Strictly Come Dancing 2023 live — Strictly’s dances revealed for semi finals as Nigel Harman is brought to tears on air
STRICTLY Come Dancing's Nigel Harman and his twinkle-toed partner Katya Jones have quit the show as explained on Saturday night.
Nigel, known for his role in Casualty and aged 50, was all set to Charleston his way through Step in Time from the beloved Disney classic Mary Poppins in Saturday night's live quarter-finals on BBC1.
Unfortunately, Nigel has had to bow out of the competition due to a rib injury, meaning this week's elimination was cancelled. This means the remaining star-studded line-up - Ellie Leach, Annabel Croft, Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier - shimmied their way into the next round.
The pair could be seen holding back tears as they paid tribute to each-other, before Katya ultimately burst into tears at the emotional display.
It comes as the semi final dances were revealed with Layton taking on the Rumba and the Charleston whilst Ellie will perform a Cha-Cha and a Couples' Choice dance.
Read our live blog below for the latest news and updates...
What were the scores on Saturday night?
- Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola (9+10+10+9) = 38
- Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell (8+9+10+10) = 37
- Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe (8+9+9+10) = 36
- Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin (8+9+8+9) = 34
- Nigel Harman and Katya Jones (8+8+8+9) = 33
- Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu (7+7+8+9) = 31
Ultimately, Angela’s bottom-placed performance would see her head home on Sunday.
Anton’s comments on ‘closest dance-off’ of the series
Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke chose to save Layton Williams and professional Nikita Kuzmin after they re-performed an American Smooth routine to It’s Oh So Quiet by Bjork.
Anton said: “I don’t think either couple danced as well as they can. It was the closest dance off we’ve had in the series so far.
“This is the only thing, I saw an error from one of the couples, so I’m going to vote to keep in to the quarter-finals, Layton and Nikita.”
Jeff Brazier hails son’s ‘ incredible courage’ after emotional Jade Goody tribute
Bobby Brazier’s father, Jeff, hailed his son after the actor and model performed an emotional tribute to Jade Goody.
Writing on Instagram last night, Jeff said: “To share your grief even to just one person can be a daunting prospect but to express it so movingly in front of millions takes incredible courage so thank you for your inspiration @bobbybrazier!
“Encouraging many a conversation about loss & giving people an outlet for the tears they might find hard to release is a wonderful legacy of your time in the competition so far.
“You said something in the VT about making me proud of you? You and your brother achieved that a long time ago. Don’t forget I’ve seen the journey and you both have my lifelong support & unwavering respect.”
Who is still in the running to win Strictly?
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 started off with 15 famous faces.
Every week they are slowly whittled down until there are three left in the grand final.
The stars who are still in the competition are:
- Actor and model Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell
- Actress Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola
- Actress Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin
- Tennis ace Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe
- Actor Nigel Harman and Katya Jones