Fifth Strictly Come Dancing star eliminated from series
Only 10 couples remain in the competition...
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing has eliminated its fifth celebrity contestant from the 2024 series.
BBC Oneās popular dance competition continued on Saturday (26 October) night with its Halloween special, which saw the 11 celebrity contestants and their partners transform into ghoulish characters for their spooky season-inspired routines.
The episode saw Jamie Borthwick and his partner Michelle Tsiakkas top the leaderboard with their Addams Family-themed American Smooth to the filmās original theme, with the pair playing siblings Pugsley and Wednesday. They were in joint first place with Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, who floored the judges with their Argentine Tango to āReady Or Notā by Fugees, and managed to secure 36 points despite suffering a lift mishap at the beginning of their routine.

It was Dr Punam Krishan, and her pro partner Gorka MĆ”rquez, who were placed in Sundayās dance-off (27 October) opposite Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu.
Krishan and MĆ”rquez performed their Tango to āSweet Dreamsā by Eurythmics, followed by Ward and Xu who once again danced their Paso Doble to āIn The Hall of The Mountain Kingā by Edvard Grieg.
Krishan was ultimately eliminated from the series followed by a unanimous vote from the judges.
Asked about her time on the compeition, Krishan said: āI am really proud of myself. You know Iāve taken on something thatās so out of my comfort zone. The one thing that Iāve very much learnt is to say yes more, and that there is no point in your life when you can stop learning new skills.
āIāve learnt more than dancing, Iāve learnt so much from Gorka. Everyoneās been so incredible and itās just memories that Iāll take home forever and I am very proud. Iāve made my family very proud, Iām just really grateful.ā
When host Tess Daly asked whether the TV doctorās family are proud, she responded: āThey really are. My kids are so proud, my parents, my husband, everyone. This is just one of those things that I have dreamt about for years and I think to have one of your dreams genuinely come true is just a surreal feeling. Week after week itās been incredible, Iāve made friends for life and everyoneās just been so kind, so thank you.ā
Her partner MĆ”rquez said: āItās been incredible, itās been a fantastic six weeks. Iām very proud of what she has achieved. Sheās a GP and a mum. She had never danced before and I think she improved week by week.ā

āI think she is truly what the show is about, someone who doesnāt have experience in the performance world came here and learnt to dance,ā he continued. āShe wanted to do so well and worked so hard. Also I feel very proud and very honoured that we got to do a Bollywood dance, to represent your culture, show your culture to the world and open doors for so many people in your culture.ā
Krishan added: āThank you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for giving me the gift of dancing. Iāve never danced before, but youāve definitely sparked so much dancing. I want to learn more, and I definitely donāt think this will be the end of my journey dancing.ā
The TV medic made history on Strictly when she performed the showās first-ever Bollywood routine.

Performing the choreography in a nod to her South Asian heritage, Krishan left the judges in tears with the landmark dance.
The song choice for the performance, āBhole Chudiyeā, is from the 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, one of the highest-grossing movies in the Indian film industry.
Krishan said the performance meant āeverythingā to her, adding āyou canāt be what you canāt seeā as she said her four-year-old self would be proud.
She dedicated the dance to her late grandfather, who had always had concerns that his grandchildren would be out of touch with their South Asian culture.
Krishanās exit follows the departure of footballer Paul Merson, who was eliminated last week, as well as Toyah Willcox, Nick Knowles and Tom Dean, who all left the competition in its earlier stages.
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