Strictly Come Dancing 2026 has said goodbye to its first celebrity contestant following a tense Movie Week dance-off.
During Sunday night’s first results show of the series, Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden became the first couple to leave the competition after facing Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu in the dance-off.
This week’s judges’ scores were added to those from last week’s opening live show, when there was no public vote, before being combined with the results of Saturday night’s public vote to determine the two lowest-scoring couples who would face the dance-off.
Both couples performed their routines again. Chris and Amy performed their Cha Cha to I’ll Be Ready from Baywatch, before Jaime and Carlos performed their Cha Cha to Oh, Pretty Woman from Pretty Woman.
Motsi Mabuse, Head Judge Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Jaime and Carlos. With three votes in favour of Jaime and Carlos, they won the majority vote, meaning that Chris and Amy would be leaving the competition.
Craig Revel Horwood – who this week was the judge with the deciding vote – said that he would also have saved Jaime and Carlos, should he have been required to vote.
© BBCSunday night’s results show also featured a The Devil Wears Prada routine from the Strictly Professionals – featuring Motsi and Craig – plus a special performance from Matilda The Musical, with the four young performers who play Matilda taking to the stage to sing Quiet alongside composer Tim Minchin.
This summer, Chris confirmed he would be starring in the series. He is famed for being a stylist to the stars and has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Sofia Vergara.
The star has previously been named as a ‘Hair Star’ by Vogue UK, and he recently released his first memoir, Your Roots Don’t Define You.
© BBC“I’m thrilled to be joining Strictly Come Dancing and coming home to the UK for this incredible experience,” Chris said about joining the show at the time. “I’ve always believed that the best things happen when you take a chance and try something new. I may know my way around a salon floor, but the dance floor is a whole different story – and I can’t wait to get started.”
Meanwhile, Strictly‘s movie week episode saw a peak of 5.6 million viewers, the BBC said. Over the course of the two-and-a-half hour programme, the 15 celebrities and their professional partners took to the dancefloor to perform routines inspired by movies including Titanic, Risky Business, Mary Poppins and Saturday Night Fever.
A Strictly spokesperson said: “Strictly’s movie week was the most watched programme of the night, with a peak of 5.6 million viewers. As ever, overnight ratings do not give the full picture of all those who watch in an on-demand world.”
Discussion about this post