Debbie McGee Makes 'Strictly Come Dancing' History With Tango Routine

It was a big night for Debbie McGee on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ this weekend, after she became the first of this year’s famous contestants to be given a perfect score by the judges.

Debbie - best known for serving as the assistant to her late husband, the magician Paul Daniels - was awarded 40 points for her Tango routine on Saturday night (5 November).

She and partner Giovanni Pernice performed their dance to a remixed version of the Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’, making ‘Strictly’ history by getting the first 40 this early on in the competition.

Even Craig Revel Horwood, a notoriously tough nut to crack, came out from behind the judges’ table to jokingly bow down at Debbie’s feet after her performance, before giving her 10 points, as did fellow judges Shirley Ballas, Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli.

While Bruno told the pair their routine had been like watching a “Tango masterclass”, Darcey agreed: “That was extraordinary. You are on a par with your professional. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Tango like that from a celebrity. Amazing.”

Former ballet dancer Debbie said earlier in the series that ‘Strictly’ had made her “genuinely happy” for the first time since the loss of her husband last year.

She admitted: “Until now, there was still this knot in my stomach and… the fact I’ve lost him [was there].

“But these last three weeks on ‘Strictly’, everyone is so lovely, at every level, I love all the other contestants, everybody I’m working with… they all make you feel so good and so wanted. They make you feel like they really want you on the programme.”

Find out which contestants weren’t so lucky and wound up in the bottom two in Sunday’s (5 November) ‘Strictly’ results show, kicking off at 7.15pm on BBC One.