Strictly Come Dancing has been nothing but sequins, shimmies, and sassy comebacks, but this weekend, it’s going to get very real with the first elimination.
One celebrity’s journey on the BBC series will come to an abrupt end after a dance-off, and Nick Knowles could be the first to go due to his profession.
Over the 21 previous series, one celebrity has had to do what nobody wants to – be the first to leave. It now transpires that some of the people who’ve been told to kick, ball, change right off the premises have some things in common.
Since Strictly began in 2004, 38% of the first stars to go have all been working as presenters, making it by far, the most common occupation (actor comes in second). It began with Quentin Willson before continuing with stars including Gregg Wallace, 59, Kaye Adams, 61, and most recently, Les Dennis, 70.
This puts Nick, 62, who is the host of DIY SOS, in a potentially vulnerable position. Sam Quek MBE, 35, is also a presenter but is perhaps known first and foremost for her incredible hockey career, and Olympic gold medal.
When looking deeper at the attributes of the stars who leave first, it turns out Nick’s partner – Luba Mushtuk – may not help his chances either.
Out of the 15 professional dancers with partners on Strictly 2024, only three have ever been eliminated first – Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, and Luba.
Luba, 34, has been given a partner three times before Nick and left first with rower James Cracknell, 52, meaning she has left first 33% of the time. This equals 33-year-old Nancy’s statistics, who departed the series first with Les in the most recent series.
Meanwhile, Neil, 42, has only been given a partner twice – he left first with actress Nina Wadia, 55, but made it to fifth position with footballer Alex Scott, 39.
Neil could be hoping Toyah Willcox could help him to adjust his Strictly statistics in a positive way. However, she’s currently bottom of the leaderboard after one of two performances, so could be in the firing line.
In terms of gender, 61% of the first to leave have been men, and 81% of the first to be eliminated have been over the age of 40. Once again, the odds are against Nick.
His co-stars Toyah, 66, Chris McCausland, 47, Wynne Evans, 52, Paul Merson, 56, and Sarah Hadland, 53, also fall into the category.
During Strictly’s entire run, only one person below the age of 30 has left first – tennis player Martina Hingis, who was 28 at the time. This is great news for Tasha Ghouri and Tom Dean, who are 26 and 24 respectively.
Every Strictly star who's left the contest first:
S1 – Jason Wood and Kylie Jones
S2 – Quentin Willson and Hazel Newbury
S3 – Siobhan Hayes and Matthew Cutler
S4 – Nicholas Owen and Nicole Cutler
S5 – Brian Capron and Karen Hardy
S6 – Phil Daniels and Flavia Cacace
S7 – Martina Hingis and Matthew Cutler
S8 – Goldie and Kristina Rhianoff
S9 – Edwina Currie and Vincent Simone
S10 – Johnny Ball and Iveta Lukosiute
S11 – Tony Jacklin and Alioni Vilani
S12 – Gregg Wallace and Alioni Vilani
S13 – Iwan Thomas and Ola Jordan
S14 – Melvin Odoom and Janette Manrara
S15 – Chizzy Akudolu and Pasha Kovalev
S16 – Susannah Constantine and Anton Du Beke
S17 – James Cracknell and Luba Mushtuk
S18 – Jacqui Smith and Anton Du Beke
S19 – Nina Wadi and Neil Jones
S20 – Kaye Adams and Kai Widdrington
S21 – Les Dennis and Nancy Xu
It was initially uncertain whether Nick would even get to perform on Saturday night after he ‘damaged’ his shoulder while ‘hurriedly’ replacing the tyre on his car.
Nick has been giving his fans regular updates and shared how physio would be attending his training sessions to make the final decision.
The doctors have now given him the sign-off, and he’ll be taking on his second routine.
Nick and Luba jived to We Built This City by Starship on the launch episode, and found themselves 12th on the leaderboard. This weekend, they will be tackling the American Smooth to Parklife by Blur.
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After every celebrity has performed their second routine on Saturday, the judges’ scores with be combined with the audience’s votes to determine who will be in the dance-off.
The judges – Shirley Ballas, 64, Motsi Mabuse, 43, Craig Revel Horwood, 59, and Anton Du Beke, 58 – will then watch their second attempt during Sunday evening’s results show. They will instantly be asked to decide who leaves first out of the two pairs, and the couple with the most votes must say goodbye to the iconic dance floor.
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Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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