The race for the Glitterball Trophy intensified on Saturday night as the new-look series of Strictly Come Dancing moved into its third week.
The 14 remaining celebrity contestants – one fewer after the first public eliminations last week – took to the ballroom to perform a range of dance styles. Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton and professional dancer Amy Dowden were eliminated after failing to impress the judges or the public, piling pressure on those still in the BBC contest.
Delta Goodrem leads the pack
Australian singer Delta Goodrem and professional partner Kai Widdrington topped the leaderboard with 33 points for their salsa. Judges awarded the couple, dressed in silver disco outfits, scores of 8, 9, 8, 8 – the highest total of the night and the top score of the series so far.
Behind them, British and Olympic skeleton racer Tabby Stoecker and partner Mark Karmalita earned 31 points for their tango.
Bottom of the rankings
Former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr scored just 15 points, placing them at the bottom of the night’s rankings. Actress Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec narrowly avoided being bottom for a second consecutive week, scoring 17 points – two more than their previous showing.
Full week three leaderboard
- Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington – 33
- Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita – 31
- Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby – 31
- Jamie Winstone and Carlos Gu – 28
- Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu – 27
- Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin – 27
- Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola – 26
- Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley – 25
- Will Best and Diane Buswell – 25
- John Nellis and Katya Jones – 20
- Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal – 20
- Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon – 20
- Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec – 17
- Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr – 15
The public can vote on who should land in the bottom two for Sunday night’s dance-off. Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke will then decide which couple to save, with Du Beke holding the deciding vote if the judges are tied.
