During tonight’s Strictly Come Dancing, the focus was mostly on the contestants, but there was a lighthearted moment for hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. At the start, they thanked fans for the outpouring of support after announcing they will be leaving the show, but talk of their departure was kept brief throughout the episode.
The moment came at the very end of the night, after La Voix and her professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec closed the show with a sizzling salsa to Cher’s 1998 hit Strong Enough. Just before receiving feedback from the judges, La Voix made a cheeky comment to Tess, saying, “Oh Tess, you’re still here!” Tess laughed and replied, “I’m still here.”
The pair had opened the show with a heartfelt message, acknowledging the “beautiful messages” from fans and reminding everyone that there were still eight weeks of the competition and another Strictly champion to crown.
Throughout the evening, the couples danced to hits from musical icons past and present, including Prince, Ariana Grande, and Cher. La Voix and Aljaž impressed the judges, scoring 28 points — a huge improvement from last week’s 14 points. That score put them just above the bottom-placed George Clarke and Alexis Warr.
Several other couples, including Karen Carney, Ellie Goldstein, and Balvinder Sopal, also scored 28 points, while Lewis Cope led the leaderboard with 34 points. Vicky Pattinson and Amber Davies followed closely behind on 33 points each.
Now it’s over to the viewers at home. Their votes will be added to the judges’ scores to decide which couples face the dreaded dance-off on Sunday night’s results show.
