Third celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing after unanimous judges’ decision
Another famous face has left the dancefloor for the last time
Katie Piper has become the third contestant to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2018, with the presenter and author (and her dance partner Gorka Marquez) failing to impress the judges with her jive to Why Do Fools Fall in Love.
The judges’ scores from last night’s episode, combined with viewer votes placed the pair in the bottom two alongside Charles Venn and his partner Karen Clifton, forcing them into a dance-off.
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After both couples danced again, the judges delivered their verdicts, with Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli all opting to save Charles and Karen based on their Salsa.
“The couple I would like to save for a stronger performance is Charles and Karen,” Darcey said, while Craig explained theirs was the “best dance” on the night.
“The couple that stood out for me, so I would save them, is Charles and Karen,” Bruno agreed.
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While head judge Shirley Ballas’ tie-break vote wasn’t needed, she revealed that she would also have picked Charles and Karen.
“I have taken a lot from this experience and it has all been really positive, and I’ll never forget this journey,” Katie said after her elimination.
“Charles was the better dancer out of us two and there are some brilliant dancers in this competition and sadly I don’t think I was one of them! But I have had a great experience you know and I feel really privileged to have been here and thanks for your advice and thank you (Gorka) for all the hours!
“One thing as well all the public not just the audience here but the general public have been so supportive online and have voted for me the other weeks so I feel thrilled to have been here for four weeks. So thank you to everyone.”
Her partner Gorka added: “Well first of all thank you, for being such a wonderful human.
“Everyone knows how much you have been through and everything but to get the chance to know you and be working with you and get to know how strong you are, how always wanting to be better and improve.
“For me that’s my lesson and what I learnt from you.”
This week marks the second time in a row that Charles Venn and Karen Hauer have found themselves in the bottom two, and the judges expressed disappointment at their low ranking.
The remaining 12 couples will take to the dancefloor once again next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns next Saturday.
Katie and Gorka, meanwhile, will have their first post-series interview on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two on Monday 15th October at 6.30pm on BBC2.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC1 on Saturdays and Sundays
