Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse declares celebrity star a "contender for the final"

As the hallowed dancefloor of Strictly Come Dancing plays host to another Halloween Week, judge Motsi Mabuse surprised viewers by dubbing one pair as a "contender for the final."

Kicking off this week's show, TV personality Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington performed their American Smooth to Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart.

While the performance earned rapturous applause in the studio, and plenty of kudos from the judges, Motsi Mabuse made the stand-out comment as she gave her thoughts on the pair's performance.

"A few weeks ago, I couldn't believe that you'd open our show," she began. "Firstly, that setting of this atmosphere – I loved the character play in the beginning."

"I think you did so, so well, so for me, I think you are a contender for the final."

While not going so far in their assessments, the other judges had plenty of praise for the performance, and in particular, for how far Pattison had come in the weeks since this series began.

"There were so many things that you have made better in this ballroom dance than in week two," remarked Shirley Ballas.

Anton du Beke echoed those sentiments, describing it as a "terrific performance."

Ever the party pooper, Craig Revel Horwood was the only judge to have much criticism for the pair's dancing, although still offered up a rather positive 7, combining with the other judges' 8s for an impressive total of 31.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 2nd November at 7:15pm.

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