Ellie Leach once again topped the leaderboard while Annabel Croft moved everyone to tears.
Another Saturday evening has come and gone as Strictly Come Dancing begins to head into the business end of the competition – and there will be just eight contestants remaining after another celebrity is voted off in tonight’s results show.
There has been some great quality dancing on show throughout this season and that was no different this week, with Layton Williams, Ellie Leach and Annabel Croft among those to wow the judging panel in Week 7.
For all the highlights and key moments from Strictly Come Dancing 2023 week 7, you can check out our catch-up video above.
It was Layton and Nikita Kuzmin who opened the show this week with a Jive to Shake Ur Body by SHY FX & T Power feat Di, which earned them a standing ovation and perfect scores from both Motsi Mabuse and Head Judge Shirley Ballas.
But not all of the panel were quite so enthusiastic in their praise, with Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke both having a few reservations concerning Layton’s kicks and foot positioning.
Still, they both awarded the routine an 8 which, combined with the full marks from Motsi and Shirley, ensured he scored a total of 36 points.
Angela Rippon was next up but after two consecutive third-place finishes on the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in previous weeks, her Waltz to Fascination by Nat King Cole was not quite so well received, earning her 28 points to potentially put her in a spot of danger heading into the results show.
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However, Angela will take solace in the fact that there are two contestants below her in the standings, with Angela Scanlon and Emmerdale star Adam Thomas scoring just 27 for their Samba and Rumba respectively.
One contestant who shouldn’t need to worry about the dance off this week is Annabel Croft, who achieved her best score by some distance for her incredibly moving Couple’s Choice routine to Wings by Birdy.
After an emotional VT which saw the former tennis star take Johannes to a bench in Richmond Park that she used to sit on with her late husband, Annabel’s routine took the form of a touching tribute that left the audience, judges, and presenters all in tears.
She ended up with a score of 35 points to put her in third place on the Strictly leaderboard after she received glowing comments from all four judges.
But top of the leaderboard once again this week is Ellie Leach, as the Coronation Street star continues to go from strength to strength in the competition.
Her American Smooth to Ain’t That A Kick In The Head earned her yet more rave reviews and a series-best score of 39 points, one more than she received for her Salsa during Halloween Week.
With two consecutive first-place finishes, does that mean Ellie and Vito have become the couple to beat?
Last up to take to the dance floor in Week 7 was Krishnan Guru-Murthy who was performing a colourful Couple’s Choice routine with Lauren Oakley that certainly included plenty of joy.
The judges were not exactly unanimous in their verdicts – Craig gave it just 6 points – but Krishnan ended up with a score of 29 points to put him sixth overall in the standings ahead of the results show.
Following all performances, the public vote opened with viewers getting a chance to vote to save their favourite contestants.
The two celebs with the lowest scores after the public vote is combined with the judges’ scores will find themselves in the dance off, after which the judges will have to decide who they want to send home.
Strictly Come Dancing’s results show will air on Sunday 4th November at 7:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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