Noor NanjiCulture reporter
It’s fright night in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom!
Stars are gearing up for the contest’s annual Halloween Week on Saturday evening, with songs by Charli XCX, Lady Gaga and Benson Boone in the mix.
It’s one of a number of themed weeks that happen every year – the others are Movies, Blackpool, Musicals and Icons.
It comes as speculation continues to mount over who will replace presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, after their announcement last week that they will be leaving at the end of the current series.
/PA WireFans outside Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire suggested names including Alesha Dixon, Zoe Ball and Alison Hammond as possible new hosts.
This year’s Strictly grand finale is on 20 December, and the said Winkleman and Daly’s final appearance would be the Christmas Day special.
During last week’s show, the duo nodded to the news of their departure, as they thanked audiences for their “beautiful messages”.
This weekend will also see a special performance from Celebrity Traitors star Cat Burns, who will appear during Sunday night’s results show.
Here’s who is dancing on Saturday night – and to what:
- Alex and Johannes – Salsa to Horny by Mousse T feat. Hot ‘n’ Juicy
- Amber and Nikita – Viennese Waltz to I See Red by Everybody Loves an Outlaw
- Balvinder and Julian – Samba to Stay by Shakespears Sister
- Ellie and Vito – Tango to Abracadabra by Lady Gaga
- George and Alexis – Cha Cha Cha to Apple by Charli XCX
- Harry and Karen – American Smooth to Mystical Magical by Benson Boone
- Karen and Carlos – Argentine Tango to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- La Voix and Aljaž – Paso Doble to Beethoven’s 5th
- Lewis and Katya – Couple’s Choice to Creep by Radiohead
- Vicky and Kai – American Smooth to Total Eclipse of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler
Stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers from last Saturday’s Icons Week
Last week, Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and his dance partner Katya Jones led the pack with 34 points, after their Johnny Cash Quickstep impressed the judges.
La Voix brought the laughs – belting out Cher’s Believe before diving into a Salsa to Strong Enough. The judges noted there was room for improvement, but La Voix’s charisma on the dancefloor was lauded.
Other highlights included a mood-boosting dance by Ellie Goldstein and her partner Vito Coppola, who packed a punch with a dynamic Salsa to a Spice Girls medley. Goldstein even got a heart-warming video message from her favourite Spice Girl, Baby.
Despite some impressively garish trousers, YouTuber George Clarke hit a bum note with his Jive to Harry Styles’ As It Was. Craig Revel Horwood, acerbic as ever, called it “flat footed”, and Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr crashed out with the lowest score this evening – at 27.
/PA WireBut in the end, it was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his partner Lauren Oakley who left the competition follow a dance off against Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.
This Saturday night, the remaining couples will undergo terrifying transformations as they perform routines they hope will win over the judges and audiences at home.
We can expect judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke to embrace the Halloween spirit too – with all eyes on what costumes they might opt for.
Halloween week is also a milestone, as week six is almost halfway through the competition.
Fans can expect to enjoy plenty of tricks and treats from the vampires, zombies and skeletons.
But as always – the couple whose performance doesn’t quite cast a spell will be banished during Sunday night’s results show.
Strictly Come Dancing is broadcast live at 18:35 on One and on iPlayer.