It’s ‘Icons Week’ on Strictly Come Dancing and the contestants and their professional dance partners lit up the ballroom with tributes to Prince, Beyonce, Cher and Dolly Parton.
More so than any other week on the series so far, judges appeared divided on numerous dances, meaning the highest score was just 34.
That was awarded to Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope who opened the show with a quickstep to the tune of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.
Performing a homage to Dolly Parton, was Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe, whose foxtrot was awarded an impressive score of 32.
Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison also impressed the judges with her and Kai Widdrington’s couple’s choice dance to “Fight for This Love” by Cheryl Cole, which earned a score of 33.
West End star and former Love Island contestant Amber Davies and her partner Nikita Kuzmin also earned 33 for their cha-cha-cha to “Break Free” by Ariana Grande.
Ex-Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink also achieved a personal best score of 30 thanks to his American Smooth with Lauren Oakley to “Purple Rain” by Prince.
Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer were perhaps unlucky to only get a score of 30. Their Argentine tango to “Caught Up” by Usher caused huge debate among the judges scoring as high as nine and as low as six.
The most popular score of the night was 28 which was awarded to no fewer than four couples who were: Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon and La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec.
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In a surprise, series YouTuber George Clarke, who was considered an early favourite, was awarded just 27 for his and Alexis Warr’s jive to “As It Was” by Harry Styles. This left him bottom of the leaderboard.
Last week saw the elimination of rugby player Chris Robshaw and his partner, Nadiya Bychkova. Meanwhile, Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis announced on Monday (20 October) that he was withdrawing from the series due to a torn calf muscle he suffered during the previous week’s episode.
This was the first episode since hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced their unexpected exit from the show.
See below the marks and total scores from week five, from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke:
Lewis Cope and Katya Jones: 9 + 9 + 8 + 8 = 34
Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington: 8 + 8 + 8 + 9 = 33
Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin: 8 + 8 + 8 + 9 = 33
Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe: 7 + 8 + 8 + 9 = 32
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer: 6 + 9 + 7 + 8 = 30
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley: 7 + 8 + 7 + 8 = 30
Karen Carney and Carlos Gu: 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 28
Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola: 6 +8 + 7 + 7 =28
Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon: 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 28
La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec: 6 + 7 + 7 + 8 = 28
George Clarke and Alexis Warr: 6 + 7 + 6 + 8 = 27
