Strictly Come Dancing descended into glorious chaos during Saturday's landmark episode, which featured the show's first-ever Instant Dance challenge. The unprecedented segment left both viewers and participants in hysterics as the live broadcast unfolded in a whirlwind of confusion and frantic activity.
The Instant Dance Carnage
In a dramatic departure from the show's usual format, couples discovered which of their previous dances they would perform live on air, triggering a mad scramble to find appropriate costumes. The situation quickly escalated into what fans enthusiastically described as 'pure carnage' across social media platforms.
The rules intensified the pressure significantly. Celebrities and their professional partners were banned from speaking until they reached the dance floor, where they received just ten seconds to discuss their routine before the music started. The points awarded by judges during this challenge were then added directly to each couple's main score.
Confusion reigned throughout the studio, with judges unexpectedly swapping seats and host Claudia Winkleman appearing in a particularly flamboyant fruit hat. The surreal atmosphere prompted an immediate and overwhelming response from viewers, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their delight.
Fans posted reactions including: 'This is pure chaos and I love it!' and 'The Instant Dance is chaos and it's not even started yet.' The most common sentiment emerged as multiple viewers pleaded: 'This is chaos... do it every week!' and 'the instant dance challenge is carnage but So much fun!! I'm loving this.'
Judges' Verdict and Emotional Moments
When the dust settled from the Instant Dance challenge, the judges delivered their scores. Lewis Cope emerged victorious with the full six points, followed by Balvinder Sopal with five, Amber Davies with four points, Alex Kingston scoring three, George Clarke receiving two, and Karen Carney finishing last with just one point.
The episode contained emotional moments beyond the chaotic challenge. Earlier in the evening, viewers expressed feeling 'gutted' for actress Alex Kingston, 62, following her disappointing performance. The Doctor Who star appeared clearly devastated after making multiple mistakes during her disco-themed cha cha with professional partner Johannes Radebe, 38, which opened the main show.
Despite her previously outstanding performances, Alex attributed her lacklustre dance to 'fatigue,' with the judges awarding them just 24 points out of 40. Judge Oti Mabuse delivered a particularly blunt assessment: 'One mistake I can forgive, two mistakes I will look the other way, three mistakes? I am not mother Christmas!'
Speaking emotionally to host Claudia afterwards, Alex revealed: 'It's never really discussed when you're at the sharp end, how our bodies are suffering and my 62-year-old self is saying, what are you saying, but my spirit and soul is saying [puts finger in her ears] la la la, I don't want to know, I want to keep dancing.'
Fans quickly rallied around the actress on social media, with messages including: 'Gutted for Alex. Just got really staggered and a bit all over the place. But she showed such humility during the judges' comments' and 'I want to give Alex a hug.'
Other Standout Performances
Influencer George Clarke took to the floor for a quickstep with professional partner Alex Warr, coming off his first-ever 10 scored the previous week. Judges Oti, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke praised his 'classy' routine despite some mistakes, awarding 34 out of 40 points.
Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope and Katya Jones delivered a sizzling rumba that earned an impressive 36 out of 40, while EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal risked another appearance in the bottom two after numerous slip-ups during her jive with Julian Caillon. Anton Du Beke described the performance as 'super apart from the mistakes' before the judges scored it 28 out of 40.
Footballer Karen Carney performed her couple's choice with Carol Gu in a touching tribute to her supportive mother, moving professional Carlos to tears. Their colourful routine landed them their first-ever perfect score of 40. Finally, Love Island's Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin also achieved full marks for their jive, leaving Shirley Ballas 'speechless.'
The episode followed Richard Arnold's blistering critique of the judging panel on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, where he argued that Balvinder Sopal had been 'consistently underrated and underserved' throughout the competition.
