The 11th celebrity has been eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing after a tense semi-final that saw two perfect-scoring performances.
Contestants were asked to perform two dances for their last attempt to be in the final. Towie star Pete Wicks had appealed for support ahead of his performance with partner Jowita Przystal, amid mounting backlash.
JB Gill impressed the judges with his Salsa to “Red Alert” by Basement Jaxx, alongside partner Lauren Oakley. It marked the first time in six years that a Salsa had received 10s across the board. Ghouri also scored perfectly for her Waltz with Aljaž Škorjanec to “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin.
However, Ghouri’s performance was not enough to have her waltz through to the final, as she found herself in the bottom two again.
After a public vote, Ghouri and Wicks were forced to take part in a dance-off with Wicks dancing the Argentine Tango to “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve, and Ghouri repeating her Waltz.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Ghouri and Škorjanec, leading Wicks and Przystal to be eliminated from the competition.
That means Chris McCausland, Sarah Hadland, JB Gill, and Ghouri have all made it through to the final next week.
“It’s been wild. I’ve been quite honest about the fact that I didn’t necessarily want to do this [Strictly] in the first place, but everyone else wanted me to do it, and I am so, so glad that I did it!” Wicks told Tess Daly after his elimination.
“You don’t always have to be the best, but if you enjoy something then why shouldn’t you have a go at it? I’ve tried my best from day one, I said I was in for a penny, in for a pound and I’ve done it, it’s been beautiful.”
Speaking about his partner Przystal he said, “There’s a lot of things I’m going to take away from this, but one of the most special things is you [to Jowita] and I mean that, because you’re one of the most incredible people – not just as a dancer – but as a person.
“You’ve been a ray of sunshine for me. You’ve helped me through things in the past three months that I didn’t think I could do and you made me believe in myself and that means more to me than anything.”
Jowita said: “I just want to say thank you, thank you for the trust you have given me since day one. For me, every dance was special… even the Cha Cha in Blackpool!
“Remember on day one you said ‘I’m not going to stay long in this competition because I cannot dance’ but now I can say to you, yes you can.”
