Strictly Come Dancing turned up the glamour and drama on Saturday night, with Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin sweeping their way to the top of the leaderboard.
After lingering in joint fourth last week with a solid 32, the 30-year-old Love Island star and her 28-year-old pro partner leveled up, netting 36 points for a breathtaking American Smooth to Harry Connick Jr.’s “It Had To Be You.”
The routine drew a standing ovation from head judge Shirley Ballas, 66, who hailed the effort as “exceptional.”
“I’m very pleased with it, great choreography, some lovely footwork. I think you did exceptionally well,” Ballas praised. “You should be so proud of yourself.”
Olympic skeleton champion Tabby Stoecker, 25, staged a stunning comeback alongside 23-year-old pro Mark Karmalita. After tumbling to joint bottom with 25 points last week, Stoecker roared back with a fiery Paso Doble to Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole.” The routine snagged 33 points and launched the pair into second place.
Judge Motsi Mabuse, 45, noted that the athlete had returned “with a vengeance.”
“You are magnificent, I love it. I love the focus,” Mabuse gushed. “I absolutely love the way you hold your body … You spin into him, you spin out of him, you just do it on your own. I just adore you girl!”
Meanwhile, professional dog trainer Graeme Hall, 60, and partner Lauren Oakley, 35, climbed out of the basement to claim sixth place. Their Couple’s Choice dance to Peter Gabriel’s “The Book of Love” earned them 28 points.
While judge Craig Revel Horwood, 61, remarked that the performance was “not a technical masterpiece”, he applauded Graeme for delivering genuine “emotional” depth on the floor.
At the lower end of the scoreboard, two couples ended up tied in last place with matching scores of 26.
YouTube creator John Nellis, 33, and Katya Jones, 37, stumbled with a Salsa set to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” They shared the bottom spot with former Love Island star Cach Mercer, 25, and Maddie Ingoldsby, 21, whose Waltz to “That Ain’t You” by Mulaa Joans struggled to find its rhythm.
Craig didn’t hold back on Cach’s performance: “The posture was poor, the frame wasn’t great, you were leaning over Maddie, there wasn’t a single heel lead in that dance at all. You were up on your toes the whole time, and your feet were turned in.”
However, Anton Du Beke, 60, saw potential through the flaws.
“Posture is improving. Everything you do, I’d like you just to do a bit more; a bit more posture, the arm line is great, just keep working on that,” Anton offered. “I just keep saying this about you, it’s old meets new, and I love this you, and when you join in the old, ooh, you’re just gorgeous!”
The ballroom tension now moves to Sunday night, when the public vote results will reveal who stays and who faces the dread dance-off.