Survival Mode

Dec 5, 2025 by Rob

After weeks of Winner market domination trading around Evens, the George dam finally broke last Saturday as he drifted out above 3, and Karen took over favouritism, now trading around 1.8. It has been quite the flip flop, but one you sensed had been brewing for some time.

George has put in a series of lacklustre routines and it was the same again with his misfiring quickstep, before a poor Instant Dance Challenge tango, made most memorable by Alexis barking at him to lose the coat prior to the messy routine that ensued.

Karen unsurprisingly landed her first maximum of the series with Couple’s Choice proving right up her Street with all its popping and locking, and hip hop moves which she used to do in a semi-professional capacity as a youngster. Not that the general audience would know this, as it has been cunningly airbrushed from history.

If this doesn’t tell us Karen is Plan A this year, a choice of samba as her Musicals Week dance probably does. It means only one ballroom routine for Karen in the last 7 weeks, an American smooth in week 8, and leaves the likelihood of her completing the entire Latin slate, with salsa presumably teed up as one of her two semi-final dances.

In other words, she looks like ducking two ballroom routines that focus heavily on the correct frame, which is a clear issue for her due to her curved spine. This is a rare set of circumstances and it doesn’t look coincidental.

Samba remains a difficult genre to negotiate but Karen’s fast feet, some extra dancers, and a big production should enable smoke and mirrors to be applied, as we saw with George’s 39-scoring salsa in Blackpool.

Balvinder couldn’t have asked for a better choice than a VW set to that stirring ballad from The Greatest Showman. Given what she has had to go through in the series, surviving a record five dance-offs, it could even offer the chance for big praise and a high score if they aim to reward her with a semi-final berth.

It is worth mentioning what a terrific mentor Julian has shown himself to be across the series. He has lifted Balvinder up after the despair of so many dance-off appearances, and his clear instructions during the Instant Dance Challenge were expertly and concisely delivered.

Enormous credit also has to go to Balvinder for her series-long stoicism, along with that brilliantly improvised paso which thoroughly deserved second top score.

Week 9 & 10 judges’ leaderboard + Instant Dance Challenge scores combined:

Lewis & Katya – Charleston – (1) – 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40 – Rumba – (3) – 9, 9, 9, 9 = 36 = 76 + 6 = 82
Karen & Carlos – Paso – (4) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39 – CC – (5) – 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40 = 79 + 1 = 80
Amber & Nikita – QS – (3) – 9, 9, 9, 9 = 36 – Jive – (6) – 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40 = 76 + 4 = 80
George & Alexis – Salsa – (6) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39 – QS – (2) – 8, 8, 9, 9 = 34 = 73 + 2 = 75
Balvinder & Julian – AT – (2) – 8, 8, 8, 9 = 33 – Jive – (4) – 7, 7, 7, 7 = 28 = 61 + 5 = 66 – bottom 2
Alex & Johannes – CC – (5) – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35 – CCC – (1) – 4, 6, 6, 7 = 23 = 58 + 3 = 61 – eliminated

George’s technical frailties have been exposed across numerous dance genres so Argentine tango could prove problematic with its sharp, staccato lines. He doesn’t have the best of songs either from Phantom of the Opera.

Amber earns home field advantage with Charleston which is a genre she has performed on the West End stage in The Great Gatsby. She looks like vying for top spot on the judges’ leaderboard with Lewis who is due the pimp slot with his West Side Story salsa.

Lewis and Katya showed their class once more with that top notch jive in last week’s hugely entertaining Instant Dance Challenge, which helped breathe new life into the show. The market keeps trying its best to write off Lewis’s winning chance, but his and Katya’s sheer brilliance keeps them defiantly in the picture for the Glitterball trophy.

Tomorrow is a potential banana skin for Karen, and George, who could both find themselves in a spot requiring the public vote to come to their rescue. Karen’s pv looks the more robust at this point, as highlighted by last week’s exit poll result.

While Balvinder looks the obvious prime suspect to face the chop, she makes no appeal at 2-7, and if you’ve backed either or both of Karen and George for the series win, it would be a wise insurance policy to cover them at attractive prices in the 9th elimination market.

With Vicky announced as being on next year’s live tour, this is perhaps a further indication she was sacrificed after TPTB decided to go all-in on Karen. Please do let us know who got your Musicals Week (week 11) vote(s) when the exit poll opens at the end of tomorrow night’s show.

Strictly 2025 Exit Poll – Week 11 (QF)

Week 11 (Musicals Week) dances & songs:

Lewis & Katya Salsa to Dance at the Gym (Mambo) from West Side Story
Amber & Nikita Charleston to Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat from Guys & Dolls
George & Alexis Argentine Tango to Point of No Return from Phantom of the Opera
Balvinder & Julian Viennese Waltz to Never Enough from The Greatest Showman
Karen & Carlos Samba to The Rhythm of Life from Sweet Charity