It's almost time for one of the most iconic moments of the Strictly calendar: Blackpool Week.
The competition is heating up now, with five of the remaining nine couples having finished at the top of the leaderboard. However, this week there have also been some big changes as Amy Dowden withdrew from the competition following her foot injury, leaving JB Gill dancing with substitute partner, Lauren Oakley.
The past two weeks have allowed the theme of the dance to sometimes take over, but this week, the contestants got back to the dancing with all themes dispensed of.
What are the couple's dancing?
On this week's Strictly, two couples performed their Couple's Choice routines. Pete Wicks performed a heartfelt dance to the Nicotine Dolls' cover of Tina Turner's iconic hit, The Best, while fan favourite Chris McCausland wowed on the dancefloor, with Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon serving as his and Dianne's choice of song.
We were also treated to two American Smooths this weekend, courtesy of Sarah Hadland and Wynne Evans. Sarah chose Heather Small's Proud for her routine, while Wynne put his best foot forward to MIKA's Grace Kelly.
© Guy LevyMeanwhile, JB Gill's samba was performed to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes and Jamie Borthwick dance the Argentine Tango to Do I Wanna Know? by the Arctic Monkeys.
Tasha Ghouri took on a quickstep to Mariah Carey's Fantasy, while Shayne Ward danced a rumba to Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time and Montell Douglas' paso doble was set to the tune of Lola's Theme by The Shapeshifters.
Leaderboard
See below for this week's leaderboard…
- JB Gill & Lauren Oakley – Samba – 37 (9, 9, 9, 10)
- Tasha Ghouri & Aljaz Skorjanec – Quickstep – 37 (8, 10, 10, 9)
- Montell Douglas & Johannes Radebe – Paso Doble – 36 (9, 9, 9, 9)
- Pete Wicks & Jowita Przystal – Couple's Choice – 36 (8, 9, 10, 9)
- Chris McCausland & Dianne Buswell – Couple's Choice – 33 (7, 8, 9, 9)
- Sarah Hadland & Vito Coppola – American Smooth – 33 (8, 8, 8, 9)
- Wynne Evans & Katya Jones – American Smooth – 32 (7, 8, 8, 9)
- Jamie Borthwick & Michelle Tsiakkas – Argentine Tango – 30 (7, 8, 7, 8)
- Shayne Ward & Nanxy Xu – Rumba – 30 (7, 8, 7, 8)
Who left the competiton?
After taking on Wynne Evans and Katya Jones in the dance-off, it was Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu who missed out on the chance to go to Blackpool. With the judges divided, Shirley Ballas made the final call, opting to save Wynne and Katya in Sunday's episode.
© BBC“I just want to say, you guys up there are a dream. Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys, you helped me so much," Shayne told his fellow contestants. "I want to say thank-you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I’ve ever done.
“I’m proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank-you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Nancy Xu], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go.“I’m sorry it didn’t work out to the end, but I’m super proud that I got to meet you [Nancy] and dance with you, so thank-you.”
Who went home last week?
Last week's Icons Week saw Olympic hockey star Sam Quek and partner Nikita Kuzmin exit the competition following their Taylor Swift-themed performance. The duo went up against Gladiators star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe, with the judges opting unanimously to save the latter pairing.
© Guy LevyIn her exit interview, Sam said: "I'm gutted, I just want to say thank you. I've learned so much. Strictly has just brought that spring in my step back.
"It's just been an absolute joy. Nikita, you've been key in helping me find that inner Sam that was there, who went a little bit quiet for maybe one or two years and has just come back. I'm gutted because I do feel like I still have more to give."
