Strictly Come Dancing: week five – live

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A fleeting but bittersweet mention at the top of the show for Tess and Claud’s Christmas departure but they wisely didn’t dwell and kept the focus on tonight’s show. Plenty of time for that later.

Our Strictly stars™

Our couples come out for a welcome wave and it’s a veritable fancy dress party! Stetsons! Wigs! Purple suits! Stick-on ponytails! Military caps! Bacofoil trousers!

Paddle-raising panel in the house

The judges make their big entrance. Fancy dress for them too. Craig Revel Horwood is John Lennon, Motsi Mabuse is Grace, Shirley Ballas is Elvis Presley and Anton Du Beke is David Bowie. Although somehow he always ends up looking like Claudia’s Auntie Joan at Christmas. Don’t go changing, Claud.

Frockwatch

Our hosts arrive after a big week – no more taking them for granted, let’s appreciate them while we can – so let’s do our weekly frock-off. Tess Daly is in a halterneck blue satin dress. Claudia Winkleman is white silk shirt and black dress. A rare win for Tess?

Cue clapalong credits

Four male celebs have left us so far. Thomas Skinner, Ross King and Chris Robshaw were knocked out, then Stefan Dennis was stretchered off. Who’s next?

And we’re off!

Roll the usual scene-setting montage with the Icons theme being flogged already.

Bums on seats and drinks in hands, please. We’re about to be beamed over live to Elstree Studios…

On your dance cards tonight

Another eclectic mix of styles this week. We’ll see two quicksteps, two salsas and only the second Argentine tango of the series. A mere five minutes until the spangly curtain comes up…

Amanda Holden-hosted quiz The Celebrity Inner Circle just wrapping up on BBC1. There always seems to be a Strictly alumna or two among the guests and this week, it’s Charlotte Hawkins (out third in 2017) and Sam Quek (lasted until mid-series last year).

The Halloween Spooktacular beckons

Two themed weeks in a row, which is a rare. The couples are bidding to get through to the annual Halloween special next weekend. Hair, make-up, wardrobe and set dressers are in for a busy fortnight.

Just 10 minutes until the glittery curtain comes up….

Can Balvinder dodge a dance-off hat-trick?

Balvinder Sopal and La Voix are bookies’ strong favourites for the boot this week. Can they defy the odds? Not long until we get our first choreographic clues…

Eyes down, it’s Icons Week bingo

Tick ‘em off when you spot ‘em! Take a drink for each! End up asleep in the Jag because you’re locked out! Here’s tonight’s 10-point spotter’s checklist:

• Judges’ gravitas somewhat undermined by them being in distracting fancy dress

• Tear-stained reference to this week’s Tess and Claud announcement

• The word “iconic” is flogged to within an inch of its life

• Male dancer forgets to fasten the buttons on his shirt

• Celebrity unconvincingly insists that their designated icon is their favourite artist of all time

• Momentary confusion that Claudia isn’t wearing fingerless gloves or presiding over a round table

• Steamy rumba/Argentine tangos makes the judges come over a bit funny

• Mention of next week’s Halloween Spooktacular accompanied by thunderclaps/spooky sound effects

• Departure of Stefan Dennis due to injury is completely overshadowed by Tess and Claud standing down

• Bandleader Dave Arch has also dressed up, even though he looks slightly sheepish about it

“Icon” status - discuss!

Where do we stand on tonight’s so-called icons? Prince, Cher, Spice Girls, Beyoncé, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash are all fine by me.

I’m not entirely convinced by Céline Dion, Cheryl or Usher but am prepared to hear your arguments. Fifteen minutes until the glittery gong strikes…

Stefan stretchered off to Erinsborough Hospital

You’ve got to feel a bit sorry for poor Stefan Dennis. The Tess and Claud shocker meant his own announcement tumbled way down the news agenda. But at the start of the week, the Neighbours star was forced to withdraw from the contest due to a torn calf muscle. Strewth, mate, sounds painful.

Stefan at least got to go out on a relative high, after scoring a personal best of 26 points for last week’s Charleston. His partner Dianne Buswell, the reigning pro champion, will be much missed.

We’re now one couple short but I very much doubt there will be a weekend where nobody is eliminated. Some fans have also called for last week’s departee, Chris Robshaw, to be reinstated but that wouldn’t seem fair either. Presumably we’ll instead have a three-way final, rather than a four-way one. Works for me. Twenty minutes until that ba-ba-da theme tune…

A big glittery goodbye to Claudia and Tess

It’s the end of a hoofing era. Thursday morning saw co-presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announce in a joint statement that they will hang up their sparkly mics at the end of the current series.

Both have served an epic stint in the BBC ballroom. Tess has helmed the show since the very first episode 21 years ago. Claudia has been by her side for the last 11 series but was part of the Strictly family long before that, having helmed spin-off show It Takes Two for six years, then taking over the Sunday results show from Sir Bruce Forsyth in 2010.

After steering the sparkly ship so well for so long, they’ve both earned the right to get their weekends back. As they said in their joint statement: “We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’ but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”

As the first female duo to present a primetime franchise, the pair not only broke the TV glass ceiling but became part of the fabric of all our weekends. It truly is a landmark moment but at least the beloved duo have the next eight weeks – plus the Christmas special – as a well-deserved victory lap. Let’s save most of our tributes and tears for December.

Inevitably, conversation has already turned to the dream duo’s potential replacements. Who do you fancy? Rylan and Zoe Ball would be up there for me. Or possibly Alison Hammond, Alan Carr, AJ Odudu and Fleur East. I’d love to hear your thoughts. It’s 25 minutes until showtime….

Stars In Their Eyes with extra sequins. Yes, it’s Icons Week!

The Elstree Studios dressing-up box is out again. But who will fly and who will flop in Icons Week? Good evening and welcome to the fifth live weekend of Strictly Come Dancing 2025. I’m Michael, your virtual dance partner for tonight’s themed extravaganza. You are cordially invited to watch along with me as our 11 surviving pro-celebrity pairings hit the Elstree dancefloor once more.

It’s been a tumultuous week in the BBC ballroom. On Monday, we had an injury withdrawal from Stefan Dennis. This was followed by far bigger news on Thursday when co-hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced that they’d be stepping down at the end of this series. Sob. More on both of those stories shortly.

Last week saw 10s and congratulatory kisses at the top of the leaderboard but the lowest ever week four score at the opposite end. Rugby player Chris Robshaw eventually departed the dancefloor with Balvinder Sopal narrowly surviving, thanks to Craig Revel Horwood’s casting vote. In a rollercoaster contest, it’s all to dance for.

Tonight the surviving 11 couples perform routines paying tribute to some of the greatest music legends of all time. From Cher to Cheryl, from Prince to Dolly Parton, from Harry Styles to the Spice Girls, it’s going to be like Top Of The Pops with added hip action.

It’s showtime at 6.25pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 5.55pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and frankly iconic asides. So dust down your Guinness Book Of Hit Singles, fire up your Shazam app and see you on the sofa.

As ever, I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, contact me on Bluesky or Threads @michaelhogan100, email me [email protected] and the comments section below is back open for iconic interaction. I’ll foxtrot down there intermittently to see what you’re all saying, and quote your wit and wisdom up top. Please don’t be shy about sharing your thoughts.

It’s week five and it’s thrillingly live. Nearly time to staaaart iconic dancing!