Strictly’s Ellie Leach tops the leaderboard AGAIN with a ‘joyous’ American Smooth as the judges tip her to make the final
Ellie Leach topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard for the second week in a row on Saturday evening.
The former Coronation Street actress, 22, and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola, 31, achieved a near-perfect score of 39 as they performed US Smooth to Robbie Williams hit Ain’t That Kick In the Head.
After their performance, judge Craig Revel Horwood noted that Ellie had gone from ‘strength to strength’ in the show before handing out a score of nine, while Motsi Mabuse predicted the routine could send them to the final.
Head judge Shirley Ballas called them ‘finalist material’ and Anton Du Beke labeled their routine as ‘cheerful’.
Speaking to presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly after their performance, Ellie said: ‘Honestly, I think that’s great. The atmosphere, the costume and the team are great. I felt a million dollars!
Top girl: Ellie Leach and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard for the second week in a row on Saturday evening
Star of the night: the pair received no fewer than three 10s and one 9 from all judges, leading to euphoria for the pair
Wow! After their performance, judge Craig Revel Horwood commented that Ellie had gone from strength to strength throughout the show
“I thought, ‘What am I supposed to do here?’ But I have a great teacher!’
The Strictly duo looked over the moon as they received their high scores to shouts and cheers from the crowd.
West End sensation Layton Williams, 29, and his partner Nikita Kuzma, 25, who danced the Jive to ‘Shake Your Body’, were second on the leaderboard, with a score of 36.
Despite the high score, the all-male couple divided the jury with their ‘heavy’ Jive.
The scores came after a problematic week in which Nikita was unable to rehearse on Wednesday due to a knee injury.
Despite the challenging week, the pair managed to rise to the occasion and after opening the show on Saturday evening, they set the bar high for other contestants.
Tennis legend Annabel Croft and her partner Johannes Radebe, 36, rounded out the top three couples with a score of 35 for their couple’s choice routine to ‘Wings’ by Birdy.
They dedicated the emotional routine to the sports star’s late husband, Mel Coleman, who died in May, at age 60, a few weeks after he was diagnosed with stage three cancer.
Time of her life: Their almost perfect score of 39 was due to their performance. from the American Smooth to Robbie Williams hit ‘Ain’t That Kick In the Head’
Annabel said of the song: ‘I think this song is definitely a tribute to my husband Mel. It couldn’t be anything other than that.
‘As soon as we met, I was captivated by his huge smile and his great sense of humor. We were supposed to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary this year and I never saw what was going to happen.
‘He was diagnosed on January 31st and was told he didn’t have much time left. I don’t think I could survive without the children.’
Annabel shares three children with her late husband: Charlie, Amber and Lilly.
At the bottom of the scoreboard were presenter Angela Rippon, 79, and Kai Widdrington – who scored a total of 28 for their rendition of the Waltz to Nat King Cole classic ‘Fascination’.
The One Show hosts Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu tied for last place with Waterloo Road star Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuck with a score of 27.