Soap star Lewis Cope and professional dancer Katya Jones have achieved the first perfect score of 40 in the 2024 series of Strictly Come Dancing. The former Emmerdale actor, 30, and Jones, 36, performed a couple's choice dance to Radiohead's 'Creep' during the Halloween-themed episode, incorporating tap dancing into their routine.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood described the performance as 'spooktacular', while head judge Shirley Ballas admitted she was 'having an emotional moment'. Anton Du Beke added: 'There is nothing you could have done for that dance to have made it any better.' Cope praised Jones, calling her 'an amazing choreographer' and 'an amazing person'.
Former Lioness Karen Carney and dancer Carlos Gu secured second place with 38 points for their Peaky Blinders-inspired Argentine tango to 'Red Right Hand' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Carney, who wore a waistcoat and baker boy cap, said she was 'buzzing' after the performance. Joint third with 35 points were Love Island star Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, drag performer La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec, and actress Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe.
At the bottom of the leaderboard, Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer scored 26 points for their American smooth. The show opened with a skit featuring presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly fleeing from zombie-like celebrity dancers. Former Strictly stars Layton Williams and Krishnan Guru-Murthy were among the audience.
During Sunday's results show, Cat Burns will perform, followed by a dance-off between two couples. Last weekend, former Chelsea star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink became the fourth celebrity to leave the competition.
