Strictly Come Dancing RESULT: Radio presenter Nikita Kanda is the second celebrity to be eliminated after facing Zara McDermott in the dreaded dance off
Nikita Kanda was the second celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2023 during Sunday night’s tense results show.
The BBC Asian Network radio host, 28, left the show with her professional partner Gorka Márquez, 33, after underwhelming on Saturday’s Movie Night.
Nikita faced Zara McDermott in the dreaded dance off, before judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas saved Zara.
Both couples performed their routines again on the show as first up was Zara and her dance partner Graziano Di Prima who performed their Pasodoble to The Puss Suite from Puss In Boots.
Then Nikita and Gorka performed their Jive to Kids In America from Clueless again in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition.
All over: Nikita Kanda was the second celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2023 during Sunday night’s tense results show
Competion: Nikita faced Zara McDermott in the dreaded dance off, before judges Craig Revel Horwood , Motsi Mabuse , Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas saved Zara
After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts:
Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Zara and Graziano.
Craig said: ‘The couple I’d like to save had both technique and theatricality, and that couple is Zara & Graziano.’
Motsi Mabuse also chose to save Zara and Graziano, saying: ‘I thought both couples gave it their best, but one couple made a few mistakes that were quite visible, so that’s why I’m saving Zara and Graziano.’
Anton Du Beke chose to save them too, explaining: ‘I did think both couples danced better in the dance off.
‘Unfortunately there were a couple of small mistakes from one of the couples, so the couple I would like to save is Zara & Graziano.’
With three votes in favour of Zara and Graziano, they won the majority vote meaning that Nikita and Gorka would be leaving the competition.
Head judge Shirley Ballas also agreed and said she would have decided to save Zara and Graziano.
Sad: The BBC Asian Network radio host, 28, left the show with her professional partner Gorka Márquez, 33, after underwhelming on Saturday’s Movie Night
On the dancefloor: Nikita and Gorka performed their Jive to Kids In America from Clueless again in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition
Powerful: With three votes in favour of Zara and Graziano, they won the majority vote meaning that Nikita and Gorka would be leaving the competition
When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Nikita said: ‘I don’t want to leave yet, I feel like I’ve let him down.
‘I’ve had the best time and I love all my Strictly family, I’m going to miss you all. This has been a dream come true, I’m so grateful.
‘I’ve got to say the biggest thank you to Gorka, he has been the biggest support and I’ve had the best time ever.’
Gorka was then asked by Tess about Nikita overcoming her nerves and how proud he is of her, he said: ‘I am beyond proud of her, for someone that doesn’t have any dance experience or performance experience to come on this show and dance in front of millions of people – for three weeks, I think it’s incredible.
‘You should be very proud of yourself, you have never let me down and I am very proud of you.
‘This show is going to teach you so many things about yourself that you can take with you and I take incredible memories. I’ve never laughed so much in three weeks than I did with you!’
Sunday’s results show also featured the professional dancers taking viewers on a journey to Barbie Land with a performance based on the hit movie of the summer.
In addition, Madison Beer performed Showed Me (How I fell In Love With You) in the ballroom.
The remaining thirteen couples will take to the dance floor next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday October 14 at 6:30pm.
The results show will then air on Sunday October 15 at 7:15pm on BBC One.
Nikita and Gorka will be joining Fleur East and Janette Manrara for their first exclusive televised interview live on Strictly: It Takes Two on Monday October 9 at 6:30pm.
On Saturday’s show viewers saw a triumphant Angela Scanlon top the leaderboard after being awarded 35 points from the judges while Eddie Kadi was awarded the first 10 of the series from Shirley.
Unfortunately, Jody Cundy’s performance suffered after he was forced to miss out on two days of rehearsals due to a hospital dash.
The Paralympian, 44, had a health scare earlier this week after waking up at 4am with a swollen, infected leg, and feared he would not be able to dance.
Elsewhere, Amy Dowden returned to the show for the first time since being diagnosed with breast cancer and Neil Jones made an appearance after welcoming a daughter with his fiancée Chyna Mills.
Nigel Harman and professional partner Katya Jones opened the show with a Batman-inspired routine.
The duo danced a Jive to the film’s theme tune and received a total of 25 points from the judges.
Returning to host Claudia Winkleman in the studio, Amy surprised fans as she read out the terms and conditions of the vote.
She left viewers in tears as she confirmed she is now halfway through her chemotherapy treatment.
Starring on the BBC show, she dazzled in a white gown with silver sequins for her first TV appearance since shaving her head.
Fan’s of the show shared their thoughts on X, formerly known as Twitter, with one person admitting they had shed a tear at her triumphant return.
They posted: ‘Just burst into tears when Amy Dowden appeared on my screen. Keep fighting!’
Another added: ‘Amy Dowden choosing not to wear a wig on #Strictly tonight has just shown every little girl going through chemo that bald is beautiful. What a role model.’
‘Hands up who loves Amy Dowden? And hands up who cried when she read the T&Cs,’ a third viewer wrote.
Next up, Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington transformed into the Von Trapps to dance a Quickstep to Do-Re-Mi from The Sound Of Music. They scored 26 points.
Strictly fans were left in stitches over Kai’s Movie Week outfit as they compared him to a Ken doll.
The pair channeled the 1965 film as Kai dressed up in a curtain outfit similar to that which Maria and the Von Trapp children wore for the musical number in the movie.
Meanwhile, Angela, 78, wore a brown pinafore dress over a white shirt with puffed sleeves as she appeared to channel Julie Andrews’ Maria.
However, viewers were left in stitches over Kai’s outfit in particular as they shared his hilarious reactions to seeing the dancer in a blond wig.
STRICTLY LEADERBOARD – WEEK 3
Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu: Charleston to Who’s Got The Pain? From Damn Yankees – FINAL SCORE: 9, 9, 8, 9 = 35
Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer: Couple’s Choice to Men in Black from Men in Black – FINAL SCORE: 8, 8, 10, 8 = 34
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola: Viennese Waltz to Waiting On A Miracle from Encanto – FINAL SCORE: 8, 9, 8, 8 = 33
Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell: Samba to Young Hearts Run Free from Romeo and Juliet – FINAL SCORE: 8, 8, 8, 8 = 32
Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice: Rumba to Out of Reach from Bridget Jones – FINAL SCORE: 6, 8, 8, 8 = 30
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe: Waltz to Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s – FINAL SCORE: 8, 8, 7, 7 = 30
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin: Viennese Waltz to There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease – FINAL SCORE: 7, 7, 7, 7 = 28
Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington: Quickstep to Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music – FINAL SCORE: 6, 7, 6, 7 = 26
Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk: Jive to Take On Me from The Super Mario Bros. Movie – FINAL SCORE: 5, 7, 7, 7 = 26
Nigel Harman and Katya Jones: Jive to Batman Theme from Batman – FINAL SCORE: 6, 6, 6, 7 = 25
Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima: Paso Doble to The Puss Suite from Puss in Boots – FINAL SCORE: 6, 6, 6, 7 = 25
Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez: Jive to Kids in America from Clueless – FINAL SCORE: 4, 6, 5, 6 = 21
Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystał: American Smooth to Married Life from Up – FINAL SCORE: 4, 5, 5, 6 = 20
Zara and Graziano dressed as cats to perform a Paso Doble to The Puss Suite from Puss in Boots, earning a total of 25 points.
Viewers heaped praise on Layton Williams as he danced in drag for his perfromance, but fumed over the judges’ ‘picky’ scoring.
The actor, 29, and his professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin danced the Viennese Waltz to There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease.
His vibrant shirt had ‘Rizzo’ stitched across the front as he got into character as the iconic character from the smash hit 1978 movie.
Meanwhile, Nikita, 25, opted for an all-black outfit and styled his locks in a 70s quiff as he channeled John Travolta’s Danny Zuko.
Some viewers also criticised the ‘picky’ judges for not giving Layton enough points, after the dance number secured him and Nikita just 28 points out of 40.
Angela, 39, and her professional dance partner Carlos Gu, 30, performed the Charleston to Who’s Got The Pain? From the film Damn Yankees for Movie Week.
While Shirley’s fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all gave Angela a score of nine each, Shirley awarded her an eight.
It comes after Shirley, 63, was criticised by show fans of giving three of the show’s female celebrities low scores last week, and after she became embroiled in a ‘sexism row’ for favouring the male contestants during last year’s series.
Next up, Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice hoped to impress with a Rumba to Out of Reach from Bridget Jones. They scored 30.
Nikita and Gorka then danced the Jive to a song from cult classic Clueless but unfortunately only scored 21 points.
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola danced a Viennese Waltz to Waiting On A Miracle from Encanto, earning them an impressive 33.
Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell then performed a Samba to Young Hearts Run Free from Romeo and Juliet and scored 32 points.
Dianne looked unrecognisable as she debuted brunette locks. She usually sports bright red tresses but the television personality delighted viewers with her look for the week.
Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystal performed an American Smooth to the heartbreaking song Married Life from Up.
Unfortunately he came bottom of the leaderboard with 20 points after he was rushed to hospital earlier this week with a swollen infected leg.
Jody, who had one of his legs amputated when he was three years old after being born with a deformed foot, was forced to forfeit two whole days of training due to the infection which prevented him from wearing his prosthetic leg.
Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer danced the first Couple’s Choice of the series to Men in Black from the film of the same name and scored the first ten of the series from Shirley. Racking up a total of 34.
Annabel Croft returned to the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor after admitting she ‘cries every day’ over the death of her husband Mel Coleman.
The former tennis player, 57, and her professional partner Johannes Radebe scored 30 points for their emotional Waltz to Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Annabel’s late husband and father to their three children Charlie, Amber and Lilly, died earlier this year, aged 60, a few weeks after he was diagnosed with stage three cancer.
The radio presenter recently revealed she ‘sobbed’ over her loss the night before her debut on the BBC show in an interview with The Daily Mail.
Upset: When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Nikita said: ‘I don’t want to leave yet, I feel like I’ve let him down’
Neil Jones made an appearance for the first time since his fiancée Chyna Mills gave birth to their first child.
The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 41, appeared on Strictly’s Movie Week show on Saturday and was asked about his newborn daughter by host Claudia.
He sweetly admitted he can’t stop smiling after his Love Island star partner, 24, gave birth to a daughter, whose name they have not yet revealed, earlier this month.
Emmerdale’s Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk then performed a Jive to Take On Me from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, scoring 26.
Finally, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley closed the show with a Charleston to Money Money from Cabaret. They scored 30 points.
Strictly Come Dancing 2023: Who are the couples?
Nigel Harman and Katya Jones
Bobby Brazier and Diane Buswell
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe
Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima
Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice
Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington
Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley
Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola
Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk
Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystał
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin
Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez
Les Dennis and Nancy Xu
Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer
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