We've officially reached the business end of Strictly Come Dancing 2025. The legendary entertainment program has been thrilling audiences with its epic 23rd series, which has featured some of the best routines in recent Strictly memory. But it has now made it down to the final month, with just six couples left competing in the competition.
Last week's Blackpool Spectacular saw the bombshell revelation that no couple would be eliminated (due to the sad departure of La Voix and Aljaž, who had to pull out of the competition) and therefore, the scores and votes from that episode have been carried over to this week's. And that means every couple will be hoping to improve on their scores this weekend with more tantalizing dances.
But who shone bright on that dancefloor? How did they all cope with Strictly's new Instant Dance challenge, and who is in danger of the Dance-Off? Let's dive into the recap and find out!
Strictly spoilers and results: Week 10 Leaderboard
What a night! Blackpool was still in the air this weekend as the scores from last week's competition still were in play, meaning that the couples had to up the ante in order to either maintain or improve their positions on the Leaderboard. In an interesting turn of events, some of them struggled with their dances, resulting in a number of mistakes.
Alex and Johannes - who looked amazing in the training clips - unfortunately got off on the wrong foot early on, which resulted in an uncharacteristically low score for them. George and Alexis did well with a Quickstep even with the odd mistake here and there. Balvinder and Julian delivered a strong dance that was shaping up to be one of their very best, but a number of mistakes also prevented the judges from scoring higher (although they were a tad undermarked). Lewis and Katya performed a strong Rumba that still earned some constructuve feedback.
That left Karen and Carlos to steal the show with a perfect-scoring Couples Choice routine. And then Amber and Nikita did the same, with a 40-scoring Jive that closed the show on a high note. And then, the Instant Dance came and turned the leaderboard upside down. When all was said and done, it was Amber, Balvinder, and Lewis who took the top three rounds of points with exquisite performances.
Here are the scores that each of the dances were given by the judges, along with the scores from last weekend as well as the Instant Dance points - all of which created a brand new Leaderboard that was left at the end of the episode.
- Lewis and Katya danced the Rumba - 36 (+40 from last week + 6 from Instant Dance) = 82
- Amber and Nikita danced the Jive - 40 (+36 from last week + 4 from Instant Dance) = 80
- Karen and Carlos danced the Couples Choice - 40 (+39 from last week + 1 from Instant Dance) = 80
- George and Alexis danced the Quickstep - 34 (+39 from last week + 2 from Instant Dance) = 75
- Balvinder and Julian danced the Jive - 28 (+32 from last week + 5 from Instant Dance) = 66
- Alex and Johannes danced the Cha Cha - 23 (+35 from last week + 3 from Instant Dance) = 61
Who is in danger on Strictly Come Dancing 2025 Week 10?
Fans all predicted that this one might be the hardest Dance-Off to call. With six couples left in the competition, the pressure was on and a number of them struggled unfortunately. We also have to take into account that there are votes and scores from last week to carry over, and as they are immune to the events that happened tonight, any predicted outcomes may not turn out to be the case.
There is one tie on the Leaderboard (as Karen and Amber are both tied on 82, with 5 points each) and that has allowed the couples at the lower end to gain an extra point. It also allows the public vote to carry more weight, as there will be no ties in the voting and that will break any ties on the Leaderboard.
Alex and Johannes are in more jeopardy than ever before, but they are extremely popular with the public, so it's possible that they could get saved by the vote alone. Meanwhile, Balvinder and Julian aren't at the bottom of the Leaderboard and their thrilling performance in the Instant Dance could very well have ensured that the public comes out to vote for her. And although Amber and Nikita are extremely high on the Leaderboard, the tie could eventually upend them.
We'll have to wait and see, but it's going to be a close one!
Who went home on Strictly Week 10?
After an incredibly tense night of dancing - and a night of chaos caused by the iconic Instant Dance Challenge - it was quite clear that anything could happen. After all, we had combined Leaderboards and last-minute costume changes to contend with. And that made the wait for the results all the more intense for our couples.
Tess and Claudia welcomed viewers to the Results Show before announcing the first couples that were safe and would dance again in the Quarter Finals / Musicals Week next weekend. Those couples were Karen and Carlos and Amber and Nikita - who both scored 40 on the Saturday night show.
After that, it was revealed that Lewis and Katya and Goerge and Alexis were safe, resulting in a Dance-Off featuring Balvinder and Julian and Alex and Johannes.
Dance-Off: Alex and Johannes vs. Balvinder and Julian
Although both couples weren't thrilled about being the Dance-Off, Balvinder was ready to fight for her place again while Alex was excited to give the dance that went wrong another try. The judges told them to absolutely go for it.
Alex and Johannes understandably reprised their Cha Cha, which was much stronger than the first version they danced on Saturday night. They were thrilled that it went so much better and all four judges pointed out the improvement, praising them for making no mistakes and delivering a much cleaner routine.
Balvinder and Julian also returned to dance their Jive, which they also saw as an opportunity to improve on the mistakes that they made the night before. They were successful in doing so as well, delivering a fun, light-hearted Jive with plenty of flicks and kicks, which the judges praised them for!
As we headed to the judges, Tess started with Anton. He said he was so happy for both couples, who delivered much stronger performances than the ones we saw on Saturday night, but he ultimately chose to save Alex and Johannes. Craig said this was a difficult one as he saw the improvement in both couples, but he ultimately chose to save Balvinder and Julian for having more fight. Motsi agreed and also saved Balvinder and Julian, leaving the final decision in the hands of Head Judge Shirley Ballas.
Shirley also said she saw the clear improvement in both couples but that she would be saving Balvinder and Julian for a stronger performance.
Eliminated: Alex and Johannes
It goes without saying that Alex and Johannes have been a delight to watch. A truly powerhouse couple who delivered some of the greatest routines of the whole series, we'll never forget their truly magical Rumba in Week 4, which earned them the first 10 of the competition.
We'll miss watching them on the show, but we're so proud of Alex for blossoming into the beautiful dancer that she is. Relive that Rumba below: