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Key events
DGPHOK says: “Couples Choice is not ballroom or Latin. It seems to be a bye to the next week. Liked both dance off contestants, such a shame.”
Belette adds: “You absolutely have to buy in to it being a popularity contest, so if you’ve in a soap or a ‘reality’ TV show you always stand a good chance. No other reason why Pete Wicks’ salsa that wasn’t really a salsa which, bless him, he knew he’d made shed loads of mistakes in and looked bereft at the end, scored rightly the lowest but wasn’t in the dance off. It’s never been a dance competition.”
Sebnose says: “Floppy dance and bad costume were major contributors to Sam’s demise, I fear.”
ABH2018 adds: “Very sorry to lose Sam and Nikita. I’ve loved them and there were two or three I thought should have gone first. And I agree with Motsi that it’s sad to lose another girl.”
girlpanic says: “I’m very sad to see either of those couples leave. Neither of them deserved to go this week. Sam definitely could have improved more and I think it was her lack of celebrity compared to some of the others that failed her a bit. Oh well, that’s Strictly!”
Somersetlass adds: “Not a surprise, and of course Mojo shouldn’t have been in the dance-off, but I am gutted to lose Sam and Nikita. Love, love, love Nikita’s tenderness, and Sam is just gorgeous.”
Readers’ verdicts are in
Let’s take the temperature of your comments. joanieloves says: “Sorry to see Sam go,but it’s got to that point of the show where every week from now on will be a close call.”
IvanTiger says: “Well, let’s try to forget Icon Week ever happened and put it in the bin..”
Tombo says: “Were MoJo punished for dancing a waltz to a song that isn’t in 3/4 time? If so, they only have themselves to blame..”
LekisP adds: “Well that was disappointing. Sam was a great contestant. She really embodied the spirit of Strictly. I think Montell has more to give, she could make the final.”
Amy isn’t the only Welsh dancer on TV tonight
For more hoofing action, you can now flip to BBC4 for Dance Passion: Swansea, which sees world-class dancers perform throughout the city.
At 9pm, choose from new true-crime thriller Until I Kill You on ITV1, the finale of Showtrial on BBC1, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing on BBC2 or Generation Z on Channel 4.
Film-wise, tonight’s picks are Bram Stoker’s Dracula (9pm on BBC3), The Shawshank Redemption (10pm on BBC2) and Anchorman (11.10pm on Film4). Stay classy, San Diego.
Will we see Icons Week again?
The jury is out on whether this weekend’s brand new theme worked. It certainly led to some uneasy combinations soundtrack dance style. There was also inconsistency in how closely the theme was followed. Some celebrities slavishly dressed up as the musician in question, while others didn’t.
It was fun but felt a little gratuitous, presumably aimed at pulling in younger viewers. With Movies, Halloween, Blackpool and Musicals, we’ve probably got enough theme weeks. Do we really need another?
Oh Nikita, you will never know…
Ukrainian pro Nikita Kuzmin would have been confident he could steer Sam Quek a few weeks further. Sadly it didn’t quite happen. Her 10th place finish matches his 2022 partner, Ellie Simmonds. In his debut series, he came sixth with Tilly Ramsay. Last year, he formed a dynamite all-male duo with Layton Williams and finished runner-up.
His 2023 partner was watching from the studio audience tonight. Wonder if Nikita was vaguely tempted to pop a blonde wig on Layton and draft him in for the dance-off instead?
Sighs of relief from male celebs
Pete Wicks won’t be the only one thanking his lucky stars tonight. Chris McCausland, Wynne Evans and Jamie Borthwick all scored fewer points than Montell last night and did well to stay out of the bottom two.
After two dance-offs in the past three weeks, Shayne Ward will also have feared the worst. All of them need to mop their brows and knuckle down if they’re going to make it to Blackpool.
Pete Wicks did well not to bite the dust
Freddie Mercury impersonator Pete Wicks was cut adrift at the bottom of the scoreboard by a long way last night. He was bottom of the pile by massive seven-point margin – the biggest gap of the series so far. Despite dancing in the slot of death, however, voting viewers rode to his rescue and the lion-maned, moustachioed TOWIE alumnus dodged the dance-off.
Pete the wet otter can thank his popularity. He’s proved amusingly dry-witted, formed a likeable partnership with Jowita Przystal (complete with showmance rumours) and fallen in love with dance, steadily improving each week – at least until last night’s salsa setback. He’s fortunate to outlast Sam Quek. She not only outscored him by seven points on Saturday but Pete is the lowest average scorer left in the field by fully three points – he averages 24, Sam 27. Lucky lad.
Sam’s exit leaves a male-heavy field
We started the series with a male-skewed field. Now the scales are further tipped. After the departures of Dr Punam Krishan and Sam Quek in consecutive weeks, only three female celebrities remain in the contest, alongside six males.
At least the three women who do remain – Tasha Ghouri, Sarah Hadland and Montell Douglas – are the three highest scorers. We can count on at least one of them reaching the final, surely?
Sam never quite hit her straps
You might have thought that the legions of Swifties would save her. Sadly, they didn’t vote in sufficient numbers. When Sam Quek was consigned to the dance-off against the far superior Montell Douglas, the result was all but guaranteed.
It’s been a curious contest for Sam. She had plenty of potential but never quite seemed to fulfil it. Lacking any performance background, she let nerves affect her, often making mistakes or losing her timing during routines. She also seemed to be harshly criticised by the judges, where others got away more lightly. As a hockey star-turned-sports presenter, she took it on the chin, refused to make excuses and trained hard alongside her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin, with whom she developed lovely chemistry.
The highlights of Sam’s seven-week stint were when she could play a character. Her Lara Croft paso doble in Movie Week and her Rocky Horror jive in the Halloween special were the only times her score climbed into the 30s. As a Liverpudlian, she’ll be gutted to fall a fortnight short of Blackpool but she was, in her own words, “totally boss”. Ta-ra, Samba Quekstep.
Will Amy return next week?
No official word yet on whether much-loved Welsh pro Amy Dowden will be back from illness to partner JB Gill again next week but let’s hope so.
Her fellow professional Lauren Oakley did a brilliant job deputising this week and is always a joy to watch. The three of them all collaborated on last night’s Couple’s Choice number and there were lovely scenes of female friendship in the Clauditorium last night. We wish Amy all the best with her recovery and hope to see her back at JB’s side soon.