On Saturday night, the remaining Strictly Come Dancing contestants took to the dancefloor once again.
Tianna Corbin TV Reporter
18:51, 08 Nov 2025
The competition is ramping up on Strictly Come Dancing as the remaining contestants have now reached the halfway mark on the BBC show.
Although last weekend’s show was a Halloween spooktacular, with the likes of the Queen of Hearts, skeletons, and ghouls on the dancefloor, this Saturday the glitz and glamour resumed as usual.
Currently topping the leaderboard is Lewis Cope after he managed to secure the first 40 of the series for his Couple’s Choice to Creep by Radiohead.
The night was full of high scores from the judges, with Karen Carney close behind Lewis with a score of 38. Sadly, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 26.
Lewis topped the leaderboard last weekend on the Halloween spooktacular(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire )READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing’s Vicky Pattison shares ‘important’ message to co-starREAD MORE: Strictly Come Dancing host halts show after Amy Dowden breaks down in tears
However, the leaderboard will change once again tonight as the contestants reach the halfway point of the show. During Saturday’s episode, Lewis opened the show, with Karen Carney performing a fast-paced Charleston as the second act.
Although viewers were quick to comment on Karen taking to the dancefloor second, as many refer to it as the ‘death slot’
One person said, “Who put Karen Carney in the death slot #strictly?” Another added: “KAREN DEATH SLOT.”
Karen Carney and Carlos Gu took to the dancefloor for a Charleston on Saturday night(Image: BBC)
Someone else commented: “Who’s in the death slot then…. Karen. Good luck, hun!” While one viewer shared: “Karen and Carlos in the death slot…….rude #Strictly.”
Another person observed: “This is like the third time Karen has been in the death slot or near the beginning.” With someone else writing: “Karen’s been in the death slot 3 times now????”
However, despite viewers fearing for Karen, who went second on the show, the judges seemed to enjoy her routine.
Commenting on the performance, Motsi Mabuse said, “Karen, when I watch you dance, I have to calm myself down because there’s so much electricity in my blood.
The sports star was awarded her first 10 of the series(Image: BBC)
“You just had this type of energy that is contagious. When I look at Charleston and I look where the dance started from and what it brings, the originality, the authenticity of this dance, you bring it all!
“This is about dynamic, this is about bounce, this is about being precise, your spins here were untop, you hit every line, and the best thing about you is that you’re expression is so natural, you become the dance.”
When it came to receiving her scores, it was clear the football star was blown away as she was awarded her first 10 from Motsi.
Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas both gave her an eight, while Anton Du Beke gave Karen a score of nine, giving her a total of 35.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
