Strictly Come Dancing eliminates fourth couple and reveals major twist in first for show

Strictly Come Dancing has eliminated its fourth couple… and there’s a major twist on the horizon for Halloween weekend.

This weekend, the bar was raised once more as Delta Goodrem became the first star to achieve a 10, followed by Tabby Stoecker, who earned a near-perfect total of 37 from the panel.

Alas, not everyone was celebrating, as Shaun Wright-Phillips found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Consequently, the former footballer, 45, and his pro partner, Alexis Warr, 26, landed in the dance-off and had to compete against Jaime Winstone, 41, and Carlos Gu, 33.

Neither couple is a stranger to having to dance for survival, as Jaime was in the first bottom two, while Shaun was saved against Melanie Walters.

But unfortunately for Shaun and Alexis, their Strictly journey has now come to an end.

Both pairs performed their routines again – Jaime and Carlos performed their Foxtrot to Man I Need by Olivia Dean, which scored 25, before Shaun and Alexis performed their Jive to Faith by Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande, which scored just 17.

Delivering their verdicts, judges Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse voted to save Jaime and Carlos.

Head judge Shirley Ballas opted to save Shaun and Alexis, meaning the decision came down to Anton Du Beke, who had the casting vote tonight.

He, too, chose to save Jaime and Carlos, making Shaun and Alexis the fourth casualties of the ballroom this series, while Jaime has now survived two possible eliminations.

Speaking after the result was confirmed, Shaun became tearful as he said: ‘I don’t think I can put into words how my time has been. From the pros, the judges, the staff behind the cameras, everybody that’s helped me along the way… It’s been the most amazing journey I’ve had.

‘And thank you for giving me the chance to be on the Strictly ballroom floor and actually learn how to dance!’

Alexis chimed in: ‘The resilience that this man has is so admirable, and I just wanna say, thank you so much. You have made this season such a joy for me, and it’s been so lovely to just get to know you, and get to see you completely handle something different, and I’m so proud of how you just danced that dance-off.’

‘Also, the gentleman that this man is,’ she added sweetly, ‘I feel so honoured to have had him as my partner.’

Shaun said he couldn’t have asked ‘for a better partner’, joking that Alexis knew how to ‘deal with [his] mood swings, which isn’t easy’.

‘I did have a lot of tough times, but you knew how to work with me,’ he told her sweetly. ‘I wish I could’ve taken you further.’

But Shaun’s elimination wasn’t the only announcement tonight, as Strictly has revealed a spooky twist for next Saturday’s Halloween special, marking a first for the long-running BBC dance competition.

Next week’s results show will feature Strictly’s first-ever triple dance-off, meaning the three couples with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will perform again.

And while the judges typically vote to ‘save’ a couple, this time, they’ll be voting for who they wish to eliminate.

Reacting to the news, fans on X described it as a Spooky Season act of ‘pure evil’, while many compared it to an X Factor-style twist and expressed reservations.

‘Nooo I don’t like that at all’, @PeaksLfc wrote.

@RyanSoapKing25 argued that the twist is ‘giving the judges more power than what they already have’, adding: ‘I don’t see the point of this twist almost halfway through the series. Why change something that doesn’t need to be changed?’

@jordanlea29 said ‘this series is stressing me out’, while @mebecauseofgu said a triple dance-off ‘makes no sense’, and @OliverO21312 called it ‘just cruel’.

Although others actually suggested taking things a step further, with @rh_account2 writing that two couples should be eliminated ‘if they really wanted to be evil!’

Those with objections needn’t fear, though, as despite this series being riddled with change, from three new presenters to five new pros, the Beeb has confirmed that the triple dance-off is for Strictly’s Halloween results only.

The series returns to a regular two-couple dance-off from the following week.

Someone who is happy about the format change is Craig, with the programme’s resident Mr Nasty joking, ‘My time has finally arrived!’

Elsewhere in tonight’s results show, Jamie Miller gave his UK television debut performance of the viral tune Babydoll alongside Antonio Cipriano, shortly after scoring his first number one with the single.

Plus, things got spicy as Melanie C joined the Strictly professionals for a fitness-based group dance.

Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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