Strictly Come Dancing 2023 week 10 recap: Best moments from epic show

With only six couples remaining and all to play for, the stakes were high in this week's episode which opened with a lively American Smooth from Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.

Although the pair have consistently wowed the judges and audiences at home, the judges weren't afraid of dishing out criticism with the first routine of the night.

The performance garnered a standing ovation from the audience but lead judge Shirley Ballas thought the routine was unlike a typical American Smooth, saying it was "more gestural and fun" than you would usually expect.

Similarly, fan-favourite Nigel Harman and his partner Katya Jones failed to completely impress the judges with their Rumba but Anton Du Beke said it was "well danced" and applauded their inclusion of classic jazz style in their routine.

A standout compliment came from Craig Revel Horwood who praised Harman's arms, saying they were "gorgeous" and in perfect form. Even so, their routine wasn't one of the standouts of the night and the pair sat in the bottom two of the leaderboard at the end of the night.

Next up was Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe's Paso Doble which was an intense routine filled with impressive footwork and it paid off as Annabel scored her highest overall score of the season with a 36. Anton also awarded the dance the perfect score of 10, which certainly left Annabel surprised.

In a surprise turn of the night, Angela Scanlon - who is usually at the higher end of the leaderboard - failed to completely dazzle the judges this week with her Cha Cha to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive.

Although the TV presenter had a blast doing the routine with partner Carlos Gu, Motsi Mabuse said that Angela's hips were a "little bit tight" which ultimately took away from what you need to see in a Cuban Cha Cha.

Anton admitted that he spotted some nerves in Angela's performance but once she got into the routine, everything came together and was a generally good performance. But Craig's comments echoed Motsi's as he delivered plenty of criticism about her form and hips, but did admit that he enjoyed the disco spin on the routine.

In one of the most emotional performances of the night, Bobby Brazier's contemporary dance routine was a tribute to his late mother, Jade Goody.

Brazier had previously spoken about wanting to do a routine dedicated to his mum but this week took to the dance floor with Dianne Buswell for a dance that left many welling up.

In fact, when delivering their verdicts, lead judge Shirley and Anton were visibly emotional and moved by Bobby's performance with Shirley declaring it as Bobby's "best number to date".

While Anton also loved the dance, he said what was "more important": "I've got a six-year-old son and if he grows up to be as beautiful a man as you, we'll be very proud."

The routine was one of the highlights of the night as Bobby's dad, Jeff Brazier, tearfully applauded his son from the sidelines and Bobby's dance scored a chart-topping 37.

But it was the final routine of the night that seemed to divide some opinion among fans and judges. Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola's Argentine Tango was an intense feat of eye contact and impressive leg work but Anton said he thought the routine lacked "intensity" and similarly, Craig wanted more "intimacy" from the pair.

Online, fans spared no moment in holding back from their own thoughts about the routine which many thought deserved the perfect score of 40 and was one of the most intimate performances from the duo so far.

Nevertheless, Ellie and Vito went out on the ultimate high of the evening, once again sitting at the number one spot on the leaderboard.

The Strictly Come Dancing results show airs at 7:20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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