Fleur East had a night to remember in Blackpool on Saturday night as she got the first perfect score of the new series, even forcing notoriously hard to please judge Craig Revel-Horwood to finally dust off his 10 paddle.
After landing in the bottom two twice, Fleur has enjoyed a rich run of form right when it matters. She and pro psrtner Vito Coppola topped the Strictly leaderboard with their sensational samba to Hot, Hot, Hot last week and the second it was confirmed that the pair would be taking to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom to a Destiny's Child megamix for their Couple's Choice, fans were expecting great things.
Prior to taking to the floor by the seaside on Saturday night, Fleur delivered an emotional VT, in which she spoke about her parents' love for music and constant support for her career, as she described feeling that entering The X Factor in 2014 was her 'last chance.' The video was tinged with sadness as Fleur explained that her dad, a massive Strictly fan, had passed away and would have been so proud of her making it to Blackpool.
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The second the music got going on Fleur and Vito's routine, the Sax singer channelled her inner Beyoncé to deliver a fantastic and fierce performance, which had Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse on their feet pretty much as soon as it started.
The judges' enthusiasm for the dance was reflected in their comments and scores, with Craig finally uttering his famous "fab-u-lous" verdict, before doing the 'unthinkable' and giving a 10, as Fleur and Vito, host Claudia Winkleman and the rest of the Strictly cast waited with baited breath.
Following Craig's lead, Motsi, Shirley and Anton also gave 10s, sending Fleur and Vito straight to the top of the leaderboard with a perfect 40 out of 40.
The score came after some bookies named Fleur celeb most likely to go this week. BetVictor have Fleur as the favourite to be eliminated this weekend on 9/4, just ahead of Kym Marsh on 11/4.
BetVictor spokesperson Sam Boswell said: “Despite topping the leaderboard last week with a score of 39, Fleur is tipped to be eliminated this weekend at 9/4. Fleur and Vito are set to dance a Couple’s Choice to a Destiny’s Child megamix, will it be enough to keep her in for another week?”
“Kym Marsh is second favourite to be eliminated next, at 11/4 and Ellie Taylor comes in at 3/1.”
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