Golden Ticket

Oct 17, 2025 by Rob

Lewis was the undoubted star of the show in Movie Week with his pimp slot paso earning the first ten of the series, courtesy of Motsi. And yet the Winner market on Betfair remained largely unmoved, with George since hardening as favourite, into 2.14 at time of posting, and Lewis drifting to 7.

The odds disparity between the two is a little perplexing, especially given George burnt through his ace card of CC with a pretty underwhelming effort, early in the running order, that was very much pitched at a younger audience, which isn’t the main voting demo on Strictly.

That Coldplay track for George’s tango tomorrow night looks a slightly incongruous choice too, but he has looked pretty decent in training room footage. Lewis has an ideal ballroom track for a classy foxtrot but after such a triumphant pimp there may be a slight come down for him.

It is essentially Lewis’s perceived ringer status vs George’s more novice credentials that is making the market believe it will ultimately play out in George’s favour, but Kelvin Fletcher won Strictly 2019 and he was brilliant from start to finish, and arguably as much of a ringer as Lewis, so it’s never clear cut.

Amber opened the show with an outstanding AS routine which, like Lewis’s paso, looks potentially highly reprisable in a final, and yet her price has drifted out to 24. The Winner market refuses to cut her any slack and while the first AT of the series earns plenty of fanfare, TPTB haven’t done her any favours with the song choice. Technique-wise, it looks like being strong.

It was Balvinder who fell between the cracks last week and ended up in the dance-off vs Ross. She’s now been given a great track for an impactful paso which should see her comfortably avoid the bottom two.

Harry was given what looked a generous 32 for his salsa, from a late r.o. position, and he now has the dreaded rumba.

Week 3 – Movie Week – judges’ leaderboard:

Lewis & Katya – Paso – (13) – 9, 10, 9, 9 = 37
Amber & Nikita – AS – (1) – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
Harry & Karen – Salsa – (12) – 8, 8, 8, 8 = 32
George & Alexis – Couple’s Choice – (3) – 6, 8, 9, 8 = 31
Alex & Johannes – Quickstep – (11) – 7, 8, 7, 8 = 30
Jimmy & Lauren – Rumba – (8) – 7, 7, 6, 8 = 28
La Voix & Aljaz – Waltz – (4) – 7, 7, 7, 7 = 28
Ellie & Vito – Samba – (10) – 6, 7, 7, 7 = 27
Balvinder & Julian – Foxtrot – (6) – 7, 7, 6, 6 = 26 – bottom 2
Karen & Carlos – CCC – (7) – 4, 7, 7, 7 = 25
Vicky & Kai – Charleston – (9) – 5, 7, 6, 7 = 25
Chris & Nadiya – Paso – (2) – 4, 6, 6, 6 = 22
Ross & Jowita – Paso – (5) – 4, 5, 5, 5 = 19 – eliminated

Stefan & Dianne – Bye (ill)

Alex has rumba too but while Alex’s routine looks more likely to hit the mark, it could easily be Harry who earns a more muted reception and low score for his.

The safety net for everyone appears to be Chris who has been handed salsa which looks a hospital pass courtesy of the producers, likely signalling his departure from the show. A ballroom instead and you would have given him a stronger chance of surviving week 4.

Stefan returns with a Charleston which should earn him enough plaudits to make it to week 5 but the fact he has used up his bye week may have the producers eyeing up an early exit from the show for him because it never wants withdrawals on its hands.

La Voix has the tricky CCC which is never easy but the show appears to be firmly invested in her progression.

Between the two CCs on the night it looks more likely Ellie will earn the pimp slot with hers. A routine being heralded as ‘all about Ellie’ looks the stuff of standing ovations from Motsi and Shirley, and teary-eyed eulogies. You can set your watch by Strictly’s inner workings and this is teed up to be the biggest of weeks yet for Ellie.

Jimmy is benefitting from Lauren’s excellent choreo and their ‘Soca Medley’ CC could call upon her new-found football skills. He is a delight in interview, on an improvement curve, and should be securing safe passage through to week 5.

Karen has endured a big comedown from the heady heights of her week 1 jive but QS offers the chance for her to play to her quick-footed strengths again so it should be a good night for her.

Vicky has the always difficult samba and it’s one she should be happy to get out the way early in the series run while numbers are big. Training footage hasn’t looked too bad and while unlikely to figure among the high scorers on the night, she should be able to produce a respectable effort which keeps her on a slow simmer setting, quietly under the radar.

Chris looks a confident call for third elimination, and the more interesting situation is just how low Ellie’s price might go if it is a triumphant pimp slot performance. She has already moved from a pre-lives low of 4.1, all the way out to 95, and is now back down to 8.8 based on the assumption of a big week for her. Welcome to the volatile world of TV and Specials betting.

Please do let us know who got your week 4 vote(s) when the exit poll opens at the end of tomorrow night’s show.

Strictly 2025 Exit Poll – Week 4

Week 4 – dances & songs:

Alex & Johannes – Rumba to ‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman
Harry & Karen – Rumba to ‘It Must Have Been Love’ by Roxette
Vicky & Kai – Samba to ‘La Isla Bonita’ by Madonna
Stefan & Dianne – Charleston to ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones & I
Karen & Carlos – Quickstep to ‘Marvellous Party’ by Beverley Knight
George & Alexis – Tango to ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay
Amber & Nikita – Argentine Tango to ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ by JADE
Chris & Nadiya – Salsa to ‘Maria’ by Ricky Martin
Ellie & Vito – Couple’s Choice to ‘Golden’ by HUNTR/X
La Voix & Aljaz – Cha Cha to ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ by Pat Benatar
Balvinder & Julian – Paso Doble to ‘Diablo Rojo’ by Rodrigo y Gabriela
Jimmy & Lauren – Couple’s Choice to ‘Soca Medley’
Lewis & Katya – Foxtrot to ‘L-O-V-E’ by Nat King Cole