Strictly Come Dancing LIVE: Chris McCausland’s salsa blows audience away as Tasha Ghouri scores first 10s

As many of the celebrities competing on Strictly are actors, singers and performers, a large number of them will have trained in dance or theatrical performance.

Those contestants are often subject to backlash from viewers at home who argue that they have an unfair advantage compared to the other contestants.

So, who has come to the show with previous training? Find out below.

Chris McCausland has addressed the backlash surrounding comments made by eliminated Strictly Come Dancing star Toyah Willcox.

Willcox, who was the second contestant to be knocked out of the competition said her words of wisdom for the celebrities still on the show were: “If you don’t wanna do a dance off, get rid of Chris!”

While it’s clear that Willcox was aiming to complement McCausland for his dancing skills and popularity among Strictly fans, the comments backfired among viewers who said the remark was “uncalled for” and “mean”. However, McCausland has since defended Willcox online, saying that the singer has been “nothing but beautiful and supportive” during their few weeks together on the dancing competition.

“What she said on It Takes Two was funny and an incredible bloody compliment,” he said.

Read more below:

A BBC spokesperson has confirmed DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles will return to Strictly Come Dancing for week four of the competition.

“We are all delighted that Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk will be dancing in this Saturday’s show. Nick has been cleared to dance by the medical and physio teams following his injury last week,” they said.

“Due to time taken out of training this week, they will be performing their Movies Week charleston to ‘Rain On The Roof’ from Paddington 2.”

Read more about Knowles’ injury below:

Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has said he never got angry with his celebrity dance partners while he was a professional on the show.

While reflecting on the results of the investigation into a rehearsal room scandal involving Amanda Abbington and former pro Giovanni Pernice, the show’s judge explained why he never lost his temper as a contestant.

Throughout his time as a professional, Du Beke often found himself paired with celebrities who either failed to make it far in the competition including, Anne Widdecombe, Gillian Taylforth, Lesley Joseph and Susannah Constantine.

“I say this in the nicest way but none of them are 25. They are wonderful, interesting, fabulous, brilliant, funny, intelligent women who I enjoyed every second with, but it is what it is,” he said.

Du Beke said the most he could ask of his partner was that they “try their best”, adding: “That is as much as you can do.”

Read more below:

Hours away from Strictly Come Dancing week four, here’s a reminder of how the celebrity contestants fared last Saturday...

Award-winning TV presenter Nick Knowles has quickly become the most injured celebrity on this season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Having already sustained a shoulder injury while changing a tyre on the side of the motorway, Knowles wound up on crutches after falling to his knees during a dress rehearsal at the start of October.

As he makes his return to the competition after pulling out of Movie Week, here’s a look at the TV titan’s journey from DIY SOS to the dancefloor...

Week four of Strictly Come Dancing will see a mix of ballroom and latin performances, soundtracked by everything from ABBA to Fred Astaire. Here’s who is performing what tonight...

• Montell & Johannes - Viennese Waltz to “Nobody Gets Me” by SZA
• Punam & Gorka - Jive to “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” by Lizzo
• Sam & Nikita - Samba to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira
• Sarah & Vito - Foxtrot to “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish
• Tasha & Aljaž - Charleston to “Unhealthy” by Anne-Marie, Shania Twain
• Chris & Dianne - Salsa to “Down Under” by Men at Work
• Jamie & Michelle - Salsa to “Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar, Lucenzo
• JB & Amy - Rumba to “You Might Need Somebody” by Kara Marni
• Paul & Karen - Quickstep to “I Won’t Dance” by Fred Astaire
• Pete & Jowita - Quickstep to “Town Called Malice” by The Jam
• Shayne & Nancy - Cha Cha to “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)” by Sub Sub feat Melanie Williams
• Wynne & Katya - Tango to “Money, Money, Money” by ABBA
• Nick & Luba - Charleston to “Rain On The Roof” from Paddington 2

Having flown to the top of the Strictly leaderboard for the past two weeks, Tasha Ghouri is the dancer to beat going into week four of the competition.

Ghouri, who trained as a dancer at Creative Academy, has previously defended her background in dance and told The Independent: “It’s like a whole new world. Commercial dance is very different to ballroom dance and latin. I’m still having to strip down and relearn, even walking in cha cha step is weird to me.”

She continued: “Turning your feet out and leading with your hips, I’m having to relearn muscle memory so that’s the hard part. Even letting a man take the lead is a lot.”

As the reality star returns to the dancefloor for another weeks, here’s a look at her journey from Love Island to top of the leaderboard...

With salsas, quicksteps and charlestons coming up, there’s plenty to look forward to this evening - especially if (like me) you prefer the faster dances.

Despite the lovely Toyah’s exit last Sunday, we will still have 13 couples taking to the floor as Nick Knowles is back.

He and Luba will be doing the charleston they were due to perform for Movie Week, so if their costumes look a little out of place, that’s why!

These two were in joint second place last week and have certainly looked like they’ll be in with a shot at the Glitterball trophy in December.

This is a great Cha Cha but I’m mostly stunned by how good they both look in this garish shade of yellow. How?