Strictly Come Dancing professionals have rallied behind Maddie Ingoldsby after she and celebrity partner Cach Mercer faced their first dance-off of the 2026 series. The new professional dancer was seen speaking to fans following the result, which saw the pair saved by the head judge's deciding vote.
Couple Bottom of Leaderboard
Cach, a former Love Island winner, and Maddie, one of five new pros to join Strictly for the 2026 series, found themselves at the bottom of Saturday night's (November 7) leaderboard. They were tied on a score of 26 out of a possible 40 with social media personality John Nellis and his partner Katya Jones.
The pair performed the waltz to "That Ain't You" by Mulaa Joans. Motsi Mabuse described the routine as "elegant", while Shirley Ballas noted it featured "way too many foot errors", adding: "Some parts are getting better, some need a bit more work."
Dance-Off Against Bethany and Nancy
They then landed in the dance-off against Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, who reprised their foxtrot to "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. That routine had scored 30 on Saturday's live show, placing them joint fourth before public votes were taken into account.
After both couples danced again, Anton Du Beke chose to save Cach and Maddie, while Motsi and Craig Revel Horwood voted to save Bethany and Nancy. Head judge Shirley cast Sunday's (November 8) deciding vote and saved Cach and Maddie, sending them through to week eight and eliminating Bethany and Nancy.
Support from Fellow Pros
As Maddie faced criticism as the professional in the partnership, her co-stars showed their support. Commenting on a TikTok video discussing the discourse, Neil Jones said: "She's doing a great job and he is improving every week and I thought they were great this weekend."
In response to Maddie's own TikTok video thanking fans, Dianne Buswell wrote "[heart] you", while former contestant Tasha Ghouri added: "You are smashing it girly!!! Your choreo is beautiful and so refreshing, keep going!"
Reflections on It Takes Two
Cach and Maddie also appeared on Strictly's spin-off, It Takes Two, to discuss facing the dance-off for the first time. Maddie told host Ellie Taylor: "Honestly, you don't know which way the competition is going to go, so you have to prepare for anything. You never know if it will be your last chance on the dance floor, but when it was us, we were in the back of the room, and we just said we're going to dance for each other, and have the best time on the floor like it was the last time."
Cach revealed he felt "under so much pressure" following the judges' comments after first performing the routine live, stating "I did what had to be done". He added: "It was emotional considering it might have been our last time dancing." The pair will perform again in the next live show on Saturday (November 14).
