Rose Ayling-Ellis Wows Strictly Judges With Never-Seen-Before Move As She Jointly Tops Leaderboard

Rhys Stephenson also scored 39 for his impressive Argentine Tango in Saturday's quarter final.

Rose Ayling-Ellis stunned the Strictly Come Dancing judges as she performed a move never seen before on Saturday night. 

The EastEnders star danced a Love Actually-inspired American Smooth to This Will Be An Everlasting Love by Natalie Cole during the live quarter final. 

At one particular moment, Rose and partner Giovanni Pernice came out of hold and she ran at him and leapt in the air, for him to then catch her by the arms. 

After the performance, co-host Tess Daly immediately said the show had “never seen” a lift like that before, to which Craig Revel Horwood said: “Absolutely amazing that lift. I thought the whole routine was absolutely gorgeous, wonderful storytelling.”

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Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice performed a lift never seen before on Strictly Come Dancing
BBC

Shirley Ballas remarked: “You delivered a performance of a lifetime. There was a point in mid air where you were not touching each other, that is really a leap of faith.”

Co-host Claudia Winkleman reiterated how the move had not been done previously on the show calling her “brave”, before Giovanni admitted that he did “miss” catching her a couple of times during rehearsals. 

The pair ended up scoring 39 points out of a possible 40, landing them in joint-first position on the leaderboard. 

They shared the top spot with Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu, who wowed the judges with their Argentine Tango set to Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight.

Having been in the dance-off last week, Shirley said: “I just want to hold you and say well done. You have been in the bottom several times and I think it has humbled you, every time you come back better.”

Craig added: “I thought you did a fantastic job I have to say.”

 

However, there were a couple of slip-ups during the evening, with both AJ Odudu and John Whaite coming unstuck with lifts during their performances. 

AJ and her partner Kai Widdrington landed at the bottom of the leaderboard for their Salsa to Gloria Estefan’s Rhythm Is Gonna Get You with 30 points. 

John and partner Johannes Radebe scored 32 for their Salsa set to Sister Sledge’s We Are Family. 

Meanwhile, Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova sat between the pair with a score of 31 for their Argentine Tango to Santa Maria by Gotan Project.

Find out who is next to leave Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night at 7.20pm on BBC One. 

'Strictly Come Dancing': All The Winners
Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole(01 of16)
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Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky was the first star to ever triumph in the inaugural series of 'Strictly Come Dancing', back in 2004, when there were just seven competitors to beat.Having obviously been a hit with 'Strictly' viewers, she was later chosen to cover for regular presenter Tess Daly, when she went on maternity leave. (credit:BBC)
Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennet(02 of16)
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Clearly sensing they were onto a winner, the BBC decided to kick-start the second series of 'Strictly' just three months after Natasha Kaplinsky's victory, securing its spot in the Saturday night schedule in the latter half of the year.Jill Halfpenny was crowned winner second time around, along with her partner, Darren Bennet. (credit:PA/PA Archive)
Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova(03 of16)
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Darren became the first male celebrity to triumph in the 'Strictly Come Dancing' final in 2005, beating Colin Jackson and eventual 'It Takes Two' presenter Zoe Ball in the process. (credit:Michael Boyd/PA Archive)
Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy(04 of16)
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Cricket player Mark Ramprakash took home the glitter-ball trophy a year later.Here he is performing with his professional partner, Karen Hardy, at the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Awards a year after his victory. (credit:David Davies/PA Archive)
Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler(05 of16)
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'Strictly' helped breathe new life into Alesha's career, when she and partner Matthew Cutler were crowned winners.Her smash hit solo single 'The Boy Does Nothing' followed soon after, not to mention a spot on the 'Strictly' judging panel... until Simon Cowell decided to snare her for 'BGT', that is. (credit:BBC)
Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup(06 of16)
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'Holby City' actor Tom Chambers' public profile skyrocketed, when he and his professional partner, Camilla Dallerup, were crowned winners of the sixth series.They beat TV presenter Lisa Snowdon and 'Negotiate With Love' singer Rachel Stevens in the live final, back in 2008. (credit:Mark Cuthbert via Getty Images)
Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan(07 of16)
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Chris Hollins gave professional dancer Ola Jordan her first, and so far only, win back in 2010. (credit:BBC)
Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev(08 of16)
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Kara and Artem had a double victory in 2010.Shortly after taking home the glitter-ball trophy, they announced that they were dating. (credit:Rowan Miles/PA Archive)
Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani(09 of16)
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Can we please just take a moment to appreciate this photo? (credit:David Jones/PA Archive)
Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace(10 of16)
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The tenth series was won by Olympian Louis Smith and his professional partner, Flavia Cacace. (credit:Georgie Gillard/Associated Newspapers/REX)
Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Skorjanec(11 of16)
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In the first ever all-female 'Strictly' final, Abbey beat Susanna Reid and Natalie Gumede to the glitter-ball trophy.Fourth place was also a female contestant, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor leaving the competition at the semi-final stage. (credit:Rui Vieira/PA Archive)
Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev(12 of16)
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Caroline Flack, who took part in the competition less than a year after leaving 'X Factor' spin-off show, 'Xtra Factor'. Apparently sensing her popularity was on the rise, Simon Cowell quickly signed her up to host the main show, alongside Olly Murs. (credit:BBC)
Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani(13 of16)
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When the 2015 contestants were first announced, no one would have tipped Jay for victory, particularly after he continuously played down his dancing abilities.

Cut to a couple of months later, though, and that Glitter-ball trophy was his.
(credit:Dave J Hogan via Getty Images)
Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton(14 of16)
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TV presenter Ore Oduba beat off stiff competition from 'Hollyoaks' star Danny Mac who was hot favourite to lift the glitterball trophy in 2016. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
Joe McFadden and Katya Jones(15 of16)
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'Holby City' actor Joe was the dark horse of the competition, rising through the ranks as the weeks went on to triumph over Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee and Gemma Atkinson in the 2017 final. (credit:PA Wire/PA Images)
Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton(16 of16)
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Stacey and Kevin were the surprise winners of the 2018 series, triumphing over other finalists Ashley Roberts, Faye Tozer and Joe Sugg. The pair later went on to begin a relationship. (credit:Aaron Chown - PA Images via Getty Images)