Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

“I’m literally like a big springy ball,” says former Team GB sprinter and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in rehearsals this week – “I’m trying to keep that under control.”

As is typical of partner Karen Hauer’s choreography, there is plenty of punchy storytelling in this routine.

Harry emerges from behind a velvet dressing room curtain, rocking a bright check waistcoat and trousers. He turns the ballroom floor into his own personal running track, skipping and kicking his way around.

Anton Du Beke deems it “absolutely excellent”. He tells Harry: “You’ve got a wonderful natural hold.”

Craig Revel Horwood takes issue with Harry’s “splayed” hands, but does praise his musicality.

Now for the scores:

Craig: 6

Motsi: 7

Shirley: 6

Anton: 7

The only Quickstep of tonight comes courtesy of someone who knows a thing or two about fast footwork.

Former sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey - also known as Gladiator Nitro - is taking to the floor with his partner Karen Hauer, dancing to the Blues Brothers classic Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.

They’re aiming to beat last week’s score of 19.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

Taking a break from rehearsals this week, businessman and reality TV star Thomas Skinner whisked his partner Amy Dowden down to a market stall – she says she’s now seen him “in his element”.

Thomas kicked off his performance behind the decks of a DJ booth, hyping up the crowd to the tune of Dizzee Rascal’s Bonkers.

As the song choice suggests, this is not your typical Salsa – at one point, he even bench presses his partner above his head.

Craig Revel Horwood is distinctly unimpressed: “It looked like you were competing in a weightlifting competition in Skegness.”

“I loved the gusto,” Motsi Mabuse concedes – “you went for it.”

Here are the points Skinner has weightlifted:

Craig: 2

Motsi: 3

Shirley: 4

Anton: 4

Businessman and former Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner returns this week with a Salsa performed to Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal and Arman Van Helden.

He and his partner Amy Dowden have a score of 16 to beat.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

After a morale-boosting jaunt to a butterfly sanctuary, actress and model Ellie Goldstein is positively fluttering with excitement about waltzing this week.

"I can't wait," she declares.

Descending the stairs in a pink floral dress, Ellie glides into an elegant routine, all delicate turns and flowing arms.

Shirley Ballas is quick to praise Ellie for taking her feedback from last week on board. "You today were the epitome of grace and charm," she says - before adding, "boy can you spin, girl".

She's also impressed with Ellie's improvement.

"Ellie, last week, I asked you if you would keep your feet on the floor," she says. "You did that today."

Anton Du Beke beams: "Your underarm spins were an absolute delight."

Here are the scores:

Craig: 5

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 6

Anton: 6

Actress and model Ellie Goldstein and her partner Vito Coppola are waltzing on to the stage to Ellie Goulding's Your Song.

Vito said last week the cheekiness of the Cha Cha Cha was perfect for Ellie, earning them a score of 17.

Let's see how they get on with the Waltz.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

We’re used to seeing her battle monsters as River Song in Doctor Who, but today Alex Kingston is grappling with some tricky footwork in her Samba.

Draped head to toe in multi-coloured fringe, she shimmies and sashays across the floor with partner Johannes Radebe.

And she certainly looks like she’s having a blast. "I’m dying," Alex exclaims as she makes her way over to the judges.

"Wow, wow, wow," says Motsi Mabuse. "The timing was brilliant."

"This is probably one of the better Sambas I’ve seen in a long time," says Shirley Ballas.

"I LOVE THAT!" shouts Anton.

"It could have done with a little bit more tone and resistance," Craig says, before being roundly booed, as ever.

Now, the scores:

Craig: 7

Motsi: 8

Shirley: 8

Anton: 8

Actress Alex Kingston and her partner Johannes Radebe are up.

They’re taking on the samba to La Bamba by Connie Francis, hoping to leave last week’s Waltz score of 21 in the dust.

In week one, she picked up a four, a five and two sixes. (We’ll give you one guess who handed out the four.)

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

The Viennese Waltz is proving technically taxing.

"I'm finding it difficult, there's a lot of components," says Emmerdale's Lewis Cope, as he tries to master the moves of the Viennese Waltz.

He starts things off in a cage, before making a dramatic escape and treating us to a solo spin.

From there, the turns just keep coming, as Lewis whirls his partner Katya Jones around and around the stage.

“That was brilliant, I loved it,” Lewis declares at the end - even as he’s gasping for breath.

“That was raw power,” raves Judge Anton Du Beke, though he’d like to see a little more “refinement”.

Craig Revel Horwood is also on board: “I love the idea of putting a passionate Tango idea on top of the Waltz.”

Here's how the judges scored the couple:

Craig: 7

Motsi: 7

Shirley: 6

Anton: 7

Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope is next up on the dance floor, partnered with Katya Jones.

After a strong start last week - he clocked up 28 points - he’s hoping to win over the judges again tonight with his Viennese Waltz, set to Lose Control by Teddy Swims.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

The Cha Cha Cha is “a lot of fun”, says Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink in rehearsals this week.

Although, it’s not all fun and games: “One thing I’m learning about Jimmy is that he gets really frustrated,” says his partner Lauren Oakley.

Stepping out in a lurid floral shirt and fedora, Jimmy seems to slip straight into the Motown rhythms of today’s track – I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

He demonstrates some fancy footwork, spins his partner, and gives those hips a good shake.

“It was a little bit heavy… and your arms need sorting out,” says the perpetually unimpressed Judge Craig Revel Horwood.

But there’s praise from Juge Motsi Mabuse: “There was joy in the hips and joy in the face.”

How do they score?

Craig: 6

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 6

Anton: 7

Football manager Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink is our next act of the night, joined by his partner Lauren Oakley.

They’ll be hoping to beat last week’s score of 27 with their Cha Cha Cha, set to the Motown classic I Heard It Through The Grapevine - a tune belted out over the years by the likes of Santa Esmeralda, Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

Karen Carney’s rehearsals got a boost from a visit by former Lioness teammate Jill Scott, as she battled pain from a curved spine - a problem she’s had since childhood.

Moody lighting sets the scene for Karen’s equally moody Tango.

Her flowing red outfit is a real pop against the sultry backdrop. You can see Karen counting under her breath as Carlos Gu spins her around the ballroom.

“That was brilliant,” Carlos tells her as they finish the routine.

Judge Motsi thanks Karen for sharing her struggles with her spine with the judges.

“This week I could feel the nerves,” she says. “There was a slight jitterbug to everything you did.”

“It looks a bit closed in,” says Judge Shirley Ballas.

Now, the scores:

Craig: 4

Motsi: 5

Shirley: 5

Anton: 6

Are footballers doomed on Strictly?published at 18:39 BST 4 October

18:39 BST 4 October

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

That’s definitely been the stereotype.

And some footballers have definitely struggled with dancing, leading to early exits.

They include former goalkeeper David James, who was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from the show in 2019.

Paul Merson was also eliminated early on in last year’s series.

But this year’s footballer contestants are showing it can be done.

Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink came joint third last week, with 27 points.

And ex-England international Karen Carney is sitting pretty at the top of the scoreboard, after raising the roof with a dazzling Jive – the last time a footballer pulled off that feat was 18 years ago.

Next up, it’s Lioness-turned-pundit Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu.

They racked up an impressive 31 points in week one, making Strictly history as the first footballer in 18 years to top the leaderboard.

Tonight, they’re taking on the tango to Dua Lipa’s Training Season.

Can Carney make Strictly history by topping the leaderboard two weeks running? Let’s find out.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

"The hand jive is all I know," confesses La Voix in her preview rehearsal video.

And it’s been a jam-packed week for the RuPaul’s Drag Race star, who has somehow managed to squeeze in rehearsals between tour performances - all with partner Aljaž Škorjanec in tow.

La Voix dials up the comedy in this week’s Tango, brandishing a fan with wild abandon and throwing in some gloriously over-the-top facial expressions for good measure.

She even sends Aljaž crashing to the floor, much to the audience’s delight.

"You certainly know how to push her strengths: personality and narrative," says Head Judge Shirley Ballas to Aljaž.

"I don’t think there’s any fear of not being entertained," adds Anton Du Beke.

"A little bit more weight, darling, over the toe," requests Craig Revel Horwood - and is promptly met with boos from the crowd.

Now for the all-important scores:

Craig: 4

Motsi: 5

Shirley: 5

Anton: 5

La Voix - drag performer and star of Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK - is coming up first, with her partner Aljaž Škorjanec.

After a solid 24 last week, this pair are hoping to tango their way to glory tonight, to the tune of Objection (Tango) by Shakira.

For anyone wondering why there’s another tango after “Objection”, the name of the song is, in fact, “Objection (Tango)”.

Don’t forget, you can watch the programme with live signing.

Just press the red button or search for Signed: Strictly Come Dancing to find it on BBC iPlayer.

Tinshui Yeung
Live page editor

Strictly Come Dancing kicked off bang on 18:20 BST. Here we go!

You can Watch live above, or tune in on BBC One or iPlayer.

There’s also a signed version available on iPlayer with British Sign Language.

Viewers on BBC One and iPlayer can watch with audio description and subtitles.

And of course, our fab-u-lous writer Freya Scott-Turner and I will be very happy if you stick around here for all the text updates.

So, the first of our couples will be packing their bags this weekend - but we won’t find out who’s leaving until tomorrow.

No one’s getting the boot tonight. On Sunday, the two couples with the lowest scores will face off in the dreaded dance-off.

Who ends up in the dance-off? That’s down to a combination of the judges’ scores and the public vote, which is now exclusively online.

Once the bottom two couples have strutted their stuff again on Sunday’s results show, the judges will reveal who they want to save.

And there’s a slight twist this year. Usually, in the event of a tie, Head Judge Shirley Ballas has the final say on who makes it through to next week.

This year, however, the deciding vote will rotate between the judges.