Strictly hosts Tess Daly & Claudia Winkleman tumble through a string of hilarious Blackpool blunders after shocking twist axing the dance-off
Saturday night’s Strictly Come Dancing Blackpool special was expected to be a sparkling, picture-perfect show — but only minutes after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced that the dance-off had officially been scrapped, things started slipping hilariously off-script.
Fans were still stunned by the surprise news that none of the remaining six couples would be eliminated, following La Voix’s injury withdrawal, when eagle-eyed viewers caught a series of awkward on-air missteps from the beloved hosting duo.
Tess was the first to falter. Speaking to former Strictly finalist Ashley Roberts in the audience, she accidentally revealed that Ashley would be “performing later on” — despite her appearance being part of the results segment, which is traditionally presented as airing the next day. The slip became even more noticeable when Tess suddenly fell silent, staring at a fixed point as though the teleprompter had simply given up.
Claudia faced her own stumble near the end of the show. While reminding viewers that nobody would be leaving the competition, she mistakenly said no one would be going home “tonight” instead of “tomorrow night,” unintentionally breaking the illusion of Strictly’s filming schedule.
Fans quickly took to X to poke fun:
“Oops, Claudia’s timeline glitching again!”
“Did Tess forget to plug in the teleprompter?”
“Someone put 50p in Tess, please.”
Ironically, these gaffes came during what will be Tess and Claudia’s final Blackpool Week, after announcing they will leave Strictly at the end of this season — turning the night into both a celebration and an emotional farewell.
The broadcast also delivered heartbreaking news: La Voix, seated in the front row, appeared visibly heartbroken as the hosts confirmed that medical advice forced her to withdraw. Minutes later, Tess surprised the remaining celebrities by revealing that all scores would roll over to next week — with no dance-off and no eliminations.
On Instagram, La Voix posted an emotional message:
“This isn’t the glittering exit I imagined. My spirit wanted to keep dancing, but my foot had other ideas.”
The Blackpool stage, as always, delivered unforgettable performances:
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Lewis Cope & Katya Jones kicked off the night with a show-stopping Charleston, earning their second perfect 40 of the season.
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Balvinder Sopal & Julian Caillon stunned the judges with their best score to date.
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Amber Davies & Nikita Kuzmin lit up the ballroom with a lively Quickstep.
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Karen Carney & Carlos Gu unleashed a fiery Paso Doble that received a standing ovation.
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Alex Kingston & Johannes Radebe delivered a glamorous, sultry Couple’s Choice.
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George Clarke & Alexis Warr closed the night with a high-energy Salsa rated their strongest routine yet.
With all scores carrying over and pressure mounting, next week’s show promises to be one of the most decisive — and dramatic — episodes of the season.
