Strictly Come Dancing, week eight: 6 talking points, from Ashley making Shirley cry to Danny coming last on the leaderboard

Stacey Dooley, Faye Tozer and Ashley Roberts look firm favourites to make it through

Strictly Come Dancing 2018: Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev dance on week eight

Another week, another display of stunning routines on Strictly Come Dancing.

Glossing over the obsession with Blackpool, there was lots to enjoy tonight (10 November), and it was heartening to see Lauren and Charles climb the leaderboard, mixing up the competition.

We had tears from the judges, Rylan Clark Neal announcing the Ts and Cs, and more mentions of the Tower Ballroom than even the tourist board would think reasonable. Here’s what happened…

Ashley makes Shirley cry…

…in a good way of course! Ashley has, perhaps unfairly, received a lot more stick than Faye for being a trained dancer. That’s probably because Faye is fizzing with excitement to be on the show, whereas Ashley can come across as rather blasé.

Not tonight though. She shared the story of her recent bereavement and dedicated her breathtakingly emotional couple’s choice contemporary routine to her late dad. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and even Shirley was blubbing. The routine still didn’t get a full 40 though, Craig is still looking for his ten paddle…

Faye and Joe come crashing down to earth

By this stage in the competition, we can usually predict which couples will sail through the judges’ comments without any serious putdowns. Faye and Joe both have a foot in the final already, but it wasn’t the best week for either of them.

Yes, Faye finished second on the leaderboard but Shirley really went to town with her critique, telling the Steps star that all the other couples looked like they were fighting much harder than her. A bit of a kick in the teeth for a woman who has spent a big chunk of the week in physio because she’s training so hard.

Golden boy Joe couldn’t nail the samba either and finished fourth from last. You can bet your Facebook password he’ll be back on the show next week though.

Graeme channels Mr Motivator

There should have been a ‘do not adjust your set’ warning for Graeme and Oti’s fluorescent aerobics-inspired routine, complete with treadmill choreography, tiny shorts and impressive lifts.

Entertaining and energetic, the judges mostly just looked shocked at what they had witnessed and couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t translate into amazing marks though – they’re third from bottom and with one dance-off under their belt could be about to face another.

Charles nails the Charleston

Every year there’s a celeb who faces the humiliation of repeated dance-offs. This series it’s Charles and his partner Karen, who have survived it three times. I’ll be surprised if they’re back there tonight though – their window-cleaning themed Charleston (yes, really) earned them a whopping 35/40 and helped them finish third on the leaderboard. Strong work.

Danny’s in danger

Oh, how the tide has turned since Danny wowed us in the early weeks. He’s been the subject of headlines after a training room spat with Amy, and must be worried he’ll face trial by media as happened to Sean(n) and Katya. We’d all hoped his fall to the bottom of the leaderboard last weekend was a one-off but he’s back there again tonight after the judges found his samba too spiky. Will the public still be supporting him?

Something’s happening in Blackpool

Yes, the annual Tower Ballroom spectacular is on the horizon next week and all the couples are desperate to take part. They only mentioned it 6000 times. Claudia mocked the obsession and recommended strong black coffee for anyone who had been taking a shot for every mention.

Still, Strictly faces the strong possibility that everyone is now bored of Blackpool already. But much fun can be gleaned from watching rich celebs pretend they’re desperate to visit the British seaside in November rather than jet off to Barbados.

The Independent live-blogged along with all the action. Catch up on everything that happened, moment-by-moment, below.

Catch the Strictly results show on BBC One at 7.50pm.

[10 November 2018 20:27 · emmabullimore]

Ashley tops the leaderboard once again with that stunning contemporary number. Faye's hot on heels as usual, but Charles is a surprise entry on this side of the leaderboard, lovely to see him up there with such a strong score for his Charleston. Shockingly Danny and Amy find themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard for the second week in a row, and Kate, Graeme and Joe are all on shaky ground. It's very difficult to work out who's going to be in tomorrow's dance-off but my guess would be Graeme and Danny. Whatever happens, I'll be back next week to watch all the action, as the show heads to Birmingham for one week early. Sorry, I mean Blackpool. If only they'd mentioned it a few more times.