We've reached the Strictly Come Dancing Quarter Finals! The legendary BBC One series kicks off the last stages of the classic competition with its annual Musicals Week special, which will see the five remaining couples take on some of the most beloved musical theatre songs of all time. As always, we're in for a show tonight!
Last week's episode was one of the most talked-about of the whole series - and for very good reason! First of all, we had the Instant Dance Challenge, which has gone down in Strictly history as one of the most chaotic and brilliant moments in the show's history. It also highlighted how great a double act Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are and how the show will miss them when they leave at the end of this series. The episode also provided a shock when frontrunner Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe were eliminated earlier than expected - but surprises have been a running theme for this series!
With the Quarter Finals upon us, who took the opportunity to shine, and who brought the house down? Let's dive into our recap of the events and figure all of that out!
Strictly spoilers and results: Week 11 Leaderboard
What a night at the theater that was! On a night full of celebrations for the stories that musicals can tell, we saw some truly captivating routines that will stay with us for a long time. Amber and Nikita brought the house down with their classic Charleston while Balvinder and Julian stunned audiences with their beautiful Viennese Waltz. That one in particular resonated with the judges as the emotional standing ovation she received was long, long, long overdue!
Lewis and Katya closed the show with a Salsa that the judges didn't think was his best. Meanwhile, George and Alexis opened the show with an Argentine Tango that really brought the dramatics. And Karen and Carlos did well with a very difficult Samba. It will be interesting to see if the public is able to get behind all of them, or if the judges' crazily close Leaderboard ends up producing a relatively typical Dance-Off.
Here are the scores that each of the dances were given by the judges, and the Leaderboard we were left with at the end of the episode.
- Amber and Nikita danced the Charleston - 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40
- Balvinder and Julian danced the Viennese Waltz - 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
- George and Alexis danced the Argentine Tango - 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
- Lewis and Katya danced the Salsa - 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
- Karen and Carlos danced the Samba - 8, 8, 9, 9 = 34
Who is in danger on Strictly Come Dancing 2025 Week 11?
Musicals Week is always a tight one on the Leaderboard, but this year's is among the tightest. With one less couple than usual at this stage (Musicals Week often has six couples), there are just five points up for grabs, meaning that the space between who is at the top and who is at the bottom is much smaller than it would be in the earlier weeks of the competition. And that means that the public vote will carry more weight than it has in previous weeks, too.
Something else that will make the public vote carry more weight? All those darned ties! The three-way tie in the middle of the Leaderboard has opened the coompetition up to the public, meaning that the vote will overwhelm the leaderboard and break the ties. That means that even Amber and Nikita -placed firmly at the top of the Leaderboard on their own with a stunning 40 - are in danger this week, too.
Balvinder truly stunned this week with that beautiful Viennese Waltz, so that could be enough to make the public vote in their droves. She was truly spectacular and that was the moment of the evening and she doesn't deserve to be the in the Dance-Off after that. That said, Karen and Carlos, George and Alexis, and Lewis and Katya have all proven popular with the public so it could literally go any way.
Could we see the chaos of an AMber vs, Lewis Dance-Off? Could Balvinder end up taking out another potential finalist? Will George, Karen, or Lewis make their first Dance-Off appearances? Literally any of it could happen tonight because of that wild Leaderboard.
Who went home on Strictly's Musicals Week Quarter Final?
We predicted that it would be a tense Results Show and that is exactly what we ended up getting. After a recap of Saturday night's events, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman began revealing who had made it through to the Semi-Final. And to say there were some shocks would be an understatement.
In the first round of reveals, it was announced that Balvinder and Julian had made it through - a moment which received a sensational ovation from the audience as Balvinder's hard-earned work had paid off. They deserved to go straight through after their stunning Viennese Waltz, and we're glad that they got that moment. Karen and Carlos joined them, also receiving a great response from the audience. That left just Amber and Nikita, Lewis and Katya, and George and Alexis as the potential Dance-Off contestants.
Later in the episode, Tess announced that George and Alexis were through, meaning that the Dance-Off we never thought possible - Amber vs. Lewis - was now a reality.
Dance-Off: Amber and Nikita vs. Lewis and Katya
Lewis was a little shell-shocked to be in the Dance-Off for the first time, while Amber tried to offer a supportive word for both of them, praising Lewis and their friendship. The judges were the most shocked, with Shirley literally speechless by the result. She agreed with Amber: May the best man win!
Amber and Nikita kicked things off with their note-perfect Charleston, upping the ante and performing it even better than before. The synchronization, the lifts, the performance: It was all stunning. And they once again proved that this is one of the greatest dances in the history of Strictly.
Lewis and Katya reprised their Salsa. While they - along with Amber and Nikita - have been the most consistent dancers in the show, this is one of the only dances he struggled with, as the judges said it was good, but not his best. His only way to win this one was to improve upon the advice he had been given on the Saturday night show. He did that, with some smoother technique and offered up a strong dance that was less spiky-looking than the previous performance.
The judges struggled to make a decision here. They knew there was a clear winner of this particular Dance-Off, but they knew that the show would be worse-off regardless of who they sent home. Lewis and Amber were both pinned on finalists, so to lose any of these dancers before the Final is such a blow.
Shirley praised both couples for being phenomenal throughout the series, including tonight's Dance-Off, but she ultimately chose to save Amber and Nikita. Anton agreed, saying that he felt so heartbroken for the couple that wouldn't make the Semi-Final, but that he would be saving Amber and Nikita. Craig agreed, praising both couples but that the better dance of the two belonged to Amber and Nikita. Motsi didn't have to use her casting vote tonight, but she agreed with the result.
Eliminated: Lewis and Katya
To call this Dance-Off and result a shock could never fully sum up just how jaw-dropping it was. In 21 years of Strictly, there may never have been a bigger shock. While Amber and Nikita deserved their win, the show's loss of Lewis and Katya ahead of the Final is an unfortunate outcome. We deserved to see both of these great couples in the Final (and the Semi-Final next week), and we'll certainly miss Lewis and Katya dance over the next two weeks.
Lewis' Couples Choice and Charleston will go down in history as some of the best dances the show has ever seen. Needless to say, we would have loved to have seen both in the Final. But what a great legacy they have crafted over their 11 weeks on the show. They should both be very proud!
Rewatch their history-making Couples Choice here: