Content creator™ George Clarke came out of his shell for his show-closing Blackpool salsa and duly scored his first 10s. Now he’s got a classic ballroom dance to a traditional tune. Red carpet theme. Fast footwork while keeping his frame calm and strong. Staying in sync with pro partner Alexis Warr as they fly across the floor. A bit of gapping in the promenades but elegant and energetic. Charleston flicks and kicks. A dose of jazzy Hollywood glamour from “Team Warke”. High kicks to finish. Big smiles, bags of style, splendid.
Song: I Get a Kick Out of You by Frank Sinatra. Cole Porter’s 1934 song for Broadway musical Anything Goes. The line “Some like the perfume from Spain” was a late change for the film version. It was originally “Some get a kick from cocaine” but this was banned under the Hollywood Production Code.
Judges’ scores: 4, 6, 6, 7 for a total of 23 points. Alex admits her 62-year-old body is suffering. At some length, bless her. Dance-off danger.
Judges’ comments: Motsi says “quite a few mistakes which I can’t overlook but loved your groove and leg action”. Shirley says “leg action exceptional but got off on the wrong foot and it carried on, not your night”. Anton says “good effort, you bring great quality, posture and leg action but mixed it up by doing different chore0graphy to your partner”. A freshly shorn Craig concludes “sadly it really was two dances, you lost it and got out of time, it got worse throughout the dance but I loved the posh cha-cha”. A five and three sixes, do we think?
Their theatre-jazz Couple’s Choice in Blackpool left them a surprise second from bottom on the leaderboard, so actor Alex Kingston and pro partner Johannes Radebe are aware they need a solid performance to increase their chances of safety. Way back in week four, she got the earliest ever 10s for a rumba. Now can she translate that leg action to the faster cha cha? She’s joked this week that she feels like a Christmas turkey in the bum-back-body-forward posture. She’s wearing half a glitterball on her head. Some hesitant footwork early on. A little safe and stilted. She’s concentrating so hard on the technique, she’s lacking her usual performance levels. Over the the judges’ table for some wiggling and things pick up. Suddenly she’s bringing the fun with flexible hips and plenty of disco strut. Too little too late?
Song: Ring My Bell by Anita Ward. The 1979 disco banger was originally written for child star Stacy Lattisaw as a teenybopper number about schoolgirls talking on the telephone. R&B diva Ward made it more flirty and suggestive.
Our six pro-celebrity pairings come out for their staircase wave. Jojo’s working a 70s disco ‘fro.
The judgely quartet sashay into view, having swapped their seaside finery for Elstree eveningwear. Motsi Mabuse looks fab-u-lous in red and Shirley Ballas has a massive Bacofoil ruffle thingy. Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood in the usual tuxedos.
Here come our autocue queens, so time for the traditional couture comparison. Tess Daly is in a white trouser suit. Claudia Winkleman is in a green velvet tuxedo suit. Sklifghtly matchy-matchy, slighty Traitors. *Marcus Bentley from Big Brother voice* Who wins? You decide!
Precisely 60 per cent of these pairs have now departed the dancefloor. Remember Ross King and Tommy Bosh? Seems like years ago.
Roll the customary dramatic pre-credits montage.
Refresh your fizzy libations and plump your sparkly cushions. We’re about to be beamed live to the Elstree Studios ballroom…
Alan Carr’s Numberwang just concluding on BBC1. Will this nice couple win the £10,000 jackpot? Will the host start nervously guzzling rosé and randomly murdering people in plain sight?
Oh Alan, you are awful. But we like you.
The drag queen might have been forced out of the contest through injury but it’s been announced that La Voix will make a comeback in the New Year for the annual arena tour, reuniting with professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec.
The only other celebrity so far confirmed to be joining her is Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, aka Nitro from Gladiators. The Strictly tour kicks off at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on 23rd January 2026. A mere five minutes to wait now…
Low on traditional numbers tonight, I’m sorry to say. Instead we’ll get a battle of the jives between Balvinder Sopal and Amber Davies, plus a rumba, a cha-cha and a Couple’s Choice.
Just George Clarke’s quickstep flies the flag for ballroom. It’s 10 minutes until the glitterball starts spinning…
Cross them off as you spot them on-screen! Take a drink for each! End up dancing around the kitchen in your own personal Instant Dance challenge! Here’s your 10-point spotter’s checklist for tonight’s show:
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Hosts make intriguingly juicy comment about wild post-show party in Blackpool
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Instant Dance Challenge turns out to be utterly confusing and total chaos
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Anton says “That’s the sort of number I’d like to have danced”
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Misty-eyed reference to Blackpool’s “special atmosphere”, “sprung floor” or “iconic” Tower Ballroom
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Shirley Ballas thanks a couple for “opening our show” or “closing our show”
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Claudia refers to Lewis Cope’s hundreds of siblings taking it in turns to be in the studio audience
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Judgely bafflement over how to critique and mark a Couple’s Choice
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Mention of a post-Blackpool dip or couples being tired 10 weeks into the contest
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Shot of Alex Kingston’s dog Wolfie in fancy dress
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Claudia makes knowing nod to the lindyhop-athon meltdown of 2018
Elsewhere in glitterball news, the celebrity contestants for this year’s festive special have all been confirmed. Westlife’s Brian McFadden, All Saints’ Melanie Blatt, Gogglebox’s Scarlett Moffatt, Gladiators’ Jodie Ounsley, EastEnders’ Nicholas Bailey and comedian Babatunde Aléshé will all take to the dancefloor at teatime on Christmas Day.
The Strictly casting department have clearly been watching Boybands Forever and Girlbands Forever on BBC Two. Fifteen minutes until that ba-ba-da theme tune…
Due to a rare elimination-free weekend, everyone made it past the Blackpool milestone and now returns to the familiar Elstree Studios ballroom.
No backing dancers. No sprung floor. Nowhere to hide from the judges, who will be looking closely at technique with the quarter-final beckoning. And then comes the extra pressure of the Instant Dance challenge. Gulp. It’s 20 minutes until the clock strikes sequins…
Having already been subjected to four dance-offs, EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal is bookies’ odds-on tip for elimination yet again this weekend. Remember, nobody has ever survived a fifth.
Alex Kingston is second favourite, with Amber Davies in third. Can the resilient Bal bounce back and defy the odds again? It’s 25 minutes until the sparkly curtain comes up…
After their regular routines, tonight sees Strictly’s first ever Instant Dance challenge. In this time-pressured plot twist, each couple will pick a dance style at random from ones they have learnt in the competition so far.
They will then be played their accompanying music and – after a frantic dash through wardrobe to select and change into their costumes – they will have just 10 seconds on the countdown clock to decide exactly how they’re going to dance it. Will they try to remember the original choreography or will they improvise? The judges will mark them from one to six points, which could shake up the leaderboard and change the standings. It could also be total chaos and I’m here for it.
Hopefully it will go rather more smoothly than the notorious lindyhop-athon of 2018, when the judges got themselves in a tangle and Claudia Winkleman had to step in. Who can deliver when it counts? We’ll get our first clues in half-an-hour…
They’ve waved off La Voix and danced back down the M6. Now it’s a homecoming show for our hoofers. However, one couple is about to fall short of the quarter-final and miss out on Musicals Week.
Good evening and welcome to week 10 (yes, we’re into double figures) of Strictly Come Dancing 2025. I’m Michael, your twinkle-toed typist for tonight’s live show. I’d love you to watch along with me as our six surviving couples return to the Elstree Studios ballroom. They will also tackle Strictly’s first ever Instant Dance Challenge in their bid to make it through to next week’s themed quarter-final.
Last weekend’s annual trip north to the Tower Ballroom was a strange but celebratory one. It began with the sad news that La Voix was forced to withdraw from the competition with her foot injury, so nobody would be eliminated. A giddy night of high scoring ensued, with another perfect 40 for Lewis Cope, while Karen Carney and George Clarke notched 39 points apiece.
Our six remaining pro-celebrity pairings now return to the familiar surroundings of the Elstree Studios ballroom – with extra points up for grabs in the never-seen-before Instant Dance climax. More on that in a moment. Tonight’s scores and public vote will be combined with last week’s, before the bottom two will dance again for survival on Sunday night. Balvinder Sopal is bookies odds-on favourite for elimination (again), followed by Alex Kingston.
It’s showtime at 6.35pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 6.05pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and glitter-encrusted gags. So close the curtains on the wind, rain and Budget bores and I’ll see you on the sofa.
As always, I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, contact me on Bluesky or Threads @michaelhogan100, email me michael.hogan.freelance@guardian.co.uk and the comments section below is at your dance disposal. I’ll rumba-walk down there whenever I can to peek at what you’re all saying and report your reactions up top.
It’s week 10, so let’s do this again. Nearly time to staaaart instant dancing!
