Seventh Celebrity Waltzes Off Strictly Come Dancing After Dance-Off

Two couples went head-to-head on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night in a bid to be saved by the judges.

But it was Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies who became the seventh celebrity eliminated from the show.

The entrepreneur, 37, and her professional partner Aljaz Skorjanec faced social media star Tilly Ramsay and her partner Nikita Kuzmin in the dance-off following the public vote.

Ramsay and Kuzmin also landed in the bottom two the previous week against Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and Katya Jones, but they were saved by the judges for a second time.

Davies and Skorjanec danced their Argentine tango to No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand again in the dance-off, but it was not enough to save them from being booted out of the competition.

Kuzmin and Ramsay, who celebrated her 20th birthday during the week, were saved unanimously by the judges after they performed their quickstep to I Won’t Dance by Damita Jo.

Craig Revel Horwood said:

“This is a really difficult decision because I gave both couples on Saturday night a 7.

“So very, very equal, which made the decision even more difficult, but I think for me, the couple that stood out a little bit more and had the edge – Tilly and Nikita.”

Motsi Mabuse also chose to save Ramsay and Kuzmin after basing the dance-off on three factors which she described as “details, the nerves and a very strong competitor”.

Anton Du Beke remarked on the standard of the competition this series, saying:

“I think if you were ever choosing to do Strictly Come Dancing, this is the year to avoid.

“The standard is so high and either of these couples could have made it to the final any other year.

“Based on this dance-off and this dance-off alone, which was so strong, I’m just going to give the edge to Tilly and Nikita.”

Ramsay and Kuzmin had already won the majority vote but head judge Shirley Ballas agreed that she had decided to save the pair as well.

When asked about her experience on the show, Davies said: 

“I had no idea any of this was in me. It’s been a life-changing experience and one I’ve loved every second of.”

Her professional partner Skorjanec had high words of praise for Davies’s work ethic and welcoming nature, and said he would not have wanted to dance with anyone else.

He added:

“You have been an absolute joy and a testament to hard work – not just on Strictly but with your business and you’re a beautiful mother.

“Thank-you for letting me spend so much time not just with you, but with the whole family, the Davieses that are here tonight, all of the little ones at home.

“I’ve been so welcomed up north, it made me feel like I’m back home in Slovenia because everyone is so lovely and friendly.

“I’m going to miss you so much. I’m going to miss dancing with you.

“I’m going to miss everything about this show. Thank-you everyone and thank-you for supporting us.”

Davies replied that Skorjanec is “one in a million” and she credited him for making her Strictly experience what it was.

Following her exit, in a long Instagram post she said she was “pretty gutted” to be leaving the series.

She wrote:

“Well I’m not gonna lie – I’m pretty gutted – my strictly journey has been an unbelievable experience and I wasn’t quite ready to finish it yet but you know what they say about all good things coming to an end…”

She also paid tribute to Skorjanec, writing:

“I’m going to miss dancing every day – but what I’m really gonna miss is this guy here. He literally is one in a million and lights up every room he walks into and has had such a positive impact not only on me but my whole family. He’s become an honorary member of the Davies clan these past 2 months and the boys are beyond devastated that ‘uncle Aljaz’ isn’t going to be round for tea tomorrow night.

“I know it sounds like such a cliche but this really has been a life changing experience – I’ve learnt so much about myself and I’ve achieved things I never thought I could. I’m so proud of every dance I’ve done and I’m so pleased I went out on such a high with that Argentine Tango after having had the best week! @aljazskorjanec @bbcstrictly.”

Strictly’s results show opened with an emotional dance from the professionals in honour of Remembrance Sunday and singer James Blunt performed his hit song Goodbye My Lover.

Saturday’s live show saw some historic moments as Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu topped the leaderboard with a perfect score of 40 for their Charleston, which they were told was the earliest anyone had received this mark for that particular dance.

Rose Ayling-Ellis also performed an emotional couple’s choice dance with Giovanni Pernice which had a silent moment where the music stopped but they continued to dance, in honour of the deaf community. They scored 39 out of 40.