EastEnders star Lacey Turner and her partner Vito Coppola topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard on Saturday, October 31, 2026, with a Charleston that scored 36 points in the BBC show’s Halloween special. Sunday night’s results show will bring the programme’s first-ever triple dance-off, along with a surprise voice cameo from Sir Ian McKellen.
What We Know
Eleven couples took to the ballroom for Halloween Week, broadcast live on BBC One. Turner, 38, and Coppola danced a Charleston to “Crazy Stupid Love” by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah, earning 36 points from the judges. According to the Evening Standard, Motsi Mabuse called it the “best dance of the night.”
John Nellis and Katya Jones were close behind on 35 points for their tango to Slayyyter’s “Dance…”. Australian singer Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington, dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams, scored 33 for a Viennese waltz to “Unchained Melody,” a routine Craig Revel Horwood described as “absolutely gorgeous.” Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby also reached 33 with an Argentine tango.
Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin earned 32 for their Viennese waltz to “My Favourite Things,” with Anton Du Beke calling it her “best dance yet.” Will Best and Dianne Buswell matched that score with their Couple’s Choice to Big Brovaz’s “Nu Flow.”
Further down the table, Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu scored 30 for a jive, Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu 27 for a salsa, and Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał 26 for a “Ghostbusters” tango. Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley, whose samba Revel Horwood said “needs finessing,” shared the bottom spot on 25 points with Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita. Shirley Ballas told Stoecker her quickstep “wasn’t your best”; the Mirror noted the pair had led the leaderboard only a week earlier.
The show was presented by Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis, with Mabuse, Revel Horwood, Du Beke and head judge Ballas on the panel, several of them in full Halloween costume.
Background
Halloween Week is traditionally one of the most theatrical nights of the Strictly calendar, and this year the BBC added a new twist. For the first time in the show’s history, three couples rather than two will face the dance-off. The three pairs with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will dance again, and the judges will vote to eliminate one couple, rather than choosing who to save.
The spooky theme carries over into Sunday’s results show. According to PA Media, as reported by RTÉ, the professional dancers will perform a Dracula-themed group routine to Tame Impala’s “Dracula.” The number, recorded earlier this year, opens with Alexis Warr and Nikita Kuzmin on a date at a drive-in cinema before Kuzmin is revealed to be a vampire. At its climax, viewers will hear McKellen, 87, reading an extract from Bram Stoker’s novel, recorded especially for the show.
McKellen’s cameo comes in a week when British screen culture lost one of its giants: his longtime friend and “X-Men” co-star Patrick Stewart died at 86. Strictly also had some competition for weekend attention after the record-breaking finale of The Celebrity Traitors, won by comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft.
Reactions
Not everyone is excited about the new elimination format. The Mirror reported that some viewers criticised the triple dance-off online. One Reddit user wrote that they were “scared of my faves ending up there,” while another argued that “if the judges are playing favourites or someone just has a bad week, it could be devastating.”
What’s Next
The results show airs on BBC One on Sunday, November 1, at 7.10pm, with a performance from Becky Hill alongside the professionals’ Dracula routine. One of the three couples in the dance-off will leave the competition, leaving ten pairs in the race for the Glitterball trophy.
Sources
- Evening Standard via AOL: EastEnders actress Lacey Turner praised for “best dance of night” on Strictly
- Mirror via AOL: Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in full on Halloween Week
- RTÉ / PA Media: Ian McKellen to make cameo in Strictly Halloween show
- TV Guide UK: Strictly Come Dancing Halloween week 2026 songs and dances