Strictly descends into chaos

The BBC One’s hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, was thrown into a frenzy during its live semi-final on Saturday night as the professional dancers kicked up a storm.

The evening saw the remaining celebrity contestants take to the dance floor twice. Among them was Annabel Croft who set the stage ablaze with her Salsa routine alongside pro partner Johannes Radebe.

While their performance wowed both those in attendance and viewers at home, it didn’t quite cut it for the judges who picked out several errors. The 57-year-old former tennis player ended up with a total score of 32 points.

However, this didn’t sit well with everyone in the studio. The audience erupted into boos while the professional dancers began to chant “undermarked”, sending Strictly Come Dancing into an uproar.

From ‘polite’ to ‘feisty

Soap star Ellie Leach was told by head judge Shirley Ballas that she had some “unique and beautiful leg actions” following her first dance.

The soap star performed the cha cha cha to Mambo Italiano by Bette Midler with her dance partner Vito Coppola.

Du Beke described the dance as “absolutely beautiful” but Revel Horwood said it looked “a little bit too polite” and the pair were awarded 37 points from the judges.

The last dance was from Leach and Coppola who performed a couple’s choice to a Dua Lipa medley.

Revel Horwood described the dance as “feisty” and they were given 38 points from the judges.

‘Beautiful, natural turns’

Annabel Croft performed a salsa to You’ll Be Mine (Party Time) by Gloria Estefan and received a score of 32 with her dance partner Johannes Radebe.

Croft’s second dance was a Viennese waltz to Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want, in the style of Slow Moving Millie, originally by The Smiths.

Ballas told her she had “beautiful, natural turns” and the pair received 33 points.

‘Best Charleston ever’

Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin received a standing ovation from Craig Revel Horwood during the Strictly Come Dancing semi-finals.

For their second dance, Williams, 29, and Kuzmin, 25, wore matching suits as they performed the Charleston to Fit As A Fiddle by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor.

Revel Horwood said the dance was “the best Charleston I’ve ever seen in twenty years.”

‘Now I’m convinced’

EastEnders star Bobby Brazier and his dance partner Dianne Buswell had kicked off the Strictly semi-finals with a quickstep to Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin and received 38 points.

Brazier and Buswell then danced a paso doble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid and were awarded 35 points from the judges.

Following the dance, judge Motsi Mabuse told Brazier that he had “convinced” her of his place in the final.

‘Absolutely beautiful’

“Unique and beautiful leg actions” were the words of praise from top judge Shirley Ballas for Ellie Leach after her debut dance in the semi-finals of Strictly.

The soap sensation swayed to the rhythm of Bette Midler’s Mambo Italiano, performing a cha cha cha with her twinkle-toed partner Vito Coppola.

Anton Du Beke was smitten by their performance, branding it as “absolutely beautiful”. However, Craig Revel Horwood thought it was “a little bit too polite”.

The dancing duo bagged a whopping 37 points from the judges.