The first dance off took place tonight and for one celebrity it was the last dance on the BBC competition as famous faces have begun leaving the 2026 competition.
19:56, 04 Oct 2026Updated 21:20, 04 Oct 2026
First celebrity is sent home from Strictly Come Dancing after dance off(Image: BBC)
Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton was emotional after he was cut from the Strictly Come Dancing competition after losing in a dance off against Jaime Winstone.
The 43-year-old who has worked with with Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, was near the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 33 after two weeks of dancing. Both he and his pro partner Amy Dowden were tearful after getting the boot.
In the dance off Chris and pro partner Amy 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.
The judges voted unanimously to save Jaime meaning she will be back next weekend. Chris had said earlier in the weekend he didn’t want to let his partner Amy down. He said: “I am really trying but also really enjoying it.”
But his cha cha managed just 17 points from the judges and in week one he got just 15, amongst the lowest scores in the competition.
After his elimination, Appleton said: “I think it’s been such a whirlwind of emotion. I’m 43 and I got good at doing what I did – which is hair. To come and do something like this, I felt so out of my comfort zone and saw myself in a way I never saw myself, and it challenged me in ways I never knew I could be challenged.
“I am very grateful for everyone who has been involved. It’s been so amazing to be part of something that I grew up watching and got to be a part of it.
“The most important thing I think I will take from this show is having a friend in Amy because I genuinely love her and I am so grateful I met someone who has so much heart and passion.
“I only wish I could have done better for her because she deserves to go further in the competition, but we did put everything into it.”
The news means a second year of bad luck for pro Amy Dowden on the show. Dowden was also eliminated first last season after being paired with The Apprentice contestant and businessman Thomas Skinner. She said she was “heartbroken” to leave the competition. Chris said he felt bad he hadn’t made it further in the competition but had a “friend for life” in Amy.
On Saturday night, Strictly Come Dancing’s movie week episode saw a peak of 5.6 million viewers. Over the course of the two-and-a-half hour programme, the 15 celebrities and their professional partners took to the dancefloor to perform routines inspired by movies including Titanic, Risky Business, Mary Poppins and Saturday Night Fever.
Delta Goodrem was called a “force to be reckoned with” after she topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with 59 points from the first two weeks of dancing.
A Strictly spokesperson said: “Strictly’s movie week was the most watched programme of the night, with a peak of 5.6 million viewers. As ever, overnight ratings do not give the full picture of all those who watch in an on-demand world.”
This week’s episode aired at the same time as the Croatia v England match on ITV. It also had an average of 5.1 million viewers with a 44.3% share, a rise on last week’s overnight figures.
The first Strictly live show of the season – which aired last Saturday – attracted a peak of five million, with an average of 4.8 million tuning in as the stars performed with their professional partners live for the first time. That episode has now also been watched by more than six million viewers.
Kim Kardashian has opened up about being single for five years after her divorce from Kanye WestCredit: GettyKim has been dating Lewis Hamilton since the beginning of 2026Credit: Getty
Kim, 45, said: “I was really single for five years. And that felt great. “I felt like I needed my time. I wanted to completely heal and just work on myself.
“I wasn’t ready to open up. I really wasn’t even thinking about it. The universe works in your favour when you just allow it to.”
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The mogul filed for divorce from Ye, 49, in February 2021 following a turbulent period driven by his erratic behavior and public breakdown.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Skims founder admits she worries about exposing her four children with the rapper – North, 13, Saint, 10, Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7 – to her stratospheric fame.
Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in 2021Credit: GettyKim has known Lewis for yearsCredit: InstagramKim and Lewis had a romantic break in Paris break to see Celine Dion recentlyCredit: InstagramKim has four children with her ex husband and talks about parenting in her interview with The Sunday TimesCredit: AFP
Describing herself as an “intermediate-strict parent,” Kim bans her kids from taking part in any storyline drama on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
She said: “I do worry about it. Each kid does what they’re comfortable with.
“So, my little ones come around when I’m filming but they don’t really do storylines.
“North loves it a little bit more than the rest. I hold her back. All she wants to do is forward-facing projects.
“And with her, since it’s more music-related, that is something that her dad and I have better communication about. We make sure that we’re aligned and that she’s in projects that we both approve.”
That much was clear Saturday at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s opening-night soiree, where the guest list was as celebrity-heavy as any Academy Awards after-party. As the festivities kicked off around sunset in the courtyard under the museum’s towering elliptical oculus, Oprah Winfrey hugged Robert De Niro, and Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart skipped the red carpet after chatting with Spike Lee. Laura Dern and Greta Gerwig laughed together by the entrance while Samuel L. Jackson plopped down on a curved bench, joking, “Hey, look what I did!”
For the record:
1:22 p.m. Sept. 20, 2026A previous version of this article said James Cameron was photographed along with a large group of directors at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. He was not.
He didn’t sit for long because Cynthia Erivo and Andy Garcia showed up and there were more hugs and handshakes and hellos. Owen Wilson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, Meg Ryan, Jack Quaid, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Justin Trudeau, Mark Hamill and Magic Johnson were there too, and that was just the beginning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom attended the opening-night party for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art alongside a host of other notable guests and celebrities.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
After a rousing performance by a white-robe-clad vocal collective called Voices of Fire, co-founded by Pharrell Williams, Lucas’ wife Mellody Hobson noted that, “George kept saying, ‘Will this person come? Do you think this person will come?’”
“I said, ‘They will all come,’” Hobson said as the crowd laughed during opening remarks on a raised platform in the museum’s grand lobby.
And so they did. There was even a banner moment inside the posh fifth-floor Skywalker Grill where a group of directors gathered to be photographed in what could very well become a seminal photo of Hollywood influence in the 21st century. The shot included Lucas, Jon M. Chu, Chris Columbus, Francis Ford Coppola, Lee Daniels, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Favreau, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, Peter Jackson, Chris Meledandri, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Steven Spielberg, Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Nathan Fielder and David Benioff.
Organizers were scrambling to find Gerwig, but she had dashed off somewhere else.
“Star Wars” legendMark Hamill and his wife, Marilou York, were guests at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opening party.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
There were artists in attendance too, of course, but not as many. Jeff Koons, Refik Anadol, Judy Baca and Takashi Murakami strolled through the crowd, as did museum directors including the Broad’s Joanne Heyler and Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Michael Govan, who was relieved to be attending someone else’s party after hosting so many of his own in April and May when the new Geffen Galleries opened.
Lucas and Hobson went to great lengths to explain why the Lucas Museum matters and why it is different from other museums. Their comments, in many ways, sought to address the criticism that has been lobbed at the museum since it held its press preview a few weeks back.
Though it has received a number of rave reviews, critics have called narrative art a false conceit and argued that the juxtaposition of masterworks with pop culture ephemera does not work. Much of the criticism has been focused on a perceived lack of context since there is almost no wall text clarifying why certain curatorial choices were made.
George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson hosted an extravagant opening party at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
“When I started it, everybody said, ‘You’re crazy. You shouldn’t do it. It’s not going to work. People are going to come after you,’” Lucas said of his plans for the museum. “I said, ‘People have come after me all my life, especially in the movies.’”
Lucas also addressed why he curated the museum’s 100,000 square feet of gallery space on his own, noting that at a certain point plans were “getting off the rails.”
“I’m going to have to take this over because people don’t understand what I’m doing,” Lucas recalled thinking. “The idea that illustration is an art form and illustrators are artists was just too much for somebody who had been taught otherwise by the art schools that they went to and the universities that they went to.”
People with PhDs often can’t see the big picture, Lucas said, “You can’t say ‘This is art. This is not art.’ Art is in the eye of the beholder. If it is emotional to you, then it’s art. And, of course, I’ve been criticized up and down and sideways for that. But I believe it wholeheartedly — that you get to decide what art is.”
Members of the Virginia Beach vocal collective Voices of Fire, co-founded by Bishop Ezekiel Williams and Pharrell Williams perform at the Lucas Museum.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Lucas noted that throughout his career he has worked with many illustrators, “and I will tell you, they are as talented as any artist I’ve ever met. This is the way of giving back to them something that they’ve all wanted … inevitably, all of the illustrators say the same thing — everybody from R. Crumb to Rockwell — they all say, ‘I wish I could be in a museum,’ but they can’t. There isn’t a major museum in the world that’ll have this kind of art in it. I’m hoping this will change that.”
Lucas’ comments came after his friend and co-host Queen Latifah noted to the cheering crowd that, “Paris has the Louvre, New York has the Met and now L.A. has the artistic equal.”
Guests mingle at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opening party.
(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)
It took more than a decade for the Lucas Museum to land in L.A. after a search that included Chicago and San Francisco as well as lots of civic pushback and lawsuits over the use of public parkland.
“We did not realize how hard it would be to give a city a museum,” Hobson said during her remarks, later joking: “If your husband or spouse comes home and says they want to build a museum, I suggest your response is a hard no.”
Laura Dern, left, and Greta Gerwig spent the early part of the night chatting and laughing.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Hobson went on to extol Lucas’ vision and his ability to never waver from his dream for the museum.
“He was driven to create a space that would showcase the brilliant illustrators that he thought were too often overlooked and ignored,” Hobson said. “And if critics say that a museum of narrative art is too much like a popcorn movie and not enough like an art film, well, we love popcorn movies in our family.”
Like a popcorn movie, the evening ended happily with a drone show in the night sky narrated by Winfrey and Jackson, and featuring images from the museum’s collection including the Cave of Altamira, N.C. Wyeth’s “The Storybook,” Julie Bell’s “The Huntress,” Banksy’s “Girl With Balloon,” the “Star Wars” Millennium Falcon and Maxfield Parrish’s “Ecstasy.”
Afterward the party moved inside from the rooftop terrace for a performance by the Black Eyed Peas.
Strictly Come Dancing has finally confirmed which professional dancer each celebrity will be taking to the dancefloor each week, following weeks of speculation
19:59, 19 Sep 2026Updated 22:20, 19 Sep 2026
Strictly threw a major spanner in the works for the celebrities this year(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
It was all cha-cha changes at Strictly Come Dancing as the celebrity and pro dancer partnerships were finally revealed amid a big show shake-up.
This year, though, there was a twist. While the celebrities often find out who their professional partner is ahead of the series, they actually found out while recording the launch episode. They each rehearsed with a dancer in the lead-up, but this didn’t mean they were paired with the professional for the rest of the series. Instead, they rotated partners throughout the day.
Dani Dyer said the twist had “thrown a spanner in the works” after she danced with Nikita Kuzmin during their training day, before the pros rotated once again.
EastEnders favourite Lacey Turner has former champ Vito Coppola as her teacher. Lacey said she felt “amazing” after being paired with Vito, and the Italian dancer added that he was “very, very happy” before saying he would cook for Lacey.
Dame Sarah Storey has been paired with Julian Caillon. She told Josh and Johannes that she was excited to be working with Julian. Meanwhile, returning star Dani Dyer, who had to leave the 2025 series early following an injury to her ankle before the live shows began, is back dancing with Nikita Kuzmin.
“I’m so happy, I can sleep now, I’m over the moon,” Dani said about making history. Nikita said he had “tears of joy” hearing the audience react to the news that he had been paired with Dani again. The reality star said she was hoping to make it to week one of the live shows after having to withdraw last year.
Gavin and Stacey actress Melanie Walters has teamed up with show veteran Aljaž Škorjanec. “I’m absolutely thrilled, on the very first day when we had to dance with everyone, you put me in a practise hold, I said it’s like steering a tractor,” Melanie said of dancing with Aljaž. The dancer said that the twist was one of the “funnest” experiences on the dancefloor.
Actress Jaime Winstone has been partnered with Carlos Gu. Speaking of working with reigning champ Carlos, Jaime said: “I’m so excited, I feel like we match energies. I’m super ecstatic.”
Former Manchester City midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips is with American dancer Alexis Warr. Shaun said of wanting to excel on the show: “I like to enter things and be as good as possible, the pros are the margin, and that’s what I’m aiming for.” Alexis thinks that Shaun is already at a professional level.
House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia is part of this year’s same-sex pairing with Nancy Xu. The actress credited Nicola Adams and Katya Jones, who danced as a same-sex couple on the show, with playing a huge part in her coming-out journey. She said she was incredibly excited to follow and lead with a woman.
Reflecting on working with Nancy, Bethany said that the pair instantly bonded when they first met. Bethany later explained that she was a “perfectionist” and Nancy had been “amazing” at reassuring her. “My nanny’s name was Nancy, and she passed away at the start of the year,” Bethany said, adding that it was “special” to be dancing with the star.
Olympic gold medallist Tabby Stoecker will be working with one of the show’s five newbies, Mark Karmalita. “I’m so happy, and I get to be your first partner on Strictly,” the Olympian told Mark.
She added: “That’s sort of amazing.” Mark said: “I’m going to try and be fun, caring and supportive,” he said of his teaching skills. The sports star went on to reveal she’s keen to learn the rumba – and score a perfect 40 for the dance!
Songstress Delta Goodrem is dancing with Kai Widdington. The singer said she was “honoured” to dance with “incredible dancer” Kai.
Emmerdale’s Lawrence Robb and Jowita Pryzstal will dance together. Speaking of dancing with Jowita, Lawrence said that fans will have to “stand by” to see more excitement from him. “Now we’re into hard work mode, what a feeling, what a rush,” he joked. Jowita said she was “so nervous” before being paired with Lawrence.
Kim Kardashian’s hairdresser, Chris Appleton, is dancing alongside show legend Amy Dowden. Chris said he was overjoyed to dance with Amy. “Over excited, I’m that little kid that used to watch this show on a Saturday night,” he said. Amy, however, said that her hair would get bigger every week if Chris were her partner.
Love Island winner Cach Mercer with Maddie Ingoldsby. The reality star said he was “pleased” to have Maddie, adding that she was “strict but cheeky” and that she’s able to cut the “banter”.
But Maddie said she was a “little bit strict” depending on the day. Cach’s family have also vowed to provide honest feedback, which is making him “doubt himself even more”. “This is a whole different playing field,” he said.
Football interviewer and former air traffic controller John Nellis is partnered with Katya Jones. The pro star revealed that John “messed up” in the lead-up to being partnered with the social media star. John later explained that he had “worked out” that he was dancing with Katya.
The ‘Dogfather’ Graeme Hall has been partnered with Lauren Oakley. “Tonight, I got four tens getting you, I’ve always wanted Lauren,” he told his professional star. He explained that his pals told him he would be “really lucky” to get Lauren as a partner. And the dancer believes that Graeme is a “dark horse” and will put his “all” into the show. However, she will have to “put a lead on him.”
Big Brother and Hits Radio presenterWill Best is dancing alongside show regular Dianne Buswell. Speaking about getting Dianne as a partner, Will said that when he “gets down it’s difficult to get back up again”.
He added: “I’m already a winner, I feel like a champion already just getting her. We’ve been having so much fun training. We finish each other’s sentences.” Dianne added that they were the “perfect pairing”.
Ahead of the first episode, Emma Willis revealed her nerves over the new show starting. Speaking on her BBC Radio 2 show, she said: “It feels like a very long lead-up to this, but also very quick.”
Talking about being a part of the Strictly experience, Emma added: “It’s very strange having that peek behind the curtain – I mean this in a positive way – it’s a beast of a show. It’s just fantastic. It is so exciting, me and Josh and Jojo are looking forward to it so much…
“I’m excited but nervous. I’m going to turn my phone off and disappear for a few days.” Joining her on the radio show – her last for a while as Ellie Taylor will be manning the fort until Strictly is finished – was one of the show’s judges Anton Du Beke. He told her: “I love it as much now as I did when I first walked in.
“It’s only Craig [Revel Horwood] and I left from the very first show – and that fills me with great pride.” Speaking about the five new professional dancers, Aleksandra, Cristian, Lethabo, Maddie and Mark, he said: “What I love though, there’s no place I’d rather be is in the rehearsal studio with dancers, it’s the most brilliant place.
“These five are as giddy – they can’t believe their fortune.” Giving his verdict on the celebrity line-up, Anton and Emma were discussing British cycler and swimmer Dame Sarah Storey, before he began pitching for his own knighthood.
“Love it when we have a Dame or a Sir,” Anton said. “We don’t have enough of them – we need more of them. If they make me a Sir, then we can just cover that base every year, straight away. I’ve been around long enough to be a Sir. Surely a knighthood should come my way at some stage? Can we start a petition?”
KIM Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton swapped luxury cars for humble Lime bikes as they enjoyed a casual day out in London.
The couple, who are estimated to be worth a combined $2.5bn, looked happy to keep it low-key as they pedalled around the capital.
Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton were pictured riding Lime bikes in LondonCredit: GoffIt’s a slower turn of pace than F1 star Lewis is used toCredit: Goff
Lewis, 41, might have swapped Ferrari red for lime green but he still set the pace and maintained his eye for fashion in a leopard print jacket.
While glam Kim, 45, who owns the leisurewear brand SKIMS, kept it simple in a white vest top and black leggings.
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He might be a seven-time F1 world champ on four wheels, but Lewis was in no rush and swapped smiles with Kim as they cruised along.
The duo were joined by a minder who hung back and let the couple soak up the sights uninterrupted.
The couple traded smiles as they biked side by sideCredit: GoffLewis led the way, more familiar with the London streetsCredit: GoffThey dismounted and pushed the bikes through a parkCredit: GoffKim looked confident on two wheels after a night out celebrating her SKIMS brandCredit: Goff
The reality star and businesswoman was in her element waving to fans and taking pictures, before having a costume change and heading to exclusive members club Maison Estelle for the afterparty.
It followed a shock diagnosis Kim received in the latest episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Viewers watched her learn she has esophagitis, which is a condition characterised by the inflammation of the lining of the oesophagus, and is the same condition that led to her father’s death.
Robert, a top lawyer who represented O.J. Simpson, died from esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59.
The revelation about her health made both Kim and her mum, Kris, tearful.
Lewis is more used to the famous Ferrari redCredit: GoffThe superstar couple have an eye-watering combined wealthCredit: Goff
The reality star and fashion mogul reveals in the reality series’ Season 8 trailer released Thursday that she has been diagnosed with esophagitis.
“I have something called esophagitism,” Kim tells a stylist in the trailer. The Skims founder is then shown in a hospital bed in a series of clips, one in which it appears she’s being wheeled into a procedure. While it’s unclear who is speaking to Kim, someone off-screen says, “Didn’t your father … isn’t it what he died of?”
If esophagitis is left untreated, there’s a risk of developing Barrett‘s esophagus condition, in which the cells lining the esophagus are damaged from acid reflux, according to Mayo Clinic. The condition raises the risk of cancer that starts in the esophagus, which is called esophageal cancer.
Kim’s dad, famed attorney Robert Kardashian, died in September 2003 at the age of 59. He had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer just months before his death.
“I can’t, it makes me want to cry,” Kim’s mom Kris Jenner says in the trailer, alluding to the frightening diagnosis.
Esophagitis is inflammation of the tissues that line the esophagus, per the Mayo Clinic. The condition can be painful and make swallowing difficult, and it can cause chest pain. While there are a variety of causes for the condition, the trailer does not reveal which has contributed to Kim’s case.
Kim Kardashian in “The Kardashians” in 2022.
(Photo from Hulu)
Treatment for the health issue can vary and depends upon the severity of tissue damage and the cause. Without proper treatment, the lining of the esophagus, which is the tube that carries food and water to your stomach, can be badly damaged. This can lead to more serious health issues including scarring and narrowing of the esophagus, or even tearing in the esophagus.
When detected early, however, the condition is considered treatable.
