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We've reached the Strictly Come Dancing quarter-final, and the pressure is on for the remaining contestants.

This weekend, the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 line-up will take to the dance floor with the hopes of bagging a spot in next week's semi-final and going all the way to the final, set to take place on Saturday, 18th December.

We're down to just five contestants from 15 at the start of the competition, including AJ Odudu, John Whaite, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Dan Walker and Rhys Stephenson.

Last week saw Tilly Ramsay become the ninth celebrity to be voted out of Strictly. It comes after the TikTok star found herself at the bottom of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with just 30 points for her Samba to Levitating by Dua Lipa.

Dan Walker was second to last, however, managed to sail through to the quarter final, with Rhys Stephenson, who scored a pretty impressive 35 points, ending up in the dance off with Tilly instead.

Walker has faced criticism for being in the competition, despite receiving much lower points than some of the other contestants.

Dan previously addressed the Strictly backlash on Twitter, while our columnist Ian Waite came to Dan's defence, saying: "I’m not surprised people are voting for him because they can empathise that he hasn’t had any experience before and they can see improvement week on week.”

And this week, Craig Revel Horwood explained why fans are keeping Dan on Strictly, as he revealed why he thinks Dan could make it to the Strictly final.

As we enter Week 11, join us for our live blog, where we'll be keeping you updated on all the latest from the night, including the judges' scores, comments, how to vote on Strictly and so on.

  • Thanks for watching!

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  • The vote is open!

    That's all for the dances tonight! Get voting for your favourite dancers now to make sure they make it into the semi-finals next week.

    Here is all the information you need about how to vote on Strictly.

  • AJ closes out the show with one wild Salsa!

    AJ Odudu has had some tough acts to follow on a particularly strong week, but she delivered with that energetic Salsa.

    "Pure sass and full of attitude, I want to party with you," began Shirley, but noted that a botched lift at the end held it back from any hopes of a 10.

    Anton said that he was stunned by how long the blunder at the end took to unfold, joking that he felt like asking Dave Arch to stop the music.

    "The landings generally from the lift were really really heavy," said Craig, adding that the ending was a "dance disaster".

    Motsi acknowledged that the end of the dance was regrettable, but encouraged AJ to "keep going" as she had almost perfected a Latin dance.

    7 + 8 + 8 + 7 = 30

  • Tango Dan bags 31 points

    Dan Walker has been towards the bottom of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in terms of judges' scores, but viewers can't seem to get enough of the routines from he and professional partner Nadiya Bychkova.

    This week, it was a Tango to Santa Maria by Gotan Project, with Motsi saying she loved the first half of the routine, but noted that things became a bit more "hasty" in the second.

    "The opening... exquisite. This is a new you, I love all that," began Anton, but added that some imperfections in the later half meant that it was "not your best".

    Craig said that Dan had "stepped it up", calling it his favourite of the BBC Breakfast presenter's dances to date, while Shirley agreed that it was a "great" effort.

    In the VT, Dan did say he was conscious that he and Nadiya are the only remaining couple yet to top the leaderboard – but with such tough competition, it looks like this won't be the week.

    The scores: 7 + 8 + 9 + 7 = 31

  • Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice are back on top!

    ...and breath! We were all a bit nervous about that daring dance, which saw Rose fly through the air in one pivotal moment, but it went off without a hitch!

    "We have never seen anything like that on the show," said presenter Tess Daly as the couple approached the judging panel.

    Craig Revel Horwood said "you really have to know each other very well" to attempt something like that, describing the routine as "fantastic".

    "If it's up to me, you are in the semi-final, that song was made for that routine," said Motsi Mabuse. "I loved it!"

    "The big thing you do for me is everytime I watch you dance, you touch my heart and I love it," added Anton Du Beke.

    9 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 39

  • Rose and Giovanni are ready for the floor!

    Rose is hoping for a return to form after three weeks of decreasing scores and a couple of errors last week. The routine contains a daring leap – will the risk pay off?

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  • Rhys and Nancy get a near-perfect score!

    9 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 39

    That sees them take the top spot so far tonight – but there's plenty more couples still to come.

  • Another jaw-dropping dance! Here's what the judges thought

    The crowd went wild for Rhys and Nancy's Argentine Tango, which Tess said gave everyone in the room "goosebumps".

    Anton praised Rhys for changing style from his usual high energy dances to a more mature and intense performance.

    Craig said that Rhys had done a "fantastic job" with "incredible" lifts, but did pick up on some minor technical faults.

    Motsi hailed the connection between Rhys and Nancy, while Shirley said that every time they land in the dance-off, they come back better.

    This bodes well for the scores...

  • Next up: Rhys and Nancy

    Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu are about to dance their Argentine Tango to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins.

    Can they avoid the dance-off this week? Let's see what they have to offer...

  • The results are in for John and Johannes

    Wow! That was brilliant!

    "We asked you to add some different content, you had some tricks, you did a beautiful knee slide here that was timed beautifully," began Shirley, adding that Johannes shouldn't worry about a failed lift in the last moment.

    Indeed, Anton joked that he's lifted some partners on Strictly that he couldn't wait to put down.

    Craig was more critical, attracting some boos from the studio audience, but ended on a positive note by saying: "You were a terrific dancer and you both danced brilliantly together."

    Motsi added that it was a "fantastic" start to the evening.

    The scores: 7 + 8 + 8 + 9 = 32

  • First up: John and Johannes!

    Can they match their incredible result from last week? Let's see as they take to the floor to perform a salsa to We Are Family by Sister Sledge.

    That elusive 10 from Craig hangs in the balance...

  • Here we go!

    My name is David Craig, writer for RadioTimes.com, and I'll be your guide through tonight's much-anticipated quarter-finals!

    Who are you backing?

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  • Welcome

    Welcome to our Strictly Come Dancing live blog.

    It's Week 11, which means we're getting closer and closer to the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final and finding out which one of our celebrities will lift the Glitterball for 2021.

    Ahead of tonight's show, here's a list of this week's Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances:

    • AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington – Salsa to Rhythm Is Gonna Get You/Get On Your Feet Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
    • Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice – American Smooth to This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole
    • Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova – Tango to Santa Maria by Gotan Project
    • John Whaite and Johannes Radebe – Salsa to We are Family by Sister Sledge
    • Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – Argentine Tango to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins

Authors

David Craig
David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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