Strictly Come Dancing had a bonus theme week tonight (Saturday) as the dancers paid tribute to the BBC. And the two couples in the dance-off tomorrow have once again surprised fans.
The corporation is 100 years old, so the couples performed to either an iconic BBC theme tune or danced in tribute to one of the BBC’s most-loved services. It kicked off its BBC centenary show with a routine by the professionals and judges, with appearances from Huw Edwards, Naga Munchetty and Graham Norton.
Helen Skelton and partner Gorka Marquez rolled back the years with a Charleston to the Blue Peter theme, which Helen was very familiar with after presenting the programme for five years. The pair netted 35 points from the judges.
Next, Tyler West and Dianne Buswell sailed through a Tango to the Doctor Who theme. They scored all eights for a total of 32.
True magic came from Fleur East and Vito Coppola, who took on Waterloo by Abba - which the BBC screened in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest - with a massively energetic jive. They also got 32.
EastEnders actor James Bye and Amy Dowden then came on to do a Foxtrot to Julia’s Theme from EastEnders which segued into the main theme. The performance bagged them the week's low score of 26.
Nikita Kuzmin and Ellie Simmonds' paso doble to the theme from The Apprentice - Montagues and Capulets from Prokofiev’s Rome and Juliet - snapped and crackled, and the duo was awarded them 30 points.
It was back to school for Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu who danced Couples’ Choice to the Grange Hill theme tune. The performance netted them 30, tied with Nikita and Ellie Simmonds.
The tune for Jowita Przysta and celebrity partner Hamza Yassin was in homage to BBC Nature Programming, but it did mean that the quickstep was performed with a backdrop of polar bears. The dance itself garnered 35, which tied them at the top of the leaderboard with Helen and Gorka.
Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radabe danced the tango in surgical scrubs to the Casualty theme, bagging 29 points. They were directly followed by Jayde Adams and Karen Haur who brought the laughs both dressed as the late, great Victoria Wood, dancing to The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let’s Do It) with a Charleston for 28 points.
Will Mellor and Nancy Xu didn't trouble the top of the leaderboard with a Viennese Waltz danced to the closing music from Line of Duty. They scored another 32, before ex-footballer Tony Adams and partner Katya Jones paid tribute to his sporting background with a cha cha cha to the Grandstand theme for a scoreboard-low of 19 points.
BBC presenter Kym Marsh and her partner Graziano Di Prima brought the action to a close with their quickstep to Ballroom Blitz by Sweet, the connection to the BBC reportedly being ballroom dancing. The scoring saw the duo take 27 points.
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