Strictly Halloween Week: Lacey Turner leads ahead of first triple dance-off

Strictly Halloween Week ended its Saturday performances with Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola at the top of the leaderboard, ahead of the programme’s first triple dance-off. The pair scored 36 points for their Charleston on 31 October, with the next elimination due to be revealed tonight, Sunday 1 November.

The results programme will also include a Dracula-themed professional routine featuring a specially recorded contribution from Sir Ian McKellen, plus music from Becky Hill. It begins at 7.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Strictly Halloween Week puts Lacey and Vito on top

Turner and Coppola performed to Crazy Stupid Love by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah. The Standard’s report on the show describes their gothic costumes and the judges’ enthusiastic response, with Motsi Mabuse identifying the Charleston as her standout dance of the evening.

John Nellis and Katya Jones finished one point behind on 35 for their tango to Slayyyter’s Dance…. Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington shared 33 points with Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, whose Argentine tango was set to Michael Abels’ Pas de Deux.

Goodrem and Widdrington’s Viennese waltz used Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, with the couple dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin scored 32, as did Will Best and Dianne Buswell.

The BBC’s confirmed leaderboard places Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu next on 30, followed by Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu on 27. Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał scored 26, while Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita and Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley shared the bottom position on 25.

The Halloween soundtrack also stretched across pop and film favourites. As the pre-show dance list confirmed, Stoecker and Karmalita chose Little Mix’s Black Magic, Robb and Przystał used Ghostbusters, and Antonia and Xu danced a jive to Fifth Harmony’s I’m in Love with a Monster. Hall and Oakley performed their samba to Harry Nilsson’s Coconut.

How tonight’s triple dance-off works

This week’s results bring a change to the familiar elimination format. The BBC confirms that the three couples with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will perform again, before the judges decide which one partnership should leave.

That means three couples will face the dance-off, but only one will be eliminated. The judges will vote to remove a pair, rather than select a couple to save.

Saturday’s leaderboard is therefore only part of the picture. The public vote also contributes to deciding who must dance again, so the couples with the lowest scores from the panel are not automatically the partnerships taking part in tonight’s showdown.

The final result remains to be shown on the programme. The changed format gives the Halloween weekend a different conclusion, with one more couple than usual required to repeat a routine under the judges’ scrutiny.

Ian McKellen joins a vampire-themed routine

Alongside the competition, the professionals will perform to Tame Impala’s Dracula. The BBC’s official preview says the routine starts at a drive-in cinema, where Alexis Warr and Nikita Kuzmin appear to be enjoying a first date.

The story changes when Kuzmin is revealed to be a vampire. The other professionals then join the tango-inspired performance, which builds towards McKellen reading an extract from Bram Stoker’s novel.

RTÉ’s report on the cameo confirms that the dance was recorded earlier this year. McKellen’s involvement is a voice contribution to that sequence, rather than an appearance as a contestant or judge.

When to watch the results

Becky Hill is also part of tonight’s musical line-up, rounding out a results show that combines the Halloween performances with the new elimination format.

Viewers can watch on BBC One or BBC iPlayer from 7.10pm tonight. Saturday’s routines are available to revisit on iPlayer, with the results programme set to reveal which couples face the triple dance-off and who continues into the next stage of the competition.