Key events

An email just in from regular correspondent Iain in Canada:

Finally, on Shaun Wright-Phillips, YodaknowsAll says: “Props to SWP. At least he showed what that dance was supposed to look like. His time is up, though.”

IvanTiger says: “Shaun’s better lit tonight and dancing better.”

paperview says: “Wow, haun really picked up his game! It was a totally different dance to the one he did last night. Still think Jamie has it, though.”

StellaNicol says: “Shaun’s the only reason I watch. He’s so cute and joyous. Who cares about technique!”

IgnoreAlienOrders says: “That was surely a different dance than last night by SWP?”

emilyscatnaps says: “Shaun, I think you’re a lovely man and you’ve tried your very best every time. No-one can ask for more. I do hope you’ve had a great time on the show. It was so far out of your comfort zone! FAB-U-LUSS, my darling.”

SparklingDormouse adds: “Shaun was so much better that time, which was lovely. End on a high!”

Emma Willis with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr. Photograph: Guy Levy/PA

Strictlylounging says: “Jaime’s dance was lovely but not overly showy. Maybe got lost in mid-table?”

IvanTiger says: “Oh poor Jaime again. Undeserved, that. If her dad was here, they’d not have dared.”

Gothenburgkid says: “Love Carlos’ attitude when waiting for the results. Everyone else looks really stressed but he’s like “Can we get on with this? I’ve got a bus to catch.”

MikeMoonlight adds: “Poor Jaime Winstone. She’s already played her ‘Geezer Daddy’ card and her ‘Lovable East End Nan’ card and she’s STILL in the dance-off. At this rate, she’s going to have to conjure up the spirits of Mad Frankie Fraser and Bill Sykes to get past Halloween.”

The dance-off couples. Photograph: Guy Levy/PA

yorkshirecoast says: “Shirley votes for male contestant over superior female. Didn’t see that coming.”

Gardener_Maidhc says: “Shaun goes. Right decision, Jaime is clearly the better dancer and her dance-off performance was streets ahead of Shaun’s. Assume Shirley was either trying to be nice or her younger female celeb dislike was showing because her reason made no sense to me.”

Somersetlass says: “Josh really is so much more comfortable upstairs than reading off the autocue.”

MikeMoonlight says: “Next week’s Halloween Spooktacular might be the ideal time for the deep-throated netherworld demon that lurks within Canadian Mark to come bursting out of his chest to say hello.”

emilyscatnaps says: “Sorry Jamie Miller but your baggy suit-and-shades vibe is giving me flashbacks of working with teen rapscallions going to court and having one suit they shared between themselves.”

Readers’ results show verdicts

Time for a round-up of your comments. On the group dance, ladyglencora says: “Oh dear. I’m allergic to the gym. Serious outbreak of hives here and I’m sniffing more than Romesh in the turret.”

Somersetlass says: “Wow. I’m not sure about the dance itself but that certainly showcased how incredibly fit the professionals are – in both senses of the word!”

MikeMoonlight adds: “Aljaz, MC Hammer just called from the nineties, he wants his pants back.”

From jives to Julia Roberts

TV viewers can now stay on BBC One for Antiques Roadshow or flip to Channel 4 for Kevin McCloud’s Classic Car Road Trips. At 9pm, choose from new drama Adultery on ITV1, the return of This City Is Ours to BBC One or the return of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing to BBC Two.

Film-wise, tonight’s picks are Notting Hill (9pm on Comedy Central), Shaun Of The Dead (9.30pm on Sky One), The Boston Strangler (10.10pm on Talking Pictures), Top Gun (10.20pm on ITV1) and Misery (10.45pm on BBC2). After all, I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

At least Bethany was safe

House Of The Dragon actor Bethany Antonia and her pro partner Nancy Xu were unjustly consigned to the dance-off last week and must have feared the worst again. Their Argentine tango – the first all-female one in Strictly history – was undermarked for me. It left them fourth from bottom, on the same score as Jaime Winstone.

Happily, voting viewers came to their aid and kept them clear of the bottom two. Their jubilant reaction on going through spoke to their big relief. I’m pleased because two underserved dance-offs in a row might have dealt Bethany’s confidence a devastating blow. Onwards, upwards, Halloween-wards.

Lucky escapes for Lawrence and Cach

Was Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb’s salsa score of 30 last week a fluke? Last night’s lumpen jive saw him drop a whopping 11 points to a lowly 19, leaving him second from bottom on the leaderboard. However, Emmerdale fans and Lozza lovers came to his rescue and lifted him clear of danger. Inhabiting another character next week should suit him. He needs to return to Ricky Martin-like levels.

The other male celebrity mopping his brow tonight was Cach Mercer. His cha-cha was roundly slated by the judges and he was left third from bottom – a point below Jaime Winstone. As the fourth-highest scorer in the contest overall and arguably the most naturally gifted dancer, Cach would have been a huge loss. He needs to polish his proper technique to appease the panel next week.

Alexis went for the speed but couldn’t hide Shaun’s flaws

Utah-born pro Alexis Warr did her best but her celebrity partner Shaun Wright-Phillips had a low ceiling and departs at the right time. Alexis went all the way during her debut series last year with runner-up George Clarke but Shaun had considerably less hoofing promise.

She must have thought Shaun would be better at the faster, more upbeat dances. During his five weeks in the contest, he performed a cha-cha, a salsa, a quickstep, a soul-themed Couple’ Choice and a jive. Presumably more traditional ballroom styles or slower routines risked exposing his footwork flaws and other technical deficiencies.

She’ll be disappointed not to don fancy dress for the Halloween spooktacular but a final and a week five finish make a solid start to Alexis’ Strictly CV.

Jaime just isn’t connecting with public

What was Jaime Winstone doing in her second dance-off within four weeks? She finished joint top of the leaderboard in Icon Weeks with her David Bowie paso doble, which was hailed as a “work of art” by judge Motsi Mabuse.

Jaime got a wake-up call this week, dropping nine points into the dangerous mid-table area but she’s still the eighth-highest scorer in the contest, ahead of Dani Dyer, Will Best and Lawrence Robb. Can we blame the slot of doom, after she opened the show with her cute but fairly forgettable foxtrot? Or is Jaime just not connecting with voting viewers? I find her highly likeable but perhaps she’s too luvvie-ish for some.

At least the Halloween special comes at a good time. Comfortably Jaime’s best dance came while inhabiting a character. She can hide behind a costume and deploy her acting skills again next Saturday, hopefully winning public hearts as well as earning points.

Shirley some mistake

Thank goodness the head judge didn’t have this week’s casting vote. It might have led to one of the biggest shockers in Strictly history. How on god’s glittery earth did Shirley Ballas decide to save Shaun Wright-Phillips over Jaime Winstone?

I doubt any viewer believed he’d done quite enough in the dance-off to close the eight-point gap from the Saturday night scoreboard. A generous reading might be that Shirley realised that Shaun was doomed and gave him a sympathy vote to send him home on a high. Yet she presumably didn’t know which way her panel neighbour Anton du Beke would go, so was taking a risk.

A less generous interpretation is that Shirley has long favoured male celebrities over females – something she’s often criticised for online – and let this cloud her judgement. Either way, it was a wild decision. At least it was academic in the end.

Second dance-off unlucky for Shaun

At least his dad, the much-loved Ian Wright, was on the front row of the studio audience, ready with a consoling cuddle. After last week’s James Brown-soundtracked Couple’s Choice notched his highest score, Shaun Wright-Phillips delivered an error-strewn routine which judge Craig Revel Horwood described as “a complete jive dis-ah-ster, darling”. Shaun’s score tumbled by 11 points to just 17, putting him rock bottom of the scoreboard.

He raised his glitterball game for the dance-off a fortnight ago to see off Melanie Walters. He improved hugely again here. This time, though, the quality gap to Jaime Winstone was just too big. Shaun was the lowest scorer left in the contest and propped up the scoreboard three times out of five, so it’s hard to makes a case that he deserved to stay.

Like many sportspeople who’ve braved the ballroom – last week’s exiteer, Dame Sarah Storey, was another – he struggled with the performance side of dance. Way out of his comfort zone, Shaun allowed nerves to get the better of him. Mistakes duly crept into every routine. By week five, the judges couldn’t overlook them.

Yet he never felt sorry for himself or got downhearted. Shaun was always a cheerful and enthusiastic presence with a neat line in self-deprecating humour. He was clearly popular with his castmates – and not just because he brought in bumper helpings of his mum’s signature mac ’n’ cheese to fuel their training sessions. Emma Willis said he was “a joy of a human being”. His five-week stint won him many new fans, regardless of their footballing allegiance. For one last time: Shauny Wright-Wright-Wright!

Shaun and Alexis’ last dance

As the departing couple take a final spin around the floor to Give Me Just A Little More Time by Chairman Of The Board (tune), the credits roll and their castmates gather around for group hugs. Please stay with us for analysis and reaction.

Shaun says he “couldn’t ask for a better partner or human being, you put up with my mood swings and helped me so much”.

Alexis returns the compliment

His pro partner Alexis Warr says: “Shaun has admirable resilience and he’s been a joy. I’m beyond proud of him.”