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Week one of Strictly Come Dancing was packed with impressive performances that rocketed up the leaderboard.
On Saturday (21 September) all 15 couples performed live for the first time before the voting – and first elimination of the series – happens next weekend.
At the top of the leaderboard this week is JB Gill and Amy Dowden, who made a triumphant return to Strictly after being too ill to compete in last year’s series as she recovered from treatment for stage three breast cancer.
Their classic Waltz to “When I Need You” by Leo Sayer received a standing ovation from the studio audiences. The performance also impressed all four judges, and saw them receive 31 points out of a possible 40.
Closely behind them is Love Island star Tasha Ghouri who stunned the judges with a celebrated Cha Cha to Sabrina Carpenter’s summer anthem “Espresso”. The influencer was left ecstatic after receiving a score of 30.
Miranda actor Sarah Hadland also receives a score of 30 for her Quickstep to “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton – the highest mark a Quickstep has ever received in week one of the competition.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale is punk-rock singer Toyah Willcox, with 12 out of 40, and former Arsenal player Paul Merson receiving just 17 for his American Smooth to the football anthem “Vindaloo”.
Here is this week’s leaderboard in full, with the individual marks from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke:
JB Gill and Amy Dowden (7+8+8+8) = 31
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec (8+8+7+7) = 30
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola (8+8+7+7) = 30
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe (6+7+6+7) = 26
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones (6+6+7+7) = 26
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell (4+6+6+7) = 23
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin (6+6+6+5) = 23
Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova (5+6+6+6) = 23
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas (6+6+5+6) = 23
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu (4+6+5+6) = 21
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez (4+5+5+5) = 19
Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk (3+5+5+5) = 18
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer (2+4+5+6) = 17
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał (4+5+3+5) = 17
Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones (2+4+2+4) = 12
