But will comedian make the last stage?

Chris McCausland might have defied all the odds to make it through to the Strictly Come Dancing semi-finals... yet he still managed to score his second-best result of the series tonight.

His Viennese waltz to Nothing Else Matters by Metallica - the band whose Enter Sandman worked so well for Bill Bailey in 2020 - scored a clean sweep of nine points across the board of judges.

The score of 36 was just one point behind what he and dance partner Dianne Buswell scored for their American smooth in Blackpool.

Head judge Shirley Ballas tonight praised his 'beautiful footwork and spatial awareness', saying the dance was 'seamless and stunning'.

Motsi Mabuse said she 'loved the atmosphere' and said the pair were 'smooth and covered the floor'.

 Anton Du Beke said it was 'super-duper, exemplary movement and timing, you’re an inspiration' and Craig Revel Horwood said 'magical, darling'.

However it was not enough to spare the couple from being in the bottom two of the five couples left in the competition.

Couples perform two dances in the semi-final and earlier in the show McCausland scored 33 points for his Charleston to the 1920s jazz standard When You’re Smiling.

Craig told them: 'It wasn’t messy but slightly under-energised and hesitant but full of character and you had swivel'.

Anton praised the 'extraordinary timing', adding: 'Phrasing is controlled, not perfect but pretty close

Motsi loved their 'swag and chill, great personality and rhythm [and] the funny gags' and Shirley Ballas gushed: 'Perfectly synchronised, springs in your shoes, instinct for awareness, I can’t imagine how you do those lifts'.

With rising standards as the competition nears its climax, their score of 69 left them in fourth place, four points ahead of Pete Wicks, who is no stranger to the lower reaches of the leaderboard.  

However, both men are viewers' favourites and may avoid the dreaded dance-off tomorrow on the basis of those votes.

JB Gill topped the table with a near perfect 79, followed by Tasha Ghouri with 75 and  Miranda's Sarah Hadland  with 72,

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Published: 7 Dec 2024