Strictly Come Dancing 2021 live: All the action from Week Four as it happened

This live blog has concluded

09.00pm:

And that's it for another week of Strictly Come Dancing! Bit of a lacklustre week if you ask me, as people came down from the high of Movie Week. Still, most series have a week like this at some point, and now the only way is up...

Tomorrow, we'll find out who's leaving the dancefloor behind but I won't be blogging along, much to your presumed anguish - so tune in to BBC One tomorrow at 7:10pm to find out who's headed home.

We'll see you next week for the live blog. And remember - Keeeeeep Reading About Dancing!

08:54pm:

Scores are 5, 7, 8 and 8. 28 total. A bit higher than I expected in some ways.

We now have the full leaderboard – I'd say Judi and Graziano might be in trouble...

Anyway, the vote is now OPEN. Go to the Strictly site now and save your favourites!

08:51pm:

Craig basically slated the whole thing, Motsi agreed in a nicer way, and Shirley basically said AJ's long legs made it harder for her to hide mistakes. Not her dance, basically, but she's still good and it's OK to have a bad night.

Anton basically just said "you look nice!" and tried to run out his time so that he wouldn't have to be the bad guy. Classic Anton.

08:50pm:

Is it me, or is AJ struggling a bit? Think nerves might have gotten the better of her a week.

08:48pm:

Now, finally, AJ and Kai in the headline slot, doing a Samba. Somehow, I feel like this might be a bit better than Greg's from earlier. Though who knows?

08:45pm:

Broadly that seemed to go down well. I'm going to guess...7s and 8s? Because there were caveats. Though maybe some 9s?

Score was, in fact, eights across the board for a total of 32. Very nice.

08:41pm:

OK they've fully given up and had Adam Peaty pretend to dance in a pool. Using his upper body strength to good effect in these fancy lifts.

Also...bit saucy!

"Tell you what...I don't get out much, but I had a lovely time," says Tess.

08:39pm:

Was this next dance sponsored by the Aregentine Tango tourist board or something? Big Argentine Tango?

Anyway, Adam Peaty and Katya Jones are doing the first one of the series, and they're all going on about what a tricky dance it is. There's your live blogging for you.

08:37pm:

Scores are... 4, 6, 7 and 7. Total of 24.

08:32pm:

OK not her best dance but she is TRYING. HER. BEST! Shirley applauds her for the emotion, and Anton says it was "absolutely lovely." They all seem to like the change from her more comedic dancing of recent weeks.

08:30pm:

A confession – I am hopelessly biased in favour of Judi Love and Graziano, so apologies for losing my journalistic integrity. Anyway looks like she's doing an emotional dance this week in honour of her late parents. In the form of a waltz, specifically.

08:28pm:

5, 7, 7 and 7 for 26 total. I thought they might give it a bit more than that, but what do I know.

08:25pm:

MC Hammer and Dan Walker – together at last!

Dan has been MUCH better in this competition than I expected, and he did a decent job there I thought. Shirley thought it was "highly entertaining," and says he looks like he's believing in himself more.

"You can be 6 ft 6, but you can move FABULOUSLY," she says.

Dan adds: "If I can do that, anyone can." And apparently he's best mates with MC Hammer now.

08:22pm:

Dan and Nadiya Bychkova next doing the cha cha cha, and decide to awkwardly show it off to a load of children at Dan's old school, who look on nonplussed.

Apparently Dan got some tips from Len Goodman on this, so might have helped.

08:20pm:

Scores are in - 9, 9, 9, 9. 36 total, top score of the night so far, and Aljaž's top tango score.

08:16pm:

As official "On Their Feet" correspondent Tess has noted, Shirley and Motsi were on their feet during that, and Craig says he understands why Janette married Aljaž. Biggest story of the night has to be Craig's weird, irritable energy (he even had a go at Motsi!)

Anyway they love it, basically. Good for Sara.

08:13pm:

Next up - Sara Davies and Aljaž Škorjanec doing the tango. Sara's done well in ballroom before, so fingers crossed she can do it again!

Started out with an odd black and white look, but now they've danced into colour. You know when you've been Tangoed.

08:11pm:

Scores: 8, 8, 7, 8 for a total of 31. Not bad really, I guess they're harder on him because he's quite good.

Leaderboard time - Tilly and Nikita at the top, Greg and Karen at the bottom. Five more to go!

08:08pm:

Anton says it was a bit too big, not compact enough, but brilliantly high-energy. But Craig says it was "refreshing" and thanks them. Shirley says it needs polish.

Not exactly a banner week for enthusiastic responses is it? Typical they'd give me this one to live blog. Minnie will probably have 10s across the board next week. Tcha!

08:06pm:

Here they go, salsa-ing to a bit of BTS. This seems good! I wasn't actually a fan of last week (I'm in the minority, I know) but this is very energetic.

Is Rhys ahead of the beat though? No?

08:04pm:

Rhys and Nancy up next. I still haven't forgiven them for not fully explaining the intricacies of the Spider-Verse last week, but whatever, let's see them do their salsa.

08:03pm:

Score are 6, 7, 8 and 8 – I was so right! Genius. Turns out I am a ballroom dancing expert after all.

07:59pm:

Shirley said it was "flawless choreography" but basically seems to think it was a bit boring. Anton says John is a "super, super dancer," but offers some technical feedback. Craig said he "wasn't actually that fond of it," said it reminded him of "clubbing in Heaven." He's on good form tonight.

Says it "didn't come together tonight," and Tess says he's "getting very picky." I do find it funny how she occasionally just goes 'shut up, CRAIG,' after asking him for his opinion.

Anyway mixed reviews this week. 6-8s on the scores, I reckon.

07:56pm:

John and Johannes up next with the American Smooth! They have a lot to live up to after their three 10s last week.

07:54pm:

Scores are in –3, 5, 5, and 6, 19 total. They're in trouble! Assuming the Sense and Sensibility vote isn't powerful enough to keep him into the final no matter what.

07:51pm:

"There is no mistaking your personality," says Shirley, sounding like she's about to dump Greg after one terrible first date. And no, it's "not your best dance for me today," she adds. Sadly seems like he made a mistake early on, and at this stage in the competition they're not being forgiven.

"It did look like you'd just come out of a double hip operation," Craig says, in what may be the line of the night.

07:49pm:

I somehow feel that this is not Greg's dance. But his sleeves certainly get a 10 from me.

Anyway, feel like Greg's fans should get voting later tonight...

07:48pm:

Greg and Karen are now up, and they're doing the Samba, aka the dance of death, known for sending home unlucky celebs. But never fear! They're also incorporating...the macarena! What could go wrong?

07:45pm:

Scores are in: 6, 8, 9, 9. 32 total. Quite a drift in scoring from the judges there!

07:41pm:

Missing a bit of attack in that, I think. And Craig isn't too happy either, says they can "go a lot further." Motsi disagrees, says she felt their "intention," "determination" and "attack from the leg," much like a Super Smash Bros battle against Captain Falcon.

07:37pm:

Next up, Tilly and Nikita, doing the paso doble. "She must become that strong woman," according to the slightly intense VT.

Oh dear, Nikita seems to have been caught out in the rain shortly before this performance, what a shame.

07:32pm

Craig has a litany of criticisms to feed back (including some posture issues) but is generally pro-Tom in this case. Motsi says they're "just shining" and Shirley likes the costumes. "Footwork, of course, needs work."

Apparently Tom has the "perfect shape" for ballroom, which conjures up images of a dancing dodecahedron (no, just me?) and generally it seems quite positive.

Score are in: 7, 8, 7, 7, for a total of 29.

07:30pm

He seems quite good at this ballroom, though my in-house expert tells me he needs to get his elbow up. Anyway great song, nice suit, very pleasant.

7:27pm

Next up, Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden McFly-ing to the moon with a Foxtrot. His first ballroom, apparently, thanks to a COVID- forced week off earlier in the series.

Remember when these VTs were so weird, like "oh, I'm really scared about doing ballroom - so Amy's taken me to a haunted house to help tackle my fears?" I miss those times, now we just LEARN about DANCING like total mugs.

7:25pm

Judges' scores - 7, 6, 6, 8. OK, that makes it easier.

7:24pm

This vintage shop-themed number seems...fine? Maybe a little sedate? But I am sadly not a professional ballroom dancer, so it's entirely possible this was the dance of the night.

Now over to the judges! Shirley say there were "one or two little mistakes" and Anton said it was a "refreshing spritz," whatever that means. Craig thinks she did a good job on the solo syncopated New York (yeah, me too Craig, totally) but that she should "extend her lines" (*nods sagely*).

Anyway, will look forward to the scores so I can actually tell where this fits in the pantheon of Strictly dances.

7:18pm

Rose Ayling-Ellis and Graziano up first with a Cha Cha. And something about a beret? Very Emily in Paris, or rather RAE in Elstree.

7:14pm

Tess and Claudia seem to have come as two halves of a Dennis the Menace cosplay tonight. Kinda works!

I always wonder at this stage whether the judges decide beforehand who will get to do a little dance and who just awkwardly waves as they cross the floor. Maybe there's a rota?

7:13pm

Finally, Strictly kicks off for another week. I don't know about you, but I'm excited.

Just for your records, I should introduce myself - my name's Huw Fullerton and I am this week's somewhat unlikely Strictly correspondent. Normally I live blog things like Game of Thrones, but as long as Dave Arch And His Wonderful Orchestra don't strike up a cover of The Rains Of Castamere I should be able to avoid any Vietnam-style flashbacks.

Anyway, on to the first awkward VT! After that opening theme, of course

7:03pm

This is your 6-ish minute warning (that's a thing, right?). Anyway, here's the Strictly song and dances for Week 4. And you said we never get you anything.

• John Whaite and Johannes Radebe -American Smooth to I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) by George Michael and Aretha Franklin
• AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington – Samba to Don’t Go Yet by Camila Cabello
• Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – Salsa to Butter by BTS
• Sara Davies and Aljaz Skorjanec – Tango to Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel
• Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova – Cha Cha Cha to U Can’t Touch This/Superfreak by MC Hammer/Rick James
• Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin – Paso Doble to Diablo Rojo by Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Greg Wise and Karen Hauer – Samba to Macarena by Los Del Rio
• Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice – Cha Cha Cha to Raspberry Beret by Prince
• Adam Peaty and Katya Jones – Argentine Tango to Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac
• Judi Love and Graziano Di Prima – Waltz to Hero by Mariah Carey
• Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden – Foxtrot to Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra

6:30pm

The popcorn has all been eaten, the screen has shuttered and we've put away the clapperboards for another year as Strictly Come Dancing leaves the glitz and glamour of movie week behind.

Tonight, we're back to pure, uncut original flavour Strictly - but who will top the leaderboard, who'll stumble into the dance-off, and who'll sort of mill about in the middle while people on Twitter argue about the judges' scores?

Join us on this week's live blog to find out (or at least, to see us natter on about stuff you can easily just watch on TV) when the show kicks off properly at 7.10pm. Be there, or be square...dance.

(We're working on the dancing puns).

Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday on BBC One. The results show airs Sunday at 7:05pm. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.