Strictly Come Dancing 2021 live: All the action from Week 9 as it happened

That brings another Saturday night of Strictly Come Dancing to a close. Thanks for tuning in with RadioTimes.com tonight.

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It was a warm reception for Dan's Charleston, which Shirley Ballas hails as his best performance yet.

Anton Du Beke says that it's a "joy" to watch someone develop in the way that Dan has, but (a little brutally) stated that he isn't the best dancer in the competition.

Cynthia asked Dan to "finish those lines" in the same way that his partner, Nadiya Bychkova, consistently does.

The scores: 7 + 7 + 9 + 8 =31

Phew, it was touch and go for a minute there, but he has indeed broken into the 30s – but will it be enough to get him through to next week?

Tess Daly introduced Dan Walker by noting his positive progression in recent weeks, but pointed out he's yet to score above 29.

Can he make it into the 30s this week with his Charleston from Singin' in the Rain? We'll know soon...

Tilly's routine set to Revolting Children from Matilda brought down the house, with Anton describing her as "an inspiration", while Cynthia showered her with praise – describing the dance as "awesome", "amazing", and "brilliant".

Motsi agreed it was one of her best dances to date, with Shirley Ballas rounding out the praise.

She said: "Absolutely first-class. How you come back from being in the bottom to performing like this... I couldn't tell who the professional was!"

You know what this means...

It's a perfect score: 10 + 10 + 10 + 10

Tilly Ramsay is next up tonight on Strictly Come Dancing, discussing the importance of family to her life in the clip shown before her dance.

Despite growing up the daughter of famous chef Gordon Ramsay, she detailed how her parents kept life as ordinary as possible – with Gordon himself making a cameo appearance hailing his daughter's dance and cookery talents.

It was mixed reviews for John and Johannes tonight, with Shirley Ballas noticing that while he was comfortable while leading, things were less polished when the routine put him in the receiving role – resulting in some footwork errors.

Anton Du Beke felt it was too "safe" in comparison to John's Paso Doble performance, while Cynthia Erivo said that the couple had to work "send the energy upwards".

The scores: 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32

EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis has been arguably the biggest breakout star of this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

The couple danced a Quickstep to Love Is An Open Door from Frozen, which ended with Giovanni proposing to his dance partner (in character, of course).

Motsi said that, if there is ever a wedding, she would want an invitation! Who wouldn't?

"There was a little tiny, tiny, tiny, mini, mini mouse mistake," said Motsi, with Giovanni clarifying that it was actually his error.

The other judges picked up on the slight imperfection, but fortunately, it didn't have a major impact on their scores...

The scores: 10 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 37

McFly star Tom Fletcher and his partner Amy Dowden have danced their Couple’s Choice to On My Own from Les Misérables – which he dedicated to his sister, theatre star Carrie Hope Fletcher.

It was an emotional performance, with Tom welling up during training and again on the live show.

Cynthia Erivo began the feedback: "It is clear that so much love and work has gone into this particular performance, but what is missing is the heart."

Motsi agreed that there was a lack of emotion in the dance, encouraging Tom to loosen grip on control and embrace the moment, but praised his technique.

Shirley Ballas echoed those remarks and told Tom: "It's okay to cry." (Words that all men should keep in mind, not just those on Strictly!).

Anton Du Beke joked that he had spent many nights "internally sobbing" on the Strictly dance floor, referencing some of his challenging former celebrity partners.

He added: "I knew exactly what you were going to do before you were going to do it – that means you were thinking about it too much. Let it go!"

The scores: 7 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 31

Unfortunately, there was a little mistake in the performance from Rhys and Nancy despite an incredibly hard training regimen.

Anton Du Beke began: "This has given me a real problem watching you dance because your feet are a bit too footloose, the only problem is everything else is so brilliant that I'm a bit overwhelmed."

Cynthia Erivo praised the duo for the palpable sense of fun to their performance.

"There was an explosion of rhythm, there was an explosion of energy which we're used to from you by now," said Motsi Mabuse, but she noted there wasn't enough "attention to detail".

Finally, Shirley Ballas gave some constructive criticism of the technical fault in the performance, but hailed Rhys' showmanship.

The final scores: 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32

The second performance of the night will be provided by Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu, who will be offering a treat for '80s fans: a Jive to Footloose!

The night is off to a great start, with AJ's dance getting glowing praise from the judging panel.

Shirley Ballas started the feedback, saying: "I can tell that you've worked very very hard on your technique... simplistic, stripped down, beautiful music and beautifully executed."

Anton Du Beke continued the positive vibes, praising the emotional heart beating throughout the performance.

He said: "Back with a bang! You took me away from it just being a Waltz, to it being something much more emotional.

Cynthia Erivo, a legend of musical theatre, asked "How do you solve a problem like Maria? Cast AJ!"

Could she have a future on the stage? Never say never!

Last but not least, Motsi Mabuse said: "Dancing is a feeling, it's a transportation of energy, and I think the whole hall here felt that... that was beautiful."

The final scores: 9 + 10 + 10 + 9 = 38

AJ Odudu and her partner Kai Widdrington are first up tonight, dancing to Edelweiss from The Sound of Music. Can they avoid being bottom of the leaderboard again?

Hello everyone!

I'm David Craig, writer for RadioTimes.com, and I'll be keeping you updated on all things Strictly tonight.

Let's start off by enjoying this glitzy group number celebrating Musicals Week.

18:39

Good evening and welcome to this week's live blog. It's Musicals Week, so expect to hear lots of your fave musical tunes as the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 line-up take to the dance floor.

Ahead of tonight's show, here's a list of all the Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances for Week Nine.

• AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington – Waltz to Edelweiss from The Sound of Music
• Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice – Quickstep to Love Is An Open Door from Frozen
• Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin – Couple’s Choice to Revolting Children from Matilda
• Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova – Charleston to Good Morning from Singin’ In The Rain
• John Whaite and Johannes Radebe – Viennese Waltz to Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins
• Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – Jive to Footloose from Footloose
• Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden – Couple’s Choice to On My Own from Les Misérables