’t know what one was...
Sarah’s scores are in...
Three 9s and a 10 from Anton give Sarah and Vito a total of 37.
Could that be enough to top the leaderboard? We do have two Couple’s Choice routines to go…
Amy Dowden cheers JB Gill on
The wonderful Lauren Oakley has stepped in to partner with JB this week after Amy Dowden was taken ill shortly after last Saturday’s live show. It is so lovely to see Amy in the ‘Clauditorium’ cheering her partner on though. Hopefully she’ll be back next week!
JB’s scores are in...
JB and Lauren have received a 9 from Craig and 10s from the rest of the judges. And, as Claudia said, the score also belongs to Amy, who has been working with her partner and his temporary replacement this week.
These are JB’s first 10s and the moment is certainly bittersweet. The wonderful Amy was alongside them and in tears as the scores were being delivered.
Montell’s routine sparks a spat
The judges cannot agree on Montell and Johannes’ dance. Shirley has got out of her seat to give Craig a talking to, with Motsi swapping seats with the head judge.
“I think there’s a lesson to learn there, when mum and dad are having a fight, get out of the room, ids,” Motsi quipped.
It feels incredibly weird seeing them in the wrong seats, a bit like if Ant and Dec stand the wrong way round.
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