Actress Melanie Walters has officially left Strictly Come Dancing after finding herself in the dreaded dance-off with her professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec. On Sunday night (October 11), BBC viewers saw the Gavin & Stacey star go head-to-head with footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips after they received the lowest amount of viewers from the public.
Dance-off performance
They both took to the dancefloor on the BBC show to fight for their spot in the competition as fans watched Shaun and Alexis perform their Quickstep to I'm a Believer by The Monkees. It was then time for Melanie and Aljaž to return to the dancefloor with their Charleston to Ooh Ahh... Just A Little Bit by Gina G.
When it was time to deliver their verdicts, Craig Revel Horwood opted to save Shaun and Alexis, while Motsi Mabuse chose to keep Melanie and Aljaž in the competition. Head judge Shirley Ballas chose to save Shaun and Alexis, alongside Anton du Beke, who was the judge with the deciding vote this weekend.
Reaction to elimination
Shaun and Alex were quick to hug Melanie and Aljaž as they were booted off the show before they went to speak with Emma Willis about their time in the competition and how they felt after being eliminated.
Melanie said: "To tell you the truth, no word of a lie, I thought I was going to be out last week, so I've had an extra week with this beautiful soul."
Aljaz added: "It's difficult to put into words, and if I was ever going to say something really profound and beautiful, it wasn't going to be looking like this. Look, you're an ultimate professional in what you do; that's why you're so successful at what you do."
"You showed me what hard work really is and what hard work really means. Look, we started every day with, 'Partner, let's have the best day ever'. So I want to finish this for us with a huge and thank you for every single bit in rehearsals and every single step on that floor. Thank you, very much."
Fan reaction and next steps
Sharing their thoughts online over Melanie leaving the show, one person on X said: "Devastated at who has gone, I really thought they had potential." Another added: "Melanie over Shaun is laughable".
Melanie and Aljaž will join Ellie Taylor on Monday's instalment of Strictly - It Takes Two on BBC Two (October 12), where they will reflect further on their time in the competition.
Elsewhere during the results show, judges Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke take to the floor as part of a special group performance. BBC viewers saw two teams of professional dancers going head-to-head for glory in a Ballroom vs Latin showdown.
The remaining 13 couples will return to the dancefloor once again next Saturday (October 17) for Icons Week, where they'll be transforming into some very well-known famous faces.
