Strictly Come Dancing celebrities and professionals return to the ballroom tonight with fresh controversy engulfing the BBC show in the wake of Wynne Evans and Katya Jones‘ ‘hand incident’.
The pair have spent this week defending their awkward exchange in which Katya moved Wynne’s hand away from her waist and snubbed his attempt at a high-five.
This weekend will see the fourth celebrity to be eliminated after Nick Knowles last week joined Tom Dean and Toyah Willcox in being voted out of the competition.
Follow MailOnline’s live coverage for live commentary and reaction during tonight’s live show
Good evening!
Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of Strictly Come Dancing as we enter week five.
Controversy returned to the show this week after Wynne Evans and Katya Jones’ infamous ‘hand incident’ set tongues wagging last weekend resulting in the pair defending their awkward encounter.
The pair will be hoping to put the incident and focus talk on their dancing when they attempt to cha-cha-charge up the leaderboard this evening.
We will provide a live commentary of all the dancers tonight and endeavour to bring you the most eye-catching pictures and video from proceedings plus your reaction on social media.
So for now sit back, relax and let’s see which celebrities rip up the dancefloor or face the risk of waltzing off tomorrow night.
Strictly’s Wynne Evans put on a brave face as he left his London hotel and head to the studio ahead of Saturday’s live show, after becoming the bookies’ favourite to leave the competition next.
The opera singer, 52, – who was once a frontrunner for the Glitterball Trophy alongside his dance partner Katya Jones, 35, – is just 5/1 to be sent packing from the competition this week having been 25/1 in the same market last week.
The duo have spent the week defending their awkward exchange during Saturday night’s live show.
Viewers spotted the toe-curling moment Katya moved Wynne’s hand away from her waist and snubbed his attempt at a high-five with her.
But he’s not letting the disheartening results prediction get him down and was seen with a huge grin on his face as he made his way to Elstree solo.
Fans go crazy as Strictly dancer shows off skills in the kitchen
Vito Coppola brought his energy from the dancefloor straight to the kitchen as he made his debut on This Morning’s cooking segment, following his MasterChef win.
The 31-year-old is competing tonight with celebrity partner Sarah Hadland and took a break from rehearsals to appear on the ITV show where viewers appeared enthused his his bubbly personality.
One said: ‘Please make Vito a regular. He brings such joy and innocent passion. I could listen to Vito talk all day’; ‘I really like Vito but my he can talk!’
Later in the show, Vito sat down for an interview alongside his Strictly partner Sarah. The pair were once again full of energy, prompting Ben to say: ‘Listening to you is exhausting’
Sarah replied: ‘I don’t know, we immediately connected, we are both like puppies.’
Vito added: ‘She’s more energetic than me, multiply by 10.
Last month, Vito was crowned the new winner for the 2024 series of MasterChef.
Week Five dances: Who is jiving to Outkast and waltzing to Billy Joel
For those of you who can’t wait for tonight’s programme to start, here’s a treat for you.
Here is a list of dances that will be performed this evening and the numbers accompanying them.
Ever thought about doing the Rumba to Oasis…now’s your chance to see how it’s done
Tonight’s dances (may not be in order):
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe – Couple’s Choice to Skeleton Move by KG, Zanda Zakuza
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez – Viennese Waltz to She’s Always A Woman To Me by Billy Joel
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin – Quickstep to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola – Samba to Do It Do It Again by Rafaella Carrà
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec – Tango to Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell – Waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas – Paso Doble to Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona
JB Gill and Amy Dowden – Jive to Hey Ya! by Outkast
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer – Samba to Car Wash by Rose Royce
Pete Wicks and Jowitza Przystal – Rumba to Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu – American Smooth to Get Here by Sam Smith
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones – Quickstep to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra
Strictly Come Dancing week four – Who was eliminated and who topped the leaderboard?
Before we look ahead to tonight’s offering…let’s just remind you what happened last week.
Nick Knowles, the oldest male celebrity in this year’s line-up, became the third star to be kicked off the ballroom after he and Luba Mushtuk lost the dance-off to Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu. LINK
And Tasha Ghouri earned the first 10s as she impressed judges with her performance of the Charleston with partner Aljaz Skorjanec to Unhealthy by Anne-Marie, Shania Twain
Here is the leaderboard in full:
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec (9+10+10+10) = 39
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas (8+9+9+8) = 34
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones (8+9+9+8) = 34
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe (8+8+8+9) = 33
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell (6+8+8+8) = 30
JB Gill and Amy Dowden (7+8+7+8) = 30
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu (7+8+7+8) = 30
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał (7+7+8+7) = 29
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin (7+7+7+7) = 28
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola (6+7+7+7) = 27
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer (4+6+6+7) = 23
Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk (4+6+5+6) = 21
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez (4+5+5+6) = 20
The Strictly story of the week has undoubtedly been Wynne Evans and Katya Jones’ awkward ‘hand incident’ after viewers last weekend spotted the professional moving the opera singer’s hand away from her waist and snub his attempted high-five.
The dance partners have spent the week defending their toe-curling exchange during last Saturday night’s live show.
On Monday the pair appeared together on Strictly spin off show It Takes Two where Katya declared Wynne had been ‘portrayed as someone he is not’, as they insisted his ‘wandering hand’ incident was a silly joke.
Clinging to his arm, she said: ‘The idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense, and those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. So hopefully this will be the end of it, and you just keep making me smile.’
However, Wynne admitted he had watched the footage of the incident back and confessed: ‘I can see how people may have misinterpreted it.’
Hours after the broadcast, neither Katya or Wynne raised a smile as they walked to their training studio in Wales ahead of rehearsals for tonight.
The controversy has left the pair in serious danger of being booted off Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday’s results show according to the bookies.
Opera singer Wynne, 52, – who was once a frontrunner for the Glitterball Trophy – is just 5/1 to be sent packing from the competition this week having been 25/1 in the same market last week.
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Latest updates and reaction from Strictly Come Dancing week five as Wynne Evans and Katya Jones return to ballroom in wake of ‘hand incident’
