Shaun Wright-Phillips and his professional partner Alexis Warr became the fourth couple to leave Strictly Come Dancing 2026 on Sunday, October 25, losing the dance-off to Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu in the results show, Radio Times reported. PA reports carried by regional titles reported the same result. The programme also announced that next week’s Halloween results show will feature the first triple dance-off in the show’s history.
Both couples performed their routines again. Wright-Phillips and Warr reprised their jive to “Faith” by Stevie Wonder featuring Ariana Grande, and Winstone and Gu performed their foxtrot to Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need,” Radio Times reported. Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Winstone and Gu; head judge Shirley Ballas was the only judge to choose Wright-Phillips and Warr. PA reports said Du Beke held this week’s casting vote and used it to save Winstone and Gu, sending Wright-Phillips and Warr home.
The elimination followed a Saturday show in which Wright-Phillips and Warr finished bottom of the leaderboard with 17 points. Their jive was scored 3, 5, 3 and 6 by the four judges, Radio Times reported in its judge-by-judge tally. Revel Horwood summed the routine up as a “disaster, darling,” and said, according to Radio Times: “The timing was completely out, the kicks were sloppy… there was no real saving it I’m afraid.” Du Beke told the couple: “We had a lovely jive, they just weren’t doing the same one together.” Wright-Phillips admitted: “It was me.”
At the other end of the table, Winter Olympic skeleton champion Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita topped the leaderboard with 37 — two 10s and the highest score of the series so far — for a Couple’s Choice routine dedicated to Stoecker’s late father, PA reported. Delta Goodrem, returning after missing the previous week’s Icons special with a fractured rib, scored 34 for her rumba to Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” with Kai Widdrington, and received the first 10 of the series, from Du Beke, PA reported.
The Week 5 Leaderboard
- Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita — 37 (series high, two 10s).
- Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington — 34, including the series’ first 10.
- John Nellis and Katya Jones — 32; three couples scored 31.
- Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola — 28, after an on-screen correction (see below).
- Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr — 17, bottom of the table.
One Score, Two Versions
The reports do not agree on the score Winstone and Gu received on Saturday. PA copy carried by several regional titles put the couple third from bottom with 24 points. Radio Times’ judge-by-judge tally lists their four scores as 6, 6, 6 and 7, which total 25, and its leaderboard places them on 25, level with Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu. One outlet, Entertainment Daily, also described their dance as a tango; Radio Times and the PA reports say it was a foxtrot.
The results show also carried a correction to another couple’s Saturday score. Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola’s tango was initially shown as 29 because the on-screen graphic displayed a 7 from Ballas; she had in fact awarded a 6, making their correct total 28, Radio Times reported. The correction did not change their position on the leaderboard.
In his farewell, Wright-Phillips said, in remarks carried by PA reports: “I don’t think I can put into words how my time has been. I think from the pros, the judges, the staff behind the cameras, everybody that’s helped me along the way has been the most amazing journey I’ve had. And thank you for giving me the chance to be on the Strictly ballroom floor and actually learn how to dance.” To Warr, he added: “Thank you. I couldn’t ask for a better partner, a better human being… I wish I could have taken you further.” Warr said she felt “honoured” to have had him as her partner and praised his resilience.
The results show also featured Melanie C joining the professional dancers for a fitness-inspired group dance, PA reports said, and a performance by Jamie Miller of his UK No. 1 single “Babydoll,” ATV Today reported. The remaining couples return on Saturday, October 31, at 6:30 p.m. on BBC One for the Halloween special. Under the format announced on Sunday, the three couples with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will dance again, the judges will eliminate one pair, and the programme will then return to a two-couple dance-off for the rest of the series.
Sources: Radio Times, October 24–25, 2026; PA Media reports, October 25, 2026; The Sun, October 25, 2026; ATV Today, October 25, 2026.
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