Shaun Strictly ended Week Five with a 17 after Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr took on a Jive that the judges tore apart. Craig Revel Horwood’s “Disaster, darling” verdict left the pair needing the audience vote to keep pace with the competition heading toward the Halloween special.
Wright-Phillips and Warr danced to “Faith” by Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande, and Anton Du Beke cut straight to the point: “We had a lovely jive, they just weren’t doing the same one together.” Wright-Phillips answered, “It was me,” and Du Beke came back with, “Oh, I know it was you my love.”
Craig Revel Horwood’s 17-point blow
The scoring told the story in numbers. Craig Revel Horwood gave the pair 3, Motsi Mabuse gave 5, Shirley Ballas gave 3 and Anton Du Beke gave 6, leaving them on 17 overall. For a dance built on sharp timing and matching footwork, that spread of marks shows how far apart the panel was on the same routine.
Craig’s full verdict was harsher still: “Disaster, darling.” He added, “The timing was completely out, the kicks were sloppy… there was no real saving it I’m afraid.”
Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas
Not every judge went for the throat. Motsi Mabuse said, “I see that you are giving every week your utmost,” while Shirley Ballas told them, “There was a lot of mistakes today, but you know there’s always next week.”
That split matters because it leaves the pair in the sort of middle ground Strictly often turns into a vote test rather than a pure score test. A 17 does not remove them from the running on its own; it puts the result in the audience’s hands.
Before Week Five
Before Week Five, Delta Goodrem returned after missing Icons Week because of an injury, another reminder that the field is still shifting as the series moves deeper into the run. Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday 25 October at 7:10pm on One and iPlayer, and that is where the score now has to be translated into votes.
For Wright-Phillips, the bluntest moment of the night was his own admission — “It was me” — because the panel’s criticism landed on timing, not effort. The real question now is simple: whether that 17 is low enough to need saving, or just strong enough to keep them in line for the Halloween special.
