After a long near-year-long wait, Strictly Come Dancing has returned to screens. The iconic, long-running BBC program is back for a series that is completely different to the previous 20+ seasons, largely due in part to the departures of legendary hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. But the dancing was every bit as thrilling as it has been for the decades beforehand.
After last week's opening episode saw plenty of memorable performances, the sights have now been set for Movie Week - which is a week earlier than it used to be. The scores will be carried over from the first week's dances, meaning that we have a combined Leaderboard that will decide a new Leaderboard in the process. And that's going to make Movie Week, in particular, very, very interesting.
With that in mind, who received rave reviews and which performances were the critics less keen on? Let's dive into our recap of the events and figure all of that out!
Strictly spoilers and results: Week 2 Leaderboard
Well that was certainly a memorable night at the movies!! Strictly made an impression with its first ever Week 2 Movies Week and we saw some performances that will go down in the show's history. What's most interesting is that in a series designed to capitalize on the TikTok generation of influencers, viral dances, and social media clips, it's the Ballroom routines that really stood out. For this week, there were some beaytiful Waltzes, Foxtrots, American Smooths, and Quicksteps, truly reminding us that Strictly is at its best when Ballroom and Latin are at its heart.
Some of the big moments this week came from Graeme and Lauren, who danced a stunning Waltz to "The Godfather's Waltz", earning high praise from the judges - and high scores to go along with it! Lacey Turner continued her hot streak after a strong opening with a Toy Story-inspired Quickstep to Taylor Swift's mega hit "I Knew It, I Knew You". Tabby and Mark performed a beautiful American Smooth to Zendaya and Zac Efron's The Greatest Showman classic "Rewrite The Stars", while Delta and Kai also delivered a beautiful American Smooth to Lady Gaga's "I'll Never Love Again" from A Star Is Born.
Here are the scores that each of the dances were given by the judges (along with the carried over scores from the previous week), and the Leaderboard we were left with at the end of the episode:
- Delta and Kai danced the American Smooth - 8, 7, 7, 8 = 30 (+29 from last week) = 59
- Lacey and Vito danced the Quickstep - 6, 7, 7, 8 = 28 (+ 27) = 55
- Graeme and Lauren danced the Waltz - 8, 8, 8, 7 = 31 (+24) = 55
- John and Katya danced Couple's Choice - 4, 5, 7, 7 = 23 (+31) = 54
- Bethany and Nancy danced the Paso Doble - 7, 7, 6, 7 = 27 (+26) = 53
- Tabby and Mark danced the American Smooth - 7, 7, 7, 7 = 28 (+22) = 50
- Cach and Maddie danced the Samba - 7, 7, 7, 8 = 29 (+20) = 49
- Dani and Nikita danced the Foxtrot - 6, 6, 5, 6 = 23 (+22) = 45
- Jaime and Carlos danced the Cha Cha - 5, 5, 5, 6 = 21 (+21) = 42
- Shaun and Alexis danced the Salsa - 4, 7, 7, 7 = 25 (+15) = 40
- Dame Sarah and Julian danced the Charleston - 6, 6, 6, 6 = 24 (+15) = 39
- Lawrence and Jowita danced the Viennese Waltz - 4, 5, 4, 6 = 19 (+20) = 39
- Will and Dianne danced the Foxtrot - 4, 5, 5, 5 = 19 (+18) = 37
- Chris and Amy danced the Cha Cha - 4, 4, 4, 5 = 17 (+16) = 33
- Melanie and Aljaž danced the Waltz - 3, 4, 4, 4 = 15 (+15) = 30
Who is in danger on Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Week 2?
While Strictly fans had their reservations about the show's decision to move Movies Week to Week 2, it ultimately delivered. The critics (judges) were full of praise for the dancing while also offering up some constructive feedback to help the couples improve moving forward. And the standard of dancing was extremely high for the second week of the competition.
At this stage in the competition, it is often difficult to call who is in danger because it can be easier for the couples at the bottom of the Leaderboard to escape if they get enough votes. With two ties on the Leaderboard this week, that becomes even easier to do. The question is: Will it work out in the favor of the couples at the bottom this week? It's possible, but as this is the first week in which there is a public vote, we don't really know which couples are popular with the public as of yet.
Anyone from the lower middle of the Leaderboard is vulnerable at this point, so we're predicting that it could be any two from below Jamie and Carlos. With that in mind, Melanie and Aljaž are in danger as they are right at the bottom, but considering that they had a real moment in spite of the mistakes, there could be enough public momentum to save them from the Dance-Off. Chris and Amy, on the other hand, had a difficult dance that leaves little room to stand out (a notorious issue with the Cha Cha in the early stages of the competition), so they could find themselves in danger of dancing again.
Although Will and Dianne were given tough critiques by the judges, their performance was memorable - with many fans stating that they were undermarked - and Will is popular enough to survive the Dance-Off this week. We'll have to wait and see if the odds are in his favor.
The Strictly Come Dancing Results Show airs on BBC on Sunday, October 4, at 7:10 p.m. BST.
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