Strictly Come Dancing – as it happened: Halloween Week sees two couples top the leaderboard
Final 11 couples get spooky in the Halloween special
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing's annual Halloween special saw the ballroom was covered in cobwebs, sparkly pumpkins and as much dry ice as they could get through the double doors at Elstree studios.
Bruno Tonioli was back after his week off and even more exuberant than ever. Claudia Winkleman brushed up on her seasonal puns. Fang-tastic!
Last week Stacey Dooley's samba wowed them even though she admitted on It Takes Two that she was "pretending to be a drag queen in Palm Springs". This week, the Glitterball favourite threatened to steal the spotlight as she performed a tango to the Doctor Who theme tune, dressed as Jodie Whittaker while Kevin Clifton played a Cyberman. Judge Bruno Tolioni thought it was an impressive routine, Craig called it a very strong performance and said they were an "unstoppable couple". Darcey loved it too. Stacey and Kevin can do no wrong, and we'll be shocked if they're not in the final.
Also getting into the Halloween spirit, Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse paid homage to Michael Jackson with their cha cha to "Thriller" and Dr Ranj and Janette jived to "Monster Mash"… a brilliantly classic Halloween concept, or a demonstration of the producers’ lack of imagination depending on your point of view.
"I think the kids at home would love it but I didn't," Craig said of Dr Ranj's jive – calling it a "stompy routine". He agreed that the costume was hiding a multitude of sins. Darcey said the mistakes were "so clear'" but she was desperate to cuddle him. Too much character, not enough technique.
Kate and Aljaz, aka the Ice King and Queen of the ballroom, did a rumba to "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man. Darcey took the easy route by just telling them how gorgeous they looked. Shirley was unimpressed and demanded more from a week six routine.
Ashley and Pasha received acclaim (and three 10s!) for their Charleston. Bruno called it "magnificent" and "spellbinding". Ashley and Pasha danced the Charleston, one of the technically "easier" dances. Bruno called it a "magically spell-binding, action-packed, musical comedy of a Charleston" and "one of the best moments of the Strictly season.
Last Sunday, the enfant terrible of Strictly 2018, Sean(n) Walsh found himself in the bottom two, but the judges saved him and sent Vick Hope home instead. He and Katya danced the Viennese Waltz this week, with the comedian as a toymaker and his dance partner as a porcelain doll. Craig was extremely critical, calling Seann out for his poor timing. Darcey, Bruno and Shirley all agreed. Will Seann end up in the dance-off a second time?
Meanwhile Charles finally got a reprieve after two weeks in the bottom two. But SCD aficionados will tell you they’ve seen it all before: the pattern tends to be two dance-offs, a sympathy save and then elimination the next weekend. Unfortunately, he disappointed the judges this week with a jive to "Time Warp", scoring a lowly 25...
Faye and Giovanni blew the judges away with their Couple's Choice routine – a Fosse-inspired jazz/theatre number to Peggy Lee's "Fever". They got an a-ma-zing from Craig and a total score of 39, putting them at the top of the leaderboard with Ashley and Pasha.
Joe and Dianne impressed with a foxtrot, with Darcey dropping the "f" word as she congratulated Joe for his improvements week-on-week. The judges awarded the couple their highest score so far, with a total of 35
The liveblog is now closed
Lauren and AJ closed the show after an underwhelming contemporary routine last week, with a paso doble to a Nicole Scherzinger song: Lauren starred as an evil queen and AJ was the huntsman. They scored a respectable 29, including two eights from Bruno and Shirley.
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Ha! Darcey says Joe could make the final and Nicole Scherzinger looks visibly shocked. It's a bit early for panto, love.
Joe and Dianne: Foxtrot scores
Craig: 8
Darcey: 9
Shirley: 9
Bruno: 9
Total: 35
Joe's highest score so far...
Lauren and AJ are closing the show after an underwhelming contemporary routine last week. They're doing a paso to a Nicole Scherzinger song nobody remembers. Scherzy is in the front row, apparently to support Ashley, but really to remind everyone she once won Dancing with the Stars...
Lauren is playing the Evil Queen and AJ the huntsman. He's clearly never wielded an axe before, but never mind. Lauren's lack of acting skills have let her down so far but this is better, being moody with AJ seems to come naturally. No comment. She made easy work of those spins, there are a couple of timing issues. AJ has choreographed this well to hide Lauren's weaknesses, definitely one of her stronger routines.
Craig says it wasn't perfect but liked the energy, Darcey enjoyed the attitude of the dance and Shirley calls it Lauren's best dance so far. Brrrrruuuno says as evil queens go Lauren is much prettier than Craig. They really need to take this double act on tour...
Lauren and AJ: Paso doble scores
Craig: 6
Darcey: 7
Shirley: 8
Bruno: 8
Total: 29
Their highest score - 'It feels amazing' says Lauren.
So it's Ashley and Faye at the top of the leaderboard, closely followed by Stacey and then Joe. Those are your finalists right there, anyone else will be lucky to get a look in. Down at the other end, Seann and Kate are the judges bottom two, but Dr Ranj, Graeme and Charles will all be nervous going into the results show...
Get voting folks! Tomorrow's dance-off will be interesting, I'll be shocked if Seann makes it through another week but I still worry for Charles, I'm not sure he's done enough to avoid the bottom two. Whatever happens I'll be back next week, and hopefully Kevin will have scrubbed the silver paint off his face by then!
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