Strictly star is eliminated in ‘most shocking bottom two in history of show’

Icons Week in the Strictly ballroom saw the dancers channel artists from Prince to Cher to the beloved Spice Girls.

But one star didn’t do quite enough to save themselves in what was a truly shocking elimination tonight.

After scores from the judges on Saturday, Lewis Cope and Katya Jones came out on top with an impressive 34 points. The Emmerdale actor opened the show, dancing a Johnny Cash quickstep to Ring of Fire. 

George Clarke and Alexis Warr found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard with 27 points. The content creator danced a jive to Harry Styles’s As It Was, which wasn’t quite a hit with the judges. 

So, after a tumultuous start to the weekend, Sunday evening’s show saw the public votes locked in and the bottom two for week 5 announced.

Despite both couples not scoring badly on Saturday, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley were in the dance-off alongside seasoned theatre performer Amber Davies and her pro, Nikita Kuzmin.

Unfortunately for Jimmy, though, it was his time to go, and the retired footballer became the fourth celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing 2025. 

Jimmy told host Tess Daly he had ‘absolutely loved’ his time on the programme, adding: ‘I can only say thank you very much for letting me have this experience and to my daughters for pushing me to come here and do this.’

He also thanked his partner Lauren: ‘Most importantly, [to Lauren] this girl, she is just absolutely incredible. 

‘She has been absolutely amazing with me. [To Lauren] You are a diamond.’ 

During the dance-off, Jimmy performed his American Smooth to Purple Rain by Prince once more. He said: ‘I was actually quite happy to dance again because I wanted to do better than my previous one.’

Amber and Nikita, meanwhile, performed the cha-cha to Break Free by Ariana Grande, as the former Love Islander channelled her inner pop princess.

But fans were utterly shocked to hear which two couples were facing elimination to begin with.

Vithun, on X, wrote: ‘Omg – that might be the most shocking bottom two in the history of Strictly!’. Jakub agreed: ‘I have no words’. 

@lizfalconerx said: ‘The most undeserving couples in the dance off.’

‘Can’t believe jimmy & lauren and amber & Nikita are in the bottom two that has really shocked me’, wrote @corderoy17.

Others branded the vote ‘ridiculous’ and said Amber specifically should’ve been ‘nowhere near’ the bottom two, while admitting how much they were going to ‘miss’ Jimmy.

Audiences were, however, pleased to see EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal avoid the dance-off, given how she and partner Julian Caillon have had their fair share of them thus far.

‘When they called our names out, I was like, “There’s been a mistake”,’ said a tearful Bal after being saved, while social media users were upset to see her ‘confidence knocked’.

As for Amber, she has consistently scored highly in the competition, and Jimmy has been in the middle or top half of the leaderboard week by week. 

There was initially some controversy surrounding Amber’s participation in this series of Strictly after she joined the cast last minute due to Dani Dyer being forced to pull out with an injury. 

According to The Sun, other Strictly celebrities felt her West End experience gave her an unfair advantage. 

The actor defended herself on Strictly: It Takes Two. She told host Fleur East: ‘Ballroom and Latin are worlds apart from what I’ve experienced on a West End stage. 

‘It’s a completely different technique, and it’s a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.’

In the end, the judges’ decision on Sunday night was unanimous—Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Head Judge Shirley Ballas all voted to save Amber and Nikita. 

Although his vote wasn’t needed for a majority, Anton Du Beke said he also would have done the same as Amber watched on in floods of tears.

This evening’s show also featured a performance from West End star Rachel Zegler, who sang Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.

The Strictly professionals brought their own Icon energy to the floor as well, as they paid tribute to Britney Spears and her eras with a group dance. 

Now, the remaining 10 couples will hit the training room ahead of next weekend’s Halloween special.

Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday, November 1, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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