Strictly Week Eight: Nine Couples Dance for a Blackpool Seat

By Daniel Okafor

Strictly Come Dancing's ninth surviving couples danced on Saturday night for a place in next week's Blackpool special, with week eight airing from 6.25pm on BBC One. One couple will miss the glittery bus north. The bookmakers already have opinions.

Jaime Winstone returned after doctors cleared her on Tuesday to dance again following a torn abdominal muscle. She missed last week's show and resumes training gently alongside pro partner Carlos Gu. Pro dancer Kai Widdrington was absent through illness. Aljaž Škorjanec stepped in to partner Delta Goodrem — hours before their Argentine tango. That's a partner swap with real stakes attached.

Who leads the field?

Dani Dyer topped the leaderboard for the first time last week with her American smooth, and the betting market has responded. She has climbed to third favourite for the glitterball trophy, behind Lacey Turner and Tabby Stoecker. With Delta Goodrem fourth, bookmakers are predicting an all-female final.

At the other end, Winstone is the bookies' favourite for elimination this weekend, followed by Graeme "The Dogfather" Hall. Last week's dance-off saw Cach Mercer face Bethany Antonia; the judges split, and head judge Shirley Ballas used her casting vote to save Cach. Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu went home. Controversy, as usual, arrived free of charge.

What happened on the dancefloor?

Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley opened with a 1950s-themed quickstep to Happy Days by Pratt & McClain — the theme of the 1970s sitcom, performed rock'n'roll style to match its setting. Quiffs, jukebox, red-and-black outfits. Hall has slipped toward the bottom of the leaderboard in the past fortnight.

The routine had promenades, skips, hops, Charleston flicks and kicks. The verdict from the live coverage: he needs to be lighter on his feet, lost sync in the late side-by-side section, and stumbled slightly in the solo passages. Still, the styling was smooth, neat and, in the blog's word, "frothy fun". Hall had been working on his hold with Oakley, and the stamina showed.

What's on the running order?

The nine routines include two paso dobles (Dani Dyer and Will Best), two Charlestons (Cach Mercer and Jaime Winstone), an Argentine tango (Delta Goodrem), three classic ballroom routines and a jive. The judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke has awarded four perfect 10s so far this series — with a possible incentive to save more for Blackpool.

Hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe presented the show; Radebe's Hare Krishna monk outfit lost the evening's couture comparison to Willis's black two-piece. The Winstone return came with a costume choice the live blog likened to "a waiter from 1930s Berlin".

What about Sunday's results show?

Sunday's results programme carries a Traitors theme. The pros' romantasy-themed group dance features a voice cameo from Alan Cumming, host of The Traitors US, and the musical guest is Sebastian "Bash" Croft, fresh from winning The Celebrity Traitors. Tonight's scores combine with the public vote; the bottom two dance again for survival.

Elsewhere in the Strictly universe, Rylan Clark stole the show on Friday's Children In Need telethon, dancing a salsa with pro Amy Dowden dedicated to his mum, Linda, alongside fellow presenters Alex Jones, Sara Cox, Tyler West and Mel Giedroyc. The live blog's verdict: producers should sign him for the main series.

The broader picture is straightforward. With the midway mark passed and Blackpool's Tower Ballroom next week, Sunday's elimination will decide which celebrity watches the seaside special from a sofa. Winstone's injury return and Škorjanec's late pairing with Goodrem give the results show more variables than usual.