It's only been on for four weeks and we are already approaching the halfway point of Strictly Come Dancing 2026. Yes, I know; we still have at least two weeks to that point in the competition, but the point is that we are fast approaching it. That's a sign of how many contestants have already been eliminated.
The previous weekend's Icons Week saw Dame Sarah Storey and her dance partner Julian Caillon eliminated after finding themselves in the Dance-Off for the first time. Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu also found themselves in the Dance-Off but were saved by the judges, giving them another chance to dance this weekend.
We're back to another straightforward week of dancing ahead of next week's Halloween Special. With that in mind, let's dive into our recap of the Week 5 events and figure all of that out!
Strictly spoilers and results: Week 5 Leaderboard
This week's Strictly proved to be a very interesting one. The first half of the show featured some unexpected mistakes during the routines, leading to lower marks, with the judges remarking that there must have been something in the water. And then the second half was full of incredible, packed, and show-stopping routines that earned higher scores.
Comebacks proved to be a running theme this week, as Delta and Kai delivered an emotional Rumba in their return to the Ballroom after missing last week due to injury, and Dani and Nikita offered up a world class Salsa that saw them bounce back from their lower Leaderboard position in the previous week. Meanwhile, Lacey and Vito delivered one of the most power-packed Tangos in Strictly history and Tabby and Mark topped the Leaderboard with an extremely moving, heartfelt Couple's Choice that earned them the highest score of the series thus far.
With that in mind, here are the scores that each of the Week 5 dances were given by the judges, and the Leaderboard we were left with at the end of this week's episode:
- Tabby and Mark danced their Couple's Choice - 8, 10, 9, 10 = 37
- Delta and Kai danced the Rumba - 7, 9, 8, 10 = 34
- John and Katya danced the Quickstep - 7, 8, 8, 9 = 32
- Dani and Nikita danced the Salsa - 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
- Will and Dianne danced the Cha Cha - 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
- Graeme and Lauren danced the Tango - 7, 8, 7, 9 = 31
- Lacey and Vito danced the Tango - 7, 7, 6, 8 = 28
- Bethany and Nancy danced the Argentine Tango - 5, 7, 6, 7 = 25
- Jaime and Carlos danced the Foxtrot - 6, 6, 6, 7 = 25
- Cach and Maddie danced the Cha Cha - 5, 7, 5, 7 = 24
- Lawrence and Jowita danced the Jive - 4, 5, 4, 6 = 19
- Shaun and Alexis danced the Jive - 3. 5, 3, 6 = 17
Who is in danger on Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Week 5?
For yet another week on Strictly this year, we have a rather cramped Leaderboard. While there is 21 marks between the couples at the top and the couples at the bottom, the ties in the middle are the culprit for the problems here. That three-way tie on 31, featuring Dani and Nikita, Will and Dianne, and Graeme and Lauren, has significantly shrunk the amount of points between the top and bottom couples - as has the two-way tie on 25 between Jaime and Carlos and Bethany and Nancy.
Taking all of that into account, anyone below that 31 tie is in danger of falling into the Dance-Off, but we're going to rule out Lacey and Vito as they are among the most popular couples in the competition and they delivered an incredible, attention-grabbing routine tonight. That leaves Bethany, Jaime, Cach, Lawrence, and Shaun all in danger.
Shaun, Jaime, and Bethany have all been in the Dance-Off before and there aren't that many points between them tonight. With that in mind, it's looking like the Dance-Off could be between two of those three couples. It's hard to see past Shaun and Alexis being the first couple in the bottom two due to their Leaderboard position but we'll see if the public come to their rescue with the votes - remember, Shaun has avoided the Dance-Off more than he's been in it, so there is potential for that to happen again here.
Bethany and Nancy did find themselves in the Week 4 Dance-Off but couples have bounced back from that before. Shaun and Alexis and Jaime and Carlos are perfect examples of that. We'll see if that happens again tonight!
Who left Strictly this week?
After an intense Results Show, it was revealed that the bottom two couples were indeed Jaime and Carlos and Shaun and Alexis. Jaime reprised her Foxtrot once again while Shaun delivered his Jive, thankful of the opportunity to perform it again without the mistakes. And both couples received praise from the judges for their upgraded performances over Saturday night.
Craig and Motsi agreed that, while both couples improved over Saturday, Jaime and Carlos were the superior dancers in this Dance-Off. Shirley opted to save Shaun for his improvement, causing a split decision. Anton overruled her with the casting vote, opting to save Jaime and Carlos, resulting in Shaun and Alexis' elimination.
Eliminated: Shaun and Alexis
Needless to say that it has been a joy watching Shaun grow into such a great, entertaining dancer. He and Alexis made a great partnership together and delivered some really memorable routines. Let's take this opportunity to revisit their epic Couple's Choice:
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