Strictly Come Dancing’s 20th anniversary series is well and truly underway, with the first contestant eliminated in a shock result.
The BBC’s beloved dance competition had a shakey start given the drama unfolding away from the ballroom floor and complaints from viewers about lacklustre outfits.
However, the show must go on, and after their first dance last night, Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova had to face Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones in the dance-off.
After reprising their cha cha to Boogie Wonderland, sadly, Olympic swimmer Tom, 24, and Ukranian pro Nadiya, 35, were given the chop and must leave the competition.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and head judge Shirley Ballas voted to save Toyah and Neil who performed a jive to Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner.
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Anton Du Beke had voted to save the athlete but was outnumbered by the deciding vote from Shirley.
When asked by host Tess Daly about his time on the show, Tom said: ‘I’ve had the best time the last few weeks and getting to work with Nadiya has been incredible. I wish I could have gone further and done more dances.
‘I’ve had the most fun and I wish we could keep going longer and longer. We’ll still go out for loads of brunches I’m sure.’
Nadiya praised her celebrity dance partner and shared: ‘To get to know him, he’s not just a three-time Olympic champion he’s a true gentleman and he taught me how to work really hard and how to put everything in.
‘And you know what? On this programme, sometimes to win, you don’t need to win, and that’s how I feel this year.’
Following their elimination, Nadiya took to social media to express her sadness with a rather cryptic caption.
Her first Instagram post after the episode aired featured a backstage shot of the couple from this weekend, alongside the words: ‘I really appreciate all the messages but I’m not ready to talk about what happened tonight just yet. 🙏🏼🤍’
The pro, who joined Strictly in 2017, was quickly inundated with messages of support from her fellow dancers and fans, with user natalia_kuznetsova_rice commenting: ‘This shouldn’t have happened, Nadia. I’m pretty sure everyone’s shocked. It was a good work and absolutely not a candidate for leaving.’
‘Raging!!! He had potential and could dance. So sorry for you both’, commented meburkeni.
Agreeing with the outpouring of viewer rage, Dan Walker, who danced with Nadiya in 2021 and finished fifth, wrote a post saying: ‘What just happened on Strictly feels a bit messed up.’
He added that Tom’s departure ‘will go down as one of THE early shocks’, hailing him as a ‘lovely bloke who really could have become a great dancer.’
‘I’m not an expert – and I’m happy for someone to explain – but how he lost that dance off is completely beyond my comprehension. Genuinely thought they could have gone a long way 🤯’, Dan added, baffled.
Taking to X, audiences vented too, with scddevereaux blasting the judges’ decision by writing: ‘Saving a professional musician for their musicality even though they were bottom of the leaderboard instead of the sportsman with actual potential is crazy’.
‘Tom Dean has so much more to learn and has more potential, Anton was the only judge talking sense in that dance off’, said jesshoskingx.
Viewers also threw support behind Nadiya, as this was her first series in two years with a celebrity partner.
The elimination comes after concern for Nick Knowles after the DIY SOS presenter injured himself during the run-up to the weekend debut.
He shared that he’d ‘damaged’ his shoulder while ‘hurriedly’ replacing the tyre on his car but later confirmed he had ‘been given clearance to dance’.
The 62-year-old star, previously revealed he had lost two stone due to ‘really tough’ training sessions with his partner Luba Mushtuk, 34.
Defiant, Nick performed an American Smooth to Blur’s Parklife but landed himself just 18 points with the dance.
Meanwhile, top of the leaderboard after one dance is JLS singer JB Gill, who sits above everyone else on 31 points after his emotional waltz with Amy Dowden.
Hot on his tail is Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland, who are both on 30.
The results show featured a showstopping routine from the judges and professionals to Prince’s hit song When Doves Cry.
It also featured a musical performance of God Gave Me Feet for Dancing from Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective featuring Yazmin Lacey.
Next week, the remaining 14 couples will take to the floor for Movie Week, airing on Saturday, October 5, at 6.25pm.
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