Strictly Come Dancing latest: Fans praise Craig Revel and Anton Du Beke’s Halloween week costumes
The annual Spooktacular is back and the remaining 11 pairs were hoping their dancing didn’t frighten the judges
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It was fright night in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom on Saturday, which meant the remaining 11 contestants showed off terrifying transformations as they fought for a place in next week’s competition.
It’s not just the celebrities who got in the Halloween spirit. The judges also dressed up, with Craig Revel Horwood and Anton du Beke teaming up and doing their best impression of the twins from The Shining. Professional dancer Carlos Gu — who doesn’t have a celebrity partner this year — also vied for the Best Costume crown by dressing up as Claudia Winkleman.
On the dancefloor, there were plenty of impressive moments too as Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell opened the show with a Samba to “Stayin’ Alive’” by The Bee Gees. JLS singer JB Gill and Amy Dowden, who were in the dance-off last week, bounced back with a not-so-scary Foxtrot to “Dancing In The Moonlight”.
And Sarah Hadland brought the drama with the first Argentine Tango of Strictly 2024. The actress and her pro partner Vito Coppola got off to a shaky start as Hadland struggled to get her leg into the right position for a lift. Thankfully, the pair soon recovered and the judges didn’t hold the error against them, as two of the panel reached for their 10 paddles.
One of the best moments of the night came right at the end, as Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin closed the show with a “Time Warp” jive — complete with Drag Race-esque costume reveals.
Recap all of the action as it happened below...
Spooky season is here... find out all of the songs and dances for tonight’s show
Tonight’s list of songs and dances contains some classics for Strictly Halloween Week, including the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice-themed performances.
Here’s the full list:
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones will dance a Salsa to “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe will perform a Cha Cha to “Love Potion No. 9” by The Clovers
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez will perform a Tango to “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin will perform a Jive to “Time Warp” by The Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will perform an Argentine Tango to “Ready Or Not” by Fugees
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec will dance the Samba to “I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Real
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will dance a Samba to “Stayin Alive’” by The Bee Gees
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas will perform an American Smooth to The Addams Family Theme by Vic Mizzy
JB Gill and Amy Dowden will dance the Foxtrot to “Dancing In The Moonlight” by Toploader
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał will perform a Viennese Waltz to “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu will perform a Paso Doble to “In The Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg
A glimpse into tonights pro routine
Carlos Gu will lead the professional cast for a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice group rendition.
Here’s a glimpse into the action:
@bbcstrictly It's showtime! Our #Strictly Pros are bringing a terrifyingly good Beetlejuice routine to the Ballroom for #Halloween ♬ original sound - BBC Strictly ✨
Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice speaks out candidly on Amanda Abbington scandal for first time
Former Strictly pro dancer Giovanni Pernice has spoken out about his rehearsal room relationship with Amanda Abbington in detail for the first time since the BBC’s probe into his behaviour.
Read more below.
Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice speaks out on Amanda Abbington scandal for first time
Pro dancer recalled his last exchange with Abbington before she quit ‘Strictly’
Tasha Ghouri’s journey from being Love Island’s first ever deaf contestant to Strictly Come Dancing
Here’s everything you need to know about Ghouri, who’s sailing her way through the competition.
Tasha Ghouri, from being Love Island’s first deaf contestant to Strictly
Ghouri fell in love with dance when she felt the ‘bass and vibrations’ through the huge speakers in her home
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 couples – full list of celebrities and their partners
Wynne Evans, the Welsh singer hoping to get his opera talents into Strictly dance routines
Find out everything you need to know about the GoCompare singer below...
Wynne Evans, the singer hoping to get opera into his Strictly dance routines
From GoCompare to Cha-cha-cha...
And we’re off!
Roll up, roll up — it’s Strictly Halloween week! Second only to Blackpool, this is undeniably one of the most-anticipated weeks of each series. Yes, I am saying I look forward to this more than the final.
This year’s Spooktacular has plenty of dances worth tuning for, including an Addams Family American Smooth and a Jive to “Time Warp”. It’s less clear how some of the other routines will be given a Halloween feel, but maybe that just makes it more exciting?
Have Craig and Anton won Halloween already?
The judges always go all in with their costumes, but these two being dressed as the twins from The Shining is a seriously brilliant choice. It’s a 10 from me.
Is there a new curse in town?
Viewers have spotted a pattern emerging this series - whoever performs first seems to end up in the dance-off. It happened last week to JB Gill and previously to Shayne Ward (both of whom really didn’t deserve to be there). Best of luck to Chris and Dianne!
A solid Samba to start the show
That was good! I don’t think it was Chris’s strongest dance yet but the Samba is notoriously tough.
The judges seem reasonably pleased too. Shirley has praised the comedian’s dance content and characterisation as “fabulous” and “amazing”, adding: “Overall you did very well.”
“Your timing, as always, was excecptional,” said Anton.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments