Strictly triple dance-off ends Lawrence Robb’s run as fifth couple exits and 10 remain

The first Strictly triple dance-off in the show’s history ended with Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb and his professional partner Jowita Przystal leaving the competition on Sunday, after the judges voted them out.

Robb and Przystal landed in the bottom three alongside House of the Dragon actress Bethany Antonia and partner Nancy Xu, and actress Jaime Winstone and partner Carlos Gu. All three couples had ended up there through the combination of judges’ scores and public votes. Each danced their Halloween-week routine again: Antonia and Xu their jive, Winstone and Gu their salsa, and Robb and Przystal their tango to Ghostbusters.

How the judges decided

The format added a twist for the panel. Rather than choosing which couple to save, the judges had to name the one they wanted to eliminate. Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood all picked Robb and Przystal, which settled the result. Motsi Mabuse’s casting vote was not needed, though she said she would have made the same choice.

The result is slightly surprising on paper. Robb and Przystal scored 26 on the Halloween leaderboard, above Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita and Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley, who were tied on 25. The sources do not give the public vote breakdown, but the pair’s position suggests viewer support was a factor in their landing in the bottom three.

Who topped the leaderboard

At the other end of the table, Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola led the week with a Charleston to Crazy Stupid Love, with each judge giving them a nine. The reports differ slightly on their total: one lists 36, the other 37. Four nines make 36, which is the figure that fits. John Nellis and Katya Jones followed on 35, with Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby and Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington both on 33.

One notable fall was Stoecker and Karmalita. They had topped the previous week’s scoreboard but dropped to the bottom of this one with their Quickstep to Black Magic.

A one-off twist, and a Halloween cameo

The Strictly triple dance-off appears to be a one-off. The show goes back to the usual two-couple dance-off for the rest of the series, so this week’s three-way contest was a Halloween-week special rather than a permanent change.

The results show stayed on theme. The professional dancers performed a vampire-themed group routine to Dracula by Tame Impala, which was recorded earlier in the year. It was narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, who read from Bram Stoker’s novel at the climax. Becky Hill also performed.

The remaining 10 couples return to BBC One on Saturday 7 November at 6.30pm, with the results show at 7.10pm the following night. After the first Strictly triple dance-off, the competition now enters a stage where every elimination is a straight two-way contest.

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