Week four of Strictly Come Dancing saw plenty of tears, sparkles and even a standing ovation.
It was an action-packed episode on Saturday night (18 October), with ER star Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe topping the leaderboard with their rumba to “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman. The routine received high praised from head judge Shirley Ballas, who gave the routine a standing ovation – and even arose from her chair to hug Kingston. The pair scored 36 out of a possible 40, with Ballas awarding the second 10 paddle of the series.
Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and professional partner Katya Jones were two points behind, scoring 34, for their foxtrot to “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole. Jude Anton Du Beke said the routine was “super-duper, musical, beautiful movement and gorgeous feel”, but Craig Revel Horwood remarked that there was “too much power sometimes” and it had an “abundant American smooth feeling”.
Model Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola also wowed judges with their couple’s choice routine to “Golden” by HUNTR/X, a celebration of Goldstein herself and her groundbreaking achievements in her life so far. The couple were awarded 31 points, with Du Beke calling Goldstein “amazing”, while Revel Horwood said: “OMG darling, don’t let your energy move ahead of the beat but that a display of self-expression”. A tearful Motsi Mabuse praised the routine as “strong and powerful”, saying: “your golden moment, really touched me”.
At the bottom end of the leaderboard are Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec, who danced a cha cha to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, scoring a total of 14 points.
As was announced last week, Neighbours star Stefan Dennis and his professional partner Dianne Buswell went through to the competition’s next stage after being absent due to illness the week prior. The pair returned with a racuous charleston to “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I, receiving a respectable 26 points.
See below the marks and total scores from week three, from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke:
Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe – 8 + 9 + 10 + 9 = 36
Lewis Cope and Katya Jones – 8 + 9 + 9 + 8 = 34
Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin – 8 + 9 + 8 + 8 = 33
Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola – 7 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 31
George Clarke and Alexis Warr – 7 + 8 + 7 + 8 = 30
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley – 6 + 8 + 7 + 8 = 29
Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington – 7 + 7 + 7 + 8 = 29
Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon – 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 28
Karen Carney and Carlos Gu – 6 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 27
Stefan Dennis and Dianne Buswell – 5 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 26
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer – 6 + 7 + 6 + 7 = 26
Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova – 4 + 6 + 7 + 7 = 24
La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec – 3 + 4 + 2 + 5 = 14
