Wynne Or Lose?

Nov 1, 2024 by Rob

The Strictly field has now reduced to ten runners, six male contestants, four female, and it’s the all-new ‘Icons Week’ tomorrow night.

Shayne survived his second dance-off appearance last Saturday and is 7-4 favourite to bow out of the competition this weekend. He does, however, have legitimate survival claims. Him and Nancy sounded almost defeated on Tuesday night’s ITT but a QS to Help! could easily be good enough for him to avoid the chop.

He is due an early running order slot but it will all come down to whether or not the show is happy to give him a stay of execution for another week, which it might do. It won’t need that much of a push from the judges to encourage enough support to ensure his safety.

The one who could end up in the crosshairs instead is Wynne, dancing the dreaded rumba, his exit poll percentage noticeably dropping last week.

A portly fellow attempting to make a rumba look romantic and flowing is almost impossible and while Katya will do her level best to create something refined and graceful, also promising a never seen before element, this could easily fall flat and Wynne find himself towards the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard.

Sam enjoyed the pimp slot and managed to go wrong again, losing timing with her jive. But the script was very much one seeking to big up Sam and get the audience to invest in her journey. An AS set to Taylor Swift certainly looks an easier assignment for her to potentially earn a decent score.

Jamie’s generous treatment by the show continues unabated and is somewhat perplexing. We saw him succeed with salsa in week 4 (34) so there’s no reason why he won’t receive similar plaudits for his samba and it’s going to need a massive change in the script for him to find himself in danger.

There is a small sense of unease that has now crept into Chris’s favourite status, seeing his price drift out above 1.5 after his joint-last place, 26-scoring samba.

Week 6 (Halloween Week) judges’ leaderboard:

Jamie & Michelle – American Smooth – (9) – 9, 10, 10, 9 = 38
Sarah & Vito – Argentine Tango – (10) – 9, 10, 9, 10 = 38
Tasha & Aljaz – Samba – (7) – 9, 9, 9, 10 = 37
Montell & Johannes – CCC – (3) – 9, 9, 9, 8 = 35
JB & Amy – Foxtrot – (6) – 7, 9, 8, 8 = 32
Pete & Jowita – Viennese Waltz – (2) – 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
Wynne & Katya – Salsa – (5) – 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
Sam & Nikita – Jive – (11) – 7, 8, 8, 8 = 31
Shayne & Nancy – Paso Doble – (8) – 8, 8, 7, 8 = 31 – bottom two
Punam & Gorka – Tango – (4) – 6, 7, 6, 7 = 26 – eliminated
Chris & Dianne – Samba – (1) – 5, 7, 7, 7 = 26

He returns to the comfort of ballroom though the sharp staccato moves of tango won’t be easy and styled like Gene Simmons it could prove underwhelming.

Another low scoring week might see a further drift in his price, but he still has some crowd-pleasing trump cards to play in this series including the likes of CC, paso, Charleston and AT.

High drama at the Elstree Studio last week saw an ambulance called for Amy and her missing the results show. She is said to be on the mend and the show is promising a return for her next week. However, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if her absence is extended with Lauren tasked with stepping in as JB’s new partner.

This does create a new dynamic with regard to JB. It is easy to imagine VTs involving Amy, and JB and Lauren, when interviewed, mentioning her and saying they’re doing it for Amy. A swell of good will could build up and JB’s winning chance might yet be gradually resurrected. He could also earn tomorrow evening’s pimp slot, dancing his Bruno Mars-inspired Street CC.

Montell received a surprisingly high score for her CCC and it could be more of the same with her Whitney waltz. A moving, P!nk-inspired CC for Tasha also looks a routine of high scoring potential.

Sarah unsurprisingly won plaudits for her AT last week:

She now has the tougher CCC. She seems to cope admirably with every dance genre thrown at her and like Tasha looks pencilled in for the final already.

Pete has become one of the journeys of the series, largely thanks to the brilliance of Jowita as a teacher and choreographer. Salsa is going to be tough but recalling what Jowita pulled off with Hamza she should enable Pete to shine brightly enough to stay out of trouble this week.

If Shayne isn’t thrown a lifebelt by the show he will be next out but Wynne looks the much better value betting proposition to end up the sixth elimination.

Please do let us know who got your vote(s) when the week 7 exit poll opens at the end of tomorrow night’s show.

Strictly 2024 Exit Poll – Week 7

Week 7 (Icons Week) dances and songs:

JB & Lauren Couple’s Choice to Bruno Mars Medley by Bruno Mars
Montell & Johannes Waltz to I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
Sam & Nikita American Smooth to Love Story (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
Sarah & Vito Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna
Tasha & Aljaz Couple’s Choice to What About Us by P!nk
Chris & Dianne Tango to Rock And Roll All Nite by KISS
Jamie & Michelle Samba to Faith by George Michael
Pete & Jowita Salsa to Another One Bites The Dust by Queen
Shayne & Nancy Quickstep to Help! by The Beatles
Wynne & Katya Rumba to This is My Life by Shirley Bassey