The seventh week of Strictly Come Dancing will be full of changes for the stars as not only will they be taking on the show’s first Icons Week, but pro dancer Amy Dowden is missing the week.
The Welsh dancer, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2023, collapsed backstage before last week’s results show and was taken to hospital. A representative for the star said at the time: “Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution.”
Amy has since told fans that she’s “doing much better” although she won’t be dancing this week, with celebrity partner JB Gill instead dancing with fellow pro Lauren Oakley this week.
What is Icons Week?
Icons Week has never been performed on Strictly Come Dancing, however, the new themed week, which has been brought in for the show’s 20th anniversary celebrations will now become a mainstay.
The remaining celebrities will be dancing to their musical icons, performing songs that are both personal to them, but also reflective of a star that they widely admire.
Who is dancing what?
The inaugural Icons Week is filled with plenty of musical legends, and two of the pairs will be taking on their Couple’s Choice routines. JB Gill will be dancing to a medley of Bruno Mars hits, while Tasha Ghouri will be taking on Pink’s What About Us.
Slowing things down, Montell Douglas has a waltz to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You and hockey star Sam Quek will be embodying Taylor Swift as she dances to Love Story (Taylor’s Version).
Chris McCausland is taking on a tango to Rock and Roll All Nite by KISS, while last week’s dance-off survivor Shayne Ward will be hoping to avoid elimination with a quickstep to Help! by The Beatles.
Pete Wicks will be transforming into Freddie Mercury as he dances a salsa to Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust, while Wynne Evans will be paying tribute to one of Wales’s biggest icons: Dame Shirley Bassey. The opera singer is dancing a rumba to This Is My Life.
© Guy LevyLast week, Jamie Borthwick and Sarah Hadland topped the leaderboard with their spooky dances and the duo will be hoping to win once again with Jamie taking on a samba to George Michael’s Faith and Sarah dancing a cha-cha-cha to Madonna’s Like a Prayer.
Leaderboard
HELLO! has the full leaderboard here, see below:
- JB Gill & Lauren Oakley – Couple’s Choice – 39 (9, 10, 10, 10)
- Sarah Hadland & Vito Coppola – Cha-Cha-Cha – 37 (9, 9, 9, 10)
- Wynne Evans & Katya Jones – Rumba – 30 (7, 7, 8, 8)
- Chris McCausland & Dianne Buswell – 29 (6, 7, 8, 8)
- Sam Quek & Nikita Kuzmin – American Smooth – 29 (6, 8, 7, 8)
- Pete Wicks & Jowita Przystal – Salsa – 22 (4, 6, 6, 6)
Who went home last week?
Last week, it was the end of the journey for Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez whose tango to Sweet Dreams saw them at the bottom of the leaderboard. The duo went up against Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, who were facing the dance-off for the second time.
© BBCThe judges unanimously chose to save Shayne and Nancy following their paso doble.
“I am really proud of myself,” Punam said after her elimination. “You know I’ve taken on something that’s so out of my comfort zone. The one thing that I’ve very much learnt is to say yes more, and that there is no point in your life when you can stop learning new skills. I’ve learnt more than dancing, I’ve learnt so much from Gorka.”
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