Chris Appleton has become the first contestant eliminated from this season of Strictly Come Dancing. The celebrity hair stylist had been paired with professional dancer Amy Dowden, who was also eliminated first last season after being paired with The Apprentice contestant and businessman Thomas Skinner.
Their performances during the first two weeks of the show failed to impress the judges, who ultimately sent them home. The pair were eliminated from the competition following a Movie Week dance-off against actress Jaime Winstone and her partner, Carlos Gu.
How the elimination was decided
This week's judges' scores were combined with those from last week's first live show, when there was no public vote. The totals were then added to the results of Saturday night's public vote to determine the two lowest-scoring couples, who would go head-to-head in the dance-off.
Both couples performed their routines for a second time, with Appleton and Dowden dancing a cha cha to I'll Be Ready from Baywatch, before Winstone and Gu performed the same style to Oh, Pretty Woman from Pretty Woman.
Judges' decision and reaction
When it came to choose who to save, judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Winstone and Gu, who won last season with former footballer Karen Carney. Craig Revel Horwood – who was the judge with the deciding vote this week – said that he would have also saved the same couple as the rest of the judges if he had needed to vote.
After performing during Movie Week, the judges scored them 17 for their cha-cha-cha. Both Motsi and Anton noticed the hairstylist had shown a “huge improvement” from the first week. Anton said: "The performance was another level, and the dancing will keep improving if you keep at it."
Speaking soon after finishing the routine, Chris said he “did not want to let Amy down”, adding: “I am really trying but also really enjoying it.”
