Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left gobsmacked by the latest exit, as an early spoiler claimed to reveal the latest couple to leave the competition.
There was extra pressure on the nine remaining couples in the BBC One dance contest as they returned to the ballroom for the latest live show on Saturday night (November 14) as they were all hoping to do enough to make it through to the show's Blackpool special.
Week Eight Leaderboard
Next Saturday night (November 21), Strictly will be broadcast live from the seaside town as the show relocates to the famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom for one weekend only.
But before all that, it was all about week eight of Strictly's 2026 series and Cach Mercer was seen topping the leaderboard a week after narrowly avoiding elimination. The former Love Island winner and his professional partner Maddie Ingoldsby competed against actress Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu in the dance-off last week.
After both couples danced, judge Anton Du Beke chose to save Mercer and Ingoldsby, while fellow judges Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood voted to save Antonia and Xu. Head judge Shirley Ballas had the deciding vote and saved Mercer and Ingoldsby.
Top Score and Bottom Ties
Cach is now sitting at the top of the scoreboard after the latest episode of the BBC series after he and Maddie performed a Charleston to Blame It On The Boogie by The Jacksons. After Shirley and Motsi gave standing ovations, the latter also declared it was "the dance of the season", before they were awarded a near-perfect score of 39 out of 40.
But at the other end of the leaderboard, things were pretty close with three couples all sharing equal scores of 27 – Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley; Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola; and Will Best and Dianne Buswell.
While Graeme was told by the judges his dance was littered with mistakes, Lacey's professional partner received criticism that his routine was not actually a foxtrot. Meanwhile, Will was told his dance, was "plonky" by Anton Du Beke.
Fan Reactions to the Spoiler
But, as Strictly fans know, it can all come down to the public vote, and some have been left surprised after a leaked spoiler revealed which couples landed in the latest dreaded dance-off, which for the first time ever, was between three couples instead of the usual two, before a decision was made to send one of them home.
The results show airs on Sunday but is pre-recorded on Saturday night after the live show, meaning that the name of the axed star is often leaked online and while the Manchester Evening News won't be revealing the bottom two or exit results, fans have already been reacting online.
@bealrightandrew said: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ROBBED." @PUPPYTINEZ commented: "This is actually ridiculous..." @lexisloveeclub admitted: "Well i was not expecting that." @LeahXBarnes shared: "This well sucks what the hell! nooo gutted... #strictlyspoiler #strictly." @kamor_ian0121 wrote: "I'M HONESTLY GOMBSMACKED......" @LivvyHammond added: "Heartbroken to not see them in Blackpool."
