We’re over half way through the 2022 season of Strictly Come Dancing and so far we’ve seen a near-perfect score from Hamza Yassin, numerous 10s, three Couple’s Choice routines and lots of fake tan.
However, the show has also eliminated six of the original Strictly 2022 line-up of celebrities and, while it’s impossible to pin down a science behind the way the vote pans out, there is one common denominator that connects two-thirds of them: the Charleston.
In previous years, the Charleston has often been one of the highest-scoring dances, with the likes of Caroline Flack, Chris Hollins, Denise van Outen, Danny Mac, Faye Tozer and others scoring 40 for theirs and going on to secure a place in the final.
However, Strictly’s 2022 series appears to be developing a Charleston Curse of sorts – with four celebrities being eliminated from the competition after performing it.
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Over the last three consecutive weeks, the Charleston has claimed three victims, with the latest being Ellie Simmonds, who landed in joint fourth on the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with her routine to Kiss Me, Kate’s Too Darn Hot but still went home.
As for the previous week, EastEnders star James Bye was booted from the competition in Halloween Week after his Bumble Bee-themed routine, while Jayde Adams failed to win the public votes with her BBC centenary Charleston to Victoria Wood’s The Ballad of Barry & Freda.
All the way back in Week 2 of the competition, Kaye Adams became one of the first contestants to do the Charleston, performing to Dorothy Provine’s Music! Music! Music!, and became the very first celeb leave the competition this year after losing to Matt Goss in the dance-off.
If the Charleston Curse were to strike again this week, Ellie Taylor could be in trouble, with the Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances revealing that she’ll be swivelling and twisting to the Elaine Paige and Bernard Cribbins song Friendship.
While the Ted Lasso star dropped towards the bottom of the leaderboard last weekend, she could shoot back up to the top with her Charleston. But, as we’ve learnt from Ellie Simmonds, that may not save her.
Last weekend saw Hamza top the leaderboard again with his Cha Cha Cha to I Can’t Help Myself, while Molly Rainford found herself in the bottom two with Ellie Simmonds despite coming in third place with her Foxtrot to You Make Me Happy.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 12th November at 6:55pm on BBC One, with the results show airing on Sunday 13th November at 7:20pm. Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV & ITV Hub.
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