Strictly Come Dancing LIVE: Chris McCausland’s salsa blows audience away as Tasha Ghouri scores first 10s
All the updates from week four of the BBC dancing competition
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Strictly Come Dancing delivered another week of standout performances with phenomenal lifts winning two couples high praise as Tasha Ghouri landed the first 10s of the series.
The former Love Island contestant has topped the leaderboard for the past three weeks, and did so yet again thanks to her charleston to “Unhealthy” by Anne-Marie and Shania Twain.
Ghouri and professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec took on a series of challenging lifts and the risk paid off, winning them 10s from Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton du Beke. The pair missed out on a clean sweep as Craig Revel Horwood reached for his nine paddle.
Ghouri and Škorjanec weren’t the only ones to impressive with gravity-defying moves. Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell also showcased a series of lifts in their salsa to “Down Under” by Men at Work. Their moves left head judge Ballas temporarily speechless.
She then said: “I can’t even imagine how you managed to do that so flawlessly when you can’t see. On top of that, you kept to your music, you didn’t miss a beat. I’m telling you from my heart, that is absolutely impressive.”
Elsewhere, DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles made his return to the programme after being forced to pull out of Movie Week due to a leg injury.
“When I signed up to Strictly I never thought for a moment that I would love dancing they way that I do and I well and truly have caught the dancing bug so I am absolutely delighted to be back tomorrow,” Knowles told fans on Instagram.
He added: “I am so grateful to all the physios and the medical team at the BBC for getting me back on my feet. See you tomorrow night.”
Shayne’s scores are in...
And it’s a solid start!
He’s landed a 7 from Craig, 8 from Motsi, 7 from Shirley and another 8 from Anton for a total of 30 - three short of what he managed last week but a great score nonetheless.
Tissues at the ready
Sarah’s foxtrot is to “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish and she’s explained - on the verge of tears - what the song means to her.
“It’s about my family and it’s about me and my little one,” she told Vito in their VT. “And this song is special to us because we sing it together and we have a picture of us as birds that we made together.” This could be a tearjerker.
A stunning dance from Sarah
Aw, that was beautiful! The Miranda actress beamed throughout - and she got a lot of compliments from the judges, though they didn’t seem bowled over...
“I could definitely feel the emotion,” Shirley said, getting things off to a good start. “The spotting on your spins was flawless.” The head judge did spot a couple of issues though, and Anton agreed - before Craig claimed Sarah “tried too hard” and said there was “gapping” in her routine. Ouch!
Sarah’s scores are in...
Oh no! Sarah’s landed a 6 - from Craig - and 7s from the rest of the panel, giving her 27.
For most of the other celebs, this would be a brilliant week four score, but it’s five points lower than Sarah and Vito’s week three total.
Nick makes his return
Welcome back, Nick and Luba! The duo were forced to pull out of Movie Week as the DIY SOS star suffered a(nother) injury so they’re performing their Paddington 2 performance tonight instead.
And it was a passable performance. The issue this pair have is they’ve lost so much rehearsal time. I have a sneaky feeling tonight’s other charleston - being danced by last week’s leaderboard topper Tasha - will be better (sorry Nick!).
Nick’s scores are in...
He could be in trouble tonight if viewers don’t get behind him when lines open.
Nick scored a 4 from Craig then - working down the panel - 6 , 5 and 6 for a total of 21. That score would have put him second from bottom last week.
Unfortunately for the DIY SOS presenter, his routine was one Craig knows rather well - as he choreographed it for Paddington 2.
“You could have let yourself go more crazy with it,” Craig said, adding that he felt Nick “overplayed rather than danced” the steps.
Shirley’s on her feet for Jamie’s salsa
It’s always a good sign when the Head Judge is out of her seat!
“You got out, you gave it 100%, you did the lifts,” Shirley said. “For me, this is your best dance so far, you did so well, I’m so proud of you.” And Anton agreed. “Please dance like that for the rest of the show,” he said.
Craig, of course, had a few more critiques and called for more hip action though conceeded: “All that aside, you are an incredible dancer.”
Could Jamie go top of the leaderboard so far?
Jamie’s scores are in...
And he should be very pleased indeed. Jamie has landed a total of 34, with 9s from Motsi and Shirley, and 8s from Craig and Anton.
That’s put him top of the leaderboard. Bravo!
Wynne takes on the tango
A Tango to “Money, Money, Money” is exactly the sort of dance I watch this show for. By which I mean, it’s one that sounds like it will incredibly camp. Bring it on.
That was fun!
A tango this early in the series isn’t easy but Wynne put in a great effort.
The judges have lapped it up with Anton declaring it “one of your best performances” and Motsi adding: “I feel for me personally this is you best dance yet.”
Even Craig has been mostly positive. “You thumb was sticking up, what a disappoint,” he said. “But I love, love, loved it - Wynne, Wynne, Wynne!”
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