Melanie Walters is who left tonight on Strictly Come Dancing 2026, after the judges’ deciding vote sent her and Aljaž Škorjanec out as the second couple eliminated. The 64-year-old’s exit came after Sunday night’s results show put her in the dance off again, with 13 couples left in the competition.
Walters and Škorjanec had scored 17 points for their Charleston to Ooh Ahh… Just a Little Bit by Gina G, while Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr earned 15 for a quickstep to I’m a Believer by The Monkees. That score gap did not settle the result once the dance off began; the final decision moved to the judging panel, where the public vote no longer had the last word.
Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas
Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas chose to save Wright-Phillips and Warr, while Motsi Mabuse backed Walters and Škorjanec. Anton du Beke then used the deciding vote to protect Wright-Phillips and Warr, which put Walters out of the competition and left the series with 13 couples still active. The rotating deciding vote has been shared among the judges since last year, so the result turned on panel choice rather than a fixed head-judge call every week.
Chris Appleton last week
Chris Appleton left the competition last week after losing out in the dance off, so Walters becomes the second celebrity out of the series. For viewers tracking the field, the practical takeaway is simple: Sunday night narrowed the running order again, and any contestant who lands in the dance off now has to survive both the judges’ split and the deciding vote.
Icons Week follows
Icons Week is next for the remaining couples, and that makes the result more than a routine elimination. Walters’ exit removes one partnership before the format change, while the surviving 13 couples move forward with no extra margin for error after two weeks of exits.
