Actress Nina Wadia has become the first celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing.
She lost a dance-off with Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn and professional dancer Gorka Marquez on Sunday night’s show.
Wadia, known for her roles in EastEnders and Goodness Gracious Me, had been scored 18 for her tango on Saturday with partner Neil Jones.
The judges’ scores from Saturday were added to those from last week before being combined with the results from a public vote, with the bottom two couples then competing in a dance-off in front of the judges.
After opting to save McGlynn, judge Craig Revel Horwood said: “Well, both couples clearly upped their game from the first time they danced.
“Nina, you got every step right. 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.”
Their time in the #Strictly Ballroom was short and sweet, but @Nina_Wadia and @Mr_NJones will always have *that* Samba 💙 pic.twitter.com/CuuLH24DM2
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 3, 2021
Head judge Shirley Ballas said Sunday’s show featured “one of the closest battles I think we’ve ever had in a dance-off”.
“Both couples upped their game. Bot couples were absolutely delightful to watch,” she said.
“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.”
When asked about her time on the show, Wadia said: “It’s been really fun, thank you so much.
“Neil is incredible, thank you.”
Jones added: “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 group performance from the professional dancers to Tom Grennan singing his track Something Better.
Singer songwriter Griff also performed her new single One Night to a professional routine.
Television presenter AJ Odudu and her partner Kai Widdrington topped the overall leaderboard for the first two weeks.
However, influencer Tilly Ramsay’s Charleston received the joint top score on Saturday alongside Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies’ foxtrot.
Next week the remaining 14 couples will perform movie-themed routines.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday at 6.45pm.