Strictly Come Dancing latest: Chris McCausland’s score sparks ‘under-marking’ accusations in Musicals Week

Chris McCausland and Strictly partners share emotional moment after ‘joy-filled’ dance performance

The Strictly Come Dancing finals are just two weeks away and the remaining six couples gave Musicals Week their all with the hope of making it to next Saturday’s semi-finals.

JB Gill and Lauren Oakley topped the charts for the second week in a row thanks to their Viennese waltz to ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’ from Mary Poppins. Second place was tied with both Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec, and Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola landed 38 points for their routines.

But it was another of the remaining couples that had fans talking on social media.

Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell danced a phenomenal Quickstep to “You’re The Top” from Everything goesbut their score of 32 (putting them first from the bottom of the leaderboard) led many fans to argue that the duo had been underrated.

Elsewhere, Sarah Hadland opened the show with a soaring Charleston and the judges got into the Musicals Week spirit with impressive costumes. Shirley Ballas really has to be seen to be believed.

Another celebrity will leave the competition on Sunday (December 1) tonight’s results programme, which airs on BBC One at 7pm. 19.20.

Follow the show if it’s happened below.

JB and Lauren close the show

Statistically, JB is the closest the Strictly star has come to matching Tasha, often ending up with her on the leaderboard (as he did last week, thanks to a Samba-thon win).

He ends the show with one Mary Poppins-theme from the Vienesse Waltz to “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” and wow, what a routine. It was really delightful. These spin! JB is excellent isn’t it.

Disappointingly, the routine doesn’t end with JB flying away on a kite (he’s only holding one). A missed opportunity if ever I saw one, but I won’t hold it against them.

Rachel McGrathNovember 30, 2024 8:07 p.m

The judges love JB

“I think the night belongs to you,” Shirley told him. “Beautiful moment all around the floor. Wonderful storytelling. Huge congratulations.”

“Practically perfect in every possible way,” Anton concluded.

And Craig? “Your thumb was sticking out… it was so close to perfection. You dropped your demands too,” he said, before calling JB’s routine ‘the best of the night’.

“You have that versatile way of dancing,” Motsi said.

Rachel McGrathNovember 30, 2024 8:09 p.m

JB’s point is in…

That’s a 9 from Craig and 10s across the board for a total of 39. That puts JB on the leaderboard!

Rachel McGrath30 November 2024 20:11

Summary: Chris and Dianne’s emotional moment

The couple were absolutely over the moon after finishing their routine (as they should be, it was amazing). Watch the beautiful moment again below…

Chris McCausland and Strictly partners share emotional moment after ‘joy-filled’ dance performance

Rachel McGrathNovember 30, 2024 8:12 p.m

Chris McCausland’s score sparks debate

Many viewers are unhappy with the ratings (which were 7s from Craig, 8s from Motsi and Shirley and a 9 from Anton) — including Connect only presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell:

Rachel McGrathNovember 30, 2024 8:22 p.m

This week’s top list

Here’s how it stands — with JB Gill in the lead (by one point) and Pete Wicks at the bottom of the pile.

Rachel McGrathNovember 30, 2024 8:40 p.m

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