Strictly Come Dancing fans have predicted the results of the first elimination, ahead of Sunday's dance-off. Following the news that ex-footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and his partner, Alexis Warr, will perform the salsa to 'You Should Be Dancing' from Saturday Night Fever, fans voiced their concerns on X.
Fans predict a 'cursed' salsa
"Yeah, a salsa is cursed for almost everyone, and his hips weren't great last week. Unless he pulls off some miracle, it looks like he'll be going home. Such a shame, I feel for Alexis," wrote one. "The dance off looms. Don't think he'll be reaching pro standard," added another.
Meanwhile, a third tweeted that it was "cruel" to have Shaun performing another tricky dance after getting past the cha cha last week. "Wish the couples did both a latin and ballroom before first eviction rather than [in] this case [with] two latin. He might be great at ballroom," argued a fourth.
Bottom of the leaderboard in week one
In a difficult routine that saw Shaun and Alexis awarded a score of 15, the duo found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard in week one. Reflecting on the experience, the Chelsea star opened up in a joint Instagram post with Alexis.
"Right, I finally finished the first dance after two weeks of demanding training and a lot of frustrating moments," he began. "To be honest, I felt quite anxious during the warm-up, and walking to the car to take my seat involved a pep talk to breathe and take everything in stride."
"The crowd's atmosphere was impressive but intensified my nerves, though I began to settle once I started. I was pleased to perform every step accurately in the routine. I am keen to start on Monday, developing the new dance and taking the judges' feedback on board. Can't wait for what's ahead!"
Support from co-stars and frontrunners
Cheering him on, Shaun's Strictly co-stars flocked to the comments. "You smashed it," replied Channel 5 favourite Graeme Hall. "This was so great! Yay!!" added former It Takes Two host Janette Manrara. Meanwhile, celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton responded with flame emojis.
This weekend, Shaun and Alexis will have a chance to rise in the leaderboard with movie week. While it's still early days in the competition, YouTuber John Nellis, singer Delta Goodrem, and EastEnders actress Lacey Turner have already emerged as this year's celebrity frontrunners after making it into the top three last week. While John and his partner, Katya Jones, bagged a respectable 30, Delta and Kai Widdrington followed close behind with 29, and Lacey and Vito Coppola received 27 points.
