Strictly Come Dancing fans were reeling on Sunday night after Dev Griffin left the show following the week four dance-off. The DJ was the third celebrity to exit the competition, following Olympic rower James Cracknell and TV presenter Anneka Rice, and it was the biggest surprise of the show so far.
© Photo: BBCDev and Dianne were clearly devastated to leave the show
Dev and his professional partner, Dianne Buswell, had received positive comments from judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli, totting up a respectable 27 points, which put them fourth from bottom on the leaderboard. Viscountess Emma Weymouth and her partner Aljaž Škorjanec were also in the bottom two, having scored 28 points on Saturday night. Both couples took part in the dance-off, repeating their previous performances. For Emma and Aljaž, this meant a jive to Kim Wilde's Kids in America while Dev and Dianne danced the Cha Cha to Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith and Normani.
MORE: Strictly star Dianne Buswell asks for support for her and Dev Griffin ahead of results show
After they had danced again, the judge's decision was unanimous. Craig said: "They were the couple that really shone for me in this dance off. They came to life and went the extra mile." Motsi agreed, saying: "Particularly in the dance off, Emma and Aljaž were the couple that looked more rehearsed and on top of it." Bruno added: "Emma and Aljaž were the couple that showed no mistakes. They were stronger, cleaner and focused," and head judge Shirley Ballas said: "I agree, I would have saved Emma and Aljaž."
© Photo: BBCThe couple scored 27 points for their Cha Cha
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Dev admitted he was disappointed to leave after the result was announced, telling the show's co-presenter Tess Daly: "I’m not going to lie I am absolutely gutted, but learning how to dance, hanging out with Dianne and the other pros and celebs… I’ve absolutely loved it." Dianne, who made it to the final last year with celebrity partner and boyfriend Joe Sugg, was also visibly upset. But she paid moving tribute to Dev, telling Tess: "Dev has been absolutely amazing. His work ethic is insane. I see him everywhere practising and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Thank you so much for all your time and your effort. This boy has so much talent, I’m really sad he won’t be able to show you guys any more of it."
