Strictly Come Dancing celebrities have waltzed to the seaside to dance at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, a traditional pitstop throughout the history of the series.
Eight couples headed to Lancashire this week as the show moves to the legendary venue for one-week only following Shayne Ward’s exit last Sunday.
Two pairs, Tasha and Aljaž and JB and Lauren, topped the leaderboard last week with 37 points as Wynne and Katya survived the dance off.
Follow live updates of tonight’s live show below and join in the conversation in our comments section
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 leaderboard – Week 8
Before we look ahead to tonight’s dances, let’s recap last week’s leaderboard to remind you who’s waltzing into Blackpool in high spirits and who’s looking for a turn of fortune.
Here’s how things stood last week:
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec (8+10+10+9) = 37
JB Gill and Lauren Oakley (9+9+9+10) = 37
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał (8+9+10+9) = 36
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe (9+9+9+9) = 36
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola (8+8+8+9) = 33
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell (7+8+9+9) = 33
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas (7+8+7+8) = 30
Pro dancer admits she’s ‘gutted’ to miss out on Blackpool
Nancy Xu has said she is ‘gutted’ that she and partner Shayne Ward will not being dancing at Blackpool as she opened up about their Strictly exit on Instagram on Sunday.
The professional dancer, said it is unfair that the X Factor singer received criticism throughout the BBC series because he had never danced before the show.
Shayne became the seventh celebrity contestant to be eliminated after a tense dance off with Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans, after failing to impress on Saturday with his rumba.
Read the full story by Bethan Edwards here:
Watch: Moment Shayne Ward was eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing
Last week Shayne Ward’s journey on Strictly Come Dancing came to an end after he narrowly lost a dance-off against Wynne Jones. Here’s the moment judges made their decision.
Whose road will come to an end this weekend?
Strictly heads to Blackpool Tower
Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of Strictly Come Dancing week nine as the show moves to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
The series is returning to the venue after a two-year absence.
The traditional pitstop comes usually around the midway point of the series with eight couples in the running for the Glitterball Trophy.
Last week, Shayne and Nancy waved farewell to the class of 2024 after the X-Factor singer and actor lost a dance off with Wynne Evans.
Two pairs, Tasha and Aljaž and JB and Lauren, topped the leaderboard last week but who will steal the limelight this week?
Join our live coverage for the latest developments throughout the evening plus the best pictures, videos and reaction from viewers at home.