Strictly Come Dancing 2021: Nina Wadia is the first celebrity to be eliminated

Nina Wadia and her professional dance partner Neil Jones are the first couple to be eliminated from this year’s Strictly Come Dancing after facing off against Katie McGlynn and Gorka Marquez in Sunday’s dance off.

Soap star Nina, 52, and Neil, 39, performed their Tango to Would I Lie To You? by Eurythmics while Katie, 28, and Gorka, 31, danced their Jive to Good 4 U by Olivia Rodrigo in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition.

Three out of the four judges voted to save Katie and Gorka, with Anton Du Beke being the only person on the panel putting his vote behind Nina and Neil.

Last Saturday’s first live show of the series saw all couples take to the dance floor for the first time with no public vote.

This week, hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman fronted the second live show as the couples tried to impress judges; Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton and head judge, Shirley Ballas.

The judges’ scores this week were added to those from last week, and were then combined with the results of the viewers’ votes to decide the lowest scoring two couples facing the dance off.

Choosing to send Nina home, Craig said: ‘Well, both couples clearly upped their game from the first time they danced. Nina, you got every step right.

Face off: Nina and Neil faced off against Hollyoaks’ Katie McGlynn and Gorka Marquez in Sunday’s dance off

‘Katie, you really kept the energy up all the way through to the end with lots of retraction but the couple I’d like to save is Katie and Gorka.’

Motsi – who also chose to save Katie and Gorka – added: ‘First of all, I want to say to both couples well done for their dance off. I really thought that both of you gave absolutely all that you’ve got and gave the best performance you did tonight.

‘I just found that one couple was just that little bit more convincing so that is why I’m going to go with Katie and Gorka.’

Putting his vote behind Nina and Neil, Anton told the couples: ‘This is exactly how you want a dance off to be. You want to do your best performance and I think you both did.

Song of choice: Soap star Nina and Neil performed their Tango to Would I Lie To You? by Eurythmics

‘This is the best you’ve done both dances. The one who upped their game and performed the best I think was Nina and Neil.’

However, head Judge Shirley also decided to save Katie and Gorka, sending Nina packing.

Shirley said: ‘Well this is one of the closest battles I think we’ve ever had in a dance off. Both couples upped their game. Both couples were absolutely delightful to watch.

‘Neither couple had mistakes so I’ve decided to go with the couple who had more advanced technical actions in their dance and that couple is Katie and Gorka.’

Judges: Three out of the four judges voted to save Katie and Gorka, with Anton Du Beke being the only person on the panel putting his vote behind Nina and Neil

Best to impress: This week hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman fronted the second live show as the couples tried to impress judges

Emotional: When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Nina said: ‘It’s been really fun, thank you so much. [Neil] is incredible, thank you’

When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Nina said: ‘It’s been really fun, thank you so much. [Neil] is incredible, thank you.’

Neil was then asked if he had any words for his partner, Nina, and sweetly told her: ‘You’ve been a dream. Second partner on the show for me. I wouldn’t have wanted anybody else.

‘You’ve been fantastic and so much fun. Literally, we’re like a married couple – you’ve got both husbands here tonight! It’s been so much fun together, you said you wanted to dance and you’ve done two fantastic dances and I’m really, really, really proud of you.’

Sunday’s results show also featured a routine from Strictly’s professional dancers to Something Better by Tom Grennan and a show-stopping musical performance from singer-songwriter Griff.

Goodbye: Neil was then asked if he had any words for his partner, Nina, and sweetly told her: ‘You’ve been a dream. Second partner on the show for me. I wouldn’t have wanted anybody else’

Yay: John Whaite and Johannes Radebe looked delighted as they made it through

Cute: Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin sailed through to Movie Week after their stellar dance

Yay: Katya Jones and Adam Peaty looked delighted as they made it through

The remaining fourteen couples will take to the dancefloor next week in a spectacular Movie Week Special when Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday 9 October at 6:45pm. The results show will follow on Sunday 10 October at 7:10pm on BBC One.  

Saturday’s episode of Strictly Come Dancing was the most watched of the series so far, according to overnight ratings.

The programme was watched by an average audience of 8.2 million people with a 48.5% share of the television audience, the BBC said.

The viewing figure for the BBC One celebrity dancing competition peaked at 8.8 million.

Last week’s programme was watched by an average audience of 7.9 million while the launch show was watched by 7.0 million viewers.

Keep dancing: Nina and Neil enjoyed one final dance in the Strictly ballroom

Saturday’s episode saw influencer Tilly Ramsay move her celebrity chef father Gordon Ramsay to tears after being given the joint best score for her Charleston.

Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies, who was bottom last week, was also awarded 34 for her foxtrot with Aljaz Skorjanec.

Celebrities including comedians Robert Webb and Judi Love, BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker, actor Greg Wise and actress Rose Ayling-Ellis are also among the stars taking part in the current series.

McFly singer Tom Fletcher and his partner Amy Dowden were absent from Saturday’s show after they tested positive for coronavirus.

Next week: The remaining fourteen couples will take to the dancefloor next week in a spectacular Movie Week Special