Strictly Come Dancing 2016: week ten - as it happened
Danny and Oti made Strictly history and Ed Balls channelled his inner Zoolander
Blackpool's been and gone and now the race is ON for the Strictly Come Dancing 2016 final.
Greg's departure at the Tower Ballroom leaves just six celebs to dance once step closer to victory in week 10, but who'll have what it takes?
Join us for a live Strictly party to find out...
20.15 And that's it for another week from the Strictly ballroom. What a night of thrills and spills we've had!
Danny and Oti and Louise and Kevin should surely be through to next weekend thanks to their ballroom and Cha Cha Challenge efforts, but could our beloved Ed finally be in real trouble?
More like this
Or can the public vote pull him back from the brink once again?
Tune into the Strictly results show on Sunday November 27th to find out.
20.08 Here's how the leaderboard looks after the Cha Cha Challenge
20.04 6th is Ed, 5th is Rinder, 4th is Claudia, 3rd Ore and Joanne, 2nd Danny and Oti, and in first place it's Louise and Kevin, who pick up the maximum SIX points.
20.03 "Not everyone had the correct timing" says Bruno, but he praises the dancers for theirimprovement from week one.
Craig's quick to remind us that not everyone was fabulous, but loved seeing "so much extra hip action".
20.01 Danny and Oti seems off to a strong start, but we're personally loving Rinder and Ed - just look at how he spun Katya on that transition to the next spot!
19.57 Ok, now it's time for the Cha Cha Challenge. This is basically a competition during which all six couples dance on the stage at the same time, with the judges scoring them based on their Cha Cha skills.
The couple who impress the most will get 6 points, the second most impressive will get 5, and so on and so forth until the couple at the bottom of the pile get just 1 point.
19.56 Four 9s give Claudia and AJ 36 points
19.52 HIGH drama from Claudia and AJ atop what appears to be a skyscraper.
"You were like a red arrow in a spectacular aerial display" says Bruno, who praises Claudia and AJ's lifts.
"I thought your legs could be a little looser for the ganchos" begins Craig, but it didn't stop me loving it.
"Your balance, your control" Darcey begins, clearly stunned by the pair's performance. "You are producing a sultry, moody character", she adds, "this is a new Claudia we are seeing".
"You've got total control over what you're doing" says Len, who says it was a knockout routine that was a mix of "frisky and risky".
19.49 4, 6, 7 and 6 give Ed 23 points
19.45 WHAT. WAS. THAT?
Sheer brilliance, that's what.
Len praises the fact that there was "plenty of tango content" and says Ed is the people's champion.
"You make Zoolander look like a beginner" says Bruno who loves his weekly Ed Balls fix.
Craig is not so convinced.
19.40 6 from Craig, 8s from Darcey and Len and a 7 from Bruno give Judge Rinder and Oksana 29 points
19.38 Darcey sadly isn't as keen as Judge Rinder was, and Len's not overly impressed either. He does have some kind words for the celeb though, praising his efforts.
"Everything is beautiful at the ballet" says Bruno, who then adds that Rinder reminded him of a "dying swan" at times.
"It looked a little bit awkward" says Craig, who does appear to be giving Rinder somewhat pitying eyes. "What I LOVE about you is that you dance with earnest" he adds, much to the delight of the audience.
19.35 Judge Rinder always looks like he's really LOVING the dances he's doing.
That's how we'd want to be if we were on Strictly too.
You GO Judge Rinder. FOUR TENS FOR YOU JUDGE RINDER!
19.31 A 9 from Craig and three 10s from Len, Bruno and Darcey give Louise 39 points
19.28 Craig's loving Louise's grace, fluidity and style but has some minor issues with the performance and Darcey is spellbound.
"That dance could be one of your five a day" says Len, who rubbishes Craig's negativity. And Bruno says it was beautiful.
19.24 "Is he really as close as that?" asks Louise's husband Jamie when he pops in to help her rehearse for her waltz with Kevin. *insert curse of Strictly fear here*
19.23 A controversial 8 from Craig, two 9s from Len and Darcey and a 10 from Bruno give Ore and Joanne 36 points.
19.20 Ore and Joanne hit the floor with a very modern Paso Doble, eager to follow THAT Samba.
Bruno loves it and says it was "brilliant" but Craig's got some qualms. He wasn't sure he believed Ore at all times, but he praises the dance's strength, power and style.
"The focus was there from beginning to end" says Darcey who clearly loved it too.
"A dance of power and purpose" says Len, who compliments Ore on his shaping but does highlight one little mistake. "It was a wonderful Paso Doble" he finishes.
19.17 So Danny and Oti made Strictly history right there. That's the first time a Samba has EVER been awarded a perfect 40 by the judges and the game is ON!
19.14 FOUR tens make it another perfect week for Danny and Oti.
19.11 "He's a tease" says Len, who compliments Danny's snake hips and says it was "steamier than the Amazon jungle".
"Why do you do it to me at this time of night?" says Bruno, who claims it was like watching a "pagan mating ritual" and claims he could do with a cold shower.
"I found the open shirt a slight distraction" Craig adds dryly, claiming Danny's hips are the best they've ever had from a celeb.
"You've certainly put the hours in" says Darcey, who calls the dance a "perfect samba masterclass".
19.08 First up is Blackpool perfect 40 scorer Danny Mac. We were about to type something rather clever and considered about his dancing skills, but then he shimmied that shirt right the way open and we realised that's all anyone will want to talk about.
19.06 Ed's done a DANNY ZUKO at the top of the stairs and we want him to live to dance another day already.
#Blackpool feels like a distant memory. But this... we'll NEVER FORGET. #Strictly https://t.co/IGMTbfiQEm pic.twitter.com/QZjvSMxMPf
— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) November 26, 2016
19.00 They've kicked off tonight's show with some celeb vlogging from behind the scenes. That's how you keep things #RELEVANT in the YouTube age folks.
18.50 So, who's dancing to what on Strictly this evening? And what songs will they be dancing to?
- Danny and Oti will be dancing the Samba to ‘Magalenha’ by Sergio Mendes
- Ed and Katya will be dancing the Tango to '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones
- Judge Rinder and Oksana will be dancing the Rumba to ‘Lean On Me’ by Bill Withers
- Louise and Kevin will be dancing the Waltz to ‘At This Moment’ by Michael Buble
- Ore and Joanne will be dancing the Paso Doble to ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ by Lorde
18.35 Ed's dancing the tango to The Rolling Stones tonight - we're hoping for a sensational entrance...
18.15 We're not quite sure what's going on here, but Ed, seriously, we know you have balls. There's no need to quite so literally attempt to prove it...
Carrie Bradshaw, Zoolander & the sensual side of Judge Rinder. Week 10 of #Strictly training reveals the inner workings of our celebs. ? ? pic.twitter.com/Q0URcqwOKz
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 26, 2016
18.00 The celebs are all set backstage waiting for week 10 to begin.
16.00 They said Ed Balls couldn't possibly top Gangnam Style but he pulled a sterling Blackpool performance out of the bag last week and lived to dance another day.
Tonight Ed, Ore, Claudia, Judge Rinder, Louise and Danny will battle it out in not one, but TWO dance feats. First they'll take to the floor with their partner and then they'll take on a Cha Cha Challenge to see who can pick up a few bonus points!
Join us right here on RadioTimes.com for all the action from 6pm, but until then here's everything you need to know.
What time is Strictly Come Dancing on tonight?
Who are this year's Strictly Come Dancing contestants?
Who's dancing with who in 2016?
Strictly Come Dancing 2016: meet the pro dancers
Don't forget the Strictly pros without celebrity partners...
New dancers Chloe Hewitt and Neil Jones didn't get paired with Strictly celebs this year, but don't worry: they'll still be performing in the group dances, running their eyes over the performances in Strictly's It Takes Two – and acting as back-up just in case there are any unforeseen injuries... Meet the two new dancers here.
Who is Chloe Hewitt? Strictly Come Dancing 2016 professional dancers guide
Who is Neil Jones? Strictly Come Dancing 2016 professional dancers guide
