elimination

Fans of Strictly Come Dancing made their thoughts clear after the first dance off of the series sent one emotional couple packing after just two weeks

Strictly Come Dancing fans were shocked as the first celebrity was sent packing after Movie Week. Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton was emotional after he was cut from the hit BBC competition after losing in a dance off against Jaime Winstone.

The stylist, 43, who has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, was near the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 33 after two weeks of dancing.

And it was the end of the road for Chris and his pro partner Amy Dowden, who were tearful at the decision They performed their Cha Cha to I’ll Be Ready from Baywatch, before Jaime and Carlos Gu performed their Cha Cha to Oh, Pretty Woman from Pretty Woman.

Jaime was unanimously saved buy the judges and lives to dance another day.

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Viewers took to X to say: “i so wish amy and chris’ partnership could’ve lasted longer 🙁 , a partnership i wanted from the very beginning.”

Another said: “SO sad to see Chris and Amy go. I don’t think they deserved to this week. Imo it should’ve been Melanie and Aljaz. But the public vote how they want to. And honestly I do still think Chris would’ve done MUCH better in a same sex partnership, but it was his choice. #Strictly.”

And a third said: “God I can feel myself crying for Chris and Amy. It’s so unfair.”

It’s the second time in successive series that Amy has been dumped at the first hurdle. She also got the boot alongside The Apprentice’s Thomas Skinner in 2025.

Chris said he had felt a “whirlwind of emotion” and said: “I’m 43 and got good at doing what I did which is hair. So to come into something like this, I felt so out my comfort zone.

“I saw myself in a way I’d never seen myself and challenged myself in ays I never knew I’d be challenged. But I’m very grateful for everyone who’s been involved.”

And he said having a friend in Amy is something he is thrilled with, before saying he wished he could have helped her go further. The professional dancer added she is “heartbroken” but her heart is only breaking because she doesn’t get to dance with Chris any more.

Fans were shocked after Melanie and Aljaz avoided the dreaded dance off despite being rock bottom of the judges’ leaderboard. One user said: “melanie must have got more votes than loads of people to get through over jaime who was much higher on the leaderboard #Strictly.”

Strictly fans could see a change in the hosting format this weekend after complaints were made that it “didn’t work” last week.

While fans were happy to see Emma Willis hosting from the dance floor, they were unconvinced that Josh Widdicombe belonged in the role at her side.

“The Strictly producers will be in a bit of a pickle now,” one fan pointed out at the weekend. “The overwhelming view seems to be that Emma is perfect and should host downstairs alone, and Josh should be moved upstairs as he’s way more of a comedic, lighthearted chat sort of host.”

Former pro dancer Vincent Simone told the Mirror this week that he sees the upheaval in the presenting duties is a major “downside”.

“I think the only downside of this year is that there’s been way too many changes all in one go,” he said. “Some people like changes, like me. Some people don’t.

“I can imagine some people saying, ‘Oh, Tess and Claudia are not going to be presenting, I won’t be watching it,’ or, you know, some of the professionals that I used to love, they won’t be performing again, ‘I’m not going to watch it again.’

“So unfortunately, it is what it is. I think there’s been way too many new changes all at once.”

“Dancing With the Stars” pro Witney Carson on Wednesday shut down rumors that she wants her celebrity pairing to be voted off the new season.

Following Week 3 of the competition — which bid farewell to Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart on Tuesday — the 32-year-old dancer took to social media to address suggestions that she wished to be voted off with her celebrity partner, Guillermo Rodriguez.

Since Season 35 of DWTS premiered Sept. 15, the two have been in the bottom three couples each week, but avoided elimination. Some online fans have interpreted her facial expressions as disappointment upon learning her pair was safe.

“[Being in the bottom three] doesn’t necessarily mean all those couples have the lowest votes, but it does mean that you don’t get to celebrate that you’re safe. You only get to hear who’s going home,” Carson explained in a TikTok video uploaded Tuesday night. “So my face, what you’re seeing, is genuinely sad for the people going home and then excitement.”

The professional ballroom dancer also slammed rumors that she was at all dissatisfied with her celebrity pairing alongside 55-year-old Rodriguez, the talk show sidekick to Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“I am truly so grateful to continue on in this competition week after week with Guillermo because he really deserves it. He is genuinely a kind person, he genuinely wants to get better, he never gives up,” Carson continued on TikTok. “Anytime I’m resting in rehearsals, he’s practicing… What you see on Tuesdays, that is his best…”

Last year, Carson took home the top prize alongside Australian conservationist Robert Irwin; in 2014, she took home her first Mirrorball Trophy alongside actor Alfonso Ribeiro, the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” actor who now co-hosts the show alongside dancer Julianne Hough.

Rodriguez too has become a crowd favorite, with various fans noting his improvement each week — including Kimmel, who last week on his talk show joked that his co-star has won the popular vote “more times than Donald Trump.”

Earlier this week, the pair wowed “DWTS” fans during “Yacht Rock Night” with a foxtrot performed to “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).” Rodriguez finished the routine with a funnyman stunt by revealing himself in a coconut bra and inked-belly with the words: “Dancing 4 the People.”

Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson appear on “Dancing With the Stars” Season 35’s Yacht Rock Night.

(Eric McCandless / Disney)

“I think there’s a lot to say about someone who may not have the skills, but is willing to learn and put in the work. That’s an amazing thing and he deserves it,” Carson added.

Carson also used the social media video to tame buzz that she wants to go home because of her pregnancy, she said, “I’m doing all the things that my doctor has approved of, so you guys can rest easy.”

In August, the dancer made headlines when she revealed on “Good Morning America” that she would participate in this new season while pregnant, a scenario that the mother of two admitted was not on her “bingo card,” but that she would stick with it to see what her body was capable of.

“I know how far to push my body and the baby’s health has always been my number one priority,” Carson reiterated in her TikTok video. “So I have no reserve when it comes to speaking up about physically overdoing it.”