Will Mellor Tops Strictly Leaderboard For The First Time Since Week One With Unique Charleston

Unfortunately, Ellie Taylor's Jive wasn't quite so well-received.

It was a big night for Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor on Saturday as he found himself at the top of the leaderboard for the first time since week one.

Will and his professional partner Nancy Xu opened the show with their unique take on a Charleston to Kula Shaker’s hit Hush.

The colourful routine went down a storm with the judging panel, earning the couple a score of 38.

This was not only their highest score of the series, but also marked the first time they’d topped the leaderboard since their very first performance at the beginning of the run.

Will Mellor and Nancy Xu
Will Mellor and Nancy Xu
Guy Levy via PA Media

Just behind on 37 points was Hamza Yassin, who has remained a frontrunner throughout the competition.

He and Jowitza Pryztal’s Argentine Tango proved divisive among the panel, with Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse deeming it perfect, while Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke had some more severe critiques.

That being said, Craig and Anton gave it eight and nine marks, respectively, putting Hamza at second place on the night.

At the other end of the spectrum was comedian Ellie Taylor, who took on the Jive with her dance partner Johannes Radebe.

Unfortunately for Ellie, the judges seemed pretty unconvinced by her efforts, earning her 25 points overall (which included just five points from Craig).

Kym Marsh did not perform on Saturday after testing positive for Covid, but is expected to return to the competition next weekend.

Find out which five of the other couples have made it through to this year’s quarter-finals in Sunday night’s results show airing at 6pm on BBC One.

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