Strictly Come Dancing: Tony Adams gets Halloween special underway

Strictly Come Dancing returned to screens for its Halloween Special on Saturday, as the sparkly 11 remaining celebrities took to the dance floor with their pro partners for the sixth week this series. 

First up to dance were Tony Adams and his partner Katya Jones with a Western-style Quickstep – which proved to be by far their best performance yet – scoring 31 – after being bottom of the leader board last week. 

The judges were impressed with his performance, with Shirley saying: ‘Who would have thought it that you would bring that kind of performance. The footwork was lovely, you shocked me!’

Anton added: ‘You are unrecognisable! You were stuck as being perceived as the one who couldn’t dance but you are a proper dancer, I loved it!’, before Craig added: ‘Welcome Tony to the ballroom! You had style and story.’

Motsi said: ‘What a surprise and what hard work wow!’. The pair received a total of 31.   

Will Mellor and Nancy Xu were next up with a Cha Cha Cha. The judges lauded his dance with Anton saying it was ‘much better than last week’. 

Craig added: ‘I loved the hop action and body rolls, I liked the stylisation I think you did a magnificent job, the choreography was fantastic!’, while Shirley and Motsi were equally as impressed with the ‘entertaining’ dance.

They scored an impressive 32, with all eights from the four judges.

Next up to perform were Kym Marsh and her partner Graziano Di Prima, with the couple taking on the difficult Rumba.

The judges loved the dance, with Craig saying: ‘Your balance was on it, from week one this is immaculate!’, before Motsi adding: ‘That was stunning, I see you presence, I see you trying, there were some difficult things there and I see a real transformation.’

Shirley said: ‘Let me tell you that was beautiful, it was stunning, it had power and softness, creativity, character and a storyline, you were fantastic!’ 

Anton added: ‘You are back on form! Amazing! They scored an incredible 34, with two nines from Shirley and Anton. 

Next to dance were James Bye and his partner Amy Dowden who performed a bee-themed Charleston. Their fun-filled routine was full of laughter and lifts. 

The judges had mixed reviews, with Motsi saying: ‘It was fun and you were more loose but next you need more musicality.’ Shirley added: ‘The concept and technique were all better, now you need to work on different energies to make it more bright and alight.’

Anton said: ‘The lifts were very strong, you threw Amy down a bit but it was a bit throw away, your work was good but I don’t see the finish of it all, but a good effort.’

Craig added: ‘You need to dance more between your lifts but it was good’. They scored a total of 27.

Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu were next with an Argentine Tango to a Kate Bush classic of Running Up That Hill – after being in the dance off last week.

They wowed the judges, with Shirley saying: ‘It was drama and passion and everything in between. You cam back from the dance off strong, the timing was immaculate, I loved it!’

Anton added: ‘You are so clean, I love watching you dance, it lacked a bit of intensity to make it a showstopper but it was amazing.’ 

Craig was less impressed, saying: ‘I felt like you were dancing two different dances, it was a bit ugly.’ They scored 33, with three nines and a six from Craig.

Tyler West and Dianne Buswell were next with a Cha Cha to Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) by Tanz Orchester Klaus Hallen.

Anton said: ‘This is such a hard dance, I thought that was brilliant, it’s one of the best Cha Cha’s I have seen on this show.’

Craig added: ‘You need to go more on a straight leg, but I loved it, it was a wonderful performance.’ Shirley added: ‘Listen that was a very juicy, the body rhythm was great, it had a good core and rotation, but for me it was quite enough on Halloween!’ 

They scored an impressive 35, with a ten from Anton.

Next up were Helen Skelton and her partner Gorka Marquez with a Foxtrot. Craig said: ‘Your frame needs work, I cna see the mechanics of it and you don’t want to see that but it had a nice flow.’

Motsi said: ‘I adore watching you dance and your dancing is getting stronger. I get final vibes off you.’ 

Shirley added: ‘Slow and steady always wins the race, you give us more of your soul each week, you feel more comfortable, moving forward you need to finish every part of you.’ She got a score of 32.

It comes after Week Five saw wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin and broadcaster Helen Skelton finish in joint first place on the leaderboard with their stellar routines to celebrate the BBC’s 100th Anniversary.

But it was the end of the road for comedian Jayde Adams, who became the fourth star to be eliminated after going head-to-head with Molly Rainford in the dance-off.

After both couples performed again, the judges voted to save Molly and her professional partner Carlos Gu, meaning Jayde and Karen were sent home.

Following on from last week’s public vote, the pressure is well and truly on to get their steps right as the phone lines will once again open after the show for fans to vote for their favourite routines. 

This week, the remaining pairs take to the dancefloor with spooktacular Halloween-inspired performances, in a bid to survive the next public vote, after last weeks’ episode celebrated 100 years of the BBC, with special dances honouring a number of popular shows from the broadcaster.

The 20th series of Strictly is once again hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, with Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke returning as judges.

Alongside this, the Strictly spin-off It Takes Two is back on screens during the week to ensure you get your strictly fix, hosted by Rylan Clark and former professional dancer Janette Manrara .