The Case for Kaz

Nov 28, 2025 by Rob

The iconic Blackpool Week was made most notable by Tess and Claudia gravely informing La Voix’s withdrawal from the competition before announcing there would be no elimination, the show desperate to avoid another 2-couple final like 2021.

The seaside away day at the tower ballroom was saved from being the dampest of damp squibs by Lewis’s incredible, maximum-scoring Charleston, in a third opening slot for him, and Karen’s power-packed, dramatic paso, which landed her a 39, and saw her odds drop below 3.

Craig intimated he would pull out his 10 paddle if that paso ends up reprised in the grand final, Karen is now being portrayed as a total beginner, and we may be getting a heavy hint as to why the show dropped Vicky, with Karen taking over potential feel-good winner status.

Karen gets to follow up tomorrow night with the open goal of Couple’s Choice and a chance to consolidate her market position as the main threat to George. This will no doubt be a quick-footed medley of Street/Commercial, elements of hip hop, and a VT that will go big paying tribute to her and Carlos’s mums for setting them on their pioneering career paths. It looks the stuff of potential pimp slots.

Blackpool Week always involves score inflation and both Alex and the pimp-slotted George were generously scored on the night. Balvinder can feel hard done by to be placed 2pts below Alex, and in last place for an AT that showcased a lot more technical expertise than Alex’s laboured Couple’s Choice.

Week 9 (Blackpool Week) judges’ leaderboard:

Lewis and Katya – Charleston – (1) – 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40
George and Alexis – Salsa – (6) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Karen and Carlos – Paso Doble – (4) – 9, 10, 10, 10 = 39
Amber and Nikita – Quickstep – (3) – 9, 9, 9, 9 = 36
Alex and Johannes – Couple’s Choice – (5) – 8, 9, 9, 9 = 35
Balvinder and Julian – Argentine Tango – (2) – 8, 8, 8, 9 = 33

All contestants awarded a bye after La Voix confirmed as out of the competition due to injury.

But everything can turn around tomorrow night, with the handy mechanism of the ‘Instant Dance’ challenge to help adjust leaderboard positions. Amber’s jive will no doubt eclipse Balvinder’s but Balvinder has a chance to outscore Alex on the night, given Alex has the very difficult CCC to master.

As much as each couple’s chosen dance genre, revealed after opening their envelopes, is highly unlikely to be the random exercise it is painted as, the Instant Dance appears to favour Amber and Lewis over the others. There’s definite scope for Amber to improve her leaderboard position from fourth place, most likely rising above George, and possible Lewis too.

Lewis can turn his hand to anything and excel at it, but rumba is always a chance for the judges to get nitpicky. Katya did a fine rumba in week 10 in 2023 with Nigel Harman which only scored 33, and it could well be in that sort of bracket.

George is yet to open the show, nor Alex, and the prods will need to separate the two jives. A Sinatra classic for a QS looks safe territory for George but if he drops down into fourth place, it’s going to be harder for Alex and Balvinder to escape the dance-off.

The most likely alternative looks to be a Balvinder vs Amber jive shoot-out. Since the dance-off was reintroduced in 2012, the same dance genre landing in the bottom two has only happened three times (thanks @DrRoss76) in 14 series.

Is that due to the producers working hard to try and ensure it doesn’t happen, or might it simply be an anomaly that sometimes occurs, and is overdue to happen again? Stats can be interpreted either way. You pays your money and you takes your chance. The possibility of it happening tomorrow night probably tells us more about the unforeseen circumstances, and Balvinder initially not being in TPTB’s plans to make it to week 10.

If it’s Balvinder vs Alex that looks a coin toss, which suggests an elimination price for Alex of 6-1 is good value. A potential fifth dance-off save for Balvinder would be a record-breaker and also something the show might like to reward Balvinder with given her remarkable powers of survival across the series, highlighted by Shirley on this week’s ITT.

For those who progress, it becomes a choice of three out of five dances moving forward – a quarter-final (Musicals Week) dance, and two semi-final dances if making it to the last four stage.

With Alex and Balvinder looking the most likely eliminations in the next two shows, it might pay to focus on the other four as to who among them has the best dances left to choose from.

Remaining dances:

Lewis and Katya – Samba, Salsa, Waltz, American Smooth, Argentine Tango
Amber and Nikita – Rumba, Tango, Foxtrot, Couple’s Choice, Charleston
George and Alexis – Samba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Argentine Tango, Charleston
Karen and Carlos – Samba, Salsa, Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot
Alex and Johannes – Jive, Tango, American Smooth, Argentine Tango, Charleston
Balvinder and Julian – CCC, Salsa, Tango, Waltz, Viennese Waltz

George has drifted out to 2.08 with big money seeking to get matched on Karen at 2.7. We might well see the prices between the two edge closer together after tomorrow night.

Please do let us know who got your week 10 vote(s) when the exit poll opens at the end of tomorrow night’s show.

Strictly 2025 Exit Poll – Week 10

Week 10 dances & songs:

Alex & Johannes – Cha Cha : Ring My Bell (Anita Ward)
Amber & Nikita – Jive : Proud Mary (Tina Turner)
Balvinder & Julian – Jive : RIght Back Where We Started From (Maxine Nightingale)
George & Alexis – Quickstep : I Get A Kick Out Of You (Frank Sinatra)
Karen & Carlos – Couples Choice : Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
Lewis & Katya – Rumba : Falling (Harry Styles)