Strictly Come Dancing live: Sarah Hadland’s Rumba divides judges before Samba-thon

The judges are giving the celebs some last minute tips and they all look completely terrifed. I’m so excited for this.

“You want to stand out in the crowd,” Craig told them. “You’ve got to do anything and everything you can. You don’t want to be crashing into another couple.”

Here was their reaction as Craig finally found that 10 paddle:

“Stunning… wow,” said Motsi. “I have only one word to say. Perfection.”

“There we see the Rolls Royce of the American Foxtrot,” said Shirley, before revealing Anton had become emotional and shed a tear. He explained: “This is why we dance. It’s about how it makes us feel.”

“Unfortunately, now for the truth darling… your little right finger,” Craig began, before adding: “Fab-u-lous.”

As Tess pointed out, the Love Island star has been scored 39 on three occasions so far but Craig has been holding out with that 10.

They’ve gone all out with the lifts tonight and the dance, an American Smooth to Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved”, is dedicated to Aljaz and Janette’s adorable daughter Lyra.

The routine is… well, just absolutely stunning. Wonderfully smooth, and they made the lifts look easy. How it possible to be spun at such speed and not have a hair out of place?

Craig awarded Montell an 8 and Shirley went for a 9, while their fellow judges reached for their 10 paddles.

She has a total of 37, which is very well-deserved.

She’s been labelled “quite delightful” by Shirey, while Anton has praised Montell for improving every week. “This is as good as your Couple’s Choice,” he added. “I think this was absolutely brilliant.”

Craig said: “The dynamics in that dance were out of this world. Great, great, great… Amazing.”

“What you never lose is that shine, that sparkle,” Motsi told the Gladiators star. I think she could be in for a high score here.

Montell and Johannes are bouncing back from being in the dance-off last week with a Quickstep to Ella Fitzgerald’s “Get Happy”.

Montell is such a wonderful performer. This is a beautiful, joyous routine (as a Quickstep should be). And they both look so happy to be performing it! I know we have a few couples still to dance, and the Samba-thon, but Montell really doesn’t deserve the dance-off again.

He’s received a 7 from Craig, 8 from Motsi, and 9s from Shirley and Anton, giving him 33 — his highest score yet for a Latin dance.

I do love a good Paso face. That was slightly stompy in the more walk-like parts… I’m not sure how much Chris loved the Paso Doble.

Dianne’s dead is in tears, which is very sweet.

And Chris had a cracker ready for Craig. “Before you speak, I’d just like to say I’ve listened to your album and I thought it was really good,” he quipped. “We were saying 10 out of 10 really.”

Did it work? Craig had a few bones to pick but ultimately labelled it “a really solid performance”.

Tonight’s performance is special for Dianne as her parents have flown over and are sitting in the audience. Chris had made it his mission to last long enough in the competition so Di’s parents could see them dance and he’s actually done it!

Chris has plenty to celebrate when it comes to Strictly, but that’s another acheivement to add to the list.